Science

© Barvecue

Barvecue and Arbiom Partner to ‘Dramatically Increase’ Consumer Acceptance of Plant-Based Meats

Plant BBQ brand Barvecue and protein innovator Arbiom announce a strategic partnership to improve the taste, texture and nutritional profile of clean-label plant-based meats.  The partnership seeks to “dramatically increase” public acceptance of plant-based meats by conducting product innovation, focus group research, and commercial trials.  Based in North Carolina, Barvecue produces an acclaimed line of wood-smoked pulled pork alternatives and carnitas. In 2021, the brand opened the world’s largest vegan smokehouse and has expanded its products to over 1,200 US stores, including Sprouts, Safeway and Harris Teeter. Since 2020, Barvecue has raised nearly $3M in investment funding.  “The world’s demand for protein is expected to double by 2050, and as a result, the need for high-quality alternative protein sources is going to increase dramatically,” said …

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Onego Bio Egg White

©Onego Bio

Perfect Day Unveils ‘nth Biology’ Hub, Partners with Onego Bio for Egg White Proteins

Alternative dairy leader Perfect Day announces the launch nth Bio – a new enterprise biology business that will offer the company’s precision fermentation expertise and technology to companies around the world. The startup also reveals nth Bio’s first public partner as Onego Bio, which specializes in making animal-free egg whites. Based in Salt Lake City, nth Bio seeks to accelerate the development of more responsibly sourced food, pharmaceuticals and textiles using the power of precision fermentation. To accomplish this, nth provides bioengineers access to critical tools, expertise, infrastructure and technology needed to create impact in the food sector and beyond.  According to the company, the name ‘nth’ perfectly describes its larger vision and mission.  “The name nth Bio comes from the exponential impact we stand …

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Challah Bread/ Baked Bread

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Shiru Partners with Puratos to Develop Next-Gen Egg Replacer for Baking

California biotech startup Shiru announces a new partnership with Puratos, a leading innovator of bakery goods, to help evaluate and scale prototypes for a next-generation egg replacement.  The partnership will focus on Shiru’s proprietary discovery platform Flourish, which identifies proteins that offer the same taste and texture properties as animal-based ingredients. Shiru will then leverage Purato’s expertise in bakery, patisserie and chocolate ingredients to create prototypes of plant-based baked goods.  In order to target proteins, Flourish uses bioinformatics and machine learning to search through hundreds of millions of functional proteins found in nature. Once it locates a possible candidate with desirable properties, Shiru uses precision fermentation and high-throughput screening techniques to produce more of the proteins, which are then evaluated for their performance in baked goods.    …

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Steakholder Cultured Bacon

©Steakholder Foods

Steakholder Foods Begins Cultured Pork Development Using More Scalable Porcine Cell Line

Cultivated meat company Steakholder Foods Ltd.  (Nasdaq: STKH) (formerly MeaTech 3D) announces it will begin developing cultured pork products using a new line of porcine stem cells. The advancement will enable it to further diversify its portfolio and accelerate its market readiness for cultured pork production.  Known as iPS (induced pluripotent porcine stem cell line), the new cell line was derived from sample cells that were reprogrammed back into an embryonic-like “pluripotent” state. In this state, one cell bank can become an unlimited and highly scalable source for developing any type of muscle or fat cells for cultured meat, Steakholder says.  To achieve this, Steakholder says it has partnered with a leading iPS cell line provider to shorten the development timeline for more complex, structured pork products …

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Future Meat Kebabs

©Future Meat Technologies

Future Meat Technologies Reveals ‘World’s First’ Production of Cultivated Lamb

Future Meat Technologies announces it has successfully produced the “world’s first” cultivated lamb meat, which looks, cooks and tastes like conventional ground lamb. The company says the milestone will allow it to begin producing cultured lamb at scale, and expand its platform into new species as it prepares for a US launch. According to Future Meat, development of cultivated lamb could transform the global landscape, with the European Union currently being the world’s largest lamb consumer; lamb is also the primary meat source in countries across the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia.  “Since lamb has a uniquely distinct flavor, it is very clear if a cultivated substitute is on or off the mark,” said Michael Lenahan, General Manager of Future Meat. “The …

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Hydrosol sunflowers

©Hydrosol

Project Aims to Turn Sunflower Oil Industry Waste Into Meat Alternatives

A new research project called Taste2Meat is attempting to upcycle byproducts from the sunflower oil industry into sustainable meat alternatives. Five organisations — VTT, DSM, DIL German Institute of Food Technologies, University of Helsinki, and ABP Beef — have joined forces for the project. The intention is to create products that will allow consumers to make a “smooth transition” towards plant-based foods. Specifically, the project will work with sunflower press-cakes — an ingredient that is a sidestream of sunflower oil production. Globally, sunflower is the third-largest seed oil source, meaning these byproducts are widely available. Pea and rapeseed proteins are also being used as part of the project. Sunflower in plant-based products While sunflower oil has long been used in products such as dairy-free margarines, …

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Omeat Cultivated Meat Founder and CEO

Ali Khademhosseini ©Omeat

Meet Omeat: A Cultivated Beef Startup Making Meat “A Force for Good”

From UPSIDE Foods’ record-setting $400M Series C funding, to SCiFi Food’s breakthrough in scaling beef, 2022 is proving to be a banner year in cultivated meat research and innovation. Now, Omeat, a new cultivated meat startup in Los Angeles, is promising to bring its own brand of high-powered tissue engineering and biomedical expertise to develop a scalable approach to cultured meat.  “Meat done right” Founded by world-renowned tissue engineer and former MIT and Harvard professor Dr. Ali Khademhosseini, Omeat is an early-stage startup that seeks to grow real meat from animal cells that is “every bit as delicious” as conventional meat products without the environmental consequences of industrial agriculture. The company has not officially confirmed what types of meat(s) it will produce, but its website …

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Novel Farms Cultivated Pork Loin

©Novel Farms

Novel Farms Raises $1.4M in Pre-Seed Round for First Marbled Cultivated Pork Loin

Novel Farms, a food technology startup, announces a $1.4M pre-seed funding round and reveals it has created the world’s first marbled cultivated pork loin. According to the startup, its loin showcases the marbling and texture of a real muscle cut, making it one of the few cell-based meat companies to successfully create a structured meat prototype.  Founded in 2020 by Nieves Martinez Marshall, PhD and Michelle Lu, PhD, the company says its pork loin can scale more efficiently than other cultivated meats thanks to its edible and highly customizable scaffolds. Developed with Novel’s proprietary microbial fermentation, these lower-cost scaffolds provide a structure for the attachment of cultured meat cells, without the need for costlier biomaterials such as alginate, mycelium or cellulose. These newer scaffolds are …

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Waters Plant Protein Science/ Research

©Waters Corp.

Waters Corp. Partners with the Plant Protein Innovation Center to Advance Alt-Protein Science

Waters Corporation, a leading analytical instruments company, announces it is now collaborating with researchers at the Plant Protein Innovation Center (PPIC) to help advance plant protein science. As the first analytical instrument company to join the PPIC, Waters will provide technology and expertise to enhance understanding of plant-derived amino acids, and drive the development of new protein sources.  First-of-its-kind center Located at the University of Minnesota, the PPIC is a first-of-its-kind, interdisciplinary center devoted to studying plant and alternative proteins. Its founding members include some of the largest names in food and agribusiness, including ADM, Cargill, Conagra, Danone, General Mills, and The Hershey Company.  According to the PPIC, it addresses industry-identified plant protein challenges and opportunities by developing a wealth of interdisciplinary research. As a …

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NotCo Launches Best-Selling NotBurger in US Retailers Nationwide

NotCo, the Chile-based food tech unicorn, is launching its signature NotBurger in retailers across the US. The brand’s AI-created burger, which has enjoyed sell-out success in Latin America, can now be found at Whole Foods Market and select regional retailers, with an upcoming rollout at Sprouts Farmers Markets in August.  Created with ingredients like peas, bamboo, spinach, chia seeds, and cocoa powder, the NotBurger offers the taste and tenderness of a conventional burger with no eggs, gluten or GMO’s. Like all of NotCo’s products, the NotBurger recipe was developed by Giuseppe, the brand’s patented AI technology, and a team of AI chefs and R&D experts, who use Giuseppe’s knowledge to craft plant-based foods with the same taste, texture and functionality as animal products.  5% market …

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Breakfast-Patties-Maple-Natures-Fynd

©Nature's Fynd

Nature’s Fynd, SpaceX and NASA Launch Novel Bioreactor to Grow “Fy” Fungi Protein in Space

Chicago food company Nature’s Fynd, in collaboration with NASA, has launched a protein bioreactor aboard SpaceX-25 en route to the International Space Station. Seeking to develop new sources of sustainable protein for space exploration, the flight study will demonstrate the use of novel technology to grow high-protein food on the ISS.  Revolutionary research During the study, the bioreactor will grow Fy, Nature’s Fynd’s nutritional fungi protein, by utilizing the company’s patented fermentation technology. According to the brand, its technology uses a fraction of the land, water and energy required in traditional agriculture. The bioreactor has also been proven to efficiently convert simple feedstocks, such as vegetation and excess plant material, into high-protein biomats of fungi. The ISS study will now test the bioreactor’s efficacy under …

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SCiFi Foods Cultivated Beef

Co-founders Joshua March & Kasia Gora ©SCiFi Foods

SCiFi Foods Reveals Major Breakthrough, Achieving 1000X Cost Reduction For Scaled Cultivated Beef

Food tech startup SCiFi Foods, which specializes in culturing beef cells, announces it has achieved a landmark R&D milestone by growing edible beef cell lines in single-cell suspension. This breakthrough will allow the company to lower the cost of growing beef cells at scale by one thousand times or more – in what it says is a significant development for the entire cultivated meat industry.  As the startup explains, most cell-based meat research relies on growing cells by adhering them to a surface or using tiny microcarriers, such as plastic beads, as attachment structures. This “adherent” approach enables cell growth in bioreactors, but also places limits on cell density and scalability.  By contrast, single-cell suspension allows cells to be grown in standard large-sized bioreactors without …

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Chinova Bioworks

Co-founders David Brown and Natasha Dhayagude ©Chinova Bioworks

Chinova Closes $6M Series A to Expand Chiber – A Novel Preservative Made from Upcycled Mushrooms

Canadian food tech startup Chinova Bioworks announces it has secured $6M in Series A funding to expand production of Chiber™– a novel clean-label preservative extracted from mushrooms. The funding will also be used to grow Chinova’s team, create new products and enhance its production capabilities on Prince Edward Island.  Derived from the stems of upcycled white mushrooms, Chiber is a natural, allergen-free fiber that helps improve the quality, freshness and shelf-life of a wide variety of foods. It can be incorporated into plant-based meats and dairy, as well as baked goods, beverages and sauces, the company states. In the application of dairy-free yogurt, the startup says Chiber is the first clean-label ingredient that protects probiotic cultures and inhibits spoilage. Reducing waste To source its mushrooms, …

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Else Girl with Product

©Else Nutrition

Else Successfully Concludes 2nd Preclinical Trial of Plant-Based, Soy-Free Baby Formula

Else Nutrition, the baby, toddler and children nutritional company, announces it has successfully completed a second preclinical study on its Plant-Based infant formula, marking a critical new phase for bringing its innovative 0-12 month infant formula to market.  Made without soy, Else’s product seeks to fill a major gap in the global $70 billion infant formula industry for dairy-free and clean-label alternatives. In the second trial, Else’s study showed proper protein efficiency in preclinical models, a significant finding that demonstrates the formula’s protein bioavailability with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory bodies.  Ongoing shortage The company’s announcement is a welcome development in unprecedented times, as the US continues to face a severe shortage in baby and toddler formula supplies. In the week …

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GOOD Meat Largest Cultivated Meat Facility

©Eat Just

In Historic Move, GOOD Meat Signs with ABEC to Produce 30M Pounds of Cultivated Meat Each Year

GOOD Meat, a subsidiary of food tech brand Eat Just, announces it has entered an exclusive seven-year agreement with biotech manufacturer ABEC, Inc. to design, engineer and build the world’s largest known bioreactors for culturing avian and mammalian cells.  GOOD Meat’s large-scale cultivated meat complex will consist of ten 250,000-liter bioreactors and will be located in the US. Once fully operational, it will be capable of producing up to 30 million pounds of cultivated meat, beginning with beef and chicken, which it plans to distribute to customers across the US. Singapore strength ABEC is also manufacturing bioreactors for GOOD Meat’s headquarters in Alameda, CA (scheduled to be operational in Q4 of 2022) and for one of the brand’s facilities in Singapore (operational in Q1 of …

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