Fermented protein innovator The Better Meat Co. announces the formation of its first-ever Scientific Advisory Board (SAB.) The board, which compromises leading experts in filamentous fungi, cell biology, metabolism, genetics, and food safety, is helping to bolster Better Meat’s efforts to advance the use of mycelium in both hybridized and animal-free meat applications.
“We’re grateful to our Scientific Advisory Board members for utilizing their enormous expertise toward building a better meat industry”
Better Meat’s first SAB meeting took place on March 13, and its members include:
- Louise Glass, PhD – Professor, University of California-Berkeley
- Jay Dunlap, PhD – Professor, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
- Heather Hallen-Adams, PhD – Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Matt Sachs, PhD – Professor, Texas A&M University
“The fruiting structures of fungi have been used for food and medicine for thousands of years,” shared board member Louise Glass, PhD. “It’s so exciting that new technologies like those being developed by The Better Meat Co. for the mycelial phase of growth of these important organisms are becoming prominent in the biotechnology landscape, with applications in food and textiles.”
Patents and publications
In the past six months, Better Meat has taken a series of important steps to elevate the status of mycelium and fungi as an alternative protein source. In September 2022, the company published a peer-reviewed paper in Food and Chemical Toxicology demonstrating the safety of Neurospora – a unique strain of fungus Better Meat uses to create a wide range of alt-meat products.
In November, the company revealed it received its fourth patent for its proprietary mycelium fermentation technology, and submitted a GRAS notice to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Rhiza fungi protein.
“Remarkably meat-like”
Most recently, Better Meat Co. hosted an exclusive dinner, “Night Under the Fermenters”, to showcase chicken, bacon, turkey and foie gras made with mycelium.
“There are many ways to more sustainably recreate the meat experience without animals, but harnessing the power of fungi fermentation to make whole food ingredients that are remarkably meat-like in their unprocessed state is among the most promising,” said Paul Shapiro, CEO of The Better Meat Co. “We’re grateful to our Scientific Advisory Board members for utilizing their enormous expertise toward building a better meat industry.”
