JBS has commenced construction of Brazil's first research facility focused on cultivated meat.

© JBS

Company News

Meat Giant JBS Begins Construction on $62M Innovation Centre for Cultivated Meat

JBS, the largest meat processing company in the world, announces it has commenced construction of Brazil’s first research facility focused on food biotechnology — the JBS Biotech Innovation Centre. Located at Sapiens Parque innovation hub in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, and scheduled to open at the end of 2024, the center aims to be a model facility to produce cultivated meat efficiently, scalable, and at competitive prices. “As a global leader in protein production, it is our responsibility to be at the forefront of foodtech,” says Jerson Nascimento Jr., global supply and innovation director of JBS. $ 62 million According to JBS, the Biotech Innovation Centre will require approximately $62 million in investment over three phases. In the first phase, the meat giant will invest $22 million …

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Cultivated meat dish

© BioTech Foods

Company News

JBS-Owned BioTech Foods Breaks Ground on “World’s Largest Cultivated Meat Plant” in Spain

The world’s largest meat processing company, Brazil’s JBS, announced that its subsidiary, the Spanish company BioTech Foods, has begun construction of its first commercial-scale plant for cultivated meat, reports Reuters. The facility, located in Eskusaitzeta, Donostia’s industrial area, will open by mid-2024 as the country’s first cultivated meat facility (to our knowledge). Biotech Foods claims it will be the world’s largest cultivated meat plant, with an annual production of 1,000 metric tons of cultivated beef. For further growth, it will have an expansion capacity of 4,000 metric tons annually. Additionally, the complex will host the company’s R&D department. In January, Íñigo Charola, the CEO of BioTech Foods, revealed the plans for the future facility: “This new plant will allow us to increase production capacity to …

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UPSIDE Foods FDA greenlight

© UPSIDE Foods

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

FDA’s Approval of Cultivated Meat: Industry Leaders Respond

Following this week’s groundbreaking news of UPSIDE Food receiving GRAS status for its cultivated chicken, marking the first time in the world that the FDA has given the green light to a cultivated meat product, industry leaders from the GFI, Stray Dog Capital, BioTech Foods, and Synthesis Capital here provide commentary on the significance of this historic development.   To recap: UPSIDE Foods has now successfully completed the FDA’s rigorous pre-market safety review for its cultivated chicken, demonstrating that it is as safe as conventional chicken. This historic milestone will pave the way for consumers to access these products in restaurants and retail across the country and ultimately across the world.   Seth Roberts, GFI The Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) – the leading …

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Biotech Foods meatballs

© Biotech Foods

Investments & Acquisitions

BioTech Foods Receives €750,000 From Spanish Foreign Trade Institute

Spain’s Biotech Foods has received a €753,000 grant for its investMEAT project from the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute (ICEX). The investMEAT project is researching cell lines, cultured media, and biomaterials in order to scale up cultivated meat production to an industrial level. The funding will be provided through ICEX’s R&D program Innova Invest.  The ultimate goal is to significantly bring down the cost of cultivated meat, making it available to the consumer at competitive prices. This will be done by making the production process much more efficient, which will improve scalability. “Results will contribute to the development of the first cultivated meat industrial production plant in Spain, and one of the most state of the art in the world,” said Iñigo Charola, co-founder and CEO …

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OZO Plant-Based Bacon Launch

©OZO

Market & Trends

JBS Claims Plans to “Foster and Develop” Alt Protein Through Multiple Investments & Acquisitions

In a new podcast with Food Manufacture, the largest meat processing company in the world, JBS SA, has revealed plans for its alt protein future. JBS claims it intends to “foster and develop” alt protein innovation with multiple investments and acquisitions across plant-based, fermentation, and cultivated sectors. Citing expected levels of population growth and increased demand for proteins, the Brazilian conglomerate says it has a responsibility to increase alt proteins in its portfolio. Eduardo Noronha, JBS’s global head of innovation and operational excellence, also spoke of changing consumer habits, needs, and trends across the globe that will influence the company’s alt protein direction.  As part of this alt protein expansion, JBS recently completed the acquisition of Spanish cultivated meat leader BioTech Foods. The acquisition also …

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JBS

©JBS

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

JBS Enters Cultivated Meat With Acquisition of BioTech Foods and $100M R&D Center in Brazil

Brazil’s JBS – the largest meat processing company in the world – announced it is to purchase Biotech Foods, a cultivated meat producer based in Spain. JBS will also establish a cultivated meat R&D centre in Brazil as part of a $100 million drive, with JBS stating that the “acquisition marks the company’s entry into the cultivated protein market,” according to Reuters. The deal reportedly includes $41 million for the building a new plant for Biotech to scale up production in Spain. In January this year, BioTech Foods announced a €5.2 million R&D initiative called the CULTUREDMEAT project, after receiving funding from the EU last October. JBS clearly recognizes that the future lies in alt meat. Aside from operating its plant-based brand Planterra, the meat giant …

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Inigo Charola, CEO EthicaMeat

Inigo Charola, Biotech Foods

Interviews

EthicaMeat: Committed to Constructing a “World in Which Anyone Who Wants to Eat Meat Can do so Without Killing an Animal”

Ethicameat is the cultivated meat brand of Biotech Foods, a pioneering Spanish company that says it is driving a revolution in the global food market; natural slaughter-free animal meat. Ethicameat says it is addressing the high demand for animal-based protein and reducing the current impact of the production process on the environment through sustainable solutions.

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