Paleo

Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter at the inauguration – Image courtesy of Paleo
Fermentation

Paleo Opens New Facility in Belgium for Animal-Free Heme, Reveals Expansion Plans for 2024

On the back of its successful €12 million funding round last year, biotech company Paleo has opened a new pilot-scale facility in Leven, Belgium, at the Bio-Incubator Leuven.  The company, which specializes in developing proteins via precision fermentation, aims to use the new laboratory facilities to accelerate the production and commercialization of its flagship product, animal-free heme. Speaking to vegconomist, the company outlined its plans for 2024, including making significant progress in bringing its products to market and preparing for a Series B investment round. Last year, the company opened an office in Singapore to serve future activities in the Asia-Pacific region, where market approval for novel foods takes less time than in Europe. Expansion of the leadership team As part of the 2024 strategy, Paleo …

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IFF, Unilever and WUR address flavor challenges associated with alt meats

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Ingredients

Bridging the Flavor Gap: 7 Solutions to Enhance the Taste of Plant-Based Meat for Maximum Consumer Satisfaction

Today, we are looking into the companies and latest research trying to bridge the flavor gap between plant-based and animal meat with different solutions, including fermented onions, yeasts, chlorella, fermented ingredients, and heme proteins. Flavor is a complex perception that combines taste (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami) with other sensory inputs, particularly smell. Taste and smell interplay to create the overall flavor experience. However, other factors, such as texture and temperature, can influence flavor. Companies often say, “to enhance the taste, texture, and cooking experience of plant-based meat.” As many studies highlight flavor and taste as the drivers behind plant-based meat purchasing decisions, let’s look at the innovations to make these alternatives more appealing to mainstream consumers in order to accelerate the transition to …

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Precision fermentation startup Paleo expands into the plant-based pet food market with an animal-free heme ingredient.

Image courtesy of Paleo
Fermentation

Bleeding Burgers for Vegan Dogs? Paleo Files World’s First Patent for Animal-Free Heme for Pet Food

Paleo, a precision fermentation startup from Belgium that produces alternative proteins for plant-based foods, is venturing into the plant-based pet food market with an animal-free heme ingredient. Today, the company announces that it has filed and published what it claims is the “world-first” patent application for using its animal-free heme in pet food formulations.  Paleo’s portfolio of heme includes the animal myoglobins found in beef, chicken, pork, lamb, tuna, and mammoth. However, Paleo tells vegconomist, that it is considering developing common preys for cats and dogs, including rat, mouse, and rabbit proteins. The biotech’s proteins are said to be highly pure, 100% GMO-free, and bioidentical to animal myoglobin. Initially, the product could be presented as a protein powder, but the company says it is considering the advantages …

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Vow_TheVowse

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Company News

Vow Provides Response to Paleo Allegations

The following is a verbatim statement from Australia’s Vow in response to the possible legal action considered by Belgium’s Paleo, as reported in our story earlier today. “Vow is familiar with Paleo’s allegations in relation to the recent “Mammoth Meatball” event and would like to respond with some important clarifications. The technology and innovation involved in Vow’s creation and presentation of the “Mammoth Meatball” owes nothing to any technology or alleged invention by Paleo. “The “Mammoth Meatball” was conceived, developed and created entirely by the hard work and ingenuity of Vow’s own scientists [and collaborators] and using a combination of publicly available genetic data and Vow’s own proprietary production processes. Rightly, there is no suggestion by Paleo that Vow has done anything other than adopt …

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Paleo founders

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Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Paleo Considers Legal Action Against Vow Regarding the Mammoth Meatball

Belgian precision fermentation firm Paleo announces it is considering legal action against Vow, an Australian cultivated meat company, for claiming that mammoth myoglobin protein is Vow’s invention, “while knowing that the technology (mammoth myoglobin) was already developed two years ago by Paleo, with patent applications ongoing.” Paleo develops animal-free heme proteins as ingredients for the alt meat sector. It focuses on producing myoglobin, a heme protein found in animal muscles. In July 2022,  the company released six new non-GM proteins: chicken, beef, pork, lamb, and tuna proteins and new variations of its mammoth protein, as part of the species extinct in the wild. “Our breakthrough in creating myoglobin for mammoth – and also beef, lamb, tuna, chicken, and pork — was significant and took hard work to bring about,” states …

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Paleo's animal-free heme proteins for plant-based foods

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Investments & Finance

Paleo Raises €12M to Produce Animal-Free Heme for “Real Taste” Plant-Based Foods

Brussels-based precision fermentation firm Paleo, which aims to be a functional ingredient supplier for the alt protein sector, has raised €12 million in a Series A funding round to scale up the production of animal-free heme proteins and help manufacturers bring the “real taste” of meat to plant-based foods. Paleo focuses on producing myoglobin, a heme protein found in animal muscles that, when added to plant-based alternatives as an ingredient, replicates meat’s colour, smell, taste, and aromatic experience, providing iron and thus an increased nutritional value.  DSM Venturing and Planet A Ventures led the investment round, joined by Gimv, SFPIM Relaunch, Beyond Impact, and Siddhi Capital. GM-free heme proteins The Belgian food tech claims to be the first company to produce bioidentical GMO-free heme proteins of …

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