Another week and another superb batch of stories for you, with new products, funding announcements, tech breakthroughs and several key studies dominating our headlines.
First up, we were intrigued to hear that a UK brand is shaking up the menus of UK hospitals with a novel partnership to supply its mycoprotein for a new wave of 'hybrid meat' products. The rollout is expected to be gradual, with the first blended meat options appearing on hospital menus by the end of 2024.
Meanwhile, as the Italian government worries about misleading meat-eaters, a new poll suggests a different story. A survey conducted by The Good Food Institute (GFI) found that a whopping 69% of Italians believe terms like 'hamburger' are perfectly suitable for plant-based options.
The early-stage startups selected for the 2024 MassChallenge Switzerland have been announced, and come from 37 countries, spanning five continents. The 80 startups pitched their ideas to the corporate partners and experts in Bühler’s CUBIC innovation center last week.
Out east, a team of researchers from Korea has published a paper on developing a substitute for eggs using microorganisms. It is expected that the development of egg substitutes using non-animal raw materials will solve the problems of factory farming, which causes problems such as increased emission of greenhouse gas and waste, and contribute to building a sustainable food system that allows easy protein intake.
We were also pleased to hear that the Biden-Harris Administration, through the US Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, has announced it is slated to award approximately US$51 million to the iFAB Tech Hub, a consortium led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to implement four projects that will bolster the region’s ability to scale up the production and delivery of critical technologies that will advance food and industrial applications of biotechnology. Let’s hope a Trump-led government doesn’t just tear all of this amazing progress down!
As usual, there’s much more online, and don’t forget to follow our LinkedIn page for the stories as they go live…
Not on the list
With increasing consumer demand for healthier, less-processed alt protein products that have short lists of recognizable ingredients, is ‘clean label’ the driving force for companies wanting a share of this marketplace? Or is the term itself becoming merely a marketing tool? The answer, as Louise Davis discovers, lies somewhere in the middle
Exploring how New Wave Biotech’s AI software aims to revolutionize bioprocess development
New Wave Biotech’s AI software acts as a virtual lab, simulating vast numbers of experiments to dramatically reduce development time and costs. The result? Cheaper, more accessible alternative proteins, and in doing so accelerating their journey to becoming a mainstream sustainable food source. The company’s CEO & Co-founder, Zoe Yu Tung Law explains more
The Future of Protein Production Amsterdam is Europe's meeting place for accelerating the commercialization of alternative proteins. The conference and exhibition will showcase more than 40 exhibitors, over 100 speakers and bring together more than 400 people.
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