The Cultured Hub Facility Finally Opens, Positioning Switzerland as a Leader in Scaling Cell-Based Foods
The Cultured Hub has launched a “scale-up as a service” facility for cell-based foods in The Valley in Kemptthal, Switzerland, and celebrated its opening yesterday with the State of Play Cultured Foods 2.0 event. The Cultured Hub is a joint venture between three Swiss industry giants — Migros, Givaudan, and Bühler Group as first announced in 2021 — that aims to leverage their extensive food processing and product development experience to …
Farmless Secures €1M EU Grant to Validate its “Dramatically Efficient” Landless Protein Production
Dutch fermentation startup Farmless has secured a €1 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Farmless produces functional proteins with a complete amino acid profile for the F&B industry. Its air-based fermentation process uses microorganisms powered by CO2, hydrogen, nitrogen, and renewable energy-produced feedstock rather than sugar to produce protein “dramatically” more efficiently than animal farming. With the funds, the startup will demonstrate and optimize its fermentation method …
NAPIC Becomes Latest Alternative Protein Innovation Centre to Open in the UK
The National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC) has been formally launched at the UK’s University of Leeds. It comes after the centre received £15 million in investment from two government funding bodies — the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK. NAPIC is hosted by the University of Leeds and co-led with the James Hutton Institute, the University of Sheffield, and Imperial College London. Its aim is …
NovelSweets Project Develops Protein-Based Sweetener 10,000 Times Sweeter Than Table Sugar
Researchers at Fraunhofer IME have partnered with metaX Institut für Diätetik GmbH and candidum GmbH to develop a new type of protein-based sweetener. Called NovelSweets, the project is supporting the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in its efforts to reduce the sugar content of ready-made foods and beverages. The new sweetener is made from sweet-tasting proteins, molecules that occur naturally in some plants and bind readily to taste …
Danish Scientists and Michelin-Starred Chefs Explore New Mycelium From Oyster Mushrooms for Meat Alternatives
Scientists from the Technical University of Denmark, collaborating with chefs from the Michelin-starred restaurant Alchemist in Copenhagen, have found that mycelium from oyster mushrooms (P. ostreatus) has excellent potential and acceptance as an alternative to meat and seafood. Although oyster mushrooms are widely consumed, the culinary qualities and food safety of their root structure have thus far never been explored. But, as part of a project funded by the Good …
Is Cultivated Meat Vegan? The Vegan Society Says “Not Enough to Support it”
The Vegan Society acknowledges that cultivated meat has potential benefits, such as reducing animal slaughter and suffering, environmental improvements (less land and water usage, reduced greenhouse emissions), reduced zoonotic disease risks, and decreased antibiotic resistance. However, the organization states, “Cultivated meat is not vegan. Furthermore, it may never be considered vegan.” In a newly released research briefing, The Vegan Society discusses the intersections between veganism, ethics, and cultivated meat, highlighting …
Cradle Secures $73M to Revolutionize Planetary Health with AI-Driven Protein Engineering
AI biotech company Cradle has raised $73 million in a Series B funding round led by IVP and backed by Index Ventures and Kindred Capital, bringing its total funding to over $100 million. Based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Zurich, Switzerland, Cradle was founded by ex-Googlers Stef van Grieken (CEO) and Daniel Danciu (CTO) in 2021 to make biology engineering more accessible and efficient with AI. Its team comprises machine learning …
Infinite Roots Brings Mycelium-Based Meat to South Korea Via Pulmuone After Hitting Regulatory Roadblock in EU
Hamburg-based Infinite Roots (formerly Mushlabs) announces the retail launch of its first mycelium-based meat products developed with Pulmuone, one of the three leading South Korean food manufacturers along with CJ CheilJedang and Daesang Corporation. The initial line offered by this strategic partnership consists of mycelium-based meat burger patties and meatballs, which have launched under Pulmuone’s recognized Earth Diet line. The collaboration was initiated earlier this year to introduce a wide …
French Cultivated Leather Startup Faircraft Secures €15M to Meet Demand for Ethical Materials
France’s Faircraft, a cultivated leather startup based in Paris, announces it has raised €15 million to expand its team and scale up operations to meet the increasing demand for sustainable materials. Faircraft was founded in 2021 by CEO Haïkel Balti, an engineer in materials science, and biochemist César Valencia Gallardo. Leveraging cell biology and unique tissue engineering techniques, they aim to offer a new class of materials with a lower …
Impossible Foods Approaches EU Approval Following Second Positive EFSA Opinion
Impossible Foods has moved another step closer to selling its products in the EU after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms ruled that its soy leghemoglobin (heme) is safe to eat. The heme is produced using a form of modified yeast, which is cultivated in tanks using precision fermentation. It enables Impossible Foods’ plant-based meat to “bleed” and provides a meaty taste. Impossible Foods initiated …