Cultures, enzymes, yeast

Butter’s time to shine? The innovations churning up traditional spreads

06-Dec-2023 By Flora Southey

After decades of ‘very little’ innovation by heritage brands, is butter (and its plant-based counterparts) having a moment? FoodNavigator investigates.

Chr Hansen bets on bubbling growth for alcohol-free trend: ‘We expect the taste and quality of beers to advance’

14-Nov-2023 By Flora Southey

The quality of non-alcoholic beer is on the up. So too is the number of consumers opting for alcohol-free tipples for different drinking occasions, observes Chr Hansen, who is expanding its offerings for the non-alcoholic brewing industry.

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Industry Insights from NIZO: Great flavour without compromise for plant-based food

26-Oct-2023 By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager

To successfully launch a plant-based product onto the market today, businesses have to go above and beyond in flavour to stand out. How can a new, more holistic flavour approach put an end to organoleptic compromise?

Aged black garlic extract may improve blood pressure, study suggests

10-Oct-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

A new study has shown that aged black garlic extract can be used to relieve high blood pressure in people with Grade-1 hypertension who are already receiving prescribed drug treatment.

Cultivated tuna company to accelerate pilot production after funding round

09-Oct-2023 By Oliver Morrison

FoodTech start-up Wanda Fish Technologies has secured $7 million (€6.6 mn) in seed funding to accelerate pilot production of cultivated bluefin Tuna.

‘More than mylk’: Alternatives to coffee, cocoa, salt and sugar on the table at Mylkcubator 3.0

27-Sep-2023 By Flora Southey

The Mylkcubator programme has largely focused on next-gen dairy innovation to date. But for the incubator’s third edition, dairy-major Pascual wants to expand its focus to alt coffee, cocoa, salt, sugar and more.

‘The only barrier now is regulation’: UK cultivated meat company urges urgent approvals overhaul to allow industry to flourish

22-Sep-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Ivy Farm Technologies sounded the warning it will look to open its first production facility in another country, likely the US, if the Food Standards Authority drags its feet on giving regulatory approval to this fledgling industry.

‘A vitamin B12 deficiency can have very unpleasant consequences’: Can B12 work in plant-based meat?

20-Sep-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Despite the abundance of NPDs for plant-based meat in recent years, concerns about nutrition still resound in the sector. There are many nutrients, critics claim, that are difficult to find outside of animal products. One of these is B12. Yet it is possible...

Yeast ingredients show ‘great potential’ as alternative proteins in the food industry, project reveals

07-Sep-2023 By Oliver Morrison

More than 70% of German and Swedish consumers liked appetizer spreads made with fermented yeast ingredients, claims the NextGen Proteins project.

‘A strong vote of confidence’: Alt protein made from spent yeast backed by Lesaffre

04-Sep-2023 By Flora Southey

The world’s largest producer of ‘natural’ food ingredients derived from microorganisms is taking a 10% share in Israeli alternative protein maker Yeap.

‘Many businesses are not aware that there is a way to safely preserve these materials’: Trouw Nutrition on the business and environmental case for repurposing waste

01-Sep-2023 By Oliver Morrison

FoodNavigator caught up with Evelien van Donselaar at Trouw Nutrition to learn more about the ‘untapped’ opportunities for the food sector to explore circular production models.

Food-tech firm announces new funding to develop sustainable oils and fats technology

16-Aug-2023 By Oliver Morrison

UK-based bio-tech business Clean Food Group has announced a further £2.3 million in funding to accelerate the commercialisation of its sustainable oils and fats technology

From securing cross-sector collaboration to managing red tape: tips for food tech start-ups traversing today’s headwinds

09-Aug-2023 By Oliver Morrison

In a squeezed investment climate, we spoke to Fiona Choppe-Magal, Partner, Foodtech and Agritech, at Israel-based Cukierman Investment House, who reveals some crucial advice for Europe’s agrifood tech entrepreneurs to maximize their chances in dealings...

‘We're all pioneering great steps forward’: Dutch cultivated meat start-up Meatable eyes market entry in 2024 after $35m fundraise

08-Aug-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Recent landmark cell-based meat applications in Europe are ‘more good news’ for the region’s food tech, says Meatable.

UK’s first cultivated meat approval submitted

04-Aug-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Aleph Farms’ submission comes a week after the startup applied for approval in Switzerland.

First application for cultivated meat approval in Europe submitted

26-Jul-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Israel’s Aleph Farms has submitted an application for regulatory approval to the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) with the goal of selling Aleph Cuts in Switzerland.

Young consumers ‘partial’ to gene-edited crops as EU seeks revised GMO rules

05-Jul-2023 By Oliver Morrison

As the European Commission proposes allowing the use of new genomic techniques to grow climate-resistant crops with better nutritional value, young Europeans would be support genetically modified (GM) food if it gave them a health boost, new research...

Alt dairy bottleneck: start-up calls for collaboration to speed non-animal casein production

27-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Dutch fermentation specialist Fooditive claims it has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of non-animal casein production at an industrial scale and is now hoping to collaborate with a ‘like-minded partners’ to navigate Novel Food approval in the...

Precision fermentation: Future of dairy or busted flush?

23-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

There was a notable failure in the US for ‘one of the world’s first next generation cheese alternatives’. But that shouldn’t detract from the potential benefits that precision fermentation technology can bring to the dairy alternatives category, FoodNavigator’s...

UK start-up raises $30M to scale cultured meat using RNA technology

13-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Uncommon, formerly called Higher Steaks, leverages RNA, the molecule that contains the chemical instructions that direct cells’ natural machinery into making a protein, to create cultivated bacon and pork belly from animal cells.

UK mulls rule changes to allow faster cultivated meat and animal-free dairy approvals

09-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The UK is considering novel foods regulation changes that could speed cell-based meat and precision fermentation approvals.

SuperMeat on why its business model is key to overcoming cultivated meat industry bottlenecks

06-Jun-2023 By Oliver Morrison

We caught up with Ido Savir, CEO & Co-founder at the Israeli cultured meat start-up.

Upfield prepares for dairy parity with plant-based butter, cream and cheese: ‘Only technology will close the gap in taste and texture’

05-Jun-2023 By Flora Southey

The company says its plant-based butter is already as good as its conventional counterpart, and plans to close any taste and texture gaps in dairy-free creams and cheeses within the next three years.

Fungi breeding for food: Meet the start-up developing new fungal strains previously thought to be asexual

30-May-2023 By Flora Southey

UK-based Myconeos is creating new fungal strains for food applications ranging from cheese to plant-based products.

Inside the dairy: How is ‘king of cheeses’ Parmigiano Reggiano made?

22-May-2023 By Flora Southey

Consumer turnover of Parmigiano Reggiano recently hit an all-time high of €2.9bn. What is it about this famed cheese that makes it unique? And as a premium product, what systems do producers put in place to protect against potential food fraud? FoodNavigator...

'The most important agent of disease in plants is fungi' - Fungal infections threaten the world’s supply chain

04-May-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Fungal infections destroy a significant amount of crops worldwide. Scientists have warned that the crop losses due to fungal infections cause hundreds of thousands of people to miss out on calories they could have if the crops survived. And this will...

‘There is a need for raising awareness’ - Brixton Brewery provides information and photo booths ahead of England local elections

03-May-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Tomorrow, 4 May, England will vote in its local elections, where the public will elect councillors for district and metropolitan councils and unitary authorities. Many young people are not aware that, under new laws, voters must have photo ID in order...

‘The alternative protein space is coming to terms with the reality of what is needed to build self-sustaining businesses’: The challenge of scaling up plant-based production and manufacturing

28-Apr-2023 By Oliver Morrison

The recent Plant-Based Protein Manufacturing Summit in Amsterdam brought together leading businesses in the plant-based food and beverage industry with co-manufacturers, innovative equipment and solution providers to explore the challenges and opportunities...

UK government invests £12m in sustainable protein hub

14-Apr-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

The UK government has invested £12m (€13.57) in a new research centre to grow sustainable protein and cultivated meat. This will be the largest investment yet made by the government in sustainable proteins.

‘A laughably self-serving study’: Industry backlash over fake manuka honey claims

14-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

New Zealand’s manuka industry is being accused of misleading consumers after it alleged honey derived from species other than the Leptospermum outside of New Zealand is inauthentic.

‘What is naturalness?’ The future of plant-based food

12-Apr-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Plant-based is one of the most important trends in the food industry today. Meat- and dairy-free products are helping provide food alternatives to an ever-growing flexitarian market. But some questions still remain. For one, since many plant-based foods...

Danone targets adult gamers with move towards the metaverse: ‘It’s something of a test and learn’

12-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

Probiotic drinking yoghurt brand Actimel is making preliminary steps towards the metaverse with the launch of an in-game marketing campaign via Fortnite. “It’s a first of its kind for Actimel in raising awareness of the brand with a difference audience,”...

‘New sustainable frontiers’: CSM ramps up fats & oils development with microorganisms and plants

11-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

CSM Ingredients wants to uncover ‘sustainable frontiers’ in fats and oils – including plant-based oil replacements made from microorganisms – with the inauguration of a new Innovation Center in Delmenhorst, Germany.

Hybrid alt cheese made with dairy, faba and mealworms ‘similar or superior’ to the real thing

05-Apr-2023 By Flora Southey

Could a hybrid cheese analogue – which swaps out some dairy for faba protein and mealworm flour – improve nutrition and sensory properties? Researchers investigate.

Sugars reduced in berry fruit juice by up to 50% using sugar-reducing beads

05-Apr-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Better Juice, an Israeli start-up, has used sugar reduction technology to lower the levels of sugar in its fruit juices, including, in a recent trial, several berry-based juices. Their technology is able to reduce three sugars found in fruit juices –...

Anti-innovation and consumer choice? Italy moves to ban lab-grown meat, cheese and fish

03-Apr-2023 By Oliver Morrison

First it was Nutri-Score. Now Italy is waging war on lab-grown food to preserve its famous gastronomic heritage.

Meet the start-up on a mission to solve the challenge of delivering more effective probiotics and bioactives

22-Mar-2023 By Oliver Morrison

Danish start-up Mello is vying to advance current ‘state of art’ microencapsulation techniques after unveiling a new proprietary technology that it claims is able to better deliver functionally effective probiotics and bioactives. How?

Is interest in gut health propelling the pickled category? ‘Kimchi has moved into the mainstream’

20-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

From kefir to kimchi, sauerkraut to kombucha, fermented foods are trending. Nick ‘The Pickles Man’ Vadasz puts this down, at least in part, to increased consumer awareness around gut health and the microbiome.

Researchers accelerate Danish cheese production with ripening 'shortcut'

20-Mar-2023 By Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

Once, Danish Danbo cheese would take at least a month to mature. However, researchers from the DTU National Food Institute have figured out a way of cutting down this time to just a few days – putting the cheese in a fermentation tank to create prime...

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Industry Insights from NIZO: Developing a plant-based product? Don’t ignore Listeria risks!

15-Mar-2023 By René Floris, NIZO Food Research Division Manager

While Listeria is generally associated with ready-to-eat foods such as dairy cheeses and deli meats, manufacturers cannot ignore the potential risk in plant-based products, says NIZO.

Food Fermentation Europe: Advocating for ‘non-discriminatory, market-based’ regulatory framework for precision fermentation

15-Mar-2023 By Flora Southey

Precision fermentation leaders have banded together to launch Food Fermentation Europe (FFE), an alliance seeking to revamp current regulatory processes it describes as ‘far too lengthy and opaque’.

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