October 2023 - Issue 2 Yuval Gilad, FreezeM Our technology unleashes the insect market from its shackles Brad Rude, Cargill How insects can help feed the world Dr. Louise Buttle, dsm-firmenich SCP: Meeting the protein gap and enabling sustainable aquaculture www.feedandadditive.com TRENDING ISSUE by Feed Additive Magazine Alternative Proteins
Publisher Muhammed Akatay [email protected] Responsible Manager Özlem Buyruk Akatay [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Derya Yıldız [email protected] Editors Bahadır Büyükkılıç Burak Varol [email protected] Design Alper Kandemir [email protected] Web Design Caner Cem Pulat [email protected] Proofreading Lisa Atakul [email protected] Circulation and Data Responsible Amine Şengün [email protected] Ataturk St. Metropol Istanbul Ste. Block C1, No:376 Atasehir, Istanbul/TURKEY Phone: +90 850 220 5064 E-Mail: [email protected] Web: www.feedandadditive.com Publication Type: Periodic (Twice a year) © Three Plus Media | All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the written permission of the publisher. *DISCLAIMER: All views and ideas expressed in articles published in the magazine reflect the point of views of the author(s), not that of the Editor-in-Chief, Editors, Editorial Board or Publisher of Feed & Additive Magazine. The Editor-in-Chief, Editors, Editorial Board and Publisher assume no responsibility or liability in such cases. The publisher does not give any warranty and representation to the accuracy or completeness of the contents and data published in the magazine. All responsibility of the contents, articles and information published in the magazine belongs to the authors. The publisher and the authors cannot be held responsible for any damages resulting from the use of the whole or part of the content of the magazine. feedandadditive Alternative Proteins + The alternative proteins industry, which aims to offer new solutions to issues such as sustainability, environmental impact, health and animal welfare in food production, has been experiencing a rapid growth process in recent years. According to various sources, the size of the global alternative proteins market is estimated to range between $2.2 billion and $22 billion in 2021, depending on the definition and scope of the market. For example, according to InsightAce Analytic's latest research, the value of the global alternative proteins market, which was $13.82 billion in 2021, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.63% during the forecast period 2022-2030 and reach $33.72 billion by 2030. It is also among the data included in the reports that the fastest growing segment in this growth process will be insect-based proteins. Of course, this growth will vary depending on factors such as increasing consumer demand, technological innovation, cost reduction and regulatory support, but it is an important indicator to display the potential of the industry. The alternative proteins industry, which focuses on developing sustainable solutions for both animal nutrition and human food, has to overcome many challenges and answer the questions that cause concern about it with strong and versatile research, while trying to fulfil the goals assigned to it and accelerating the growth process. Some challenges to be overcome and questions to be answered can be listed as follows: production technologies and costs, production on a commercializable scale, regulatory approvals, consumer acceptability, adequate environmental impact research, nutritional value for animal and human nutrition, whether it poses a risk in terms of food safety, etc. While the alternative proteins industry continues to work to meet the needs of consumers, develop technology and adapt to the food system, we, as the Feed & Additive magazine team, continue to follow the developments closely. And we will continue to share all these developments in the industry with you through this trending issue “Alternative Proteins”, which will be published twice in 2024, and and contribute to the development of the process with the communication power of publishing. We hope you enjoy reading this new issue, which includes content on different alternative protein sources, from developments in the insect industry to single-cell proteins, from studies in the field of cultured meat to plant-based proteins. Enjoy your reading... Hope to see you in the next issue! EDITOR While the alternative proteins market grows... Derya YILDIZ
Sustainability goals and raw material scarcity mean by-products from the food and beverage industry is now seen as a viable, nutritious source of energy for animals. Trouw Nutrition offers solutions to help the industry use resources more efficiently and move towards a circular, more sustainable economy. THE BENEFITS FOOD2FEED QUALITY Reduce landfill Upcycle by-products Maintain nutritional value Sustainable alternatives that make a little go a long way Learn more, visit www.selko.com
QL AG partners with Ginkgo Bioworks to develop dairy proteins 7 Manna Insect Oy introduces Manna MIND Gen2 for insect farmers 6 CULT Food Science partners with Everything But for cell-cultivated chicken 12 Mosa Meat becomes world’s first B Corp Certified cultivated meat company 15 Andritz opens test center for the food and feed industry 8 Bühler and Entocycle join forces for industrial insect production 13 Veolia starts to export insect meal and oil to Europe 16 Agronutris to build one of world’s largest industrial sites for insect breeding 9 Tyson Foods and Protix join forces for sustainable protein production 10 Novozymes redefines plant-based meat experience with its new biosolution 14 NEWS CON T E N T S INTERVIEWS OUR TECHNOLOGY UNLEASHES THE INSECT MARKET FROM ITS SHACKLES Yuval Gilad, FreezeM 18 A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE FOR GOTERRA, FGS AND THE AUSTRALIAN INSECT INDUSTRY Olympia Yarger, Goterra 24
CON T E N T S ARTICLES 28 ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPARENCY: A LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS OF SPRŸNG’S PRODUCT LINE Maximilien Jouy, Ynsect 42 SINGLE CELL PROTEIN: MEETING THE PROTEIN GAP AND ENABLING SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE Dr. Louise Buttle, dsm-firmenich 31 PRECISION BIOLOGICS – THE CATALYSTS OF CHANGE IN DISEASE PREVENTION Dr. Sarah Zaytsoff, NovoBind Livestock Therapeutics 44 ARE INSECTS THE PROTEIN OF THE FUTURE? José C. Soares, The Tomorrow Company, Portugal 34 HOW INSECTS CAN HELP FEED THE WORLD Brad Rude, Cargill Aqua Nutrition 38 CAN THE FEED SECTOR REALLY TRANSFORM ITSELF INTO A ‘SUSTAINABLE SECTOR’? Nick Piggott, Nutrition Technologies 48 THE FUTURE OF CULTURED MEAT AND ITS IMPACT ON LIVESTOCK Dr Jean-François Hocquette & Dr Marie-Pierre Ellies-Oury & Dr Sghaier Chriki, INRAE ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS ARE NOT THE ONLY SOLUTION, BUT THEY HAVE A CLEAR ROLE... Stella Child, the Good Food Institute Europe 53 REPORTS GLOBAL CULTURED MEAT MARKET SIZE TO REACH $592 MILLION IN 2030 58 SINGLE-CELL PROTEIN MARKET OUTLOOK 61 RESEARCH NEW FRACTION FROM INSECT MEAL TESTED IN FEED 56
NEWS 6 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 Agritech company Manna Insect Oy announced Manna MIND Gen2, the world’s first technology that enables converting almost any kind of space, such as a shipping container or a warehouse, into an automatically climate-controlled and -optimized insect farming facility. According to the company’s statement, the Manna MIND Gen2 also optimizes power consumption, so an insect farming facility can be run even with solar panels alone, it works on all voltage levels, and enables farming insects profitably anywhere in the world, in any climate or weather conditions. The solution’s 1st generation version is already in use with customers on five continents, and it specializes in managing the climatization of used 20ft sea containers that are refurbished into insect rearing facilities. Manna Insect solves biowaste and animal feed problems with a set of solutions that are specialized in the utilization of black soldier fly (BSF) to upcycle organic waste into cost-efficient and nutritious animal feed and organic fertilizer. Manna MIND is a sensor and control unit that manages all equipment within an insect rearing facility to optimize the growth or breeding conditions to be optimal at each stage of the larvae growth cycle, making the facility the perfect environment for both upcycling of biowaste at maximum efficiency. The unit ensures that the larvae to grow as much as possible during the rearing cycle, thus creating more animal feed in the form of insect protein, and better-quality fertilizer as a side product. Manna MIND enables insect farming to be operated as a completely standalone setup even in rural farms, remote islands and fish farms, or can be set up in a factory backyard or supermarket parking lot. Farming of black soldier fly with Manna Insect’s solution requires minimal human input and workload, only approx. 6 hours for the 10-day growth period, which makes the whole insect production process extremely cost-efficient and thus profitable for a farmer. Read more>> Manna Insect Oy introduces Manna MIND Gen2 for insect farmers dsm-firmenich develops carbon net zero Single Cell Proteins dsm-firmenich announced that it has developed new, industry-leading, Single-Cell Proteins (SCPs) that have the capacity for the production of net-zero carbon protein to help meet demand and feed the global population within planetary boundaries. The company stated that SCP will ensure the sustainability of food systems by partially decoupling animal production from conventional inputs and associated challenges, e.g., fertilizer use, deforestation, and water while helping to fill the projected protein gap. The use of SCPs as an animal feed ingredient is a game-changer that can reduce the land and water footprint required for animal farming and contribute to 1.5 degrees of global warming goals, according to dsm-firmenich. SCPs are in essence a protein production powerhouse produced by fermentation technology. These proteins have an incredible potential for scalability. With very high growth rates these organisms can produce a considerable amount of protein compared to their initial weight and are the frontrunner when it comes to emerging proteins. These naturally occurring microorganisms can convert platform molecules into proteins, perfectly suited to replace fishmeal, wheat gluten, guar meal, soy or pea protein concentrates, and other plant proteins. SCP provides a readily available, protein-rich microbial biomass, in the form of yeast, bacteria, or fungi. This can be achieved by combining biotechnology with new bioscience to train and evolve microorganisms to become super protein producers and maximise the nutritional value of the non-protein part of the cell structures. Read more>>
NEWS F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 7 Bioflytech, one of Europe’s leading companies in the production of industrial insect protein for animal feed, announced that work is progressing well on the plant it is building in Palas de Rei, in the Spanish autonomous region of Galicia. According to the company’s statement, the rendering and drying plants are being set up, and in the coming weeks the first of the six fattening halls will start operations, each of which will produce 2,000 tonnes of fresh black soldier fly larvae per year, until reaching the maximum production capacity of this first phase, of 12,000 tonnes per year, during 1Q2024. In the coming years, further major investments are planned in this plant in order to reach 100,000 tonnes per year of black soldier fly larvae production. This new, second Bioflytech plant – the other is located in Fuente Álamo, in the Spanish region of Murcia – is equipped with a gas rendering installation designed by the company and unique in the market, a disruptive technology that will make it possible to manufacture tailor-made flours with specific percentages of protein and fats according to the customer’s demands, and which is set to revolutionise the insect protein flour production sector. The Palas de Rei plant will also have a second conventional rendering line, which is currently in the testing phase and is expected to start production this November.Bioflytech was founded in 2012 as a biotechnology company linked to the University of Alicante. Six years later, the company Moira Capital acquired the majority of its capital, and at the end of 2019 moved its operations to Fuente Álamo. Read more>> Bioflytech constructions its second plant for BSF larvae production in Spain QL AG, an innovative food technology solutions company, announced a new collaboration to develop dairy proteins with Ginkgo Bioworks, which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity. QL AG will tap into Ginkgo’s extensive capabilities in strain engineering across multiple chassis organisms to support its goal of providing the market with high-quality nutritionally equivalent dairy proteins. The dairy industry faces significant pressures as climate change continues to lead to a reduction in arable land and water. Across the world, supply chain disruptions are increasing input costs and consumers are seeking out more healthy, tasty, sustainable, and affordable food options and alternatives to animal agriculture. As a result, the alternative dairy market has grown by tens of billions of dollars in recent years. Yet, current dairy alternatives still fall short of consumer criteria on critical factors like taste and texture. “Dairy proteins derived using fermentation have advantages across many key dimensions, including taste and texture, as well as the fact that they have no arable land requirement and a lower water requirement,” said Roger Föhn, CEO and co-founder of QL AG. “By accessing Ginkgo’s platform, QL AG can help reduce the cost of producing dairy proteins with fermentation. We are excited to pursue our goal of making a quantum leap in alternative agriculture by leveraging Ginkgo’s unique capabilities in producing strains at high titers and scaling fermentation processes.” Read more>> QL AG partners with Ginkgo Bioworks to develop dairy proteins
NEWS 8 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 Islamic scholars: Cultivated meat can be halal if production meets certain criteria GOOD Meat, the cultivated meat division of food technology company Eat Just, Inc., announced that a group of leading Islamic scholars has advised the firm that real meat made from cells, without raising and slaughtering animals, can be halal if production meets certain criteria. Answering this theological question is a meaningful step forward for international acceptance of cultivated meat since halal consumers represent about 25% of the world’s population, according to the company. This landmark Shariah opinion from a trio of well-respected scholars in Saudi Arabia comes as cultivated meat begins to enter commerce in the United States and consumers around the world are learning how meat made in this new way can help address global food systems challenges connected to climate change, food safety, food security and animal welfare. With the Muslim population rapidly increasing, so too is their meat consumption. The global halal meat market was a US$202 billion business in 2021 and is estimated to reach US$375.05 billion by 2030, according to some estimates. The Shariah scholars reviewed documentation prepared by GOOD Meat and attorneys at AlDhabaan & Partners in association with Eversheds Sutherland that described how cultivated chicken, the company’s first product, is made. The panel studied details about how the cells are sourced and selected, the ingredients fed to the cells to stimulate growth, how the cells are harvested, and how finished products are manufactured. Read more>> Andritz opens test center for the food and feed industry International technology group Andritz opened a leading-edge test and research center for the food and feed industry in Waddinxveen, the Netherlands. The Food Innovation Xperience center will be the development and technology hub where customers and Andritz’s experts team up to turn visions into reality. The test center is equipped with the latest milling, extraction, dewatering, and drying technologies from Andritz, enabling customers to conduct feasibility studies, and pilot plant tests for scale-up or R&D activities under food-grade or even ATEX conditions. Covering a total area of 850 m2, the center is available to customers in the food and feed industry as well as to research and development organizations. Developing new, sustainable food ingredients and food manufacturing processes has become particularly important today as food and feed manufacturers must respond to the fast-changing market and consumer demands, governmental regulations, and environmental requirements. “In this context, it is essential to act quickly and scale-up new ideas, make existing production processes more efficient, and reduce operations’ environmental impact, like freshwater consumption or CO2 footprint,” explains Marco Buis, Managing Director at Andritz Gouda B.V. “Our Food Innovation Xperience center offers customers the opportunity to determine the best possible manufacturing process for their need, building on latest technologies and line solutions as well as expert support from Andritz.” Read more>>
NEWS F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 9 Agronutris, a French biotech company specialising in breeding and processing insects for food, decided to locate its second industrial site in Rethel, right next to its first plant. This new facility will create one of the world’s largest industrial sites dedicated to insects in the Ardennes. In June, the elected representatives of the Pays Rethélois local council community voted unanimously to sell the 10 ha of land housing the second plant. The two plants will now cover a total surface area of 56,000 m2 on a site covering almost 20 ha. Ultimately, the site will process more than 280,000 tonnes of by-products and bio-residues from the local area, producing almost 30,000 tonnes of insect meal. It will also create 200 direct jobs in the region over the next few years. “Situated at the crossroads of Europe, the Ardennes have an optimal logistical network and significant sources of the inputs we need to feed our insects. The creation of this large-scale industrial site, with two plants in close proximity to each other, will create strong operational synergies and ensure continuity in our deployment,” explains Mehdi Berrada, co-founder of Agronutris. Read more>> Agronutris to build one of world’s largest industrial sites for insect breeding Goterra, a leading provider of innovative waste management solutions, and Future Green Solutions (FGS), a pioneer in Black Soldier Fly production, launched a new partnership aimed at transforming the future of food waste management. This relationship marks a significant milestone for both companies and the Australian insect industry. Under their agreement FGS will supply Black Soldier Fly (BSF) eggs to Goterra, supplementing their existing egg supply to fulfill new contracts, including their largest site to date in Wetherill Park Sydney, with Woolworths as the foundation customer. Duncan Rowland, Chair of the Insect Protein Association Australia (IPAA) commented: “By leveraging the expertise of these two industry leaders we can drive new opportunities, encourage smarter supply chains and shape the sustainable agriculture landscape in Australia.” The IPAA is the industry body for participants in the Australian insect industry. The IPAA promotes the development of insects for animal feed and human food, advocating for an environmentally and economically sustainable local industry. Olympia Yarger, CEO of Goterra, said: “This is the culmination of 6 years of shared experience between Goterra and FGS. We could not be happier to embark on this innovative collaboration with FGS. We recognise the urgent need to address global challenges such as waste management and food security, and through this partnership, we can be more effective at tackling these issues head-on.” Read more>> Goterra and FGS announce significant partnership for insect industry
NEWS 10 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 Tyson Foods and Protix join forces for sustainable protein production Simple Planet takes one step closer to commercialising cell-based food ingredients Tyson Foods, Inc., one of the world’s largest food companies, reached an agreement for a two-fold investment with Protix, the leading global insect ingredients company. The strategic investment will support the growth of the emerging insect ingredient industry and expand the use of insect ingredient solutions to create more efficient sustainable proteins and lipids for use in the global food system. The agreement combines Tyson Foods’ global scale, experience and network with Protix’s technology and market leadership to meet current market demand and scale production of insect ingredients. Through a direct equity investment, Tyson Foods will acquire a minority stake in Protix to help fund its global expansion. In addition, Tyson Foods and Protix have entered a joint venture for the operation and construction of an insect ingredient facility in the continental United States. Upon completion, it will be the first at-scale facility of its kind to upcycle food manufacturing byproducts into high-quality insect proteins and lipids which will primarily be used in the pet food, aquaculture, and livestock industries. “Our partnership with Protix represents the latest strategic investment by Tyson Foods in groundbreaking solutions that drive added value to Tyson Foods’ business,” said John R. Tyson, chief financial officer of Tyson Foods. “The insect lifecycle provides the opportunity for full circularity within our value chain, strengthening our commitment to building a more sustainable food system for the future.” Kees Aarts, CEO of Protix, said: “We are very excited to announce the next step in our international growth strategy. Tyson Foods’ and Protix’s strategic partnership advances our joint work towards creating high-quality, more sustainable protein using innovative technology and solutions. Moreover, we can immediately use their existing byproducts as feedstock for our insects. This agreement is a major milestone for Protix and significantly accelerates our ambition to grow through international partnerships.” Read more>> Simple Planet, one of the biotech food companies that develops functional food ingredients with a cell culture platform and cell organization technology, developed a low-cost probiotics-based serum-free edible culture medium to replace the conventional FBS (fetal bovine serum), which currently accounts for over 80% of cell-based food production costs. According to the company, this cost reduction along with plans to establish branches in the U.S. and Canada will enable faster entry towards the commercialization of cellbased food. “Simple Planet’s cell-based food ingredients will be supplied diversely as target materials in the global cultivated meat market, and we are preparing for commercialization and global market entry starting with the establishment of our North American branches in the second half of 2023,” said Il Doo Jeong, CEO of Simple Planet. The increasing population and
NEWS F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 11 demands for conventional meat present challenges that the traditional food production system cannot cope with, the company stated. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, land used for the livestock industry accounts for 83% of the world’s agricultural land, and one-third of global grain production is processed as feed grains. Cellular agriculture is now emerging as a solution to overcome such resource constraints, thereby promoting biodiversity maintenance and resource circulation, according to Simple Planet. Simple Planet uniquely participates in this trend by isolating cells from livestock tissues and cultivating them in large quantities to produce cell-based ingredients such as alternative protein and unsaturated fats in a powdered or paste form, instead of the widely-developed hybrid cultivated meat form. These high-protein powders and customizable unsaturated fatty acids can be used as food ingredients with unlimited applications. They can enhance absorption and improve the flavor and the nutritional structure of any conventional food product, and can also be used as specialized functional ingredients targeting seniors and infants. Simple Planet’s technology and innovation have been acknowledged globally. It ranked on the 2022 Food-tech 500 presented by Food Forwarding in the UK, which selects groundbreaking start-ups in the agri-food tech landscape, and they were the only Asia-based finalist selected in MassChallenge Switzerland 2023, an early-stage startup accelerator. Simple Planet signed an investment agreement with Pulmuone, a plant-based food manufacturing company in Korea, to accelerate its product commercialization. Read more>>
NEWS 12 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 CULT Food Science partners with Everything But for cell-cultivated chicken CULT Food Science Corp., a pioneer in the investment, development, and commercialization of cellular agriculture technologies and products, announced a partnership with Korean pet foods startup Everything But to supply cell-cultivated chicken for the company’s stable of sustainable pet food brands. In collaboration with Everything But, the Company will be including cell-cultivated chicken in its dog and cat foods brands, which currently include Noochies! Cultivated Pet Food, Marina Cat and Indiana Pet Foods. “Our collaboration with Everything But is illustrative of our commitment to shaping the future of food at a truly global scale. These ingredients will allow us to reach even more customers with innovative products,” said Lejjy Gafour, CEO of CULT. Cell-cultivated chicken was recently approved for sale in the United States for human consumption. The regulatory pathway in pet food requires approval from the Center For Veterinary Medicine, a branch of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. According to the company’s statement, chicken is the leading animal protein consumed by cats and dogs in the United States. Read more>> Bühler, the Swiss technology group, and NRGene Technologies Ltd., an Israeli genomics company, announced a strategic collaboration in the field of black soldier fly (BSF) genetics and processing. The two companies are combining their expertise to provide solutions and services to this rapidly evolving industry. The partnership between Bühler and NRGene offers BSF producers a comprehensive solution that incorporates Bühler’s high-end equipment and engineering capabilities and NRGene’s novel genetics and AI-based genomics tools. Production equipment and tailor made high-performance BSF strains are integrated into a customized solution that ensures cost-effective industrial scale production from the start. “The insect industry is still optimizing its production costs. Advances in insect genetics are key for achieving this. The benefit of genetics is already demonstrated in traditional agriculture. Combining the tailored insect strains with our advanced industrial techBühler and NRGene collaborate to increase competitiveness of black soldier fly industry
NEWS F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 13 Bühler, one of the world’s leading processing technology groups, and Entocycle, an insect technology company, joined forces to drive adoption of large-scale black soldier fly (BSF) farms. The companies will provide solutions and expertise to serve customers in this segment, covering the multiple steps of the journey, from concept and basic engineering to execution of BSF facilities worldwide. The non-exclusive partnership creates a highly complementary offering with Entocycle delivering proprietary breeding technology and Bühler bringing proven industrial-scale technologies in feedstock processing, larvae rearing, and product processing. One of the challenges of the highly promising, emerging insect industry has been how to ensure a steady supply of young larvae at an industrial scale. “While the pioneers in this industry had to develop their own technology out of necessity to ensure a robust BSF breeding, companies now venturing into this industry will be able to rely on a proven and scalable solution,” says Andreas Baumann, Head of Market Segment Insect Technology at Bühler. Although there are specialized breeding service companies in certain regions, in large parts of the world, there is no alternative to having an in-house breeding operation. With this partnership, Bühler and Entocycle address this challenge by offering scalable end-to-end solutions that significantly reduce the time to market for companies building an insect facility. During the last 10 years, Bühler has been developing its capabilities in the insect protein industry and has already completed a number of relevant projects in the field. In 2019, Bühler supported Protix in the realization of the world’s first commercial BSF plant in the Netherlands and this year Bühler delivered Agronutris’ first industrial BSF plant in France. Read more>> Bühler and Entocycle join forces for industrial insect production nology will bring a step change in the production of insects,” says Andreas Baumann, Head of Market Segment Insect Technology at Bühler. “The overall solution will result in a high yield of superior products while ensuring an efficient use of raw materials, land, water, and energy. This makes the investment in insect production more attractive as it gives owners a crucial competitive advantage in the marketplace.” “There is a growing demand for meat to feed carnivorous pets and farm animals. It is our belief that to realize BSF’s huge potential as an alternative sustainable protein source used for feed, it is essential to integrate the expertise of various disciplines into this new industry, from genetics to engineering. We are excited to partner with Bühler as we move towards a cost-efficient industry scaleup,” says Dr. Gil Ronen, NRGene’s CEO and Founder. Insects are a healthy and sustainable source of protein for animal feed. They can contribute to a circular economy model as insects can be fed on organic waste, such as food leftovers and waste from agriculture, to produce feed for pets, fish, and livestock. The residues from insect farming, or frass, can in turn be used as a fertilizer, contributing to the zero-waste approach. Read more>>
NEWS 14 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 Novozymes redefines plant-based meat experience with its new biosolution Novozymes, one of the world leaders in biological solutions, offered Vertera® ProBite as a game-changing solution to the plant-based meat industry. The new solution opens up new possibilities to create today’s and tomorrow’s plant-based meat products with advanced texture and consumer-friendly labels. Vertera® ProBite is a part of Novozymes’ commitment to driving innovation in biosolutions and promoting sustainable food choices, according to the company. “This product launch represents a significant milestone in the plant-based meat sector. Vertera® ProBite has the potential to redefine the consumer experience by improving the texture issue and at the same time enabling a more consumer-friendly label. Two areas which are still hindering the widespread adoption of plant-based alternatives,” said Birgitte Schou Borch, Head of the Plant & Food Business, Novozymes. Vertera® ProBite is an innovation based on the enzyme MTGase (microbial transglutaminase E.C. 2.3.2.13), designed to enhance the texture of plantbased products. Unlike previous solutions, Vertera® ProBite offers the unique advantage of requiring no labelling, marking a significant breakthrough for the plant-based meat industry. Read more>> Zyrcular Foods, one of leading companies in developing, innovating, producing and distributing alternative protein products, announced that it introduced its smashburger and its fresh “tuna” and “salmon” alternative protein at the ANUGA 2023 trade fair held in Cologne (Germany) between October 7-11. All these new products are manufactured at the company's plant in Barcelona. The company showcased samples of its new products and its entire range of plant-based and mycoprotein products at the fairs. Its new 100% plant-based smashburger has been very well received in the Spanish foodservice sector. The smashburger concept is currently a trend in the European burger sector aimed at a young audience. The company also produces its fresh "tuna" and "salmon" alternatives at its Barcelona plant. Zyrcular Foods, therefore, offers more options to plant-based fish consumers. With this commitment, the company strengthens its position in the sustainable food market, using innovation to offer a wide range of healthy options, which are adapted to the catering, retail and industrial food sectors. Jorge López, Operations Director of Zyrcular Foods, highlights that the company's DNA is to provide solutions to all foodservice operators, "we offer a customised product development service for each client, tailor-made products, and we offer a range that allows the client to enjoy a complete menu, with the best international brands or with its own distribution brand". Read more>> Zyrcular Foods introduces its new plant-based protein products
NEWS F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 15 Mosa Meat, one of the leaders in cultivated beef production, announced it has become a Certified B Corporation™. This marks a significant milestone in the company’s commitment to creating a more sustainable food system and bringing together partners, investors and suppliers who use business as a force for good. Upon certification, Mosa Meat became the first cultivated meat company worldwide to become B Corp™ Certified. Founded in 2016, Mosa Meat gained international acclaim in 2013 when its founders, Mark Post and Peter Verstrate, introduced the world’s first cultivated beef hamburger grown directly from cow cells. Since then, the company has been dedicated to producing real beef in a manner that benefits people, animals, and the planet. Mosa Meat’s B Corp™ Certification validates its mission to fundamentally reshape the global food system, showcasing its environmental and social performance, commitment to accountability, transparency and leadership in driving economic systems change. “We are thrilled to become B Corp Certified,” said Maarten Bosch, CEO of Mosa Meat. “This certification validates our commitment to sustainable practices and ethical foundations as well as strengthens our position as trendsetters in the global cellular agriculture movement. We believe in creating real, delicious meat that positively impacts the climate and our food system and are optimistic that these values will be shared across the many stakeholders in our nascent field of cellular agriculture.” Read more>> CULT Food Science Corp., a pioneer in the investment, development, and commercialization of cellular agriculture technologies and products, announced further results of third-party nutritional testing of its initial cultivated pet food ingredient, Bmmune®. New results show postbiotic material – vital for gut health, digestion and immunity in dogs – in its cultured ingredients to be superior to plant-based sources. The laboratory results show Bmmune®, CULT’s patented cultivated ingredient, is rich in polyphenols, which are found in fruits and other plant-based sources. Apples, pears and berries contain about 200 to 300 mg of polyphenols per 100 grams of fresh fruit. In comparison, Bmmune® contains 1,000 mg of polyphenols per 100 gram serving. Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds that dogs and cats do not digest directly. The polyphenols consumed in whole foods are broken down by intestinal bacteria, which then produces healthy by-products like short-chain fatty acids. Polyphenols have been shown to be effective in fighting inflammation, rebalancing a dog or cat’s intestinal health, reducing oxidative stress and even, research suggests, reduce bacteria activity related to cancer. Read more>> Mosa Meat becomes world’s first B Corp Certified cultivated meat company CULT Food Science explains nutritional test results of Bmmune®
NEWS 16 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 Veolia starts to export insect meal and oil to Europe Veolia Bioconversion Malaysia Sdn Bhd has received approval from the Ministry of Agriculture in Malaysia to export Entomeal™, insect meal and Entolipid, insect oil into the European markets for use in pet food, aquaculture and livestock. Insect meal Entomeal™ and insect oil Entolipid are produced with EU industrial standard and fully compliant with EU regulations to be used in animal feed applications. TRACES ensures the safety and full traceability from feedstock to finished products of our production. We aim to provide our clients with high product quality and consistent supply to meet the rising European market demands," said company representatives. Entomeal™ and Entolipid are produced in the optimal conditions in the region thanks to the local industrial know-how of Veolia Bioconversion Malaysia Sdn Bhd. The insect-based bioconversion consists in the transformation by Black Soldier Fly larvae of agrifood industrial by-products into highly valuable products: insect protein meal, insect oil and organic fertilizer. Everything produced by the bioconversion process can be used in agriculture, green energy production and animal feed. According to the company's statement, for 170 years Veolia helps its clients to optimize resource management, turning organic waste into valuable resources with best-in-class biological treatment solutions. Veolia’s ambition is to become the champion of ecological transformation. By placing innovation and decarbonization at the heart of its activities, Veolia is actively participating in the development of bioconversion. The bioconversion process is a sustainable alternative innovation with a low environmental impact to raise the global challenge of feeding 10 billion inhabitants by 2050, using less water, less energy and less land, and producing sustainable proteins for animal feed. ONE OF THE LARGEST INSECT FACILITIES IN ASIA Veolia Bioconversion Malaysia Sdn Bhd operates one of the largest insect industrial facilities in Asia. The facility adheres to the highest industrial standards with ISO 22000, GMP and HACCP certification and meets the most stringent regulation requirements. The company has a production capacity of 3,000 tons of insect products per year, and is thus a solid and stable partner to work with. Fabrice Latchoumanin, General Manager, Veolia Bioconversion Malaysia, commented: “There is an increasing requirement for sustainable, and functional ingredients in the pet food and the aqua feed industry. Insect-based feed offers many benefits for these applications such as high digestibility and nutritious feed source. We are thrilled to provide a sustainable alternative source of protein to the European market." Read more>> Veolia Bioconversion Malaysia, part of the Veolia Group, which aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation, announced that it has officially received TRACES approval to export its insect meal Entomeal™ and insect oil Entolipid to European markets. Fabrice Latchoumanin SPECIAL NEWS
NEWS F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 17 CULT Food Science announces world’s first cat treat with cell-cultivated fish CULT Food Science Corp., a pioneer in the investment, development, and commercialization of cellular agriculture technologies and products, introduced Marina Cat™, a hybrid cell-cultivated pet food brand for cats developed in partnership with Umami Bioworks. “My vision for the future is that we no longer have to slaughter other animals to feed our cats,” said Joshua Errett, VP of Product at CULT. “This brand brings me one very great step closer to making that a reality.” “We are pleased to be embarking on this partnership with Marina Cat to power a new category of cultivated pet food products that are healthier for cats and better for our oceans. As a platform technology provider, we are committed to delivering the technology stack that powers commercialization of cultivated products across a range of applications. This first collaboration with Marina Cat and CULT Food Science is the first step to delivering on that promise,” said Mihir Pershad, CEO of Umami Bioworks. Read more>> Novel Farms, Inc., a food technology startup based in Berkeley, California, has been awarded the highly competitive Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The company explained that the $999,967 two-year grant is a testament to Novel Farms’ groundbreaking work in the field of cultivated meat production and will provide critical funding to support the scale-up of their proprietary scaffolding platform. This innovative platform leverages a novel microbial fermentation approach and tissue engineering techniques to significantly reduce the costs associated with cultivated meat. According to the company, at the core of this project lies the ambition to address the profound sustainability and public health challenges posed by conventional industrial animal agriculture. By developing more efficient and economical ways to produce real meat directly from animal cells i.e., cultivated meat, Novel Farms aims to disrupt the current damaging meat production paradigm. The primary challenge faced by the cultivated meat industry is the cost of cell culture media, which must be competitive with conventional meat production to establish cultivated meat as a viable alternative. To confront this challenge headon, Novel Farms’ Phase II project is geared towards further lowering media costs by eliminating costly components through the continued refinement of their proprietary scaffolding technology. This crucial funding injection will empower the company to expand its scientific team and transition its processes from bench scale to bioreactor scale—a pivotal step towards establishing an efficient and scalable cultivated meat production system. Read more>> NSF grants to Novel Farms to advance cultivated meat production
INTERVIEW 18 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 FreezeM is one of the remarkable companies in the insect industry. The company's expert teams, which aim to develop a technology that will revolutionise the insect protein industry, believe that they have achieved this at this point today. Because FreezeM has developed a technology that will separate the reproduction stage from the rearing and processing stages in BSFs by realising a first that no one has achieved so far. This technology, described as 'Suspended Animation', is currently awaiting patenting under the name PauseM®. Yuval Gilad, CEO and Co-Founder of the company, explains PauseM® in the following words: "PauseM® is a suspended BSF neonates' package, allowing for long-distance transportation and hence replacing the traditional breeding unit in an insect-protein factory. PauseM® is delivered on a weekly basis, becoming the producer's 'Breeding in-a-box'." It seems that FreezeM is rapidly becoming the seed company of the insect industry with its remarkable technology and products. Gilad, CEO and Co-Founder, explains both the details of 'Suspended Animation' technology and BSF-Titan, another interesting solution of FreezeM for our readers. OUR TECHNOLOGY UNLEASHES THE INSECT MARKET FROM ITS SHACKLES Yuval Gilad, CEO & Co-Founder at FreezeM “FreezeM’s technology allows for the decoupling of the biologically complex reproduction stage from the rearing and processing stages. Our pioneering technology pauses the BSF development at the neonate larvae stage, allowing for safe transportation over long distances, cost reduction and increasing protein production capacity and efficiency. Our technology unleashes the insect market from its shackles and enables the insect protein market to fulfil its potential.”
INTERVIEW F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 19 Can you offer our readers an introduction to FreezeM? Please clarify what sets your undoubtedly scientific breakthrough of insect-suspension-animation, apart as a genuine game changer, in the established insect protein industry? Since our foundation in 2018 as a spin-off from the Weizmann Institute of Science, with a team of three PhD students specialized in insect developmental biology and molecular genetics, we at FreezeM have focused on coming up with a technology that will revolutionize the insect protein industry and let the promise of – ‘insect-protein as a highly nutritional and sustainable feed for livestock’ – become a reality. We pinpointed the Insect Breeding stage as the most challenging phase for producers due to its inherent instability and unpredictability. As a stage, it requires a lot of multidisciplinary expertise (biology, entomology, genetics, engineering) and can create a great deal of hassle for producers. The challenge lies in taking flies out of their natural habitat and turning them into new farm animals with optimal reproduction to support large-scale farming. Within the insect-protein industry, the globally found Black Soldier Fly (BSF) species has the highest potential to become a sustainable alternative protein at scale. There are already numerous established BSF production factories, as well as many newcomers to the industry with interest in the potential of the BSF protein market. Building on this insight, we pioneered our patent-pending 'Suspended Animation' technology that is commercialized under the product name PauseM®. This technology is centred on Black Soldier Fly (BSF) young larvae immediately after they hatch (known as neonates) – a development that no other company has achieved. Our technology is disruptive to the insect farming industry in the sense that it changes the supply chain by decoupling the breeding stage from the rearing and processing stages. At the same time, our innovation conforms with the most important sustainability goals of salvaging scarce farmland, decreasing ocean exhaustion, and repurposing organic waste. Sounds promising, but how can your technology translate into an actual working solution? And more specifically, what makes it such a revolutionizing breakthrough to the insect protein market? PauseM® is revolutionizing the insect protein market by streamlining and stabilizing the breeding process for producers. PauseM® is a suspended BSF neonates’ package, allowing for long-distance transportation and hence replacing the traditional breeding unit in an insect-protein factory. PauseM® is delivered on a weekly basis, becoming the producer’s ‘Breeding in-a-box’.
INTERVIEW 20 F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 Using PauseM® as a breeding source results in reduced costs and increased production predictability, capacity, and efficiency. Without FreezeM’s technology, farmers currently must manage the full insect life cycle, which means handling the BSF breeding themselves, then dealing with the larvae rearing (=growing) stage and finally processing the grown larvae into beneficial protein, oil, and the residual frass (as fertilizer). PauseM® serves as an outsourced ‘Breeding ina-box’, allowing producers to focus exclusively on operational efficiency and sales. In other words, the hassle of reproduction can now be left with FreezeM. Moreover, PauseM® allows for full control over production pace and capacity. PauseM® packages can be stored in stock and activated based on demand. Activating PauseM® is as easy as simply displacing the content into existing rearing substrate trays, and from that point on the larvae will do what they do best – grow fast! What makes insect protein so important? And by what means FreezeM’s technology make the difference? The looming global food crisis demands innovative technologies. Novel technologies are required to sustainably produce animal protein feed at scale. The potential of insects and BSF in particular as a sustainable and healthy source of protein for feed was discovered some time ago. BSF specifically have been proven to be a great source of protein for humans and animals alike, containing high-quality, healthy protein. As such, current regulation has embraced and approved insect protein as feed for livestock. Insect protein offers multiple advantages over conventional farming: it's eco-friendly, requires relatively few resources, and is cost-effective. It is possible to feed insects with agricultural or food manufacturing by-products or residuals. For example, fruit and vegetable waste that is not intended for human consumption is a great food source for insects, thereby optimizing agricultural production by reducing waste and creating a fully circular economy. Insect production (especially when working with the decoupled model that FreezeM enables) can be designed in synergy with local waste streams, supported by residual heat from adjacent energy sources (for example gasification or biogas facilities), creating industrial symbiosis and making the entire process more sustainable and efficient.
INTERVIEW F&A Alternative Proteins Edition October 2023 21 Having said that, the issue is that until now, and without FreezeM, insect protein production is difficult, unpredictable and expensive, limiting its vast potential as a viable sustainable source of protein. BSF factories are struggling with major instability issues that prevent their scalability. This holds the market back and scares newcomers from entering the industry. But starting now, FreezeM’s technology allows for the decoupling of the biologically complex reproduction stage from the rearing and processing stages. Our pioneering technology pauses the BSF development at the neonate larvae stage, allowing for safe transportation over long distances, cost reduction and increasing protein production capacity and efficiency. Our technology unleashes the insect market from its shackles and enables the insect protein market to fulfil its potential. PauseM® ensures a stable streamline of high-quality BSF neonates and eliminates the burden of breeding, lowering barriers to enter the insect protein market. With PauseM®, BSF producers can enjoy steady and predictable production without the investment, expertise and time required to build a highly efficient breeding unit. Can FreezeM be referred to as ‘The Seed’ company of the Insect market? If I am a BSF producer, or considering of becoming a BSF producer – can I get PauseM®? Yes, that is a nice analogy. Our suspended animation neonates are the “seed” for insect farming just as seeds are fundamental in plant farming. These BSF neonates will grow to become grownup larvae ready to be harvested for processing, much like a seed grows into a flourishing crop. Similarly, most farmers do not produce their own seeds and instead specialize in the farming part of growing the crops. We see the insect industry developing similarly as it matures. Indeed, PauseM® has already gained global traction, catering to both small-scale farmers and large BSF protein factories. We have shipped PauseM® from our production centres in Israel and Germany to different locations in Europe, Africa, Japan, China, and South America. PauseM® is used on a large variety of different food-waste streams, successfully developing healthy and large grownup larvae ready to harvest and process. Surprisingly, the suspended neonates also perform better compared to in-house produced larvae that were grown on the target feedstock for several generations. Can you please educate us about the species you currently offer? It’s important to understand that the demand for PauseM® like products to replace the cumbersome breeding stage exists for all beneficial insect species. However, at FreezeM we currently only focus on BSF because it is the most common and most promising species in creating value for mankind by converting food waste into sustainable and healthy protein for animal feed. BSF is specifically used to address the pressing challenge of an ever-increasing demand for food to feed the rapidly growing global population. BSF meal has been proven to be a great source of protein for pet food and animal feed (and in the future for direct human consumption), containing about 60% high-quality protein. BSF, which we call ‘Nature’s ultimate recycling machine’, efficiently transforms organic waste into high-quality protein. It can be fed a variety of organic waste and multiplies its weight by 8,000 times in only 14 days. This growth is like a newborn baby growing to the size of three elephants in just 14 days! BSF larvae turn into a high-quality food source for animals, with minimum to no water consumption and with farmland usage of 1/150 of that required for crops producing the same amount of protein. The quality of the BSF protein is comparable to fishmeal protein, and as such reduces the ocean’s exhaustion caused by the latter. PauseM® contains the wild-type BSF. We started our industrial-scale colony with a handful of flies
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