The startups choosing collaboration over competition, EU biotechnology strategy published, and French plant-based labelling ban suspended.
The Good Food Institute Europe
Advancing plant-based and cultivated meat in Europe to build a better food system for people, planet and animals.
This month: Australian cultivated meat startup becomes third in the world to receive regulatory approval, plans for the modernisation of the UK’s novel food regulation, and differing attitudes to protein diversification across European countries.
Featured story: Collaboration over competition: two European precision fermentation startups join forces to scale animal-free cheese
In a first-of-its-kind move, this month two precision fermentation startups – Formo, based in Germany, and Those Vegan Cowboys, based in Belgium – have announced a new partnership. They will work together on R&D to scale their animal-free casein, improve the efficiency of their process, and navigate the EU’s stringent regulatory system.?
What is so interesting about this novel arrangement is that both companies will remain separate, and once the path to market has been traversed, both will ultimately launch separate products. In doing so, these would-be competitors are pooling their collective knowledge and expertise to overcome some of the trickiest (and most expensive) challenges presently facing this nascent sector.
It’s a novel approach for two companies that should, on paper, be competitors: both are working to create precision fermentation casein for use in cheesemaking, but the two companies say that, once key barriers are overcome, the market should be plenty big enough for both of them.?
In a sector driven by cutting-edge science and innovation, this move speaks to the crucial importance of open-access research
Top stories
The French labelling decree banning ‘meaty’ terms such as steak for plant-based products has been suspended by the Conseil d'Etat, and will no longer come into force at the start of? May as planned. The suspension came due to questions over the compatibility of the decree with EU law, and because it would specifically penalise French plant-based companies, without affecting imported plant-based products. The ruling is also significant for a similar ban in Italy, passed late last year but yet to be enforced. Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida has indicated that decisions as to whether to revise the ban would be influenced by developments in France, and has previously stated that hurting Italian companies is ‘the last thing he wants to do’.
Earlier this month, the European Commission announced its flagship Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative, setting out plans to create a greener and more competitive European economy. The growing prioritisation of the sector is exciting, but without concrete action Europe risks being left behind as interest grows further afield in North America and Asia-Pacific, particularly in the field of alternative proteins. Protein diversification could play a central role in this burgeoning industry, but to deliver on its potential the EU must translate this ambition into firm actions such as increased R&D funding, support for scale-up, and provision of a clear pathway to market.
A study by the University of Ferrara and SWG has revealed significant interest in cultivated meat among Italian consumers and chefs, despite the fact that the government imposed a ban on it last year, even before seeking EU approval. The study found that 69% of trainee chefs and 64% of consumers would try cultivated meat, and 86% of chefs said they would put it on their menus alongside conventional meat (although few wanted to replace conventional meat completely). This finding highlights the extent to which consumer choice
Australian startup Vow became the second cultivated meat company in Singapore and third worldwide to gain regulatory approval this month, with the first courses of their cultivated Japanese quail parfait set to premiere in the coming weeks. Vow’s cultivated quail is also at the final stages of regulatory review with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). As more cultivated meat startups begin to enter the scale-up phase, in Europe – the birthplace of cultivated meat – companies need certainty from policymakers in order to ensure the benefits of this game-changing food can be realised here.
The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has agreed on plans to modernise how foods like cultivated meat and precision fermentation products come to market, hoping to reduce unnecessary delays. Approvals will still require a thorough and evidence-based assessment of safety and nutritional value, but the processes for registration and reapproval of some products will be streamlined. While promising, more must be done to ensure that the FSA can maintain pace with alternative protein innovations and manage its growing caseload following the UK's exit from the European Union.
领英推荐
A new life cycle analysis by CE Delft for startup Supermeat found a 47% reduction in carbon emissions versus conventional chicken (the most ‘efficient’ conventional meat) when renewable energy was used, with a 27% reduction even using current energy mixes. The savings are higher than previous LCAs (which found a more comparable footprint between conventional and cultivated chicken) due to Supermeat’s new continuous – as opposed to batch – process. Challenges remain as to the scalability and reliability of such a process, but given the current pace of innovation these results are hugely promising.
New country deep-dives published by ProVeg International showcase findings from the EU-funded Smart Protein Project, which surveyed thousands of people across several countries as part of its work to support the transition to a more robust and sustainable food system in Europe. Reports found Germany and Italy were home to the largest proportion of people reporting reduced meat consumption in the past year, but taste and price remained significant barriers to uptake across countries, particularly in the UK.
Meet the Researchers
With GFI’s 2024 Research Grant Program open for applications, our latest webinar checked in with several previous grantees from Europe, to learn more about their work and how the funding helped them, as well as exploring the three focal topics of this year’s call. Hear from Dr Frederico Ferreira and Diana Marques, who is working with the Horizon Europe FEASTS project to expand knowledge of cultivated meat, and Milena Ivanisevic at ConnectomixBio, who is working on precision fermentation fat. To learn more about the programme and apply, check out the request for proposals here.?
Events, opportunities and resources:
Events:
6, 20-25 June – Hackathon: Hacking the Future of Alternative Protein (virtual, applications open now)
Jobs, funding and resources:
You can also check out AltProtein.Jobs, powered by T?list, which hosts hundreds of career opportunities worldwide across all career levels, and subscribe to the T?list newsletter for more alternative protein opportunities.
Our Impact
Our 2023 Year in Review is now live! Check out the full report to learn how our global teams grew the scientific ecosystem, increased government investment in alternative proteins, and supported the industry in navigating a changing economic and regulatory landscape – all made possible by the generous support of our family of donors.?
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