The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has agreed to reform its regulation system applied to products such as precision fermentation-derived and cell-based foods. In a board meeting held yesterday (20 March 2024), the FSA’s board members agreed upon plans to modernise the regulations around bringing such foods to market in the UK. Under the reformed regulations, a new public register of ‘regulated products’ will be created. This will replace the current system for such products – which include some alternative proteins as well as various additives and flavourings – whereby a Statutory Instrument must be laid before new products can be brought to market. The FSA estimates that this procedure can add up to six months to the approval period. Additionally, companies will no longer be required to have these products reauthorised after several years once they have been approved. The FSA estimated that under its current system, 22% of regulated product applications are for reauthorisations. This change aims to free up capacity for dealing with new product authorisation procedures. The FSA’s current regulatory framework is based on the EU’s model, but the agency has emphasised that certain aspects of this system are resource-intensive, and that reform is necessary to improve efficiency and creating a high-quality service that can “keep pace” with industry innovation. It highlighted that the reform would not negatively impact food and feed safety standards, which will maintain rigorous, evidence-based assessments of new products’ safety and nutritional value before they can be sold in the country. Nonprofit think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) welcomed the reforms in a press statement, but said that further changes must follow given the alternative protein sector’s pace of innovation. Linus Pardoe, UK policy manager at GFI Europe, said: “More than two years after reforms were promised to how the UK regulates new alternative proteins, it is positive to see the Food Standards Agency taking sensible measures to modernise its process while continuing to enforce one of the world’s most robust regulatory systems”. He continued: “Alternative proteins could be a game-changer in helping the UK achieve its science superpower ambitions and boost food security, and while regulators must play a crucial role in ensuring consumers have confidence in these foods, regulatory frameworks must keep pace with innovation. These reforms are a step in the right direction, but much more can be done.” Pardoe told FoodBev Media that further reforms could include engaging in dialogue with cell-based meat and precision fermentation companies prior to submissions, and clarifying requirements by producing bespoke guidance documents for those sectors. GFI Europe has also called for the UK government to increase the FSA’s budget, which Pardoe explained would “enable the agency to fulfil its expanded post-Brexit role”. He added: “This will support the UK food industry more broadly, and in particular will give confidence to Britain’s growing alternative protein sector, reducing the risk of startups moving overseas due to regulatory uncertainty.” #regulations #precisionfermentation #novelfoods #GoodFoodInstitute #FoodStandardsAgency #UK #cellbased #alternativeproteins

Good Planet Foods has expanded its range of dairy-free, olive oil-based cheese products with the launch of a new cheese slice line. The new slices are available in cheddar and smoked gouda flavours. They have been created with non-GMO, vegan ingredients and contain less than half of the calories of dairy cheese slices, according to the brand. Each slice contains no saturated fat or cholesterol, thanks to its olive oil base – many vegan cheeses are made with coconut oil, resulting in high saturated fat content. Good Planet explained that olive oil was chosen due to its heart health benefits and ability to deliver the ‘delicious cheese experience’ that consumers want. The olive oil slices can be melted into any recipe, are well-suited to grilling in a sandwich or can be enjoyed as a snack straight from the bag. Bart Adlam, co-CEO at Good Planet Foods, commented: “We’ve had a great response from retailers and consumers following the launch of the first-ever olive oil cheese. Our new olive oil cheese slices deliver on unique usage occasions for consumers with outstanding flavour, texture and melt-in-your-mouth quality, all with minimal saturated fat.” Good Planet’s new cheese slices are rolling out in April at Whole Foods Market and further selected retailers across the US. #dairyfreecheese #altdairy #US #Dairyalternatives #OliveOil #GoodPlanetFoods #plantbasedcheese

Daiya has unveiled a new line of powdered mac and cheese products in the US and Canada, as well as a new dairy-free cheese shreds product for foodservice. The dry, powdered mac and cheese products are made with dairy-free cheese and gluten-free pasta. The alt-dairy specialist, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, is rolling out this latest innovation in three available flavours: cheddar, white cheddar and aged cheddar. Its aged cheddar variety, launching in the US only, is believed to be the first aged cheddar dry powdered mac and cheese product on the market. The dry mix product line aims to provide consumers with more convenient options alongside Daiya’s existing liquid mac and cheese line, which features a ready-made, dairy-free liquid sauce pack. Daiya’s chief marketing officer, John Kelly, said: “We’re always listening to customer requests for new products and innovations as we expand our consumer base – and felt a convenient, dairy-free dry powdered mac and cheese with delicious flavour was missing on shelf – so we developed one”. He added: “Innovation and development are at the core of what we do at Daiya, and we are always looking for ways to encourage plant-based and dairy-free food exploration – even if you’re not 100% plant-based”. The powdered mac and cheese range will be available in the US at Walmart and the Fresh Market from April. In Canada, the line is available at Loblaws and Metro ON. Specifically for foodservice operators, Daiya has also unveiled the dairy-free cheese shreds created with its new proprietary ingredient, Daiya Oat Cream blend, which was unveiled across retail in December. According to the brand, the shreds offer a ‘dairy-like melt that browns just like cheese’. Designed for convenience, they can be seamlessly substituted for dairy cheese in a 1:1 ratio. Melanie Domer, chief commercial officer at Daiya, commented: “We’ve seen plant-based menu penetration grow by 262% in the last four years, and ultimately what diners expect when they order a dairy-free alternative is that cheesy, ‘melts-like-dairy’ experience”. The shreds will be available in mozzarella and cheddar flavours from May 2024 in a 5lbs bag via major foodservice distributors. #dairyfreecheese #conveniencefood #altdairy #US #macandcheese #Dairyalternatives #Canada #alternativedairy #plantbasedcheese #retail #Daiya #foodservice

Andfoods, a start-up based in New Zealand, has successfully raised NZD 2.7m (approx. $1.6m) in seed funding to support its novel alt-dairy technology. Andfoods’ technology extracts plant-based milk from seeds, using the seeds or ‘pulses’ of a legume to create a range of allergen-free dairy alternatives. It uses a fermentation process to optimise flavour profile and other key properties. The round was led by Icehouse Ventures, and will support the food-tech company in accelerating R&D efforts and bringing its product to market. In a statement announcing the raise, Andfoods said hat while many dairy alternatives do a ‘reasonable’ job at emulating dairy milk’s taste and texture, few have been able to measure up to the quality of high-grade cow-based creams or milk powders. Andfoods launched less than a year ago and has since hired Leon Clement – former CEO at Synlait and ex-Fonterra MD – as its chair. Andfoods’ CTO and co-founder, Arup Nag, founded the company following research into new ingredients for plant-based milk at Massey University and the Riddet Institute in 2010. Nag identified the potential of a legume seed native to his homeland India, originally used as an ‘orphan crop’ to regenerate soil between rice harvests. A multi-year R&D effort then took place, eventually leading to the food-tech’s establishment. Icehouse Ventures partner, Barnaby Marshall, commented: “No one is doubting the demand for dairy-free products. Consumers want them, the environment needs them, but at the end of the day they have to stand up to the taste test.” He added: “When I first heard about Andfoods, I put it into the bucket of ‘another plant based milk’, and was duly sceptical – then I tasted it. Andfoods has developed something that is poised to become a fundamental ingredient for all kinds of food producers, at a high enough quality that it’s immune to changing trends.” #altdairy #fermentation #Dairyalternatives #NewZealand #Andfoods

Dairy-free beverage brand Califia Farms has launched a range of organic almond-based creamers in the US, made with no gums or oils. The range has launched with three flavours available – lavender, brown sugar and vanilla. They are made with simple plant-based ingredients including organic almond milk, cane sugar, brown sugar and natural flavourings. According to a Mintel report, 50% of organic food and drink buyers would like to see dairy alternatives that they perceive as less processed. The creamers aim to respond to this clean label demand as an addition to Califia Farms’ existing organic range, which includes organic almond milk and organic oat milk. Two new coconut milk and vanilla almond milk products are also set to join the organic range this summer, Califia revealed in a press release announcing the creamers’ launch. These upcoming additions are also made with no gums or oils, claimed to be a market-first innovation. Suzanne Ginestro, chief marketing officer at Califia Farms, commented: “These organic almond creamers are the only products of their kind on the market and give consumers something they’ve been asking for: creamy, great-tasting plant-based coffee creamers that are organic and made from simple ingredients”. The creamers are available now at Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Farmers Market, with a suggested retail price of $6.79. #CalifiaFarms #US #Dairyalternatives #coffeecreamers #dairyfree #plantbaseddairy

Poseidona, a food-tech company based in Spain, has raised €1.1m in pre-seed funding to support the development of protein ingredients derived from algal sidestreams and invasive seaweeds. The round was led by European venture capital fund Faber, which specialises in climate technology. The round also includes Dozen Investments, Sprout & About, ProVeg International and Women Angels For STEAM. According to Poseidona, the funding injection will be instrumental in advancing its mission to develop algal protein ingredients that can offer a scalable and eco-friendly solution to the global increasing demand for proteins. The start-up aims to offer a sustainable and cost-efficient alternative to soy-based protein, reducing the environmental footprint associated with traditional soy farming practices and adopting a circular economy approach that repurposes food industry byproducts. In particular, Poseidona is leveraging gellifiers production sidestreams from red seaweeds and will start utilising Rugulopterix okamurae, an invasive seaweed species in the Mediterranean, as a raw material. By repurposing this species, it can support the management of marine ecosystems in the region while providing a sustainable protein source. Poseidona was founded by María Cermeño, a circular foods protein specialist with a PhD in food biochemistry; and Sònia Hurtado, an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in food-tech, including being co-founder of plant-based seafood company Current Foods. Hurtado commented: “This pre-seed funding round marks a significant milestone for Poseidona as we continue to pioneer sustainable solutions in the protein sector. We are grateful for the support of our partners, investors and advisors who share our vision of creating a more sustainable future for our planet and our oceans, disrupting traditional food production.” Supported by this recent funding raise, Poseidona plans to accelerate its research and development efforts and bring its protein ingredients to market. #Spain #altseafood #algae #Poseidona #seaweed #alternativeprotein #plantbasedproteins

Austrian food-tech start-up Revo Foods has launched a new innovation, ‘The Kraken,’ inspired by octopus and crafted from mycoprotein. According to the company, its fungi-based offering is the world’s first plant-based alternative to octopus tentacles. It has been developed to provide an authentic smell, taste, texture and appearance, suitable for recreating traditional octopus dishes. The Kraken has a Nutriscore rating of ‘A’, high in protein, fibre and omega-3 fatty acids. While it is available ready-to-eat, it can also be grilled, fried or baked. Revo said it chose mycoprotein due to its need for significantly less processing compared to common raw ingredients in plant-based alternative products, which preserves more micronutrients and vitamins, and achieves a desirable texture and mouthfeel thanks to its fibrous nature. While this rapid growth is accelerating the variety of innovations available, Revo believes there is still a lack of realistic alternatives for ‘whole-cut’ style products. Robin Simsa, CEO at Revo Foods, said: “With a little bit of creativity and technological know-how – and an obsession for seafood – anything is possible. If we continue like this, we can soon offer an entire plant-based seafood paella!” Each pack of The Kraken contains three 35g pieces of the ‘tentacle’ base and will be available from today exclusively in the Revo online shop, delivering to most European countries.

Dairy-free confectionery brand 7th Heaven has announced the addition of a chocolate peanut butter cup product to its range. The launch aims to ‘redefine’ the vegan chocolate experience and promises consumers a creamy, ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ texture. It follows the introduction of Hershey’s Reese’s oat milk peanut butter cups, debuted last year as a vegan alternative to the classic Reese’s product. With its latest offering, 7th Heaven – based in Israel and the US – aims to provide an alternative that co-founder Elya Adi believes can “compete with giants like Reese’s” in delivering a tasty and sustainable innovation. 7th Heaven’s chocolate peanut butter cups are dairy-free, non-GMO, kosher pareve certified and made from Fairtrade cocoa. Adi commented: “We’re not just launching another chocolate product; we’re introducing a taste and lifestyle revolution. Our peanut butter cups are the culmination of our commitment to excellence, sustainability and compassion.” The new product is launching online this month. 7th Heaven’s existing range is currently available at more than 700 retail locations.

Melt&Marble, a Swedish precision fermentation company that develops animal-free fat ingredients, has announced its move to a new headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. The new site includes precision fermentation facilities such as molecular biology and microbiology labs, bioreactors up to pilot scale and a food application test kitchen. The facilities will accelerate the development and commercialisation of its fat ingredients. Melt&Marble has now scaled up the production process for its first product – a solid fat designed to replicate the properties of animal-derived fats for use in alternative meat products – to cubic metre bioreactor scale. The company said it is now in the process of scaling further, to tens of cubic metres. The precision fermentation technology allows Melt&Marble to gain precise control of its fats’ composition and properties, allowing it to create ‘designer fats’ from the ground up. This includes dictating the types of fatty acids, as well as how these fatty acids assemble on to a glycerol backbone to form specific triglycerides. Anastasia Krivoruchko, co-founder and CEO at Melt&Marble, said: “In the last months, we constantly improved key performance indicators related to rate, titre and yield, successfully achieving metrics relevant for commercial-scale and demonstrating the scalability of our process”. According to Melt&Marble, it has secured a partnership that will allow production of hundreds of kilograms of fat per batch in the coming months. Further expansion potential to tonnes per batch is expected by the start-up in 2025, as it plans an expansion into the US market. Melt&Marble’s chief business officer, Thomas Creswell, said that the company’s technology is seeing increasing interest from industry players both in Europe and the US, thanks to its ability to fine-tune the composition and properties of sustainable, animal-free fat ingredients. He commented: “Palatability remains a challenge in the animal-free food space and our fats are an extremely effective way to address that by replicating the taste experience consumers crave”. “Our new facilities will allow us to test applications and produce samples in-house while our manufacturing partnership paves a clear path to market.” #alternativefats #MeltampMarble #precisionfermentation #Sweden

Plant-based protein brand Aloha has announced the launch of its next special-edition protein bar, the Pa’akai Bar, made with Hawaiian sea salt and macadamia nuts. The bars are part of the company’s initiative to support small farms rooted in sustainability while giving back to the communities where their ingredients are grown. In Hawaiian, Pa’akai translates to “solid ocean” or “sea salt” and carries cultural significance within the community. The sea salt in Aloha’s latest bar is produced by sourcing pure water surrounding the island channels, taking it through nine levels of filtration, pumping it into special “solar seal” evaporators and letting it dry and crystallise in the sun – a naturally occurring process that can take up to five weeks. According to Aloha, the resulting product is some of the world’s purest salt, containing more trace minerals and lower sodium concentrate (80% sodium chloride), making it less ‘salty’ and more flavourful. In addition to the pure salt, the bar features Hawaii-grown macadamia nuts from Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company. Hamakua dries its nuts by converting the energy of clean-burning macadamia nut shells into steam, generating nearly all its electricity via solar, hydro and biomass energy. The bar also contains Ponova oil, a regenerative plant-based oil from agriculture company Terviva. It is made by expeller pressing and lightly refining the beans of Hawaiian pongomia trees. Other ingredients include organic dark chocolate and Aloha’s proprietary plant-based protein blend. Like all of Aloha’s products, the Pa’akai bar is non-GMO Project Verified, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and made without sugar alcohols. It will be available from Aloha’s website beginning 26 March before rolling out to additional retailers, including Thrive Market, in the coming months. #functionalsnacks #US #Aloha #proteinbars #seasalt #highprotein #proteinsnacks #snacking

In this month’s edition of The Plant Base’s Start-up spotlight, we speak to Myco, a UK-based producer of alternative protein created from vertically farmed oyster mushrooms. David Wood, the company’s CEO, tells us more about the sustainability benefits of Myco’s innovation and how it is bringing a UK-first approach to the plant-based industry. We are parents and grandparents and there’s a shared desire to give our children and grandchildren – and the planet – a future. The way that we know we can help is by producing a product that makes food more sustainable, and a product that makes swapping out meat easier. Our product is a protein called Hooba, and all the testing suggests it looks, tastes and has the same ‘mouthfeel’ as meat – albeit made from oyster mushrooms. We farm it vertically, and the whole process aligns with our long-term mission of aiding sustainability. What are some of the sustainability benefits of Myco’s approach? Our production unit is in Leeming Bar, just off the A1 in North Yorkshire. The proximity of it means we have slashed the number of food miles involved in the production of Hooba, which has driven down our carbon footprint even further. But the whole process of producing a plant-based protein is ultimately far greener than producing meat. Livestock is one of the biggest drivers of carbon emissions but many people aren’t aware that a high proportion of plant-based products also have high food miles due to soy being grown and transported around the world. Ultimately, eating less meat and more plants makes us all that bit healthier – and leads to a more sustainable future for every single one of us. How will the new site in Yorkshire bring an industry-first facility to the UK? By vertically farming our product there is no deforestation, and our protein production pods mean zero food miles. Our site allows us to make a lot more protein than you would expect. The unit is 20,000-square-feet and we can grow a lot of mushrooms in that space – 1,000 tons, in fact. The Leeming Bar site is also the first of its kind to have a mushroom growing facility under the same roof as the food production area, so while vertical farming itself isn’t a brand-new concept in the UK, nowhere in the country has ever had both production aspects in one place. That means we can proudly state that Hooba has ‘zero’ food miles in the protein supply chain – that’s huge for sustainability, and it is a model we genuinely hope will act as the global blueprint going forward as it can be replicated anywhere. The first benefit the public will really see will come this month, when we launch the UK’s first- ever vertically farmed products. That’s going to be a real milestone and demonstrates just how far the plant-based industry has come in such a short period. Currently, raw ingredients can often be transported thousands of miles, but this has the potential to put an end to that. It could see the UK eventually lead the way in delivering global food security – one of humanity’s biggest threats – whilst lowering the nation’s carbon footprint substantially. Has the company encountered any particular challenges? If so, how have you navigated them? Launching any new product is never smooth, especially a concept – like a vertically farmed production site – that hasn’t been seen in the UK before. Funding of innovation is never easy, but we’ve managed it and we’ve now got plenty of interest from some major names within the food industry looking at Hooba as an option for their plant-based ranges. But there’s still a stigma around plant-based protein, particularly surrounding some of claims around processing and sustainability. However, we’re proud that our product will be best-in-class in both of these areas. Not only will our vertically farmed mushrooms be more sustainable and better for the environment, our new product range will only contain five to ten kitchen cupboard ingredients, unlike some heavily processed plant-based products. Trying to convey the message that this is as natural as it gets can be tough in the current climate, but we believe transparency is the way forward. We are proud of a lot of work to date. We started this with a lot of hope, excitement and high expectations, and they’ve only grown along the journey. The development of the onsite protein growing facility feels really special, simply because there’s currently nothing else like it. To develop a genuine UK-first is a special feeling, and what makes us even more excited is that feeling that now we’ve cracked the nut, hopefully everyone will start to copy us. But we are also excited about the delicious range of products we are launching in March, which we hope will find a place on barbecues across the country – and even on the grills of some committed meat eaters. The feedback we’ve had is exactly what we hoped to hear when we set about this project. The aim was to create a plant-based product that looked, felt and tasted like meat and that’s exactly what the feedback we’ve received has stated. As a group of people doing this to try and preserve our planet, we want to go to bed each night feeling the work we are doing is helping with that aim – and so far, we feel we are. #fungibased #meatalternatives #verticalfarming #oystermushrooms #StartupSpotlight #plantbasedmeat #UK #MyCo #alternativeprotein

Organic food and drink company Pip Organic has launched a new snacking innovation, Pipsticks, a fruit bar made with no added sugar or preservatives. Pipsticks are available in two fruit flavours: mango, and pineapple and mango. They are made solely from 100% natural fruit, contain fibre for slower-release energy and are designed to help families meet the daily recommended serving of fruit and vegetables in a convenient snacking format. The products are made using only organic produce in a waste-free, renewable energy-powered process. The production site uses a biogas plant to generate carbon-neutral electricity using fruit waste, such as mango and pineapple peels. The mango stones are used for fuelling the heat ovens and any remaining fruit waste goes back into compost. Pipsticks are rolling out at UK retailers this spring. The brand’s range of juices and frozen lollies are already stocked in Waitrose, Ocado, Abel & Cole and Whole Foods. #kidssnacks #fruitsnacks #PipOrganic #Organicfood #UK #snackbars