Oliver Fuss’ Post

🇺🇸🥩 As the meat industry continues to knock the long ingredient lists of certain plant-based meat alternatives, one element pops up more often in the discourse: methylcellulose. 📺🍔 In 2020, The Center For Consumer Freedom – a lobby group connected to the meat industry – ran a Super Bowl ad that acted as a blatant attack on plant-based meat. The 30-second spot featured kids in a Spelling Bee competition participants struggling to pronounce complicated words that are ingredients used in alt-meat. 🧪🍲 It began with methylcellulose, which confounded the contestant, who asked for its meaning. The judge described it as a “chemical laxative that is also used in synthetic meat”. The child asked: “Why?” and walked back, and the commercial concluded: “If you can’t spell it or pronounce it, maybe you shouldn’t be eating it.” 🎯🌱 The ad was a direct attack on plant-based meat’s two giants: Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, both of which use methylcellulose in some of their products. 🤔🥦 The use of ingredients like methylcellulose is a major point of contention for plant-based meats – but what is it, and should we really not be eating it? 🇪🇺🧬 Methylcellulose (known as E461 in its E number in the EU) is a compound derived from cellulose – a naturally occurring substance found in the cells of plants like root and leafy vegetables, fruits such as apples and pears, as well as legumes. Unlike cellulose, however, methylcellulose is synthetically produced. Here are startups making methylcellulose alternatives: 🌿 Fiberstar, Inc. 🌿 Meala Foodtech 🌿 Eggmented Reality - Fermenting Functionality 🌿 Plantible Foods #GreenQueen #altprotein #futurefoods #foodtech #sustainability #climateaction #emissions

🍞 EQUII launches high protein and low carb bread, which contains all essential amino acids The bread contains 10 grams per slice, and provides all 9 essential amino acids, making it a convenient option for meeting protein needs. The company's proprietary approach involves using microbial proteins to ferment grains, resulting in high-protein grain flours with 3-6 times more protein and fewer carbohydrates than regular flour. Originally known as Cella Farms, Equii’s versatile products cater to both athletes seeking performance fuel and health-conscious consumers looking for nutritious options. Monica Bhatia, Baljit Singh Ghotra ✉️ Hungry for more on biotechnology shaping food's future? Devour the free subscription and join a list of founders, investors, and biotech enthusiasts leading the food revolution: betterbioeconomy.com #bioeconomy #foodtech #altprotein #futureoffood #food #sustainability

🌱 Exciting News in the Alternative Protein Industry: Eat Just, Inc. Secures Strategic Investment 🌱 🔗 Strategic Investment: Eat Just, Inc., a frontrunner in the alternative protein sector, has successfully closed a new financing round. The investment is led by VegInvest/Ahimsa Foundation, which shares Eat Just's mission to replace animal-based foods with plant-based and cell-cultured alternatives. 🥚 Market Dominance: The company's plant-based egg brand, JUST Egg, is a market leader, available in over 48,000 retail points across North America. 🍗 Regulatory Milestones: In a historic move, GOOD Meat, Eat Just's cultivated meat division, has received U.S. regulatory approval, allowing its cell-cultured chicken to be sold in the U.S. for the first time. 🌍 Sustainability Impact: Eat Just has significantly contributed to environmental conservation, saving billions of gallons of water and millions of kilograms of CO2e. 📈 Scaling Up: With the new funding, the company plans to scale up production and enhance the quality and profitability of its products. Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just, expressed his enthusiasm: "We founded this company to take the animal out of the equation, and today, we’re proud to continue this vital work with an investor who has shown an unwavering commitment to this ideal." 🎯 Future Plans: The company has set ambitious goals for the coming decade, including producing millions of pounds of meat. This investment marks a significant step forward in the journey towards more sustainable and ethical food systems. It's exciting to see companies like Eat Just making strides in innovation and sustainability. 📸 Image provided by Eat Just, Inc. Feel free to share your thoughts on this development and what it means for the future of sustainable food systems! 🌿

Exciting News in Innovation! 🚀 Pureture has achieved a significant technological breakthrough by enhancing the cultivation process of yeast protein. This innovation reduces cultivation time by up to 30%, eliminates the need for antifoaming agents, and supports clean label and sustainable food production. I am immensely proud of the dedication and innovation of our Pureture team. Our relentless pursuit of excellence is genuinely changing the world. By providing high-quality animal-free protein alternatives, we are setting new standards in the food industry and contributing to a sustainable future. We are not just creating products; we are shaping the future of food. Our innovative technology ensures that plant-based casein protein retains its emulsifying and thickening properties, making it ideal for products like milk, cheese, and protein shakes. This is a significant step towards sustainability in food production, and we are thrilled to accelerate the adoption of alternative foods. #Innovation #TechDevelopment #Sustainability #PlantBased #FoodTech #CleanLabel #ZeroDairy #FutureOfFood #Pureture #ProudTeam #ChangingTheWorld

Holistic business is no different than holistic health. This started off so good, but starts pointing the finger at profit. Cash flow is the lifeblood of a company. If you are going to make an overnight switch there are many factors to consider. Can the supply chain handle it? Can your production facilities handle it? How will consumers react? If one or more of these limited factors put your cash flow at risk, than an overnight switch is not an option. As a detoxification coach; why support people that are trying to get healthy, why not just support healthy people from the start?

Scottish alternative protein startup ENOUGH has raised $43.6 million as it plans to double its production by next year. The Scottish company has ambitious goals of producing one million tons of its mycoprotein product “Abunda,” which is the equivalent of replacing five million cows or more than one billion chickens. The mycoprotein supplier will use the funding to scale up production of Abunda, which is its meat alternative made from fungi, so that it can “serve a greater customer demand,” the company said. Enough is looking first to expand in Europe. Enough is embarking on its ambitious plans as the mycoprotein market is expected to see massive growth in the years ahead. Fungus fermentation may be a solution to achieving a preferred satiating taste and texture in plant-based products, which has been a challenge for the space. Plant-base food adoption has faced many challenges and if there ways to improve the taste and food quality, then that will go a long way to support better adoption. The B2B alternative protein company currently has more than 30 customers, including Unilever, which plans to test Abunda in its European Vegetarian Butcher products, Dutch poultry processor Plukon Food Group, and manufacturers supplying UK retailer Marks and Spencer, according to the AgFunder Network.  CEO Jim Laird told the AgFunder Network that the company had potential customers in North America, but that the majority of their product will be in Europe. This ties nicely to my work on plant-base food including profitability issues along with market adoption: https://lnkd.in/gzPa6685   #plantbase #protein #plantbaseadoption #profitabiliy

Precision Fermentation in the Food Industry Precision fermentation marks a significant shift in food technology. Unlike traditional methods, it makes use of microorganisms to create specific functional ingredients without the need for conventional farming. This precise process enables the customization of flavors, textures, and nutritional content. Its benefits are far-reaching, including reduced environmental impact, enhance food security, and potential solutions to global food challenges. Already, precision fermentation is useful in creating plant-based alternative proteins, used in meat alternatives, providing a sustainable and ethical protein source. The technology is used to create animal-free dairy products like cheese and milk by producing proteins like casein and whey through fermentation processes. Beyond traditional beer and wine production, precision fermentation is utilized to engineer specific flavors, aromas, and characteristics in alcoholic beverages. Also this is used to manufacture enzymes crucial in food processing, improving efficiency and reducing the need for traditional extraction methods. As the industry increasingly adopts this innovation, we anticipate a future where food production is more diverse, sustainable, and modify to meet evolving consumer needs. #alternativeproteins #culturedmeat #enzymes #Cultureddairy #precisionfermentation #brewing #nutraceuticals #biochemical #precisionagriculture

🇩🇰 Matr Foods is using fungal fermentation and upcycled vegetables to make meat alternatives The Danish startup uses organic ingredients like oats, split peas, lupin, beetroot, and potatoes. It adds natural fungi spores to ferment these ingredients, creating low-calorie, high-fibre products with no additives. MATR offers plant-based steak, mince, and customizable blocks. Their products have launched in the UK, Denmark, and Germany, including collaborations with Sticks'n'Sushi and Gasoline Grill. MATR secured €1.3 million in funding and plans to expand production and launch in retail stores next year due to high demand. Randi Wahlsten ✉️ Hungry for more on biotechnology shaping food's future? Devour the free subscription and join a list of founders, investors, and biotech enthusiasts leading the food revolution: betterbioeconomy.com #bioeconomy #foodtech #altprotein #futureoffood #food #sustainability

For those interested in how Alternative Fats can impact the Plant-based meat industry, here is something to share: "It turns out, a key reason why many humans love animal meat so much has to do with fat. Think of crispy bacon, for example, or pork belly. The texture, the mouthfeel, and the flavor have a lot to do with fat content. “Fat tends to absorb the aromatic compounds from an animal’s food, and as the animal ages, those flavor compounds intensify,” explains meat-processing giant Teys Australia. If you’re thinking, “But is this relative to the plant-based sector?” The answer is a big yes. If we know exactly what makes people want to eat meat, then food scientists and brands can get to work on replicating it in a more sustainable, healthier way. And that’s why, all over the world, alternative protein companies are working on fat. Eng Hann L. Bhavesh Jani Adrian Boelle Ⓥ 🌱 DOMINIQUE TOUCHAUDNicole Fich Pratichee Kapoor

Trending Now: Pea Protein Takes Center Stage in Fair Trade News Cycle, Further Fueling Plant-Based Movement There are a lot of factors that come into play when choosing the right ingredients for plant-based applications: organic, sustainable, clean-label, taste, quality, functionality, and more. Fortunately, pea protein checks all the boxes. PURIS pea protein, an essential building block of plant-based foods, is domestically produced, extremely price competitive, and provides superior taste, texture, and functionality to your finished applications. Every plant-based application, from protein drinks, yogurts, and eggs to burgers, chicken, and cereals, will benefit from the versatility of this superpowered ingredient. With pea protein from Palmer Holland, you benefit from every link in the food production chain: flavorful and nutritious choices for consumers, profitable opportunities for growers, flexible ingredients for food manufacturers, and practices that nourish the soil, the environment, and the Earth. What’s more sustainable than a crop that actually gives nutrients back to the soil? That’s all great, but what about supply chain reliability? We’re glad you asked. Your supply is produced right here in the U.S., which means you’ll benefit from localized warehousing and representation from your friendly neighborhood Palmer Holland Ingredient Consultant. Have questions about the recent news cycle, how pea protein can improve consumer well-being, or how you can break into untapped markets? Give us a call to discuss how pea protein can help you unlock growth with the latest market trends. Let’s build a stronger, more sustainable food system together. #peafiber #peas #plantprotein #plantbased #peaprotein #plantbaseddiet  #innovation #sustainability