The Good Food Institute Europe

📰 August newsletter 📰 It might be the time of year for summer holidays, but alternative protein news in Europe isn't taking a break! Check out this month's bumper edition of the GFI Europe newsletter, including the first ever regulatory submission for cultivated meat in the EU, cultivated pet food approved in the UK and investment figures revealing growing interest in fermentation. All this and more here👇

🥩 How does cultivated meat compare with conventional meat on environmental metrics? Cultivating meat from cells has clear environmental benefits, as the production can cut the climate impact by up to 92%, reduce air pollution by up to 94%, and use up to 90% less land compared with farming animals. Cultivated meat has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of our food system, cater to growing global meat demand, and feed more people with fewer resources. For this to happen, we need public sector investment in open-access research to overcome key bottlenecks and support the growth of the entire sector. European governments need to step up with their support to ensure that Europe does not fall behind on this game-changing food. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eKKTFGUb #cultivatedmeat #protein #environment #sustainability

🍄Unlocking the potential of mushrooms: a sustainable protein source for the future. With a growing global population and climate change threatening food production, the search for new and sustainable sources of protein is more important than ever. Edible mushroom species have shown great promise as a protein source since growing them requires minimal time and space, they are very nutritious and they are incredibly-resource efficient. Wageningen University & Research researcher Karin Scholtmeijer is investigating with her team how mushroom-forming fungi could be used in protein production. The goal of the research project is to identify prime candidates for larger-scale production and understand how protein levels and quality in mushrooms can be further improved. The team has selected 60 edible mushroom species with high protein levels to grow on different substrates and in various growing conditions. The following step is to analyse the types of proteins and properties each species contains and learn more about the way these selected species accumulate protein. Scholtmeijer and her colleagues are focusing specifically on mycelium – the network of fungal threads that produce mushrooms – which is normally discarded in mushroom production. Although the research has only just started, these unique organisms have already impressed the researchers with their various structures, colours and aromas. What is particularly promising for Scholtmeijer is the pleasantly fresh and fruity aromas that many varieties possess. Species like this have great potential to be used in food products in the future. Read more about the research: https://lnkd.in/dTRRP9_G #mycelium #proteindiversification #foodsecurity

💡Research spotlight💡A bright future ahead for fermented plant-based foods in Europe? The preliminary findings from the EU-funded HealthFerm survey indicate a significant interest in and market potential for plant-based fermented foods among European consumers. The pioneering study delved into consumer preferences and attitudes towards plant-based fermented foods by surveying over 7,800 people across nine European countries. 🤝Overall, European consumers expressed high trust in different fermentation processes. The trust was highest in Romania, Finland and Sweden, most likely reflecting the prevalence of traditional fermentation. 🍞Unsurprisingly, traditional fermentation was the most accepted type of fermentation, as 61% of respondents were willing to try products prepared through this method. Precision and biomass fermentation were not far behind, with 52% and 49%, respectively. The levels of acceptance varied depending on dietary lifestyle, geography, age, education, and socioeconomic group. 🧀Although the study revealed that most plant-based fermented foods were unfamiliar to consumers, certain foods, such as fermented plant-based yoghurt and cheese, stood out. 11% of respondents reported consuming plant-based fermented yoghurt more than 4–6 times per week, while nearly 10% indicated having plant-based cheese at least 4–6 times per week. 😋Taste remains the most important motive for choosing food, with 87% of respondents indicating this as their primary motivation. When asked about the sensory preferences in plant-based fermented food, such as plant-based chicken alternatives, consumers prefer even colour, natural shape, chicken-like odour, salty and spicy flavours, and a tender, uniform texture. 🌱Clean labels and organic certifications on plant-based fermented foods were important to consumers. However, respondents were uncertain about the health and sustainability benefits of fermented plant-based foods. The study concludes that despite the significant consumer interest in fermented plant-based foods, major barriers remain to expanded consumption in Europe. Familiarity, convenience, and taste are essential areas to improve. The findings from the HealthFerm study provide valuable guidance to food innovators in developing next-generation plant-based fermented foods that align with consumers’ expectations. Read more about the study here: https://lnkd.in/eu6K6KBt #fermentation #plantbased

📝New report 📝 Funding the build – as venture capital investors remain cautious, what other ways can alternative protein companies use to finance high-risk high-reward activities such as scale-up? This new guide from The Good Food Institute explores the funding landscape for alternative protein companies in 2024, identifying the varied approaches beyond venture capital startups can seek in order to scale up their production. Key takeaways:  🤸Flexibility is key: in the context of low availability of funds, working with multiple funding sources or sharing infrastructure with other companies can help maximise the funds raised while reducing the amount of money needed. 🏭Seeking applicability for public grants and funding can be an important strategy in contexts where funding is not sufficient to meet infrastructure needs. 👥These approaches can help but are not always enough – and to ensure the change can happen at the required scale and time-frames, cross-company collaboration to build blended finance and market shaping initiatives that can in turn unlock further investment will also be crucial. Unlocking funding for research, development and scale-up are currently crucial barriers to overcome for the alternative protein sector if they are to deliver on their huge potential to mitigate critical environmental, health and food security pressures created by conventional meat production. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eaVvSi65 #blendedfinance #marketshaping #funding #venturecapital

💷 Breaking: UK invests £15 million in alternative protein commercialisation 💷 Two of the UK’s largest government funding bodies – the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK – are investing £15 million in an innovation centre aimed at accelerating the commercialisation of plant-based, cultivated and fermentation-made foods. The establishment of the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC) will be supported with an additional £23 million coming from public and private sector partners, bringing the total investment sum to £38 million. The new hub is hosted by the University of Leeds and co-led with The James Hutton Institute, The University of Sheffield, and Imperial College London. NAPIC aims to develop products and ingredients from innovation to commercialisation while investigating how consumers can integrate these foods into their diets. The centre will also focus on using these same techniques to develop more sustainable animal feed and aquaculture. This new funding has pushed the UK’s total government investment in alternative proteins to more than £91 million (€103 million) and it clearly demonstrates the country’s continued commitment to developing this cutting-edge area of science and food production. Our UK Policy Manager Linus Pardoe said: “It is welcome to see the UK government making another significant investment in alternative proteins, bringing together scientific and business experts to accelerate the development of foods that can help boost our food security and create new green jobs.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dddV7RNV

📅Upcoming event!📅 We are excited to announce the upcoming conference, 'The science of cultivated meat: a multidisciplinary approach for the meat of the future', to be held on 26 September at the University of Torino in Italy, as part of European Biotech Week, organised by Assobiotec. The event will convene experts from across the fields of biotechnology, engineering, law, psychology and nutrition to explore the next steps for cultivated meat, and its potential to transform our food system. Save the date! More information coming soon.

👩🏻🔬Meet the researcher👩🏻🔬 Dr Petra Kluger’s background in tissue engineering has proven more than useful in the emerging field of cultivated meat, and she now leads a team at Reutlingen University in Germany, applying principles from biomedicine to tackle the bottlenecks needed to bring cultivated meat closer to commercialisation. She came to the field following years of researching human and animal tissue as an alternative to animal testing. Petra talked to us about the successes and new approaches developed by her team and shared her insights on the importance of networking, open-access research and collaboration to accelerate progress in cultivated meat R&D. Read more about Petra’s work in our latest blog, available in English and German: https://lnkd.in/eC-fG4Pj #cultivatedmeat #research

🎉A warm welcome to Charlotte Flores who joins the GFI Europe team this week as our UK Policy Assistant, on secondment for four months from Bryant Research! Charlotte will support GFI Europe’s policy work in the United Kingdom, advocating for supportive legislative frameworks that promote alternative proteins in the UK. Welcome to the team, Charlotte!

🥳 Happy birthday to us! Today marks five years since GFI Europe’s founding, and our new blog takes a ‘before and after’ look at the last five years of alternative proteins in Europe, and everything we’ve been able to achieve with the generous support of our donors.🥳 Since 22 August 2019, a lot has happened in the world – and also for alternative proteins. To celebrate GFI Europe's fifth 'birthday', our Head of Development Emily Johnson takes a look at the 'before and after' of alternative proteins in Europe, from the perspectives of science, policy, industry and our team, in 6 maps. GFI is powered by philanthropy, and everything we do is only possible thanks to the generous support of our family of donors, who share our commitment to impact-oriented approaches that can drive tangible change in the food system. In five years 🙌 We have welcomed 29 new team members, and our team is now spread across seven European countries. 💬 Our team has grown a lot more multilingual, from two to ten languages spoken fluently within the team. 💡 We have built a compelling evidence base for alternative proteins by commissioning, drafting and sharing Europe-centric research and insights. 📣 Our website has been expanded to cover three different languages (English, German, and Italian – fourth language Spanish coming soon), and we have published 150 news stories and blogs on our website. 📰 We have generated over 7,000 media hits. 🔬 The European scientific ecosystem has started to flourish as the number of our Alt Protein Project (APP) chapters in European universities has grown from one to 17. Also, the number of European research projects receiving GFI grant funding has increased from five to 30. 📈 European governments have started to invest more and more in alternative protein research. Five years ago, only one government-funded research project exceeded €1 million and now 14 countries have invested over this sum. 🚀The number of European alternative protein startups and companies has skyrocketed from 497 companies to 723 across the continent. This remarkable process has been the product of the combined efforts of countless European researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers and nonprofits and we are so proud of the role we have been able to play in contributing to this progress. There is still a lot more work to be done if we want alternative proteins to meaningfully address some of the world's most pressing issues. We are up for the challenge, and we hope you are, too! Check out our new blog to learn more (available in English and Italian): https://lnkd.in/dvr--KYG