The Good Food Institute Europe

📰 September newsletter 📰 Check out this month's bumper edition of the GFI Europe newsletter, including world-first printed cultivated seabass, the researcher applying tissue engineering to cultivated meat, and new UK investment in alternative protein R&D. All this and more here👇

📣 Positive news on plant-based labelling in the EU 📣 The landmark ruling delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) rules that EU countries are not legally allowed to introduce national labelling restrictions for plant-based foods unless they have defined clear legal names for meat products.   🍔 This ruling is great news for consumers, as surveys show they support common sense labelling practices like calling a veggie burger a burger! #plantbased #labelling #EU

🧀 Self-assembling casein proteins – a new way to improve the stretchiness and creaminess of plant-based cheese 🧀 A common challenge with existing plant-based cheeses is that they often lack the texture of dairy cheese, particularly the stretchiness and creaminess that many consumers expect. This is largely due to the absence of casein proteins, which are essential for the structure and functionality of dairy cheese. Latest advancements in precision fermentation have shown great potential in producing casein micelles – the ‘building blocks of dairy’ – that can recreate the flavour and texture of dairy cheese in plant-based products. One promising way to develop casein micelles is through self-assembly. DairyX is one startup exploring this method by using engineered yeast strains to produce casein proteins which can self-assemble to form micelles – the tiny structures responsible for the unique texture in cheese. Besides self-assembly, there are other methods for developing micelles, such as modifying proteins post-fermentation – a model being explored by researchers at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. This is needed as the proteins that are normally produced by yeast don’t have the chemical structure needed for micelle formation. Methods using precision fermentation can play a key role in boosting food security, driving green economic growth and providing new opportunities for dairy companies, and it’s crucial that more open-access research is carried out into this area to share innovation and boost progress across the whole sector. Read more about the use of fermented caseins in plant-based foods: https://lnkd.in/ddScqDma #precisionfermentation

📢 We are hiring! 📢 We’re looking for an Administrative Coordinator to join our growing team, working on a wide range of tasks to make our team more efficient, more effective, and better connected. Based in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, or the UK, this new team member will balance routine administrative tasks with internal project coordination to support the smooth running of GFI Europe’s team. We are seeking a new colleague with a collaborative approach and strong skills in problem-solving, communication and organisation. Sound like the role for you? Know someone who might be interested? Please help us spread the word! 📣 Check out the job description to learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/dv4xh_bE #hiring #operations

📅 There are just three weeks to go until The Future of Protein Production conference in Amsterdam! If you plan to attend, join us to learn about recent European policy developments impacting alternative proteins from our Deputy Head of Policy Alex Holst who will be speaking on a panel on the topic, or meet up on the ground with our Head of Industry Carlotte Lucas to learn about the latest developments and consumer insights in the sector. We are excited to again be partners of this mission-aligned event which will be held at RAI on 23 and 24 October. Get in touch if you’d like to catch up! If you're interested in coming to learn more but cost is a factor, the discount code GFI20 will offer a reduced registration fee. Check out the link in the comments to learn more about the event agenda. #innovation #alternativeproteins #conference

🎉 The Good Food Institute’s newest affiliate, The Good Food Institute Japan, launches today! 🎉 As the world’s fourth-largest economy and a global leader in advanced research and manufacturing, Japan has the potential to revolutionise alternative proteins. GFI Japan will focus on harnessing Japan’s world-class R&D ecosystem to drive breakthrough technologies in alternative proteins. Welcome to the GFI team, GFI Japan! 👏

🤝 Public-private partnerships are an emerging approach to help appropriately fund promising technologies such as alternative proteins to ensure they can reach their full potential with less exposure to prevailing economic headwinds – in particular overcoming expensive barriers to R&D such as accessing the necessary infrastructure to scale processes. Our blog features a number of case-studies on exciting examples of these initiatives from across Europe in the space of alternative proteins. Check them out in the comments! #PPP #infrastructure #investment

🎊 A warm welcome to our newest team member Lena Sheard who joins GFI Europe as Deputy Head of Operations (People) to manage our growing people operations team and projects. Lena will lead our People Operations and HR functions, enabling inclusive, empowering and efficient people workflows at GFI Europe. We are excited to have you on board, Lena!

📅 Upcoming event! 📅 Are you a bioeconomy innovator, company or investor looking for partners or new technologies in the area of biobased economy? Join the pitching, matchmaking and networking event “Pitch Perfect and Boost the European Bioeconomy” in Brussels on 3 December!   💡 This event seeks to bring together leading European innovators, start-ups, and spin-offs from the biobased sector, offering them the opportunity to book 7-minute pitches to present their solutions, products, or services to attending corporates and investors. 🚀 The programme includes various pre- and post-conference satellite events and a unique B2B online matchmaking event connecting startups, scale-ups, SMEs, large enterprises, research organisations, investors, and other stakeholders who operate in the biobased sector. Read more about the different ways you can take part in this event: https://lnkd.in/emcKFKRa #Innovation #Bioeconomy #Startups #Networking #BiobasedEconomy #Investors #Sustainability

Fantastic to see the Science Secretary Peter Kyle affirming the new UK government’s commitment to developing cultivated meat. The Good Food Institute Europe’s work with the UK Day One Project sets out clear, implementable actions for the new government and we look forward to continuing our support of the new administration. https://lnkd.in/eTcDDgdW https://lnkd.in/eUUhbJsC