NEW TECH FOODS

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have launched a new business support service to help companies developing cell-cultivated food products navigate the authorisation process.

Following the news that Simple Planet, a food-tech start-up based in Seoul, has announced its strategic initiative to pursue Halal certification for its cell-based food products, New Tech Foods spoke to Simple Planet’s Dominic Jeong to learn more about the certification and how moving into the global Halal market can help the cultivated meat industry gain more traction.

The UK government has announced its Digital & Technology Sector Plan as part of its broader Industrial Strategy, including a £184m Engineering Biology Scale-up Infrastructure Programme to build and upgrade facilities.

Australian biotech company Vow has announced that cultivated Japanese quail products under its brand, Forged, have been officially approved for sale in Australia and New Zealand.

Scotland’s biotechnology sector has launched the country’s first open-access 300-litre fermenter, designed to help early-stage companies scale up the production of bio-based products.

Researchers from the University of Tokyo have made progress in enhancing the taste of cultured meat by identifying and manipulating the amino acids responsible for flavour.

Australian cultivated meat start-up Magic Valley is raising $3 million to support the construction of its first manufacturing facility.

Australia’s first official tasting of cultivated meat took place on Thursday 29 May at the New South Wales Parliament, with Magic Valley serving samples of its lab-grown lamb meatballs and pork dumplings to MPs and government officials.