NEW TECH FOODS

Cell-based technology company TurtleTree Labs has announced the opening of its new R&D facility located in West Sacramento, California. TurtleTree uses innovative cell-based technologies to create sustainable food and dairy. The company created a proprietary technology that uses mammalian cells to produce milk, with no animals needed. The start-up company, founded in Singapore, plans to expand in the US and the new research facility will “spur the development of precision fermentation technology currently used to produce valuable milk ingredients like lactoferrin”. The new 24,000 sqft research hub includes the companies state-of-the-art cell-based technologies and will create approximately 40 new tech-related jobs in the area. Fengru Lin, TurtleTree’s CEO and co-founder, stated: “Establishing this R&D facility in Greater Sacramento marks the first step towards bringing our unique products from development to market—one that we’re very glad will help unlock new opportunities within the local community. We’re eagerly looking forward to working with the brilliant talent in the area and building a future generation of nutrition that we can all enjoy for decades to come.” This announcement comes after TurtleTree raised $6.2 million in a Pre-A funding round to accelerate the development of its cell-based milk solutions last year. #TurtleTree #US

Global incubator for advancements in the dairy industry, Mylkcubator, has launched its first edition with the selection of four start-ups. The opening edition was launched by Pascual Innoventures in collaboration with Eatable Adventures, and will enable the chosen start-ups to “lay the foundations for a new path of development and innovation for the dairy industry and respond to the big challenges it faces”. Sejal Ravji, director of Pascual Innoventures, said: “Mylkcubator launches its first edition with the aim of marking a dramatic before and after in food innovation. I think we are facing global challenges that can only be resolved thanks to bold bets like this; it’s a starting point for the development of the dairy products of the future. It’s a very ambitious project at many levels, including technological, but we’re partnering with leading experts, companies and investors from all over the world who share our vision to make it happen.” The selected start-ups include: Real Deal Milk (Spain): Uses precision fermentation to develop dairy products that are nutritionally and gastronomically identical to their traditional dairy counterparts. Zero Cow factory (India): Produces dairy products using microbial bioengineering and precision fermentation. De Novo Dairy (South Africa): Uses precision fermentation technology to produce animal-free dairy proteins that “provide the same sensory experience and nutrition” as dairy. M2Factors (US): 108Lab’s subsidiary M2Factors is accelerating the state-of-the-art in cell-cultured dairy with the aim of reducing the cost of production. The incubation programme will begin with its first sessions in order to determine the state of development of each project (at a business and technical level), with guidance from Pascual Innoventures, Eatable Adventures and the investors and partners involved. #Mylkcubator #Spain

US biotechnology company Biomilq has secured $21 million in Series A funding, as it aims to bring cell-cultured human milk to market. The funding was led by global life science investor Novo Holdings, with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Blue Horizon, Spero Ventures, Digitalis Ventures, Green Generation Fund and Gaingels. The investment will help Biomilq produce cell-based human milk that mimics the nutritional value of human breast milk and with a lower carbon footprint than traditional bovine-based infant formula. Kartik Dharmadhikari, Novo Holdings’ partner and Biomilq’s board director, said: “Our mission is to make a growing and positive impact on health, science and society. We are delighted to support Biomilq through its journey pioneering mammary biotechnology.” Dharmadhikari continued: “Its products have the potential to disrupt the infant supplemental feeding industry. We aim to use our scientific knowledge, operational expertise and global network to further strengthen the company’s ability to improve lives.” In 2020, Biomilq raised $3.5 million in funding to continue producing cultured breastmilk that offers supplemental nutrition to mother’s milk. #Biomilq #US

Cell-based food tech start-up, Mewery, has introduced what it says is “the first prototype” of cultivated meat based on microalgae. The prototype combines 75% pork cells and 25% microalgae cells. The Mewery scientific team, based in Brno, Czech Republic, cultivated this prototype in 10 weeks. Founder of Mewery, Roman Lauš, commented: “We already have several variants of media that work for us without animal products and which we continue to work with. It is like a cookbook.” He added: “You have to add somewhere, take away somewhere else, and you will only find out if it was successful when you bake the cake. We have typed specific parameters that we track and compare their dependencies. It’s bioinformatics in practice.” The microalgae adds nutritional benefits to the product such as vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, fibre and essential fatty acids. Mewery says it would like to have the finished product ready for the market within two years. Consumers will be able to access it once the corresponding legislation is ready. #Mewery #CzechRepublic #microalgae

Israeli cultivated meat producer MeaTech 3D has created a 3.67oz steak composed of bovine fat and muscle cells using 3D bioprinting. According to MeaTech, the steak is the largest produced to date using this method. The cells used to make the steak were produced using its own in-house 3D bioprinter. The process started by isolating cow stem cells from tissue samples and multiplying them. After reaching sufficient cellular mass, stem cells were formulated into bio-inks compatible with the company’s proprietary 3D bioprinter and then placed in an incubator to mature into fat and muscle. The cultivated steak contains no soy or pea protein. MeaTech aims to develop a replacement for traditional steak that maximises cell-based content rather than plant-based ingredients. MeaTech’s CEO and CTO, Sharon Fima, said: “Today’s breakthrough is the culmination of over one year’s efforts in our cellular biology and high-throughput tissue engineering processes, as well as our precision bioprinting technology”. She added: “By bioprinting a 3.67oz steak comprised of living tissue, we believe we have both validated our core technologies and placed ourselves at the forefront of the race to develop high-end, real cell-based cultivated premium meat products”. #MeaTech #Israel

Cult Food Science Corp, a Canadian company that invests in clean, lab-grown food, has diversified its portfolio with an investment in cultured chocolate manufacturer, California Cultured. Founded in 2020, California Cultured uses cell culture technology to produce cocoa products like cocoa powder, chocolate and cocoa butter. The company aims to provide sustainable and ethical chocolate that is produced without the involvement of deforestation or child labour at any stage of the supply chain. California Cultured is focused on manufacturing cocoa by cultivating cocoa cells in tanks. Ingredients are to be sourced in the US to ensure that its products adhere to high ethical and sustainability standards. Cult Food Science cites child labour on cocoa farms as a “major concern” surrounding the production of chocolate. In addition, California Cultured says that cocoa production often relies on monoculture growth, leading to deforestation. #CultFoodScience #Canada

Cell-based meat company Aleph Farms has opened a new facility in Israel, in order to expand its operations and develop its technology. The new 65,000-square-foot facility in Rehovot is the location of Aleph Farms’ new headquarters and will increase the company’s operations “sixfold”. The site will encompass Aleph Farms’ new pilot production facility, which is set to become fully operational by summer this year, while also allowing the company to expand its R&D footprint. Aleph Farms plans to establish a new department within the site, called Aleph Frontiers, which will serve as a hub for new product development. The company hopes to commercialise its cultivated steak through its larger-scale production facilities, which are set to be built between 2022-2024. Eyal Rivlin, vice president of production and operations, said: “Aleph Farms’ team is passionate about changing the world around us, one bite at a time. Our new facility enables us to scale our production capabilities and launch limited quantities of our steak around the end of the year, pending regulatory approval. We’ve worked hard to get here and it is exciting to see the infrastructure that will help bring our vision to life.” The new developments follow the company’s completion of a $105 million Series B funding round last year. #AlephFarms #Israel

Believer Meats, formerly known as Future Meat Technologies, has begun construction of a 200,000-square-foot commercial-scale production facility. Once fully operational, the site will have “the capacity to produce at least 10,000 metric tons of cultivated meat,” making it the largest facility of its kind, according to Believer Meats. The project represents an initial investment of around $123.35 million in Wilson County, North Carolina, which is located approximately 40 miles east of the state’s capital city, Raleigh. The Israeli company plans to create more than 100 new jobs over the next three years. The facility will feature proprietary bioreactors that can achieve high cell densities and yield based on patented processes. It will also house an R&D and innovation centre. Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, CEO of Believer Meats, said: “Our facility propels Believer forward as a leader in the cultivated meat industry. Our brand has continually proven our commitment to scale production technology and capacity, and with our new US production centre, we are one step closer to commercialisation. “Believer is setting the standard globally to make it possible for future generations to eat and enjoy meat.” North Carolina Governor, Roy Cooper, commented: “We’re pleased to welcome Believer Meats to North Carolina. This important decision to build its first US commercialisation operation in Wilson County validates our innovative research and development and highly skilled talent, while further cementing our state as the best in the nation to do business.” Believer says that the facility is the latest in a series of developments as it prepares to bring products to consumers. #BelieverMeats #Israel

Cult Food Science has diversified its portfolio with an investment in cell-based mollusk company, Pearlita. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Pearlita uses stem cells and bioreactors to produce cultivated oysters that have a “rich flavour and substantial nutrition”. Canadian investment platform Cult Food Science is looking to accelerate the commercialisation of cellular agriculture and the incorporation of cultivated and cell-based foods into the global food supply chain. Nikita Michelsen, chief executive officer of Pearlita, commented: “We are so excited to have Cult part of our journey. It is truly inspiring to be part of a portfolio filled with so many forward-thinking and passionate companies that believe in a future without reliance on live animals for human consumption.” She continued: “With this investment, Pearlita is one step closer to bringing healthy and nutritious oysters to the plates of seafood lovers”. In February, Cult Food Science announced an investment in cultured chocolate manufacturer, California Cultured. #CultFoodScience #Pearlita #US

Israeli food technology company, Wilk, has developed what it claims is the “world’s first” yogurt made using cell-culture milk fat. The company says its concept product will prove the viability of its cell-based technology, minimising the need to use animals in future dairy production. The product contains fat cultured from cells, retaining the inherent macro- and micronutrients only found in real milk fat. Tomer Aizen, CEO of Wilk, commented: “It has long been established that milk fat is integral to supporting human health and nutrition, aiding the absorption of key nutrients, such as vitamins D and E and calcium, into the blood while providing a rich source of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties”. He continued: “These core properties cannot be replicated through alternative technologies, making Wilk the first company in the world to develop a dairy product containing genuine, cell-cultured milk fat. We will continue investing our efforts and resources to develop cell-cultured milk and breast milk components that will help our partners produce healthier products in a more sustainable manner.” The project is expected to last six months, during which the company will increase the production capacity of cell-cultured fat in its facilities and establish optimal fat separation methods for use in foods. #Wilk #Israel

Swiss cultivated meat producer, Mirai Foods, has entered into a strategic partnership with Shiok Meats subsidiary Gaia Foods, to develop cultivated beef products in Singapore. The partnership will see the exchange of know-how and supplies to bring cultivated beef to Singapore. Mirai will supply Gaia with its bovine muscle and fat stem cells. The company says these are natural, highly pure, non-genetically modified cells “collected from premium cattle breeds”. Christoph Mayr, CEO at Mirai, said: “We are excited to partner with one of the world’s leading cultivated seafood producers and their subsidiary cultivated meat company to extend the culinary choice for Singaporean consumers to premium, Swiss quality cultivated beef. Partnering with a Singaporean company is particularly interesting for us given the country’s strong distribution and partnership network across the Asia Pacific region, which has been showing a growing appetite for safe, high-quality beef.” Meanwhile, Shiok will provide Mirai with its regulatory information and expertise, gained from being “located in the first country in the world to approve the sale of cultivated meat and home to the largest cultivated meat facility in Asia”. Sandhya Sriram, group CEO at Shiok Meats and Gaia Foods, added: “This partnership is the result of a strong relationship we have been building with MIRAI. We already started working with Mirai’s stem cells and are very happy with their performance. Whilst we will leverage our regulatory status and expertise to help Mirai accelerate its market entry in Singapore, we are also eyeing on potential production and distribution of our seafood products in Switzerland, a high purchasing power market with a strong first adoption mindset.” #ShiokMeats #MiraiFoods #Switzerland #Singapore #GaiaFoods

Mosa Meat is scaling up its cultured beef production to industrial levels after co-founder Mark Post debuted the first cultivated hamburger in 2013. A new industrial production development centre is being developed near to Mosa Meat’s existing pilot facility in Maastricht, the Netherlands. After demonstrating its process at pilot scale, Mosa Meat says that it is ready for the next phase of its expansion, featuring industrial-size production lines that enable larger quantities of beef. “We’ve expanded our space by 30,000-square-feet in our next phase, which brings Mosa Meat’s total footprint to over 77,000-square-feet,” said Maarten Bosch, CEO of Mosa Meat. “This makes us the largest cultivated meat campus in the world and provides a solid foundation for our European and global commercialisation plans.” Mosa Meat’s mission is to help to fundamentally reshape the global food system, and it is focusing on offering an alternative to traditional beef as the protein with the biggest carbon footprint. #MosaMeat #theNetherlands