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The Protein Digest

Weekly briefing on the protein economy — signals and market developments

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Latest Digests

Week20

Digest

Week 20May 15, 2026

Bunge opens $550M soy plant; EU bars Brazilian meat; cell-cultured products reach pets and courts

Bunge's $550 million soy protein concentrate facility in Indiana begins operations as the largest of its kind in the United States, while the EU blocks Brazilian meat imports over antimicrobial noncompliance effective September. Adamo Foods secures €10 million in EU funding for mycelium-based whole-cut meat analogues, and Upside Foods challenges Florida's cell-cultured meat ban in court.

Week19

Digest

Week 19May 8, 2026

Meatly raises £10.4M for cell-cultured facility; Beyond Meat narrows loss; U.S. meat sales hit $112 billion

Meatly secured £10.4 million in Series A funding for a 20,000-liter bioreactor facility in London, while Beyond Meat narrowed its quarterly loss to $0.10 per share, beating estimates. The U.S. meat industry posted record $112 billion in sales as tight cattle supply drove beef prices to historic highs.

Week18

Digest

Week 18May 1, 2026

KKR explores $10bn Flora Food sale; Beyond Meat surges on U.S. Army plant protein interest

KKR is reportedly seeking up to $10 billion for Flora Food Group as Beyond Meat shares jumped roughly 22% after the U.S. Army issued a notice exploring plant protein rations for supply chain resilience. Fermeate raised $2 million for its optogenetics-based fermentation platform, while Moolec Science hit an industrialization milestone with its high-GLA safflower campaign.

Week17

Digest

Week 17April 24, 2026

Roslin Institute achieves tenfold cell-cultured fat yield; FSANZ approves soy heart health claim; Planetary raises CHF 22 million

Roslin Institute researchers identified a protein marker enabling cattle stem cells to produce ten times more fat, a potential cost breakthrough for cell-cultured meat. FSANZ approved a heart health claim for isolated soy protein, Planetary raised CHF 22 million for mycoprotein, and U.S. states continued to diverge on cell-cultured meat regulation.

Week16

Digest

Week 16April 17, 2026

Parima wins Singapore cell-cultured duck approval; BRIGHT and Novonesis partner on CO₂-to-protein fermentation

Parima secured Singapore Food Agency clearance for cell-cultured duck, its second approval in the city-state, while BRIGHT and Novonesis partnered to convert waste CO₂ into food-grade protein via microbial fermentation. Separately, Solar Foods patented its Solein gas fermentation process in the U.S. and Clean Food Group raised £5.2 million for a fermentation-derived oils facility.

Week15

Digest

Week 15April 10, 2026

EU committee restricts meat labels for plant products; CSIRO exits fermentation research; Yale links livestock density to cancer

The European Parliament's AGRI committee advanced restrictions on terms like "bacon" and "steak" for plant protein products, while Canada moved to finalize labeling guidance for plant-based egg alternatives. A Yale study found cancer rates 4 to 8 percent higher in counties with the densest concentrations of industrial livestock operations across California, Iowa, and Texas.

Week14

Digest

Week 14April 3, 2026

JBS bets on cell-cultured protein; Beyond Meat earns climate designation; Mississippi bans cell-cultured dairy

JBS opened a $37 million biotech R&D center in Brazil to develop cell-cultured protein, while Mississippi became the first U.S. state to ban cell-cultured dairy products. Beyond Meat's plant protein products earned the first climate solution designation under the ERI framework, even as the company issued a weak Q1 revenue outlook.

Week13

Digest

Week 13March 27, 2026

Florida upholds cell-cultured meat ban; Mississippi bars cell-cultured milk; Foreverland raises €6 million

A federal appeals court upheld Florida's ban on cell-cultured meat sales, while Mississippi became the first U.S. state to prohibit cell-cultured milk. Foreverland raised €6 million to expand its cocoa-free chocolate across Europe, and Enifer filed for FDA GRAS review of its PEKILO mycoprotein.

Week12

Digest

Week 12March 20, 2026

Saudi Arabia plans world's largest single-cell protein plant; South Dakota bans cell-cultured meat for five years

SIIG and Unibio plan a 50,000-tonne single-cell protein facility in Saudi Arabia, set to begin construction in 2026, while Solar Foods unveils a 40-fold expansion of its Solein microbial protein capacity. South Dakota enacted a five-year moratorium on cell-cultured meat as livestock disease outbreaks intensify across Greece, South Africa, and Russia.

Week11

Digest

Week 11March 13, 2026

Arkansas researchers develop rice-based cheese; UK sandbox advances cell-cultured meat approval prospects

University of Arkansas researchers have developed plant-based cheese from rice milling byproducts, yielding distinct functional properties for texture and melting. Separately, the UK FSA's regulatory sandbox is accelerating prospects for cell-cultured meat approval, while Pall Corporation touts ceramic membranes that boost filtration area by 45%.

The Protein Digest

Protein economy intelligence,weekly

Latest Digests

Bunge opens $550M soy plant; EU bars Brazilian meat; cell-cultured products reach pets and courts

Meatly raises £10.4M for cell-cultured facility; Beyond Meat narrows loss; U.S. meat sales hit $112 billion

KKR explores $10bn Flora Food sale; Beyond Meat surges on U.S. Army plant protein interest

Roslin Institute achieves tenfold cell-cultured fat yield; FSANZ approves soy heart health claim; Planetary raises CHF 22 million

Parima wins Singapore cell-cultured duck approval; BRIGHT and Novonesis partner on CO₂-to-protein fermentation

EU committee restricts meat labels for plant products; CSIRO exits fermentation research; Yale links livestock density to cancer

JBS bets on cell-cultured protein; Beyond Meat earns climate designation; Mississippi bans cell-cultured dairy

Florida upholds cell-cultured meat ban; Mississippi bars cell-cultured milk; Foreverland raises €6 million

Saudi Arabia plans world's largest single-cell protein plant; South Dakota bans cell-cultured meat for five years

Arkansas researchers develop rice-based cheese; UK sandbox advances cell-cultured meat approval prospects

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