The Protein Digest

Heura Foods reaches operational profitability in Q1 2026. The Barcelona-based company achieved the milestone after scaling back in northern Europe to focus on Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France, and is now seeking white-label and licensing partnerships to extend its manufacturing platform into other markets. (agfundernews.com)

Müller plans acquisition of Berief Food to expand plant-based portfolio. The proposed deal, subject to competition authority approval, would bring Berief's four decades of experience in plant-based drinks, yogurt alternatives, and tofu products into the Müller group, expanding its private-label and branded capabilities in the category. (foodbev.com)

SoyftBiome raises funds from MYSC to scale plant-based cream and sauce lines. The undisclosed investment, made through MYSC's Extramile Lycon Fund, will support expanded B2B distribution to cafe and bakery franchises and the development of SoyftBiome's soybean fermentation byproduct-based ingredient platform. (venturesquare.net)

Amadori acquires Unconventional brand to enter Italy's plant-based market. The Italian agri-food group bought the Unconventional 100% Vegetale brand and its Coriano production site from dairy group Granarolo, becoming the third-largest branded player in Italy's plant-based processed food sector. (esmmagazine.com)

Netherlands rebalances food pyramid toward plant proteins. The updated "Wheel of Five" raises recommended weekly intake of legumes, tofu, and tempeh to 250 grams while cutting suggested meat consumption to 300 grams, aligning with the Health Council's 2025 dietary guidelines revision. (ingredientsnetwork.com)

Bunge opens $550 million soy protein concentrate plant in Indiana. The $550 million Morristown facility, described as the largest soy protein concentrate plant in the United States, will supply ingredients for plant-based foods, processed meat, pet food, and feed products while boosting Indiana soybean demand by 4.5 million bushels. (world-grain.com)

Canada and India launch joint pulse protein center of excellence. The University of Saskatchewan and India's National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management will co-lead the bilateral initiative, which targets joint research, value-added processing, and food security applications as India's pulse demand is projected to reach 40 million tonnes by 2030. (theglobeandmail.com)

Single-cell proteins could grow tenfold for aquafeed by 2030. CFI's 2026 report estimates production could reach 150,000–500,000 metric tonnes by 2030, up from 30,000–40,000 today, with methane-fed bacterial pathways identified as the most scalable route to fishmeal cost competitiveness. (aquafeed.com)

Review ranks 57 bacterial species for single cell protein production. The study, published in npj Science of Food, uses multivariate analysis to evaluate safety, protein quality, and production efficiency across candidates, providing a framework for selecting species suited to sustainable protein supply. (nature.com)

FDA clears first microbial fermentation-derived animal protein for pet food. Bond Pet Foods' yeast-derived lamb protein ingredient, developed with Hill's Pet Nutrition, secured an FDA letter of no objection following a six-month canine feeding study, clearing a path toward U.S. commercialization. (prnewswire.com)

Meta-analysis finds fruit waste can yield high-protein microbial biomass. The study, published in npj Science of Food, found protein contents of 21–55% by dry weight across microbial platforms grown on fruit processing residues, though human clinical validation and scalability challenges remain unresolved. (nature.com)

Upside Foods challenges Florida's cell-cultured meat ban as protectionist. The company argues the state's prohibition on cell-cultured meat manufacturing and sales is intended to protect the conventional meat industry rather than address legitimate public health concerns. (nationalhogfarmer.com)

FORZA10 debuts EU's first cell-cultured meat pet food. The wet dog food, branded Coolty Meat, contains 26% cell-cultured meat supplied by Czech biotech firm BeneMeat and targets dogs with food intolerances as a monoprotein product free from antibiotics, hormones, and preservatives. (petfoodindustry.com)

Agronomics leads $5 million round for cell-cultured meat firm SuperMeat. The AIM-listed clean food investor committed the funds through newly issued shares as part of a targeted $10 million Series A-4 round, with SuperMeat planning to pursue a licensing-led launch in Switzerland backed by partnerships with Ajinomoto and Migros subsidiary Micarna. (morningstar.com)

UC Davis and California Cultured aim to scale cell-cultured chocolate by 2027. Backed by NSF and BioMADE grants, UC Davis researchers and California Cultured are optimizing bioreactor designs to grow cacao plant cells at scale, with commercial cocoa powder production expected in early 2027. (ucdavis.edu)

Adamo Foods secures EU-backed €10m grant to scale mycelium steak production. The three-year MycoStruct project, funded through the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking under Horizon Europe, will support the scale-up of Adamo's fungal fermentation platform for whole-cut meat analogues alongside a consortium of 12 European partners. (foodbev.com)

Enifer and Rovio Pet Foods launch dog treat made with Pekilo mycoprotein. The semi-moist treat, built around Enifer's fungi-based Pekilo ingredient with more than 60% protein, follows the company's first four-ton commercial production run and is also available for white-label applications. (Protein Report)

BLM proposes grazing regulation overhaul affecting small ranchers on federal lands. The proposed rule, published May 12, 2026, would broaden land health standards across all BLM programs, grant ranchers more operational flexibility, and automatically stay grazing decisions during appeals, with public comments due by July 13, 2026. (advocacy.sba.gov)

Minnesota faces pressure to assess climate impact of major dairy expansion. Organizations have called on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to require a full Environmental Impact Statement for Riverview, LLP's proposed expansion to nearly 19,000 cows, which would make it the state's largest dairy facility. (law.yale.edu)

Deportations linked to lower food safety at U.S. meat plants, Purdue study finds. Research drawing on 15 years of federal inspection data from approximately 6,000 plants found that deportations increased food safety violations, raised wages, and boosted worker turnover in a pattern consistent with labor shortages. (ag.purdue.edu)

New York bill would ban lead-ammunition game meat donations to food pantries. The Lead-Free Game Donation Act, filed in the 2026 session, would make New York the second state after Minnesota to bar game harvested with lead ammunition from being donated to food banks, after a study found 19% of sampled venison packages contained lead fragments. (adirondackexplorer.org)

WOAH warns animal health spending lags as disease threats mount. The organization's 2026 report finds that more than 20% of global animal production is lost to preventable disease each year, while the sector receives less than 0.6% of total global health spending. (bovinevetonline.com)

Wisconsin dairy farm reports second manure spill in months, killing fish. Deercreek Holsteins LLC reported a valve failure that sent manure into a tributary of Black Creek in Marathon County, killing at least 100 minnows, just months after a separate equipment malfunction released roughly 100,000 gallons of manure at the same facility. (wisfarmer.com)

EU bars Brazilian meat imports over antimicrobial noncompliance. An expert committee ruled that Brazil no longer meets the bloc's antimicrobial standards for food-producing animals, with the ban set to take effect September 3—just days after the EU-Mercosur trade deal provisionally entered into force. (tvpworld.com)

Proposed settlement would bar Agri Stats from sharing pricing data among meat processors. The deal, which requires judicial approval, would resolve a 2023 DOJ antitrust lawsuit by requiring Agri Stats to stop circulating non-public pricing data exclusively among processors and to open most of its reports to farmers and buyers. (capitalpress.com)

Colorado CAFO ammonia pollution growing three times faster than in urban areas. A decade-long Colorado State University study found ammonia levels in livestock-dense parts of the Front Range rising far faster than in Denver, amid lawsuits challenging the state's oversight of pollution from large-scale animal feeding operations. (thenewlede.org)

FSIS alerts public to possible Listeria contamination in headcheese deli meat. Crawford Sausage Co. headcheese products are at the center of the warning, with FSIS urging retail delis to sanitize surfaces and discard any open meats and cheeses that may have come into contact with the affected items. (fsis.usda.gov)

UK veterinary bodies call for outright ban on enriched cages for laying hens. A joint policy paper argues enriched cages still deliver significantly poorer welfare outcomes than cage-free systems and recommends a phaseout over at least five years, alongside an import ban on caged-production eggs. (vettimes.com)