The Protein Digest

USDA researchers develop soybean with reduced off-flavors for food use. Scientists at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service combined multiple genetic traits in soybeans to minimize lipid oxidation and off-flavors, with a pending patent attracting interest from seed and food ingredient companies. (scientificdiscoveries.ars.usda.gov)

Review positions food-waste proteins as circular-economy material feedstocks. The Nature Reviews Materials paper maps valorization routes that transform protein-rich food side streams and fungal bioconversion products into sustainable packaging, coatings, biosensors, and CO2-capture materials within a depolymerization-and-reassembly recycling framework. (nature.com)

Germany's plant protein production falls for the first time. Output fell 1.2% to 124,900 tonnes in 2025, according to Destatis, even as total volumes remain more than double their 2019 level. The decline coincided with a 1.4 kg rise in per-capita meat consumption, driven primarily by increased poultry intake. (esmmagazine.com)

Statistical models reveal sensory drivers of plant-based meat liking. South Korean researchers found that smoked flavor, meaty flavor, and beany odor are key sensory drivers of consumer acceptance, with nonlinear modeling revealing optimal intensity ranges for each attribute. (nature.com)

StrainX Bioworks raises $13 million to scale microbial fermentation from India. The India-based synthetic biology company emerged from stealth with an integrated platform spanning strain engineering and fermentation at 10,000-liter scale, targeting global food, nutraceutical, and personal care markets. (Protein Report)

Ajinomoto replaces transferrin with plant-derived hinokitiol to cut cultured meat media costs. The plant-derived compound hinokitiol can substitute for costly transferrin in serum-free culture media while maintaining high cell proliferation, the company said, with commercialization targeted within a few years. (foodtech-japan.com)

Believer Meats wins U.S. bankruptcy recognition for Israeli proceedings. The Chapter 15 ruling by a North Carolina bankruptcy court allows the Israeli restructuring to proceed while excluding a Wilson, N.C., factory and related assets already under the control of a state court receiver. (news.bloomberglaw.com)

Pacifico Biolabs raises €7M to repurpose breweries for mycelium protein production. The Series A round will fund production scaling in Saxony, Germany, and commercial launches across the DACH and Nordic regions, with retail planned by late 2026. Pacifico Biolabs uses standard brewery fermentation tanks to produce mycelium-based ingredients, targeting price parity with conventional meat. (tech.eu)

Screwworm threat nears U.S. border, compounding record beef prices. The parasite, eradicated from the U.S. in the 1960s, has been detected within 100 miles of the border, prompting a ban on live Mexican cattle imports and a $750 million USDA investment in a sterile fly facility in Texas. (missoulacurrent.com)

Industry-tied meat studies 16 times more likely to report favorable health conclusions. A review of 500 nutrition studies found research with meat industry ties was far more likely to portray meat consumption favorably, raising concerns about the integrity of evidence used to shape dietary guidelines. (theconversation.com)

SEI report challenges insect farming's environmental claims in high-income countries. A review led by the Stockholm Environment Institute finds that emissions from insect production in temperate regions can approach those of chicken and pork, while often exceeding the soymeal and fishmeal that insect products most commonly displace. (eurekalert.org)

Sysco scores lowest on nature and climate in new seafood sustainability index. The inaugural Coller FAIRR Seafood Index, backed by investors managing $95 trillion in assets, gave the $81 billion foodservice company its lowest marks largely due to limited disclosure on deforestation, ecosystem impacts, and water scarcity. (trellis.net)

Australian study documents livestock mortality rates at New South Wales saleyards. The first study of its kind found average sale-day death rates of 0.016% for cattle and 0.096% for sheep across New South Wales saleyards, with weather, location, and facility size all influencing outcomes. (theconversation.com)

Belgian salmonella outbreak linked to contaminated eggs sickens 236. The Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain linked the multi-state cluster to table eggs from a poultry house operated by Laerco BV, with confirmed cases spanning more than a year across four countries. (poultrymed.com)