The Protein Digest

UPP and East of Scotland Growers partner to upcycle broccoli waste into food ingredients. The five-year deal will see Upcycled Plant Power deploy automated harvesting across East of Scotland Growers' farms to recover broccoli stems and leaves for processing into plant protein and fiber ingredients, with an expected value exceeding £10 million. (foodingredientsfirst.com)

Schouten Europe acquires Bobeldijk to become Europe's largest family-owned meat alternatives firm. The deal brings together two established Dutch private-label manufacturers, adding Bobeldijk Food Group's production facilities and expanding Schouten's capacity across more than 50 markets. Schouten reported revenue growth exceeding 30% last year and says it is now the largest family-owned business in the European meat alternatives market. (foodbev.com)

Poland emerges as a European hub for plant protein production and processing. The country's plant-based food market reached an estimated €341 million including all channels in 2024, and a new school meal mandate covering 6.8 million students takes effect in 2026, while government-backed research programs fund work in cell-cultured meat and plant protein processing. (agroberichtenbuitenland.nl)

EU drafts protein strategy to cut reliance on imports from Brazil and China. A leaked draft outlines plans to boost domestic production and diversify supply chains, with Ukraine's growing soybean output seen as key to narrowing a 13.9-million-tonne import gap. (euractiv.com)

New Zealand urged to update dietary guidelines as U.S. revisions spark debate. Public health researchers compare the 2026 U.S. dietary guidelines with approaches in the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia, arguing that New Zealand's outdated nutrition data and aging guidelines leave the country poorly equipped to address diet-related disease. (phcc.org.nz)

EEA report urges Europe to diversify protein sources to cut emissions. A new report from the European Environment Agency finds that a coordinated shift toward diversified protein sources could reduce EU agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 5% by 2035 and cut reliance on imported soy and other feed crops concentrated in a few supplying countries. (eea.europa.eu)

UK food regulators map nine emerging technologies for 2025–2035. The FSA and FSS published a tiered framework covering microbial fermentation, cell-cultured products, molecular farming, and other technologies, backed by roughly £2 billion in government bioeconomy funding over the next decade. (gov.uk)

Crush Dynamics and Atomic47 Labs to build AI-driven fermentation platform in Canada. Protein Industries Canada is investing C$607,000 alongside industry partners in a C$1.4 million project to integrate machine learning into commercial fermentation, aiming to reduce energy use and convert agricultural byproducts into high-value food ingredients. (markets.businessinsider.com)

University of Illinois pilot plant to nearly double in size amid surging demand for microbial fermentation scale-up. The $81 million expansion of the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory, backed by federal and state grants, will allow the facility to accommodate up to ten simultaneous projects as it helps CPG companies bridge the gap between lab-scale discovery and commercial manufacturing through partners ADM and Primient. (foodnavigator-usa.com)

EVERY quadruples egg protein output with Huvepharma expansion. The partnership with Huvepharma subsidiary Biovet AD draws on over 9 million liters of fermentation capacity in Bulgaria to meet surging demand for OvoPro, EVERY's microbial-fermentation-derived ovalbumin, after annual orders in early 2026 reached 550% of total 2025 volume. (preparedfoods.com)

South Dakota's five-year cell-cultured meat moratorium takes effect July 1. SB 124, signed by Governor Larry Rhoden, temporarily bars the sale of cell-cultured products in the state for five years to allow further safety research and pending litigation elsewhere to unfold. (news.sd.gov)

Brevel's light-based fermentation platform expands into coffee and cocoa cell culture. The Israeli biotech company's partnerships with Coffeesai, Ayana Bio, and CBC Group demonstrate its platform's ability to boost growth rates, enhance flavor profiles, and reduce costs in plant cell culture production across multiple ingredient categories. (foodnavigator-usa.com)

Vow names new CEO and pivots beyond cell-cultured meat. Founder George Peppou has stepped aside and spun out a new venture, while former chief of staff Alex Andrews takes the helm as the Blackbird-backed startup cuts food-team roles and explores new verticals for its cell-culture platform. (forbes.com.au)

Modern Agriculture Foundation honors four women leaders at sold-out Tel Aviv AgFoodTech summit. The fourth annual gathering in Tel Aviv recognized four trailblazers across ecosystem development, computational biology, venture capital, and cell-cultured meat commercialization, while showcasing a professional network of some 230 industry leaders. (Protein Report)

Waring launches Planit POD fermentation system for commercial kitchens. The platform, which received a 2026 Kitchen Innovations Award at the National Restaurant Association Show, enables in-house production of tempeh, koji, and plant protein blends using preprogrammed recipes and controlled fermentation conditions. (restauranttechnologynews.com)

Review charts path for scaling algae cultivation amid economic hurdles. The Springer chapter surveys innovations including AI-driven monitoring and hybrid cultivation systems while assessing the life cycle impacts and economic trade-offs of industrial-scale algae production. (link.springer.com)

Beef protein drives worst gut inflammation in IBD mouse study. A study published in Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that mice fed beef protein developed the most severe intestinal inflammation across multiple IBD models, while pea protein produced the mildest symptoms, with differences linked to gut microbial interactions with bile acids. (news-medical.net)

Minnesota regulators clear Riverview Dairy's expansion to 19,000 cows. The MPCA determined that an Environmental Impact Statement is not required for Riverview Dairy's plan to more than double its herd near Morris, a decision that drew sharp criticism from conservation groups and farmers concerned about water quality and dairy-sector consolidation. (minnesotareformer.com)

California dairy coalition warns proposed water quality rules could accelerate farm closures. The California State Water Resources Control Board's final draft order would require Central Valley dairies to adopt whole-farm nitrogen accounting and new manure lagoon standards, with Dairy Cares warning the rules could further shrink the state's already declining dairy sector. (thebusinessjournal.com)