The Protein Digest

Cutting meat and dairy improves health and climate outcomes without raising costs, Scottish study finds. A microsimulation of 33 dietary pathways found that nearly all reduced greenhouse gas emissions, chronic disease risk, and land and water use without increasing costs, with the greatest benefits when high red meat consumers shifted toward vegetables, beans, eggs, and plant-based dairy alternatives. (nature.com)

Review maps structured lipid strategies for realistic plant protein fat. Published in npj Science of Food, the paper surveys oleogels, emulsion architectures, and hybrid lipid systems, outlining mechanistic frameworks for mimicking animal fat's sensory and functional properties at scale. (nature.com)

U.S. pulse industry pushes USDA to credit pulse pasta and flours in school meals. USA Pulses has written to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting that pulse-based pastas count as stand-alone protein and vegetable servings and that pulse flours gain formal recognition in the USDA Food Buying Guide, with new school meal rules expected later this year. (capitalpress.com)

Vinasoy accelerates export push and invests in domestic soybean supply chain. The Vietnamese soy milk producer reported export revenue surging 116 percent in 2025 and a further 184 percent in 2026, while investing in non-GMO soybean breeding and sustainable farming partnerships to strengthen its domestic supply chain. (vietnamnews.vn)

Israeli firm Chunk Foods enters three major U.S. grocery chains. Chunk Foods, which produces whole-cut plant protein through natural fermentation, has secured shelf space at Sprouts Farmers Market, H-E-B, and a third major retailer as the broader category continues to contract. (ynetnews.com)

Singapore awards $5.3 million to turn food waste into plant-based seafood and cold chain materials. The grants, awarded under NEA's Closing The Resource Loop initiative, fund projects by Mottainai Food Tech, A*STAR, and Ferm2Farm that convert brewery byproducts, coffee grounds, and vegetable peel into plant-based seafood, cold chain materials, and animal feed. (straitstimes.com)

Bayou Best Foods acquires BettaF!sh to build transatlantic plant-based seafood business. The deal unites Bayou Best Foods' U.S. foodservice distribution for plant-based shrimp with BettaFish's seaweed-based tuna and salmon products across European retail and foodservice. (Protein Report)

GEA invests €4 million in biotech pilot center in Sarstedt, Germany. The €4 million Application and Technology Center, relocated from Hildesheim after three years of operation, lets food and biotech companies pilot microbial fermentation and cell culture processes before committing to full-scale plant investment. (presseportal.de)

Biosphere acquires defunct NovoNutrients' gas fermentation assets. The deal gives Biosphere access to gas fermentation expertise, reactor technology, and a hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria strain bank to support its $9 million U.S. military contract for portable protein-production bioreactors. NovoNutrients entered a creditor-assignment process last year after raising an $18 million series A in 2024. (agfundernews.com)

Thailand eyes carbon-to-protein technology as future food export strategy. The Trade Policy and Strategy Office has identified carbon capture and utilization as a key frontier industry, aiming to convert industrial CO₂ into protein-rich biomass for food and feed markets projected to reach $391 billion by 2033. (nationthailand.com)

Noumi and FaBA team up to scale microbial fermentation of bovine lactoferrin. The partnership, funded through December 2027, aims to develop engineered yeast strains capable of producing recombinant bovine lactoferrin at scale, building on earlier proof-of-concept work at Monash University. (foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au)

UK food regulators map safety and oversight priorities for emerging food technologies. The FSA and Food Standards Scotland published a thematic report ranking emerging food innovations by near-term regulatory impact, with controlled environment agriculture and microbial fermentation identified as the highest priorities over a five-to-fifteen-year horizon. (gov.uk)

Arizona mandates labeling for cell-cultured meat products. The bipartisan Andy Groseta Act, signed by Governor Katie Hobbs, requires products made from animal cell culture to carry clear "cell-cultivated" or "cell-cultured" labels on packaging. (azfreenews.com)

Beyond Meat debuts mycelium-based steak filet at U.S. retailers. The whole-cut plant protein analogue, made with mycelium and avocado oil, launches at Wegmans and H-E-B after becoming the top seller on Beyond Meat's direct-to-consumer site. (provisioneronline.com)

The Protein Brewery raises $20.5m despite FDA setback on mycoprotein GRAS filing. The Dutch startup closed an €18 million Series B extension led by ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund, even as the FDA flagged deficiencies in its mycoprotein GRAS filing that CEO Thijs Bosch says can be addressed using existing EFSA data. (agfundernews.com)

Wisconsin approves CAFO permit for Door County dairy farm expansion. Gilbert Farms in Door County will expand from about 1,400 to 2,400 animal units under a new pollutant discharge permit that requires groundwater monitoring, though environmental advocates question whether the safeguards will prevent contamination in the geologically sensitive area. (wpr.org)

UK kebab maker fined £500,000 for selling goat and fat as lamb. DNA testing revealed Kismet Kebabs' products labeled as up to 87% lamb contained less than 10% sheep, with goat, fat, skin, and chicken drumsticks making up the rest. The Essex-based firm, estimated to have earned £6 million from the fraud, said it now operates under different leadership. (bbc.com)

Iraq's CCHF outbreak reaches 171 cases as religious gatherings raise transmission fears. Iraq has recorded 171 confirmed cases and 11 deaths across 15 governorates as of mid-June 2026, with approaching Ashura pilgrimages expected to heighten transmission risks through increased livestock contact and informal slaughter practices. (outbreaknewstoday.substack.com)

Three egg producers settle price-fixing claims for $3.3M and 53 million eggs. Cal-Maine Foods, Versova, and Hickman's Egg Ranch will also donate tens of millions of eggs to food banks to resolve federal and state allegations that they colluded to inflate wholesale egg prices between 2022 and 2025. (ny1.com)

Review of 51 studies finds labour abuse is structural in global seafood. A Dalhousie University review of 51 peer-reviewed studies concludes that exploitation in fisheries is not a series of isolated incidents but a product of overfishing, market pressures, weak governance, and reliance on migrant labour, and that voluntary certification schemes are failing workers. (eco-business.com)

Senate farm bill omits measure to override state animal confinement laws. The divergence between the House and Senate drafts over the Save Our Bacon Act, which would preempt state laws such as California's Proposition 12 on animal confinement, could further delay reauthorization of the already overdue legislation. (grist.org)