The Protein Digest

Crespel & Deiters brings Happy Plant Protein's dry extrusion to industrial scale. The partnership marks the first commercial-scale deployment of the Finnish startup's patented one-step dry extrusion process, producing textured vegetable proteins from European-grown fava beans and peas at Crespel & Deiters' facility in the Netherlands. (Protein Report)

Aardaia raises €5 million to domesticate Europe's forgotten protein-rich tuber. The Wageningen-based startup will use the seed funding to scale genomic screening of the aardaker, a nitrogen-fixing wild tuber it aims to turn into a new European staple crop through accelerated domestication techniques. (ioplus.nl)

Sensory science emerges as key frontier for plant protein and dairy ingredients. ADM, Biospringer by Lesaffre, Corbion, and Cosun Ingredients are developing fermentation-derived flavors, fava bean isolates, and multifunctional fibers to address the taste, texture, and food-safety challenges that have limited repeat purchases in meat and dairy analogues. (foodingredientsfirst.com)

Steakholder Foods secures KeHE distribution deal for U.S. plant protein rollout. The company has partnered with KeHE Distributors to bring its Perfecta line of plant-based steak, chicken, and seafood products to Northeastern U.S. retail shelves, with broader regional expansion planned through the second half of 2026. (theglobeandmail.com)

Circular Grain to launch dairy alternative made from brewer's spent grain. The Munich-based startup's Tremi product, made from a byproduct of beer production, claims three times more protein and six times less sugar than conventional oat milk and is set to launch in September. (foodingredientsfirst.com)

Savor and AAK partner to develop specialty fats from carbon for dairy and bakery. The two-year agreement pairs Savor's carbon-to-fat conversion technology with AAK's plant-based oils expertise for dairy alternative and bakery applications, and includes an AAK equity investment in Savor. (prnewswire.com)

Review highlights yeast fermentation as key to upcycling food processing byproducts. The review, published via ScienceDirect and funded by South Korea's National Research Foundation, details how advances in strain engineering, redox regulation, and process integration enable yeasts to convert complex residues such as pomace, spent grain, and coffee grounds into value-added ingredients. (sciencedirect.com)

New Culture patents animal-free casein mozzarella technology. The second US patent specifically covers mozzarella made with proprietary animal-free casein produced through microbial fermentation, building on a broader 2023 patent for recombinant alpha casein cheese across multiple formulations. (foodbev.com)

TurtleTree partners with Novonesis to scale microbial fermentation lactoferrin. The exclusive deal includes a minority investment from Novonesis and participation from Mitsui Chemicals' venture arm, aiming to bring microbially fermented lactoferrin to food-scale production with viable unit economics. (agfundernews.com)

AMSilk and Ajinomoto expand deal to scale silk protein production in France. The long-term manufacturing and supply agreement will see Ajinomoto Foods Europe establish a dedicated 160-cubic-meter fermentation line at its Nesle, France, facility to produce AMSilk's silk proteins at commercial scale for textiles, automotive, and consumer care markets. (ca.finance.yahoo.com)

Tetra Pak enters industrial fermentation with new bioreactor system. The Bioreactor RF, designed for producers using yeast, bacteria, and fungi to convert raw materials into food ingredients, scales from 10 to 50,000 liters and claims to cut operating costs by up to 12%. (foodingredientsfirst.com)

Wisconsin lawmaker proposes federal labeling rules for synthesized butter. H.R. 9387, introduced by Representative Tony Wied, would require products containing synthesized butter to carry a "lab-created butter" label under federal food law. A broader companion bill, the Dairy Pride Act, would restrict all standardized dairy terms to animal-derived products. (dailyintakeblog.com)

UK food regulators publish new guidance for cell-cultured meat businesses. The FSA and Food Standards Scotland issued four documents through a government-funded sandbox program, covering hygiene requirements, scientific evaluation standards, application best practices, and taste trial rules for novel foods seeking market authorization in Great Britain. (gov.uk)

Expert workshop maps food safety gaps in cultured meat production. The study, published in Food Protection Trends, convened 23 specialists who identified stakeholder cooperation, novel hazard monitoring, and spore-forming microorganism risks as critical priorities for advancing safe production at scale. (ebsco.com)

Romania moves to ban cultured meat sales pending EU safety framework. The proposed legislation invokes the precautionary principle, citing unknown long-term health effects, and would also impose strict labeling rules on plant-based products with significant fines for noncompliance. (informat.ro)

Beyond Meat brings its plant-based steak to Meijer stores. The mycelium-based whole-cut product, which launched direct-to-consumer in October 2025, will be available at the supermarket chain in July 2026 following recent introductions at Wegmans and H-E-B. (grocerytradenews.com)

Better Meat Co rebrands as BMC Ingredients, shifts to mycelium protein supply. The company will supply proprietary mycelium-derived powders, Rhiza Tex and Rhiza Pro, to food manufacturers as cost-effective substitutes for whey and other protein isolates, with a commercial-scale production facility expected online by mid-2027. (indexbox.io)

Boone, Iowa, plans $12 million water upgrade to serve new Daisy Brand dairy plant. The city needs a new well, water tower, and treatment upgrades totaling more than $12 million to accommodate a 750,000-square-foot Daisy Brand sour cream and cottage cheese facility set to open in 2028, which will strain the existing system's ability to manage rising nitrate levels. (iowacapitaldispatch.com)

Intensive pig and poultry farming in Northern Ireland drives severe water pollution, report finds. A new report maps the rapid expansion of pig and poultry operations since 2013, linking a 51 percent rise in manure output to toxic algal blooms in Lough Neagh, the UK's largest lake, while over 63 percent of the resulting meat and eggs by revenue are sold in Great Britain. (desmog.com)

Cattle trespass threatens Valles Caldera as federal grazing policy shifts. Ranchers along the preserve's northern boundary have been cutting fences to push cattle into the protected area, prompting fines and legal action, while a Trump administration appointee with ties to local stockgrower groups could complicate enforcement efforts. (losalamosreporter.com)

Up to 30 percent in some U.S. areas carry tick-linked meat allergy marker. A CDC-linked study found IgE antibodies against alpha-gal in up to 30 percent of blood donors in certain regions, far surpassing the previous estimate of roughly 450,000 affected Americans and underscoring how difficult the tick-borne allergy remains to diagnose. (arstechnica.com)

California dairy digesters spur farm expansion, eroding claimed emissions cuts. A pre-print study finds that farms receiving digester incentives expanded barn capacity enough to house roughly 243 additional cows each, offsetting an estimated 9% of claimed greenhouse gas reductions and raising questions about the net climate benefit of state and federal subsidy programs. (thenewlede.org)

USDA moves to rescind Biden-era meat competition rules. The three Biden-era Packers and Stockyards Act rules targeted discriminatory practices, poultry contract transparency, and the tournament payment system, with proposed rulemakings to begin the rollback process in July and October. (foodandwaterwatch.org)

French heatwave kills up to 3 million broiler chickens, exposing livestock vulnerability. The late-June event overwhelmed rendering services in Brittany and forced emergency on-farm burial, while World Weather Attribution concluded the heatwave would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change. (foodingredientsfirst.com)

Nearly 40% of New Zealand dairy farmers fail to report nitrogen fertilizer use. Only 61% of dairy farmers filed the required reports in 2024/25, with the associate environment minister questioning the usefulness of the data even as nitrogen-related water contamination issues intensify across New Zealand. (farmersweekly.co.nz)

Netherlands to ban agency staff in meat sector over worker abuse. Social affairs minister Hans Vijlbrief is expected to announce the measure on Friday, requiring all slaughterhouse and processing workers to be directly employed by June 1, 2028, after years of failed talks over migrant labor conditions. (dutchnews.nl)