The Protein Digest

Climate risk drives food makers toward ingredient diversification and novel alternatives. Rising commodity price volatility and extreme weather risks are prompting companies including Nestlé, Barry Callebaut, and several startups to develop and adopt cocoa-free chocolate, microbial proteins, and engineered fats, though scalability and regulatory barriers remain significant obstacles. (dairyreporter.com)

UK study finds microbial fermentation milk could cut land use by 96%. A study led by Imperial College London estimates that fully replacing UK dairy production with microbially fermented milk proteins could free up an area of land the size of Denmark, offering a pathway to meet net zero agricultural targets by 2050. (sciencealert.com)

ADM wins Iowa incentives for $55.5m microbial fermentation expansion. The $55.5 million project will convert an underutilized facility in Clinton, Iowa, into a large-scale microbial fermentation operation producing proteins and enzymes for food, feed, and industrial use, supported by $2.23 million in state tax credits. (foodbev.com)

Fonterra partners with Superbrewed Food to convert dairy side-streams into microbial protein. The collaboration uses lactose permeate, a co-product of whey- and milk-protein concentrate production, as a feedstock for Superbrewed Food's biomass-fermentation process, yielding a whole-cell ingredient with more than 85 percent protein content. (dairynews.today)

SIU researchers engineer yeast to turn plastic waste into edible protein cookies. The NASA-supported µBites project at Southern Illinois University Carbondale uses engineered yeast strains and oxidative hydrothermal dissolution to convert PET plastic and agricultural residues into proteins, fats, vitamins, and flavor compounds, which are then 3D-printed into compact cookies designed for use in space missions, disaster zones, and other resource-limited environments. (bioengineer.org)

Microalgae recycling could cut cell-cultured meat media costs by up to 90%. Researchers at the University of Queensland developed a closed-loop system in which microalgae grown on cell-culture waste are processed and recycled as growth media, potentially cutting one of the sector's largest cost barriers by 60 to 90 percent. (news.uq.edu.au)

Mycoprotein startup Maash raises €12.5m to scale French production facility. The funding package will support the launch of a demonstration plant in Carling-Saint-Avold, France, as the company targets 10,000 tons of annual mycoprotein production. Maash also named former Enough Foods executive Samah Garringer as its new CEO. (foodbev.com)

Maia Farms commercializes mycelium ingredients born from space food research. The Vancouver-based company uses fermentation to produce fungal biomass in under five days, turning it into textured ingredients and powders for food and feed manufacturers across Canada and the United States. (farmtario.com)

Australian algae producer Genesis merges with Proudi to enter pet food market. The merged entity, valued at about $38 million, will bring chlorella-based pet nutrition products to Coles supermarkets while pursuing international expansion, including U.S. distribution through Amazon. (aviationa2z.com)

USDA reports new H5N1 avian flu cases in poultry and dairy cattle after reporting gap. APHIS confirmed three new dairy cattle infections in Texas and Utah and poultry outbreaks affecting more than 32,000 birds across South Dakota and Idaho, ending a nearly 30-day reporting gap. So far this year, 85 cattle herds have tested positive for H5N1, a significant decline from 917 herds in 2024 when the virus was first detected in cows. (cidrap.umn.edu)

Belgian egg producer linked to Europe-wide salmonella outbreak sickening over 300. Regulators traced the Salmonella Enteritidis strain to Belgian producer Laerco BV, shutting down the facility and triggering mass egg recalls across nine European countries as health authorities warn the true case count is likely higher. (the-independent.com)

Antimicrobial resistance in livestock poses trillion-dollar threat to global economy. Around 70% of all antimicrobial drugs are now used in the livestock sector, and resistance patterns in farm animals are already spreading to humans through food systems and the environment, with projected economic losses reaching $100 trillion by 2050. (alj.com)

EU Commission challenges Germany's animal welfare labelling law. Brussels found that the draft Animal Husbandry Labelling Act's requirements for meat from other member states constitute a disproportionate restriction on the free movement of goods, calling the timeline for the label into question. (table.media)

COWS Act would fund manure management for U.S. livestock producers. The Converting Our Waste Sustainably Act, cosponsored by Senator Martin Heinrich and California Senators Padilla and Schiff, would offer grants for cleaner waste-handling practices modeled after California's successful Alternative Manure Management Program. (nmpoliticalreport.com)

Editorial links livestock pathogens to growing human health risks. An editorial in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology synthesizes ten studies on bacterial and viral pathogens crossing between animals and humans, highlighting threats including the first recorded human death from a Macrococcus caseolyticus infection and pandemic-relevant swine influenza dynamics. (globalbiodefense.com)