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Spain's meat sector and IRTA pledge deeper collaboration on animal health

At a round-table discussion held during the Alimentaria exhibition in Spain, IRTA and leading Catalan meat companies agreed to strengthen partnerships in biosecurity, disease surveillance, and innovation to address growing animal health challenges. Participants from the Vall Companys Group, bonÀrea Group, Costa Group, and Viñas Group emphasized that climate change, globalization, and intensive production are increasing disease risks, making coordinated efforts between industry, research centers, and government essential. IRTA-CReSA, which employs more than 150 professionals across twelve research lines, has recently chaired the scientific committee on contagious nodular dermatosis and processed over 2,500 wild boar samples for African swine fever surveillance. The event concluded with a call for a more collaborative model and announced the upcoming Meat Forum conference in Girona on November 26.

AnimalPlant-BasedSci-Tech
fool.com

Beyond Meat shifts to frozen aisles at Walmart and Costco

Beyond Meat is being moved from refrigerated shelves to frozen food aisles at major retailers including Walmart and Costco, reflecting diminished consumer demand for its plant protein products. The shift could stabilize the company's revenues by reducing spoilage and inventory waste, though it signals a contraction from the brand's peak popularity following its IPO. Beyond Meat recently delayed its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings release to complete a review of inventory balances, including provisions for excess and obsolete stock. Analysts suggest the frozen aisle move may support more reliable, if lower, sales, but the company has yet to achieve sustained profitability.

Plant-BasedBusiness
africaglobalfunds.com

Amethis takes minority stake in Egyptian rice-based ingredients maker Tiba

Amethis, a private equity firm, has agreed to acquire a significant minority stake in Tiba for Starch & Glucose, an Egyptian producer of rice-based specialty food ingredients including starch, fat powder, coffee creamer, and protein. The transaction, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026 pending regulatory approvals, marks the eighth investment by the Amethis MENA Fund II, which targets small and medium-sized enterprises across the Middle East and North Africa. The investment will support Tiba's plans to expand production capacity, broaden its product range, and increase its presence in regional and global export markets. Amethis cited growing global demand for sustainable, plant-based food ingredients as a key driver behind the deal.

Plant-BasedBusiness
mightyearth.org

South Korean supermarkets lag on methane and plant protein commitments

A report assessing eight major supermarkets across South Korea, China, Japan, and Singapore found that South Korea's two largest retailers, Lotte Shopping and Emart Inc., are failing to adequately address climate pollution from meat, dairy, and rice supply chains. While the South Korean retailers led on transparency by fully disclosing value-chain emissions, neither set methane-specific reduction targets nor earned any points for promoting plant proteins. South Korea ranks as the world's fourth-largest beef importer, and meat consumption across Asia is projected to rise 78% by 2050, making retailer action on agricultural methane a pressing concern. The assessment, which evaluated companies against 20 indicators, noted that livestock agriculture accounts for roughly 32% of human-caused methane emissions globally.

Plant-BasedAnimalEnvironment
eurekalert.org

KTH researchers turn wheat bran into plant-protein hydrogels for food use

Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have developed a method to transform wheat bran, a milling byproduct typically relegated to animal feed, into soft hydrogels suitable for use in human food products. The team extracted arabinoxylan fiber from wheat bran and combined it with wheat gluten protein using an enzyme called laccase, producing stable gels that could serve as thickeners, stabilizers, or texture agents in products such as plant protein and dairy alternatives, sauces, and sports nutrition. The study, published in Food Hydrocolloids, represents the first successful incorporation of wheat gluten protein into arabinoxylan-based hydrogels, replacing the animal-derived proteins previously used. Early tests suggest the approach may also work with pea or soy proteins, and the work is being expanded through KTH's PLENTY research center, which focuses on reducing food losses and adding value to agricultural side streams.

Plant-BasedSci-Tech
markets.businessinsider.com

Ingredion and Shiru partner to discover novel functional proteins using AI

Ingredion, a global ingredient solutions provider with approximately $7.2 billion in annual net sales, has entered a research collaboration with Berkeley-based Shiru, whose AI platform catalogs more than 77 million natural protein sequences. The partnership will focus on developing next-generation prebiotics from natural sources to support microbiome health, targeting applications in food, beverages, supplements, and specialized nutrition. Ingredients developed through the collaboration would have a path to Ingredion's more than 18,000 customers across 120 countries. The deal builds on Shiru's recent commercial launches of uPro and OleoPro, two AI-discovered natural ingredients, and on Ingredion's broader strategy to expand its Texture & Healthful Solutions portfolio through external innovation.

Plant-BasedBusiness
via.tt.se

Swedish researchers turn wheat bran into plant-based food gels

Scientists at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have created the first fully wheat-based hydrogel, combining wheat bran fiber (arabinoxylan) with wheat gluten protein using an enzyme called laccase. The resulting gel could serve as a thickener, stabilizer, or texture agent in products such as plant protein and dairy alternatives, high-fiber snacks, sauces, and nutrition products. The method transforms wheat bran—a milling by-product produced in the millions of tons annually and typically relegated to animal feed—into a potential human food ingredient. Early tests suggest the technique may also work with other plant proteins, including pea and soy. The research, published in Food Hydrocolloids, was funded by the Lantmännen Research Foundation and is being expanded through KTH's PLENTY research center.

Plant-BasedSci-Tech
foodnavigator.com

EU meat-naming ban spares seafood but not plant protein products

The European Union's recently agreed ban on meat-related terms for non-meat products explicitly excludes fish and seafood from its scope, leaving the fisheries and aquaculture sector unaffected. However, plant protein products such as tofu steak and cauliflower steak fall squarely within the regulation, which covers thirty-one terms and applies at all stages of marketing, including potentially restaurant menus. While "burger" and "sausage" were exempted, "steak" and "liver" were added at the last minute. The European Commission retains the ability to introduce further exceptions through delegated acts, and the regulation's practical impact on restaurants will depend on how national authorities interpret and enforce it.

Plant-BasedAnimalPolicy
sciencedirect.com

Oxidized tea polyphenol boosts plant protein foaming and emulsifying performance

A study published on ScienceDirect investigates how quinone-modified EGCG (QEGCG), an oxidized derivative of the tea polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate, interacts with plant proteins to significantly enhance their foaming and emulsifying properties. Researchers tested QEGCG with four plant proteins—quinoa, oat, pea, and chickpea—and found that covalent and non-covalent binding produced more porous, stable complexes compared to natural EGCG, with foaming and emulsifying improvements of up to 3.2 times for chickpea protein. The QEGCG-protein conjugates also demonstrated stronger inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase, suggesting potential hypoglycemic activity relevant to functional food development. Additionally, quinoa protein was shown to delay the intestinal release of QEGCG by over 33 percent in simulated digestion, pointing to synergistic benefits for polyphenol bioavailability.

Plant-BasedSci-Tech
jdsupra.com

Food litigation roundup covers cell-cultured meat bans, egg labeling, and EU rules

A March 2026 legal roundup highlights several notable developments in food and beverage law across multiple jurisdictions. South Dakota's governor signed a five-year moratorium on cell-cultured protein, while the EU reached an agreement to prohibit the use of 31 meat-related terms on plant-based product labels. In U.S. courts, an Illinois federal judge permitted a lawsuit against Eggland's Best over allegedly misleading "cage free" claims to proceed, while a separate court dismissed a complaint against Buffalo Wild Wings regarding its "boneless wings" labeling. The UK Supreme Court also struck down Oatly's "Post Milk Generation" trademark following a challenge by Dairy UK, and scrutiny of the FDA's GRAS designation process continued to intensify.

Cell-BasedPlant-BasedPolicy
umtoday.ca

Nine-lab study validates in-vitro methods for protein digestibility testing

A multi-laboratory study involving nine facilities across Canada and the United States has confirmed that two standardized in-vitro assays—pH-drop and pH-stat—can reliably measure protein digestibility, providing a practical alternative to traditional rodent-based testing. Co-authored by University of Manitoba researchers and supported by the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences, the study analyzed 12 protein ingredients from both plant and animal sources and found strong consistency across labs. The results could ease the food industry's regulatory burden by enabling faster and more cost-effective protein quality assessments, particularly for emerging plant protein ingredients. Future work will extend the methods to more complex ingredients such as hydrolyzed proteins.

Plant-BasedAnimalSci-Tech
ukragroconsult.com

Hungarian firm Helvét-Farm opens 30,000-tonne pea processing plant

Helvét-Farm, a family-owned Hungarian agricultural company, has completed a pea processing facility in Orosháza with an annual capacity of 30,000 tonnes. Built in partnership with ProcessTrade and Swiss equipment manufacturer Bühler, the plant integrates dry fractionation and extrusion technologies in a single facility—an uncommon configuration that allows production of pea protein concentrate, pea flour, and textured vegetable protein for food, feed, and pet food markets. Approximately 70% of the facility's raw materials are sourced from within a 70-kilometer radius. EU demand for pea protein in high-protein applications is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 7.9%, reaching $980 million by 2035.

Plant-BasedBusiness
technode.global

Virdalis raises $700K to scale duckweed-based animal feed protein

Singapore-based Virdalis has closed a $700,000 pre-seed round led by Wavemaker Impact to develop protein from Wolffia globosa, a fast-growing aquatic plant commonly known as duckweed, for the animal feed industry. The company, which also operates in the Philippines, intends to use the capital to scale pilot production, grow its technical team, and secure commercial agreements with feed manufacturers across Southeast Asia. The global animal feed market exceeds $500 billion annually, with protein ingredients accounting for roughly $300 billion, and Virdalis aims to reduce dependence on a narrow set of exporting countries by enabling domestic production without the need for arable land or specific climate conditions.

Plant-BasedBusiness
filtsep.com

Pall Corporation pitches ceramic membranes for high-purity protein filtration

Pall Corporation is promoting its advanced ceramic membrane systems as a superior alternative to polymeric filters for producing high-purity proteins, enzymes, and other biomolecules. The company says the technology can increase filtration surface area by up to 45%, achieve purity levels of 98% or higher, and last five to ten times longer than conventional polymeric membranes. Pall also claims the ceramic systems can reduce capital expenditure by roughly 30% while supporting side-stream upcycling to minimize waste. The push comes as demand for premium protein ingredients continues to rise across the food and bioprocessing industries.

Plant-BasedAnimalBusiness
foodingredientsfirst.com

Arkansas Researchers Craft Plant-Based Cheese From Rice Milling Byproducts

Researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed plant-based cheese prototypes using proteins extracted from brown rice, rice bran, and broken kernels of a single rice cultivar. Led by Mahfuzur Rahman, the team found that each protein source contributed distinct functional properties—brown rice protein excelled in solubility and emulsifying, broken-kernel protein improved melting, and rice bran protein aided texture control—yielding cheeses with roughly 12% protein content. The work could create new commercial outlets for rice milling byproducts in a state that accounts for approximately half of all US rice production, while advancing circular-economy principles and strengthening the domestic rice protein market.

Plant-BasedSci-Tech

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