Roast with a
While most meat alternatives are processed products such as burgers, sausages, and grounds, multiple startups have sprung up in recent years attempting to produce whole cuts from plants and fungi. But none of them have really nailed it, claims Prof. Yaakov Nahmias.
Nahmias, who is best-known in the foodtech world as founder of cultivated meat startup Believer Meats (he remains on the board but stepped down as president two years ago), is founder of Tissue Dynamics, a startup that has developed a robotic automation platform enabling the formation and tracking of thousands of human organoids in parallel.
But he has also been working on a project at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with his PhD student Mohammad Ghosheh to create plant-based chops and steaks that he claims both precisely replicate the texture of whole cuts of meat, but just as importantly, are suitable for mass production.
The tech combines two technologies: metamaterials—familiar materials with unique properties due to the way they are structured; and injection molding, a technique we associate with plastics that Nahmias claims could enable mass production of plant-based steaks at a fraction of the cost of 3D printing....
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- Singapore, which imports most of its produce due to land scarcity, went big on the meat alternatives sector with generous funding for research and commercialization as it looked to boost food security.
- Recent progress cannot mask the troubles that weigh on the alternative proteins industry, however, as sales have lagged expectations.
- Alternative protein firms seeking market breakthroughs have been diversifying their offerings to include pharmaceuticals, dyes and pet food that can be made with the same ingredients.
After a spike in popularity during the pandemic era, hype — and funding — for startups developing meat alternatives has waned. But some Singaporean food-tech ventures are hoping innovations in cell culturing and microbial fermentation could be about to turn things around.
Factory-made proteins using animal, fungi or plant extracts trended during the Covid-19 years as a new way to eat sustainably. Meat and dairy currently account for around one-seventh of global greenhouse gas output, the United Nations estimates.
Singapore, which imports most of its produce due to land scarcity, went big on the sector with generous funding for research and commercialization as it looked to boost food security.
“There are very few places in the world … with such a fusion of cultures, for real market testing with a range of consumers of different backgrounds,” said Mihir Pershad, chief executive of Umami Bioworks, a local startup for cultivated seafood. Unlike plant-based proteins, cultivated products are lab-grown from animal cells.
The firm, founded in 2020, has expanded its operations, launching offshoots in the U.S. and Japan. It entered the United Kingdom last year and announced a new caviar product using sturgeon cells and plant ingredients in January.
Singapore consumers are still likely to be the first to taste an Umami Bioworks dish, however, as the firm seeks regulatory approval in Singapore. Umami Bioworks is looking to sell cultivated unagi – freshwater eel commonly grilled – this year, pending such regulatory checks and “if all goes well,” Pershad said.
Singapore was the first country to permit the sale of lab-grown meat products in 2020, with Israel and the United States following later. The United Kingdom has approved such products for use in pet food....
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"Singapore is the first country to approve the sale of lab-grown meat"
We don't much care for Just Mayo or its parent, Hampton Creek, before or after the name-change and before or after the pivot from vegan to meat. Just, a bit too skimmy, scammy, flim-flammy....
Next Up, Kosher Pork (but is it halal?
