Food Navigator
When can plant-based foods be described as ‘meaty’? France cracks down on plant based meat claims
In three months’ time, France will enforce a ban on the use of ‘meaty’ terminology for plant-based products ...
Goodbye to gene-edited mustard salad: Pairwise discontinues sales of first US-approved CRISPR food — refocuses efforts on higher value products
Last fall, when Pairwise launched Conscious Greens in select markets, it was the first food in the US developed with CRISPR ...
Insect-based food is climate-friendly and packed with protein — but consumer resistance remains strong
Insect proteins have many advantages, from an environmental perspective, over cattle. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), insect farming requires ...
Preservatives and probiotics: Do additives in meat and cheese harm gut bacteria?
Nisin, a lantibiotic, is a preservative used in the production of foods including packaged meat such as sausages and dairy ...
Arizona joins slate of states pushing cell-based meat bans
Arizona, along with Florida and Texas, is the next state to propose stringent laws like censorship and bans for cultivated ...
Disease is poised to wipe out much of Africa’s rice crop. Still-unapproved gene edited varietals may be the only hope
A new study has found that CRISPR technology can be used to edit genes in some strains of rice, developing ...
USDA: Why cell-based meat is critical to address climate change
In a historic move, USDA-NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative's Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) program invested in cultivated meat research ...
Animal fat texture and taste is extremely hard to replicate in plant-based meat. Here’s how next-gen alt meat companies are responding
Replicating fats in plant-based meat is an important part of getting its texture right. A range of ingredients, including a ...
As grocery store prices rise, consumers open to experimentation opt for animal meat over more expensive plant-based versions
In a survey of more than 1,200 US adults, Purdue University found that consumers largely preferred beef from cattle over ...
Aspartame panic illustrates how scare-narratives can take root
“Trust is one of the most important metrics that any business and food ingredient makers should be looking at, explained,” ...
As plant-based protein demand grows, roadblocks limit scaling up: Price, regulation, nutrition and more
In recent years consumer demand for plant-based protein has often outpaced the industry's supply chain capabilities. And as the alternative ...
Regulating lab meat: While the European Union drags its feet, Singapore and the US develop regulatory models for assessments and approvals
Both the US and Singapore have seen cultivated meat products pass through their regulatory processes, yet the two governments approach ...
Lab meat regulations: Comparing Israel to Europe — What works best?
Israel is a hotbed of cultivated meat activity, with three of the first eight cultivated meat companies in the world ...
Anne Hathaway leverages celebrity status and invests in ‘animal-free protein’ and precision fermentation. Will it drive consumer acceptance?
Actress Anne Hathaway’s investment in food-tech startup The Every Co., announced yesterday, brings more than capital – it also brings ...
Viewpoint: Plant-based foods need tighter environmental and regulatory scrutiny
So far, research on meat substitutes has emphasised commercialisation, technological enhancements and lowering costs, with little attention paid to regulatory ...
‘Agrivoltaics’: Crossover of farming and solar power could advance food security and synergize climate goals with farmer needs
So, for the uninitiated, what is agrivoltaics? The term refers to the simultaneous use of areas of land for both ...
Getting over GMO food fears: Inside Japan’s slow but progressive march towards embracing genetic modification
Japan has been conducting studies on GM food crops including soybeans and rapeseed since 2006, and the latest 2020/2021 report ...
Challenging global wheat shortage: Finding ‘hidden breeding resources’ to supercharge yields
Climate change is placing pressure on productivity. Yields have steadily increased from a global average of only just over 1 ...
Do British grocery shoppers want to try lab-grown meat? A deep dive into UK eating habits
If lab-grown meat was authorised for commercialisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, would consumers be willing to eat it? ...
Nutrition, productivity, climate adaptability: Surge in African crop biotechnology research poised to address malnutrition and food security
Scientists are using genomics to tackle malnutrition in Africa and more. The African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC), founded in 2011, ...
Viewpoint: What are key environmental trade-offs and advantages in transitioning to organic farming?
Producing enough food to provide adequate nutrition for the growing global population without wrecking the planet in the process is ...
Lab-grown oysters? Here’s why seafood of the future will be cell-based and sustainable
Pearlita Foods has set out to make the first cultivated oyster meat. Its mission is to “harvest the ocean's finest ...
Viewpoint: Organic milk requires expensive feed and labor. Not even huge subsidies can save this supposedly sustainable market from scams and inefficiency
US organic dairy export volumes have consistently fallen since 2017. Since that year, organic fluid milk exports have fallen 76%, ...
As organic foods go mainstream and prices remain high, survey shows ‘growing skepticism about organic claims’
As organic continues to go mainstream with broader reach outside of the natural channel where it began, it faces increased ...
Viewpoint: Politics and scientifically outdated anti-GMO sentiment undermines Europe’s regulatory lab-grown food embrace
The precision fermentation landscape is somewhat unbalanced. While the US and Europe both boast a growing number of start-ups working ...
Giraffe meat? Bengal tiger burgers? Start-up using cell cultures to create exotic new tastes without harming animals
Cultivated meat companies most frequently focus on the largest meat categories- beef, chicken and pork. However, Primeval Foods has stepped ...
‘Paying the price for productivity’: Studying ancient barley, safflower and lentil grains can help us recover lost nutrients
What can we learn from the past to address modern problems in food quality and nutrition? This is the question ...
What’s on the alternative meat UK menu: Plant-based proteins, cultivated meat and edible insects
New research from the Food Standards Agency is investigating how willing consumers are to taste test alternative protein products. The ...