UK

© Green Bioactives
Investments & Finance

Scottish Enterprise Backs Green Bioactives with £1.1 Million Grant for Plant-Derived Product R&D

Green Bioactives, a Scottish biotechnology company specializing in sustainable plant-based natural products, has secured a grant of up to £1.1 million from Scottish Enterprise. This funding will support an 18-month research and development project focused on scaling up the production of plant-derived bioactive ingredients using the company’s proprietary Plant Cell Culture Technology platform. The project will help enhance the company’s ability to meet growing demand for eco-friendly and ethically sourced …

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Ivy Farm Technologies

Gail Francis © Ivy Farm Technologies
Company News

Ivy Farm Appoints Gail Francis to Lead Commercial Efforts for Premium Cultivated Wagyu Beef

Ivy Farm Technologies has appointed Gail Francis as its new Vice President of Commercial, effective immediately. Francis brings over 30 years of experience in the global food industry, having held leadership roles in major food manufacturers, brands, and startups across the UK, Europe, and international markets. Prior to joining Ivy Farm, Francis served as Director of Business Growth & Delivery at Naylor Nutrition. In this role, she was instrumental in …

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Vegan Egg White

© The Every Co.
Fermentation

UK Government Invests £1.4M to Expand Food Standards Agency’s Precision Fermentation Expertise

The UK government has announced it is investing £1.4 million in a new innovation hub that aims to expand the expertise of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in new technologies such as precision fermentation. Precision fermentation involves the use of microorganisms such as yeast to make ingredients like whey protein without the use of animals. The process has been used for decades to produce ingredients such as rennet for cheesemaking, …

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BlueNalu yellowtail

© BlueNalu
Meat

Eight Companies Selected for UK’s First Cell-Cultivated Food Safety Programme

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has selected eight companies to participate in a two-year regulatory programme focused on evaluating the safety of cell-cultivated products (CCPs). The initiative is funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology’s Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund and will involve collaboration with academic institutions and industry representatives. The programme is designed to gather scientific evidence on the production and safety of CCPs, which will inform …

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uFraction8 team

© uFraction8
Investments & Finance

uFraction8 Secures £3.4M to Optimise Cell and Biomass Production

uFraction8, a Scottish biotech engineering company with a fully owned subsidiary in Poland, has secured £3.4 million in an investment round led by Foresight Group. The round also includes funding from the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment fund Old College Capital, along with Scottish Enterprise, Alwyn Capital, Thia Ventures, and a grant from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development. uFraction8 has developed microfiltration technology designed to optimise cell and …

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Meatly CEO Owen Ensor

Owen Ensor. © Meatly
Interviews

Meatly: “As the Number of Cultivated Meat Companies Proliferates, We Hope to Set the Standard for the Industry”

Meatly is a cultivated meat company which became the first in Europe to receive regulatory approval after gaining clearance to sell cultivated chicken for pet food in the UK last year. The company achieved this milestone with a team of ten after raising just £3.5 million. Meatly also recently became the first company to be certified under C-Label, a new trademark for cultivated food products launched by V-Label. The certification …

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The UK's Ivy Farm Technologies announces it has signed a manufacturing agreement with Synbio Powerlabs Oy, the Finnish leader in synthetic biology, to produce its cultivated meat products at a large scale.

Image courtesy of Ivy Farm
Investments & Finance

Analysis: UK Government Has Invested £75M in Alternative Protein Innovation

A new analysis by GFI Europe has found that the UK government has invested £75 million in alternative protein innovation. This is more than half the total amount recommended by the National Food Strategy, a 2021 report led by businessman Henry Dimbleby. When the National Food Strategy was first published, there were concerns that the UK was at risk of falling behind other countries; however, GFI Europe says this is …

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Cultivated pet food

© Meatly
Pet Food

Meatly & THE PACK Launch “World’s First” Pet Food Containing Cultivated Meat

UK cultivated meat producer Meatly has partnered with plant-based pet food brand THE PACK to launch what is claimed to be the world’s first pet food made with cultivated meat. Called Chick Bites, the product combines plant-based ingredients with Meatly’s cultivated chicken, providing an alternative to traditional dog treats. A limited release of the product will be available at Pets at Home Brentford, London, from February 7. Pets at Home …

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© RSSL
Approvals

RSSL Establishes “UK’s First” Novel Foods Expert Network in Collaboration With ICL & The Supplant Company

Food and life science contract research organisation RSSL has announced that it will establish what is said to be the UK’s first Novel Foods Expert Network for Regulatory Challenges (NFX UK). To establish the network, RSSL has secured funding from the UK’s national innovation agency, Innovate UK. NFX UK will be developed in partnership with Imperial College London and The Supplant Company, with three primary objectives: Act as a central …

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© NAPIC
R&D

Four UK Alternative Protein Centres to Work Together After Signing Memorandum of Understanding

Four UK-based alternative protein centres — the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein (BCSP), the Microbial Food Hub, the Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA), and the National Alternative Protein Centre (NAPIC) — have announced their intention to collaborate after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Together, the centres will work to drive innovation in sustainable, nutritious, and accessible alternative proteins. The MoU will combine expertise in cellular agriculture, microbial protein innovation, …

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