Protein Progress: The GFI State of the Industry Reports have been released, which let us reflect on the exciting progress achieved so far in alternative proteins. Highlights from Asia include:
20 new major deals in cultivated meat in the APAC region.
South Korea's Alchemist Project granted $15 million to Space F for scaling cultivated meat technology.
Japan's Prime Minister stressed the importance of alternative proteins, including cellular foods, for a sustainable food supply.
China's bioeconomy and agricultural five-year plans include exploring alternative proteins, including cultivated foods.
Got Tofu?: Most people outside China, especially in the West, tend to think that tofu is limited to the silken and firm versions you’ll get in supermarkets. Chinese people may be able to tell you about some of the more well-known dried and stinky varieties, but you need to be a real connoisseur to have tried even half of the tofu varieties on George Stiffman’s new list! Currently running at 29 different types, George Stiffman has been compiling a list of all the different varieties of tofu he’s come across, and reflects on his journey with exploring tofu here.
To be 🥩 or not 🥩? Labelling alternative protein products after the meat products they are attempting to replace can go both ways. While advocates are struggling to get European countries to allow vegan products to be labelled as ‘yoghurt’, ‘steak’, or ‘cheese’, the challenge presents itself in different ways elsewhere. A plant-based pork product from Japan has recently been denied Halal status by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), due to their interpretation of Muslim dietary restrictions. Even with products containing no animal products, Halal laws often restrict products that resemble pork, or that contain pig images on the packaging.
New Meat in 🇲🇾: To mark Earth Day 2023, Malaysia announced the launch of a new cultivated-meat facility with CellAgriTech in Penang, expected to finish construction in late 2024. Their aim is to use this facility to become one of the most cost-efficient cultivated meat companies in the world.
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