Activity to our north is calling our R&D talent and companies, the National Food Waste Summit is coming, industry steps up on some of our biggest challenges, and a robotic tongue. All this and more in editor Kim Berry's round-up of the week that was.
News from Singapore
Ever since Singapore announced in 2019 its 30-by-30 goal – for the country 30 per cent self-sufficient by 2030 through new food production technologies – it has been an interesting market to watch.
It was the first country to permit cultivated meat on the menu, and in April this year, Australian cultivated meat company, Vow, announced its Quailia meat will be on the menu at Singapore restaurant, Tipping Club.
And Australian food tech company, Nourish Ingredients, uses Singapore as its base to build a regional footprint for its world first animalic fats. In October, Nourish Ingredients launched its breakthrough plant-based fat, Tastilux, that is derived from nature but cooks, smells, and tastes like traditional meat.
Mondelēz International’s Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa business HQ is in Singapore and it has just commissioned a $7.5 million Regional Biscuit and Baked Snacks Lab and Innovation Kitchen in Singapore. The company’s executive VP and president AMEA, Deepak Iyer, said the lab would be a regional creative development hub and centre of excellence.
And the JV between global nutrition company ADM and Singapore investment firm Temasek’s Asia Sustainable Foods Platform, ScaleUp Bio, has just been granted a food manufacturing licence for its commercial pilot production facility by the Singapore Food Agency.
The commercial pilot production facility complements ScaleUp Bio’s Fermentation Joint Lab, run with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)’s Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation.
The Fermentation Joint lab is housed in Nurasa’s Food Tech Innovation Centre (FTIC). Nurasa is wholly owned by Temasek and one of ScaleUp Bio’s corporate parents. It enables food innovators to bring an idea to life, offering start-ups up to 100 litres of fermentation capacity in a dedicated food grade, scientific research laboratory.
National Food Waste Summit
As the summit’s media partner, we are running regular articles about the summit, speaker profiles, and OpEds in the lead up to the event on 24-25 July.
Stories you can read:
Global initiatives moving the food waste dial
Transforming Waste into Opportunity: Pioneering Upcycled Food
National Food Waste Summit Changemakers: Empauer
SA advances composting with new research
National Food Waste Summit Changemakers: Refresh:Food
End Food Waste Australia welcomes Senate food waste calls
National Food Waste Summit speakers champion change
Industry stepping up
The National Association of Women in Operations (NAWO) announced the latest companies to become members that are championing more inclusive and gender balanced workplaces. Twenty-two food and drink companies are now part of more than 90 companies nationally to recognising the support NAWO brings, and the transformative impact of diversity and inclusivity within historically male-oriented sectors.
And Metcash has joined the Australian Food Pact. As one of the country’s largest wholesale distribution companies, it joins 37 other signatories including Mars, Unilever, Simplot, McCain Foods, Goodman Fielder, TipTop, Coles, and Woolworths.
Overseas stories that caught my eye
The Institute of Food Technologists said researchers from Washington State University compared the ability of an e-tongue with a human sensory panel and traditional methods of sniffing and petri-dish testing to detect microbial spoilage in wine. Turns out the e-tongue was able to detect spoilage weeks before humans. For example, the e-tongue detected taste changes on day seven of storage, while the panel couldn’t perceive significant differences between the spoiled and control wine until day 35.
In the US, Nestlé has launched its first major food brand in nearly 30 years, Vital Pursuit. It’s a frozen product brand, featuring meals that are aimed at people taking GLP-1 medications (e.g. Ozempic) and others wanting to lose weight. the range includes whole grain or protein pasta bowls, portioned sandwich melts, and pizzas with cauliflower crusts. It’s set to launch in October.
Onward.
