There is so much innovation happening in the food and beverage world today that it's often hard to keep up. That's why each week we'll be bringing you highlights of the latest research and developments in food technology, new products, and food and beverage trends affecting the industry in Canada.
Here's a few stories you should know about:
Pulmuone, a plant-based food producer based in Seoul, South Korea, has formed a business partnership with ABB Korea Robotics to automate the production of cultivated seafood.
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Pulmuone anticipates that automating production will allow the company to mass produce cultivated seafood products by 2026. According to Pulmuone, the collaboration will be the world's first to apply AI robotic automation to cultivated meat production.
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Robotic automation will be applied to the cell cultivation process, and will be used to enhance production efficiency, strengthen technological competitiveness, and generate R&D in advanced fishery foodtech.
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Pulmuone creates tofu-based foods, and has partnered or invested in cultivated meat and mycoprotein companies to offer alternative proteins.
The Canadian Impact: Canadian foodtech companies such as Laplace Robotics are finding new innovation partners and business collaborators on YODL.
For more on the topic on YODL: Company Profile – Myo Palate
Israeli startup NewMoo has unveiled a plant-based molecular farming platform for producing dairy proteins in the form of liquid caseins.
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NewMoo can produce the four types of liquid casein necessary for traditional cheesemaking. Currently plant-based cheese analogues do not contain the caseins necessary to exactly replicate the sensory properties of traditional dairy cheese.
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The company's caseins mimic the functionality of milk in cheese production, and do not require processors to add any special equipment or to reconfigure existing production equipment.
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Molecular farming allows protein to be produced in a range of plants, including soy, lettuce and potatoes. NewMoo says it worked with soy because it offers a high yield, and high-quality protein, and due to the vast amount of research and knowledge about the plant, including from the soymilk sector.
The Canadian Impact: Food and beverage manufacturers are looking for innovative alternative ingredients to meet increasing consumer demand for nutritious, clean-label products.
For more on the topic on YODL: Company Spotlight – Smallfood Inc.
Food and beverage manufacturer Unilever discusses how it has integrated AI into all areas of its business.
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AI is being used by the company for a wide variety of tasks, including for shelf life assessment, taste and texture formulation, forecasting flavour profiles, understanding consumer demands, and predicting production performance.
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Unilever has launched several products that were developed using AI, including Knorr Zero Salt Cube, and Hellmann's Vegan Mayonnaise.
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Data modelling and AI has helped Unilever to find plant-based alternatives in recipes, to boost nutrition in products, and to launch products with different flavour profiles for different markets, saving time and money.
The Canadian Impact: More Canadian food manufacturers are exploring how their businesses can benefit from AI.
For more on the topic on YODL: Generative AI and the Food Industry