Novel foods in Europe will be subject to new safety assessments early next year as the European Food Safety Authority updates processes to better reflect the changing landscape and potentially speed up approvals.
The food and beverage industry is throwing out the rule book to create new, sustainable systems, which will protect food security for future generations. Discover how at Climate Smart Food 2024.
The wellness industry is booming, with health and fitness trends becoming popular amongst consumers and profitable for brands. But do consumers trust the ‘better-for-you’ marketing printed on the products they buy?
While some fear artificial intelligence spells the end of humanity, others back its potential for positive disruption. How’s this playing out in food and drink? We bring you the latest…
Cultivated meat needs growth factors in order for its cells to grow. These are usually added to the cell culture media at considerable expense, impacting potential for commercialisation. New research, however, has shown that edited bovine cells can produce...
Rice is one of the most important crops in sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is particularly at risk from disease. A new study has found that CRISPR technology can be used to edit genes in some strains of rice, developing resistance.
Researchers have discovered the genetic sequencing behind two mutations in peas responsible for high iron content. This discovery could aid future research into improving biofortification.
The production of cultivated meat will need stable cell lines from multiple different species to be successful. It is produced from stem cells, which are highly flexible and can create yields with the potential to be far greater in volume than the meat...
With the world’s population projected, according to the UN, to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, there will be many more mouths to feed. With this in mind, we need to improve crop yields, in order to supply the world with more food to eat.
As the European Commission proposes allowing the use of new genomic techniques to grow climate-resistant crops with better nutritional value, young Europeans would be support genetically modified (GM) food if it gave them a health boost, new research...
There was a notable failure in the US for ‘one of the world’s first next generation cheese alternatives’. But that shouldn’t detract from the potential benefits that precision fermentation technology can bring to the dairy alternatives category, FoodNavigator’s...
Fungal infections destroy a significant amount of crops worldwide. Scientists have warned that the crop losses due to fungal infections cause hundreds of thousands of people to miss out on calories they could have if the crops survived. And this will...
The UK government has invested £12m (€13.57) in a new research centre to grow sustainable protein and cultivated meat. This will be the largest investment yet made by the government in sustainable proteins.
Plant-based is one of the most important trends in the food industry today. Meat- and dairy-free products are helping provide food alternatives to an ever-growing flexitarian market. But some questions still remain. For one, since many plant-based foods...
The results of Europe’s first ever field trial of a gene edited (GE) variety of wheat have shown a significant reduction of the potential carcinogen acrylamide when the flour is baked.
Genetically engineering rice to have better salt tolerance could allow it to be grown in places it would otherwise fail, new research from the University of Sheffield has found.
For food to be ‘natural’, do consumers need to know where it came from? Can it be ‘natural’ if it was grown in a lab? And is defining ‘natural’ even important, anyway?
Research suggests that negative perceptions of genetically modified and genetically engineered foods could be easing, promoting some to suggest that consumers in Europe are ready to move on from debates about so-called ‘Frankenfood’ and embrace the sustainability...
Researchers at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology are accelerating gene discovery for crop breeding in the pursuit of a more resilient food system.
Researchers have for the first time genetically-modified a major food crop to improve photosynthesis and make them more efficient at using sunlight to their own food. The breakthrough improved soybean seed yield by over 30 per cent in field trials, they...
A survey in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland is asking the big questions: Are consumers willing to try cell-based meat? Have they heard of genetic modification? And are they reducing how much red meat, poultry, and fish are on their plates?
Companies are exploring the potential of genetic engineering to boost the nutritional content, productivity and climatic adaptability of so-called orphan crops in the continent.
Children are more likely to prefer food they perceive as ‘natural’ over processed or lab-made alternatives, a new study from scientists in Scotland and the US has found.
Belgium-based food-tech company Paleo has unveiled details of its GMO-free animal heme proteins made via precision fermentation to help food manufacturers improve the taste, aroma, colour and nutritional qualities of plant-based meat.
Researchers working to identify genes that control the development of bread wheat ‘spikelets’ have unexpectedly discovered a potential way to increase protein content by up to 25%.
A scientist in Israel is ‘tricking’ lettuce into producing nutrients in higher quantities thanks to gene editing technology CRISPR/Cas. FoodNavigator hears how.
The food system is exposed to increased food safety risks from climate change – a danger regulators must be mindful of, UK Food Safety Agency Chair Professor Susan Jebb suggests. Authorities also need to help the sector mitigate the contribution it currently...
A survey of over 2,000 consumers in the UK has revealed that while they tend to have a very low awareness and knowledge of GE food, the more informed they are, the more accepting of GE food they become.
New rules on organic farming and production in the EU are set to come into effect at the beginning of 2022. In the second in a series of articles examining the update, legal experts Katia Merten-Lentz, partner at international law firm Keller and Heckman,...
Israeli seed specialist Equinom says its new variety of protein-rich sesame seed could help the solve the taste and texture challenges of plant-based food and beverages.
A British company is developing the world’s first lab-grown ‘compassionate’ caviar to allow more people to experience the delicacy’s unique taste and nutritional benefits.
New rules on organic farming and production in the EU are set to come into effect at the beginning of 2022. In the first in a series of articles examining the update, legal experts Katia Merten-Lentz, partner at international law firm Keller and Heckman,...
Sales of organic and Fairtrade certified products continued to shine in 2020 as concerns over the climate impact of food production and the COVID-19 crisis put ethical consumerism in the spotlight.
The newly founded European Non-GMO Industry Association (ENGA) is backing the expansion of genetically modified-free production across the bloc and supporting Member States looking to promote non-GMO labelling, says co-founder Alexander Hissting.
With 2023 likely to be designated the International Year of Millet by the UN, the ancient grain is hoping to surpass the quinoa boom to soon become part of everyday diets across the world.
UK scientists have created a new modified wheat variety that can increase grain production by up to 12%. They claim the innovation is a potential solution to help meet rapidly growing global demand, but also expect it to trigger heated debate around genetically...
