Californian dairy businesses bag US$300,000 in first round of DBII funding

The California Dairy Innovation Center (CDIC) has announced six California winners of Dairy Business Innovation Initiative grants by the Pacific Coast Coalition, the USDA-funded initiative hosted by Fresno State University supporting dairy product, process and packaging innovation. The grants are the first in the US$1.8m DBII award from the USDA that created the Pacific Coast … Read more

Sesame milk gains traction in evolving plant-based milk market

The company – which fortifies its sesame milk with calcium and vitamin D and adds some pea protein concentrate to get up to 8g protein per serving – is starting to see some real traction, four years after launch, said CEO Julia Stamberger. “Success has been evident in both broad acceptance of sesame milk by … Read more

Bel Brands, Perfect Day launch animal-free cream cheese, expand mainstream exposure of dairy alternatives

The partnership brings together Bel Brands’ more than 100 years of cheese-making experience and Perfect Day’s animal-free casein and whey made with microbial fermentation rather than cows to launch, this week, Nurishh Incredible Dairy Animal Free Cream Cheese Spread Alternative. “We are leveraging our unique history and expertise in cheese and partnering with Perfect Day … Read more

Royal DSM launches next gen ‘free from’ plant protein

Aligned with the growing demand for delicious, nutritional and sustainable plant-based baked goods and snacks, DSM has created Vertis CanolaPRO, a complete, high quality canola protein isolate that is free from all major allergens. The product is the result of more than 10 years of research and development at DSM to unlock healthy protein from … Read more

Basecamp Research raises $20M to map life on earth and design proteins to match

Less than one percent of the biochemistries in nature have been discovered – a fraction of that percentage has been fully characterized in the real world.​,” said Oliver Vince, co-founder at Basecamp Research. “Recent advances in bioinformatics, AI and data science are enabling our team to map a world of untapped possibility, and we’re just … Read more

Danone North America launches 11th gut microbiome fellowship grant

Danone North America will award two graduate students US$25,000 each to conduct research that would offer insight into the role of the gut microbiome – including its effects on the brain and immune system. Recipients of the grant will explore how the gut microbiome, yogurt and probiotics help sustain human health and wellness though growth, … Read more

More transparency needed on school milk nutrition

The consumer advocacy body also highlighted the lack of publicly available data into the national school milk marketplace, observing that the US dairy industry.”closely guardsits data. In its report ‘Behind the Cartoon,’ the CSPI examined Nutrition Facts and ingredient data for 22 unflavored and 29 flavored single-serve milks (8 fl oz) produced by 11 leading … Read more

Plant-based dairy and meat by numbers; Declining trends continue, but pockets of growth remain

For dairy alternatives, SPINS US retail data shared with FoodNavigator-USA shows: Plant-based milk ($2.73bn category): Oat milk and shelf-stable coconut milk driving volume ​ 12 weeks to October 30: $sales +10.5%, unit sales -3% 52 weeks to October 30: $sales +7.6%, unit sales -1.4% Over the latest 12-week period, all of the volume growth came … Read more

Most peanut butter would not qualify for ‘healthy’ claim under FDA’s new proposed rule, says Peanut Federation

Published in late September to coincide with the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, the proposed ruleUpdates the criteria for ‘healthy’ nutrient content claims on food labels, and for the first time restrictions the amount of added sugar firms can include in products bearing the claim (see box below). The deadline for comments … Read more

Most peanut butter would not qualify for ‘healthy’ claim under FDA’s new proposed rule, says Peanut Federation

The deadline for comments is February 16, 2023, with commentsThus far largely coming from individuals, with most trade associations and large food companies taking more time to formulate a formal response. However, some industry stakeholders have begun to weigh it, with many homing in it proposalsto restrict added sugars. Karl Zimmer, chairman of the United … Read more