Protein Report

#Digest: Cargill Ventures has resumed agrifoodtech dealmaking with two unannounced investments, while Louis Dreyfus Company doubled its Saskatchewan canola crush capacity and added a pea protein processing line. A ransomware attack forced The Coca-Cola Company's fairlife, LLC dairy subsidiary to suspend U.S. production, and Plantopia Bio. raised $9 million backed by Schreiber Foods to produce casein via molecular farming. UPSIDE Foods submitted a $50 million baseline bid for Believer Meats' North Carolina facility, and All G entered the U.S. market with microbial fermentation–derived lactoferrin. #PlantProtein #Dairy #Agriculture #CellCulturedMeat #FoodSafety #MolecularFarming #Agribusiness #Cybersecurity https://lnkd.in/dwkjAekX

#Monitor: The USDA Forest Service quietly reissued biological opinions governing livestock grazing on the Santa Fe National Forest, removing earlier protections for threatened species including the Jemez Mountains salamander and the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse. Conservation groups discovered the undisclosed documents through ongoing Endangered Species Act litigation and say the revised framework eliminates meaningful take limits and weakens monitoring, making enforcement of grazing violations effectively impossible on allotments bordering the Valles Caldera National Preserve. #Livestock #Wildlife #PublicLands #EndangeredSpecies #Grazing https://lnkd.in/dq6zh7GE

#Monitor: Cargill Ventures is resuming active dealmaking after two years focused on portfolio management, having made two unannounced investments—one in a global fund and another in next-generation food and feed. Head of ventures Erin VanLanduit said the unit sees its strongest opportunity in companies caught between pilot and commercial scale, where corporates can offer technical expertise, infrastructure, and customer access beyond capital alone. #Agrifoodtech #VentureCapital #FoodInnovation #CorporateVentures https://lnkd.in/debVHeay

#Monitor: A consortium including Ripple Foods, FrieslandCampina, Tetra Pak, SPX FLOW, Inc., and HP Hood LLC has released new guidance on managing microbial safety risks in plant-based dairy alternative beverages. The research, endorsed by NIZO and conducted with Wageningen University & Research, found significant variation in spore-forming bacterial contamination across plant ingredients such as pea, oat, and almond, and recommends that suppliers closely monitor heat-resistant spores and Bacillus cereus to support food safety in shelf-stable products. #FoodSafety #Dairy #PlantProtein #Beverages https://lnkd.in/dsbJ_Tzp

#Monitor: Louis Dreyfus Company completed a major expansion at its Yorkton, Saskatchewan, facility, doubling canola crush capacity to two million tonnes per year and adding a yellow pea processing line capable of handling 75,000 tonnes annually. The pea line extracts up to 90 percent of protein content, targeting food ingredient and aquaculture feed markets. The expansion arrives as Canada's canola biofuel sector grows and industry seeks to diversify crop value beyond canola, with Cargill also recently opening a one-million-tonne canola facility in Regina. #PlantProtein #Canola #Biofuels #Agriculture #Canada https://lnkd.in/dHaXqnwB

#Monitor: The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has introduced a food and beverage standard requiring certified hospitality operators to ensure at least 30% of main dishes are plant-based or predominantly plant-based by weight. Developed over two years with the Lever Foundation, the rule affects more than 2,000 certified hotels worldwide and forms a mandatory threshold for earning or retaining GSTC certification. #Hospitality #Sustainability #Tourism #FoodService https://lnkd.in/dg-ymZku

#Monitor: Midwest Poultry Services has recalled nearly 1.6 million eggs sold under the Kroger, Simple Truth, and Country Morning brands across six U.S. states after testing flagged potential salmonella contamination at two Texas farms. No illnesses have been reported. The eggs were distributed through Kroger and Brookshire Grocery Company stores as well as smaller retailers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. #Eggs #FoodSafety #Recall #Salmonella https://lnkd.in/dvyS5_3E

#Monitor: All G has entered the US market with LFX apo-lactoferrin, a bovine-equivalent protein produced via microbial fermentation with less than 5% iron saturation, which the company says enhances its antimicrobial and iron-regulating properties compared to conventional dairy-derived lactoferrin. The startup is producing at 60,000-liter scale with positive unit economics and has partnered with DöhlerGroup and Armor Protéines - Groupe Savencia for scaling and distribution, while planning to bring human-equivalent lactoferrin to market within six months. #Ingredients #Lactoferrin #MicrobialFermentation #FoodTech #Dairy https://lnkd.in/d_84HDJK

#Monitor: Israeli startup Plantopia Bio. has raised $9 million led by Schreiber Foods and Siddhi Capital to move from R&D into commercial production of dairy proteins through molecular farming. The company uses indoor vertical farming of engineered sprouts to produce casein identical to cow's milk casein, including all four major subtypes, and plans to begin manufacturing at Kibbutz Sdot Yam in Q3 2025. Plantopia has raised more than $16 million to date and is targeting a North American casein market it estimates at approximately $50 billion. #Dairy #MolecularFarming #FoodTech #Casein #Agtech https://lnkd.in/eyDP6xRY

#Monitor: The Israeli trustee handling the sale of defunct cell-cultured meat startup Believer Meats' intellectual property has extended the bid deadline to August 5, citing strong interest from industry players and investment funds. The IP portfolio, which includes patent families covering cell lines, media formulations, and production scale-up know-how, is being sold separately from the firm's North Carolina facility, for which UPSIDE Foods has submitted a $50 million baseline bid. Believer Meats raised nearly $400 million before ceasing operations in December. #CellCulturedMeat #Meat #FoodTech https://lnkd.in/dCuk5vh5