Cultured meat, insect-based proteins, and proteins made by fermentation could soon be a sustainable and nutritious part of our diets, thanks to the creation of a new research establishment, backed by public funding.
The National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre has received £15m in funding from the UK Research & Innovation, Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council and Innovate UK. There will be an additional £23m coming from public and private sector partners.
The centre will be hosted by the University of Leeds and co-led with the James Hutton Instiutute, the University of Sheffield, and Imperial College London
It will support research and innovation into various forms of alternative protein, from plants and microbes to insects and algae.
The facility will also aim to develop new products and ingredients from innovation to commercialisation while investigating how consumers can integrate these foods into their diets.
Funding for the centre starts in August 2024 and will run for five years.
“The launch of the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre exemplifies our commitment to spearheading innovation in the alternative proteins sector,” said Professor Guy Poppy, UKRI food sector champion and BBSRC deputy executive chair.
“By harnessing the strengths of our world-class scientific community and robust industrial partnerships, this initiative addresses vital sustainability challenges and forges essential links between research and commercial application,” he added.
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Animal agriculture is estimated to produce up to a fifth of planet-warming emissions, and with the global population projected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050, the demand for protein is expected to rise significantly. Some sources, such as the UN Environment Programme, estimate meat consumption alone could grow up to 50% by 2050.
As the global population rises, supplementing traditional agriculture with alternative protein sources is mission critical if we are to meet increasing demands sustainably, the organisations said.
It aims to nurture collaboration to address the research and innovation challenges facing the sector.
According to an analysis by Green Alliance, the UK alternative proteins industry could be worth £6.8bn a year and create around 25,000 jobs by 2035. The UKRI-funded centre will help the UK realise this potential, it said.
NAPIC currently comprises more than 30 interdisciplinary researchers from the four institutions and 120 international partners.
But whilst the new centre aims to speed up the development of lab grown products, The Grocer has learnt they face delays elsewhere.
Plans by the FSA to announce a major shake up of its procedures for a raft of regulated products including lab grown meat, insect-based foods and CBD have been delayed, with no talks on regulatory reform yet to take place under the new government.
“We’ve not yet been able to have conversations with ministers although we are full expecting to,” admitted outgoing FSA CEO Emily Miles.
Miles said the watchdog had hoped to be able push ahead with some of its plans already announced including ditching the 10 year reapprovals process and the need for all approvals to go through time-consuming statutory instrument approvals in parliament.
“We’re hoping we might be able to get government support to take those forward but we don’t know yet,” she added.
“We have support from the Welsh government and Scottish government, we just need to make sure the English government is up for it too.”
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