Latest news with #foodtechnology
Daily Mail
17-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Adventures in Fermentation by Dr Johnny Drain: Go with your gut – choose pickle power!
Adventures in Fermentation by Dr Johnny Drain (Penguin Life £20, 320pp) Dr Johnny Drain is a man who has eaten some unusual foods in his time. In the opening pages of his book, he confesses to tasting 'extracts from the anal gland of a beaver'. It was 'good but weird', apparently. More than 200 pages later he sounds like an even more daring version of Heston Blumenthal, as he tells his readers about drinking vodka distilled from rabbit ears and sampling pig's blood ice cream. As a scientist and a chef, Dr Drain is at the cutting edge of food technology, committed to exploring ways in which the food of the future can be healthier and more eco-friendly. He has worked with restaurants including Noma, which was named the world's best four times. However, as the title of his book reveals, his greatest enthusiasm is for fermentation. 'At the core of my work,' he writes, 'is the use of science and fermentation to unlock deliciousness and amplify health and sustainability.' He invites us to imagine a world without fermentation. No more butter or cheese. No wine or beer or spirits. It's a depressing prospect. Our ancestors used fermentation as a means of food preservation. Before fridges and freezers existed, it was essential to long-term storage of resources. Today we can use fermentation, 'cooking with microbes' as Dr Drain defines it, simply to bring 'deliciousness into being'. Not only that, scientists are beginning to understand the ways in which fermented foods can contribute to good health. They can ward off illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and bowel problems. Even mental health can be improved. However, the 'great culinary flattening' of recent decades, in which fast and ultra-processed food have come to dominate our diets, has had some bad effects. Our gut bugs are not 'fans of this fast and processed food takeover'. The consequence can be 'dysbiosis' which Dr Drain describes as 'a fancy term for an imbalance in the microbial community in our guts'. In China in the fourth century, a doctor named Ge Hong treated digestive problems with his own remedy which he called yellow soup. Its secret ingredient was fermented human faeces. Yellow soup seems unlikely to appear on any restaurant menu or doctor's prescription today but fermented foods can work wonders in treating dysbiosis and rebalancing the microbial systems we all have inside us. In his ardent advocacy of fermentation and fermented foods, Dr Drain embarks on a worldwide tour. He tracks down a particularly prized type of fermented butter in Marrakesh. He samples wild fruit ferments in the Cerrado, a tropical savanna land in Brazil. He even sprinkles his text with a range of easily understood recipes for a variety of fermented delights, from sourdough pancakes and whisky vinegar to kraut stew and a special kind of French onion soup. His aim in this unusual and original book is to convince us not only that we should all be eating more fermented foods but that fermentation can change our lives. To a large extent, he succeeds.
ABC News
13-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Olive Overhaul: Transforming the taste of olives
A world-first processing method is transforming the taste of table olives while reducing labour and water use.
CTV News
08-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
New partnership looking to boost Saskatchewan agri-food industry
A partnership between two Saskatchewan business incubators is looking to create more opportunities for ag-tech and food technology industries. The Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc., better known as Food Centre, and Conexus Credit Union's Cultivator signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday, aiming to help entrepreneurs and agriculture startups navigate a complex ecosystem. 'For us to be able to bring founders here, to give exposure to the province, to really highlight Saskatchewan as a place where they can grow their company and be successful is a huge opportunity,' Cultivor's director Laura Mock said to reporters following the announcement. The two companies say the partnership will help interested businesses in a number of ways, including referrals to one another, supporting upcycling and collaborating on programs and workshops. 'If we can help the companies to become more successful, produce more products, create more revenue and create more jobs, it'll be better for the province,' Food Centre President Mehmet Tulbek said. Cultivator is the first credit union-led tech incubator in Canada, and describes itself as helping local startups start, grow, and scale their companies. The program announced a goal earlier this year of getting 250 companies to achieve $1 million or more in revenue by 2050. Though Cultivator doesn't offer the capital itself, it helps connect budding entrepreneurs with the investment necessary to build industry-leading businesses. Tuesday's partnership is another step toward helping these founders eliminate barriers and supporting Saskatchewan's ag-tech industry. 'We want people to know that it's attainable, that you can build ag-innovation in Saskatchewan — and not just you can, but Saskatchewan is the place to build ag-innovation,' Mock said. 'You don't have to come from a farm.' Tulbek said the opportunity for Cultivator and the Food Centre was too great to ignore after a recent shift for more Canadian built, internal solutions for getting Saskatchewan products to new places. Considering recent tariff threats from United States President Donald Trump, more people are calling for barriers to be reduced and for capacity on the prairies to expand. 'They are becoming more and more important with all these tariff discussions,' Tulbek said. 'So that's our job is really to support the manufacturing landscape, to increase the capacity and help the entrepreneurs and help the companies to manufacture and produce more products for Canadian consumers.' Mock said the partnership will allow both companies to lean on each other and help stretch dollars. 'Rather than looking for new investment, we're actually just repurposing the investments and the programs and capabilities we have to have a greater impact,' she said.
Globe and Mail
08-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Neogen Announces Fourth-Quarter Earnings Release Date
Neogen® Corporation (NASDAQ: NEOG) will issue its fourth-quarter earnings release before the opening of the market on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Executives from the company will host a webcast and conference call later that morning, beginning at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time, to discuss the financial results. The conference call can be accessed by dialing: Toll-Free - North America: 1-800-549-8228 International: (+1) 646-564-2877 Conference ID: 65461 The live webcast can be accessed through Neogen's Investor Relations webpage, under the 'Events & Presentations' subheading. A replay of the conference call and webcast will be available shortly following the conclusion of the call and can be accessed by dialing: Toll-Free - North America: 1-877-674-7070 International: (+1) 416-764-8692 Passcode: 65461 # It will also be available on Neogen's Investor Relations website at About Neogen Neogen Corporation is committed to fueling a brighter future for global food security through the advancement of human and animal well-being. Harnessing the power of science and technology, Neogen has developed comprehensive solutions spanning the Food Safety, Livestock, and Pet Health & Wellness markets. A world leader in these fields, Neogen has a presence in over 140 countries with a dedicated network of scientists and technical experts focused on delivering optimized products and technology for its customers.
National Post
17-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
New School Foods Expands Breakthrough Manufacturing Technology Into Red Meat
Article content TORONTO — New School Foods, the Toronto-based food manufacturing and technology company behind the world's first plant-based salmon that looks, cooks, tastes and flakes like ordinary salmon, today announced the formation of NS/TX Industries Inc. ('NS/TX'), an expanded company that will house the proprietary manufacturing technology platform, the New School Foods™ consumer brand, and manufacturing operations. Article content NS/TX's patented scaffolding process is the first to use directional freezing at scale, which creates hyper-realistic whole-cut alternatives that combine both muscle fibers and connective tissue into a single macrostructure. The same technology & assembly line that the company pioneered to produce its alt-seafood products has now been shown to also work for red meat applications – including steak and bone-in ribs. Unlike the industry-standard manufacturing process of extrusion, which has proven to be limited in its ability to create alt-protein products that meet consumer expectations, the NS/TX process delivers products with an authentic look, cook, taste, and texture. Article content In order to support a wide range of different plant-based meat and seafood products, the NS/TX patented scaffolding platform has been designed to support maximum flexibility: Article content The scaffold macrostructure can be made into any shape and size. Scaffolds can be embedded with plant-based 'bones' to emulate steak and ribs. Texture can be modified by tuning muscle fiber diameter, length and resistance to match any meat type. Texture, flavor and appearance can be modified by customizing the pattern and composition of the connective tissue. Multi-layered scaffolds can be infused with nearly any protein, liquid oil, flavor and colors. Article content NS/TX is designed to support a broader mission and more powerful manufacturing capabilities. It will serve as the overarching entity for three business units: Article content New School Foods™: the consumer and restaurant-facing product brand, including the flagship whole-cut, plant-based salmon filet, its recently launched plant-based salmon burger, and new meat products in the near future. NS/TX R&D: a scientific and culinary innovation team that collaborates with other companies to develop custom formulations and products using NS/TX's proprietary tech. NS/TX Manufacturing: to be rolled out over time, NS/TX Manufacturing will open the company's superior manufacturing technology to the world, working with other food brands to build and scale their own (private/white label) and co-branded offerings using NS/TX's patented platform. 'Our scaffolding technology has proven to be more flexible than we imagined, and shown that it can be a superior manufacturing alternative to extrusion for red meat as well as seafood applications,' said Chris Bryson, founder and CEO. 'We have spent the last year scaling up our manufacturing process into an assembly line that can create all of these products, and we decided that we don't want to reserve this technology for a single brand. The creation of NS/TX allows us to partner with other brands to develop and manufacture the next generation of alternative protein products.' Article content The NS/TX cold-based directional freezing process results in a product that starts out 'raw' and transforms when cooked, just like ordinary meat – an experience that is not possible using conventional technologies like extrusion. In scaling up the process over the last year, the company also recognized that, just like the traditional meat industry, the excess material from shaping its whole cuts provide excellent additional products, including ground or flaked meats and fish, expanding efficiency and minimizing material loss. Article content With the launch of NS/TX, the company is formalizing what has already been happening behind the scenes: transforming a production innovation into a market-defining manufacturing and product development platform. The structure enables NS/TX to act as an innovative partner and catalyst, rather than just a producer, for others in the food space seeking to experiment, expand, or scale without having to build from scratch. Article content This announcement follows a string of major milestones for the company, including the launch of its flagship salmon filet in more than 30 restaurants across Canada, partnerships with Bondi Produce and Gordon Food Service (GFS), and the completion of its vertically integrated V1 production line. With over $19 million USD in funding from investors and partners, including Inter IKEA, Protein Industries Canada, and SDTC, NS/TX is establishing itself as a leader in manufacturing innovation, with the technical and operational capabilities to match. Article content About NSTX Industries Inc. Article content NS/TX is a food manufacturing and technology platform focused on scaling next-generation protein alternatives. Built around a proprietary breakthrough directional freezing process, NS/TX provides production, R&D, and co-manufacturing services to bring high-performance whole cuts to market faster, at scale, with unparalleled flexibility. New School Foods is the consumer and restaurant-facing brand of NS/TX producing next-gen seafood and meat alternatives, including salmon filets, beef steaks, and bone-in ribs. Their patented scaffolding process produces more authentic textures and performance than traditional extrusion. The company operates a vertically integrated facility in downtown Toronto and is backed by over $24 million CAD in private and government funding. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
