Weekly Roundup: Phytolon secures US$15M to advance natural food colors, Barry Callebaut’s head of gourmet resigns

08 Jul 2022 --- In this week’s industry news, Phytolon secured US$14.5 million to advance its fermentation technology of natural food colors, and Vaess developed a vegan melting cheese. Meanwhile, Barry Callebaut’s chief innovation, global head of gourmet and executive committee member, Pablo Perversi, revealed his plans to step down from his position to pursue other career opportunities. 

In brief: Business moves
Phytolon, a developer of fermentation-based natural food colors, secured US$14.5 million in funding, led by DSM Venturing, to progress its technology toward commercialization, with participation from Cibus Fund, Ginkgo Bioworks and The Trendlines Agrifood Fund. Phytolon’s proprietary technology is based on licensed technology from the Weizmann Institute of Science and addresses the need for healthy natural food-coloring alternatives to azo/synthetic dyes used in F&B.Vaess’s vegan melting cheese contains less than 5% saturated fat.

Tate & Lyle extended its partnership with APC Microbiome Ireland through a new two-year research project to increase understanding of how dietary fibers can impact the functioning of the gut microbiome. Research has shown that dietary fibers can have prebiotic effects, feeding “good” bacteria in the gut and promoting a healthy composition of the microbiome. A diverse and well-functioning microbiome is important because its bacteria help to digest food, regulate the immune system, protect against other bacteria that cause disease, and produce vitamins, including vitamins B12, thiamine and riboflavin, and Vitamin K.

Cargill and Rise Against Hunger initiated a two-year nutrition program to support the B40 community in Malaysia that will provide 60,000 high-nutrition food packets for 240,000 underprivileged people. Despite Malaysia’s economic progression, many B40 communities face food insecurity and other inflation-related challenges.

In brief: Sustainability
PepsiCo published its first Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Summary since the launch of PepsiCo Positive (pep+), a strategic end-to-end business transformation with sustainability and human capital. 

In brief: Appointments and resignations
Taste and fragrance giant Firmenich appointed master flavorists Yukiko Ando Ovesen and Usha Manduru, the first to receive the company’s prestigious designation in more than four years. They will join Firmenich’s elite group of six master flavorists. The distinction was introduced in 2013. The flavorists shape food & beverage experiences that are considered benchmarks within the industry.

Pablo Perversi, chief innovation, sustainability and quality officer, global head of gourmet and member of the executive committee at Barry Callebaut, has resigned to pursue new career opportunities, effective as of September. Steven Retzlaff, president of global cocoa, will add the responsibility for the group’s sustainability strategy to his portfolio.Fyxx Health partnered with a nutritionist to develop its vitamin cookie.

In brief: NPD
Vaess unveiled a vegan, cold-formable, melting cheese that is low in saturated fat (< 5%), while most vegan cheeses on the market contain 30-40% saturated fat because they are made with coconut fat. The innovation fulfills the market need for vegan melting cheese products for nuggets, sauces and meat products like chicken Kyiv or cordon bleu.

Early childhood nutrition player Gerber expanded its 1st Foods puree line by introducing two new flavors, Natural 1st Foods Corn and Natural 1st Foods Mango. Developed to expand the dietary variety of babies and introduce different nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables to infants as they start eating solid foods, the new corn and mango purees are Non-GMO Project Verified and follow the Gerber Clean Field Farming practices.

Start-up Fyxx Health launched a low sugar, low carb vitamin cookie including vitamin D, vitamin B12, Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc. Founder and CEO Sung Park partnered with an experienced dietician and nutritionist, Stacy Kennedy, to develop the biscuit.

WeissBioTech recently launched DeltaBrew Pure with a protease enzyme that eliminates chill haze formation during cold storage and provides beer with foam stability. The company offers beer brewers a range of safe, compliant, economical and customized enzyme solutions for malting, cereal cooking & mashing, fermentation, attenuation & filtration, beer maturation and stabilization.Pablo Perversi is leaving Barry Callebaut. 

 In brief: Awards
International cheese and ingredients producer Carbery Group was awarded 11 distinctions at the International Cheese Awards 2022. The company received six gold awards for Cracker Mature White, Carbery Lactose-Free Cheddar, Extra Mature White Cheddar, Vintage Cheddar and Cheese Extra 14+, three silver awards for Mature Cheddar, Vintage Cheddar and Cheese Extra 14+, one bronze for Mature Cheddar and one “highly recommended” award for Red Cheddar with Chili.

In brief: Other highlights
Revo Foods compared its plant-based salmon to three different conventional salmon brands through a certified food analysis laboratory to provide answers to popular consumer belief that vegan products are unhealthier than animal products. The salmon was tested for mercury, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other compounds. The findings show that conventional salmon had high amounts of mercury and PCBs. In contrast, the vegan smoked salmon slices have no or hardly detectable amounts of mercury, dioxins and PCBs. 

By Inga de Jong