ERE’S WHY.
OTORS AND PROF. MARCELLE MACHLUF, ECHNOLOGY AND FOOD ENGINEERING.
THE TEAM OF ALFRED’S, A NEW ISRAELI B2B STARTUP OFFERING AN INNOVATIVE PLATFORM FOR PRODUCING PLANT-BASED WHOLE CUTS FOR THE MEAT, POULTRY, MEAT ANALOG AND CULTIVATED MEAT INDUSTRY. (PHOTO COURTESY ALFRED’S)
NION SPOKESPERSON’S OFFICE)
International Flavors & Fragrances, a US-based multinational with operations in Migdal HaEmek in northern Israel, runs the FoodNxt incubator in partnership with the Israel Innovation Authority. IFF shares its knowledge about industry processes and technologies, international regulations and general food science expertise. The incubator also provides funding and helps portfolio startups build business plans, develop patent strategies and test products. Salt of The Earth, a global Israeli company in the North founded in 1922, has teamed up with Tel-Hai College for multiple projects, such as testing ingredients at the college’s analytical lab. Tel-Hai students recently were challenged to create innovations emphasizing sodium reduction and flavor enhancement. They were guided by Salt of The Earth R&D technologist and application manager Rakefet Rosenblatt, a food science graduate of Tel-Hai. “We always think about what we can make better,” she tells ISRAEL21c. “Salt is a known product; how can we help the industry use it in a smarter way? Students have great ideas and it’s good to invest in them.” One group proposed a salt product enhanced with mineral-rich seaweed, using a special process to neutralize the seaweed’s strong flavor and color. Another group developed a savory vegan snack based on chickpea flour and Salt of the Earth’s Mediterranean Umami Bold flavor enhancer. At the opposite end of Israel, down south in the Negev town of Rahat, seven major companies with a regional presence, such as SodaStream, Netafim and Dolav Plastic Products, joined with academic and VC partners in the IIA’s InNegev incubator for food-tech, ag-tech, clean-tech and Industry 4.0.
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“This is our first year of operation. We’re mostly doing venture creation now, utilizing the capabilities of our partners in the Negev,” says Amir Tzach, InNegev’s VP Business Development & Investments. Among food-tech innovations under consideration at InNegev are post-harvest sensors—one that detects bacteria and another that detects soft rot in potatoes early enough so that the bad potato(es) can be removed before the rot spreads. In the hot field of alternative protein, InNegev is looking at companies in the South engaged in algae production, and may assist local meat-processing facilities in converting space for alt-protein production.
ACADEMIC AND NONPROFIT FOOD-TECH Going back up north, the Carasso FoodTech Innovation Center was inaugurated in September at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. The center will house R&D for industrial production, a startup hub, packaging laboratory, industrial kitchen, tasting and evaluation units, and an educational visitor area. Prof. Marcelle Machluf, dean of the Technion Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, said that the COVID19 pandemic “has only emphasized the importance of food and biotechnology in maintaining our existence and meeting future existential challenges. To address the many challenges in this field, including access to healthy, affordable food and innovative medical treatments, we need advanced infrastructure that will enable the integration of new engineering and scientific tools.” In Tel Aviv, the Israeli not-for-profit StartUp Nation Central joined forces with global entrepreneur network TiE to advance Israeli and Indian food- and ag-tech solutions for
novel foods, post-harvest storage, alternative protein, food safety and packaging. Israeli startups selected for the mentorship program so far include multiple award-winning grasshopper protein company Hargol, automated cooking manufacturer Kitchen Robotics, vision-based robotic controller Deep Learning Robotics and produce storage humidity control solution UmiGo.
FIGHTING FOOD SCARCITY FOR THE FUTURE Start-Up Nation Central CEO Avi Hasson notes that farmers face increasingly harsher weather conditions, environmental pollutants and soil depletion. Coupled with population growth and increased product demand, these issues increase global concerns about food security. “Technologies that have the potential to either improve crop yields or transform, preserve, and tailor foods with improved functional and nutritional values will ensure a stable supply of food in the future,” says Hasson. The Kitchen’s Zaidman predicts that as the sector matures, we’ll see more segmentation. “For example, Aleph Farms started working on cultivated meat before there was any existing technology. A lot of the innovation we’ll see in the next two to three years will be much more specialized in certain aspects that support this industry,” he explains. “In terms of global trends, alternative proteins will continue as a strong trend because we’re just scratching the surface of consumer interest. There’s a lot of potential in alternative dairy, seafood and eggs.” Aviv Oren, business engagement and innovation director of the Israeli branch of the Good Food Institute, says Israel hosts about 100 alt-protein startups and 28 altMASSACHUSETTS JEWISH LEDGER
protein research labs in academic institutions. One of the newest ones, Alfred’s, offers an innovative platform for producing plantbased whole cuts for the meat, poultry, meat analog and cultivated meat industry. “Israel now ranks second in the world behind the United States in its total number of fermentation and cultivated meat companies,” Oren notes.GFI Israel Managing Director Nir Goldstein sees Israel’s role as potentially monumental. “With governmental support in this industry, Israel, which currently exports only five percent of the food it produces, could become a global supplier of raw materials and advanced production technologies for alternative proteins,” he says. This article first appeared in Israel21c.
TEL-HAI STUDENTS WITH THEIR CHICK CHIPS. (PHOTO COURTESY TEL-HAI COLLEGE)
| DECEMBER 17, 2021
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