ProVeg International is hosting a tasting session at the IFFA trade fair in May
A chance to taste what many now believe to be the future of meat is on offer at the world’s largest meat fair taking place in Frankfurt from 14-19 May.
Food awareness organisation ProVeg International has teamed up with pioneering food company MeaTech to offer delegates attending this year’s IFFA trade fair the opportunity to taste cultured meat.
Cultured meat holds huge potential to mitigate the impact of the global animal agriculture industry because it delivers meat without the chain of production that leads to deforestation, high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and animal welfare concerns.
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) pinpointed cultured meat as a key technology that could bring “substantial reduction in direct GHG emissions from food production” because of the lower land, water and nutrient footprints1.
“This is an exciting year to be involved in the emerging cultured meat industry and the trade fair at Frankfurt offers delegates the chance to satiate their curiosity and taste the product for themselves,” Stephanie Jaczniakowska-McGirr, International Head of Food Industry and Retail at ProVeg, said.
“Regulatory approval has been granted for cultured meat in Singapore and regulatory pathways are being prepared to bring cultured meat to the US and Europe as well,” Jaczniakowska-McGirr added.
ProVeg is also helping to make history, as this year marks the first time in the IFFA’s 70-year history that technologies and solutions for vegetable-based meat substitutes and alternative proteins are being featured. At least 200 of the 900 IFFA exhibitors booked at this year’s show offer products for the production of meat alternatives.
ProVeg has lined up a string of leading companies specialised in alternative protein to give two days of talks on key subjects in the field of alternative proteins. Presenting companies will include Meatless Farms, PHW Group, Tyson, JBS, Morningstar, MeaTech, Planteneers and Givaudan.
Talks organised by ProVeg will cover the following areas:
- The how, why and when for meat producers to diversify protein supply chains;
- Strategies to get alternative protein products to market, including pricing strategies;
- Harnessing alternative proteins to achieve sustainability goals;
- Achieving scalability and commercial viability;
- Harnessing the potential of hybrid products; and
- Formulation and manufacturing considerations with alternative protein products.
“As well as the cultured meat tasting, we have put together a comprehensive programme of talks that should answer many of the questions that meat producers have about breaking into the alternative protein market,” Jaczniakowska-McGirr said.
“Now really is the time to start investing time and energy into the alternative protein market to get ahead of the game and be prepared for bringing products to investors, regulators and the market,” she added.
Footnotes
- IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Mitigation of Climate Change, published 4 April 2022
