MycoProteins – Mushrooms to Meat?

And other uses in FOOD.

In this post:

above image: My Bacon from https://myforestfoods.com/, can Ecovative company

Have you asked yourself if meats made from mushrooms are as nutritious as real meat? It appears that they are healthier!

Mycoprotein: A Meat Alternative for Vegetarians [and the rest of us!]
Written by Science Meets Food June 2020

We’re proud to be part of the Institute of Food Technologists Student Association (IFTSA), the premier professional society for students studying the science and technology of food.

Health Benefits of Mycoprotein

Before we can judge which health benefits mycoprotein could bring, let’s have a look at the nutritional values of mycoprotein:

With that said, mycoprotein supplies all the essential amino acids that humans need to make proteins. These include the nine amino acids that our body cannot synthesize: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. They serve as precursors for many other metabolic intermediates and products such as neurotransmitters, nucleotides, membrane structures, hormones, and so on.

Other studies have shown the effect of consuming foods that are high in fibre and low in fat, particularly in reducing the risk of chronic diseases. Daily intake of mycoprotein lowered cholesterol concentration by 13%, as reported by Turnbull et al. (1990). Satiety, the satisfaction after consuming foods, after consuming mycoprotein was also shown to be higher than after eating chicken protein (Turnbull et al. (1990), Burley et al. (1993)).

This suggests that mycoprotein has a higher satiating power compared to other foods with similar fiber content. The mechanism of this effect remains unknown, although another component of mycoprotein is predicted to be responsible for this. High fibre content also leads to the studies of mycoprotein in glycemic response (blood sugar levels). It was found that the serum glucose response and the insulin response was lower after the mycoprotein meal compared with the control. With that being said, people with obesity and type-2 diabetes might consider taking mycoprotein as a meat substitute, but of course, doctor’s reference is still needed.

Nowadays, there is a variety of fungus-based meat alternatives in the market, ranging from poultry to seafood, mince to burgers, providing vegetarians with more options.  With its potential benefits, the production of mycoprotein and fungus-based meat alternatives contributes to the future of global food security.

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Even in restaurant food trends Plant-based proteins are high on the list.

Top 10 overall restaurant trends for 2020

1. Eco-friendly packaging
2. Scratchmade
3. Plant-based proteins
4. Healthy bowls
5. Creativity with catering
6. Delivery-friendly menu items
7. Revamped classic cocktails
8. Stress relievers (ingredients that promote relaxation/relieve stress)
9. Specialty burger blends (mushroom-beef burgers, etc.)
10. Unique beef and pork cuts

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But, mycelium is not only used for plant-based meat.

Do you know Koji?

Aspergillus oryzae, also known as kōji mold (Japanese: ニホンコウジカビ (日本麹黴), is a filamentous fungus (a mold) used in Japan. …

…Eiji Ichishima of Tohoku University called the kōji fungus a “national fungus” (kokkin) in the journal of the Brewing Society of Japan, because of its importance not only for making the kōji for sake brewing, but also for making the kōji for miso, soy sauce, and a range of other traditional Japanese foods. His proposal was approved at the society’s annual meeting in 2006.

How to Cook With Koji, the Savory Secret Weapon That Chefs Love (And You Can, Too) – EPICURIOUS
April 2020 – To hear some chefs talk about koji—the mold-inoculated grains responsible for miso, soy sauce, sake, mirin, and a host of other ingredients—is to encounter a feverish zeal that borders on the unbelievable. … Noma chef René Redzepi and fermentation-lab head David Zilber, co-authors of the Noma Guide to Fermentation, call it “indistinguishable from magic.”…
… When the conditions are right for the mold to flourish on one of these mediums, its tendrils exude a plethora of enzymes to digest their food: protease enzymes to break down proteins into their component amino acids; amylase and saccherase enzymes to transform starches into simpler sugars; and lipase enzymes that turn fats into lipids, esters, and aromatic compounds.
Cooks then use inoculated rice or barley (called “koji”), now covered in a fluffy snowdrift, to set the enzymes to work. Depending on how it’s harnessed, koji can bring out the sugars in rice fermented into amazake (sweet rice porridge), mirin, and sake. Or it can denature the proteins in beans and grains to produce crazily savory miso pastes and soy sauces.

handmade in san francisco
WHAT Is KOJI?
Koji is a fungi that produces a flight of enzymes that break down starches and proteins, creating delicious flavors that are good for gut health.

Shared Cultures is a San Francisco based food company creating newly imagined probiotic sauces, marinades, and ferments using the magic of KOJI.
In 2019, Shared Cultures’ co-founder Eleana Hsu developed a deep passion for fungi through foraging wild edible mushrooms in the San Francisco Bay Area. While researching techniques to preserve the bounty of nature, she was introduced to the powerful world of fermentation.
Eleana soon learned that her grandmother used koji to make traditional ferments. Inspired by her family’s food history, Eleana combines her passions through the art of fungal fermentation with Shared Cultures. Eleana and her team offer workshops for anyone to learn about Koji Fermentation.

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Mycelium as a Scaffold ???

A scaffold is any platform that serves to build or hold things in place to create a larger structure. When most people think of a scaffold they probably think of a building scaffold like the one in this picture.
The cell-based scaffold composed of mycelium serves an analogous purpose by helping us build food instead of buildings. This cell-based scaffold uses mycelium with a state-of-the-art approach, harnessing an overlooked structure in the world to address the complex problem of making better meat alternatives. By allowing cells to attach to mycelia and then placing these in a growth medium with the appropriate nutrients, we can grow cell-based meat.  

“Mycelium checks off many of the requirements of an ideal cultured meat scaffold, it is: (1) animal-free, (2) food-grade, (3) low-cost, (4) scalable and (5) easy to experiment with.”

— Natalie Rubio of Tufts University

Ecovative Design offers you a Scaffold for cultured meat, tissue engineering, and biomedical applications.

Excell

Excell your research . Our mycelium structure supports cell from adhesion through to differentiation. Order your kit and learn why Excell provides the ideal scaffold for cultured meat, tissue engineering, and biomedical applications. Our Excell scaffolds are provided for your testing courtesy from Ecovative Design, the leader in mycelium biofabrication.
The Beta 1.2 scaffolds are undergoing optimization inside Ecovative’s Mycelium Foundry One, grown using their patented aerial mycelium methodology.

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Ingredients Enhancers That Solve Big Challenges -with Myco-Fermentation
We are committed to developing solutions to make the world a better & healthier place.

HOW DO WE END THE SUGAR EPIDEMIC?

SUGAR REDUCTION with ClearTaste organic bitter blocker https://www.mycoiq.com/ingredients/cleariq
MycoTechnology‘s ClearTaste effectively blocks the perception of bitterness. By blocking the bitterness, the food industry can use less sugar to overcome a negative flavor profile. 

HOW DO WE FEED A GROWING POPULATION?

PureTaste PROTEIN https://www.mycoiq.com/ingredients/fermentiq
PureTaste is one of the few plant based proteins with a perfect 1.0 PDCAAS score, containing all essential amino acids needed to maintain health. The Next Generation of Plant Based Protein.  PureTaste innovative shiitake mushroom fermentation process.

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Paul Stamets is using similar strategy to restore and strengthen our Bee population.

Efficacy of Mushroom Mycelium & Fermented Rice Substrate Confirmed!   

Fungi Perfecti/Host Defense

When mushroom mycelium is grown for use in supplements, grains such as brown rice are commonly used as a food source, or ‘substrate’. Mushroom mycelium digests the rice substrate by secreting enzymes to break down the grain, which increases the mass of mycelium while reducing the presence of grain. During the growth process, the grain substrate becomes enmeshed with and inseparable from the mycelium. Removing what is left of the grain substrate is not practical at production scale, and so some fermented substrate is generally included with pure mycelium in mycelium-based mushroom supplements.
Because some fermented substrate remains in the final mycelium-based product, some distributors of mushroom ingredients have suggested that mycelium-based supplement products are largely composed of “fillers” and “lack immunological components”. Our researchers at Fungi Perfecti® teamed up with third-party immunology experts at Natural Immune Systems, Inc. (NIS) to investigate the health benefits of both the mushroom mycelium and the fermented rice substrate on which mycelium used in Host Defense® products is grown. 
>Mushroom mycelium is “very potent” in terms of triggering immune cell function.
>The fermented substrate (brown rice), even when separated from pure mycelium, is highly active in supporting natural immune function.
>Pure mycelium and fermented substrate each offer unique yet complementary health benefits.
>The immune-enhancing benefits of mushrooms are generated from a very wid3e range of constituents, not just beta-glucans.

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Such a Variety of mycoprotein producers!

But there is plenty of room for more mycoprotein producers in order to help feed 10 Billion people by 2050!

Israeli protein startups flourish in bid to cut meat’s carbon footprint 

October 2020…the meat and dairy industry has reached capacity. There is no more land or water. Furthermore, its attempts to produce more meat more intensively and cheaply have led not only to more animal cruelty, but to more disease and greater use of hormones and antibiotics — all of which end up on our plates. …
… As the world wakes up to the dual challenge of reducing environmentally devastating livestock farming and feeding a predicted ten billion mouths by 2050, the race is on to develop alternative sources of protein to milk and meat, with Israeli startups multiplying like mushrooms after the rain. …

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This is one

Kinoko Tech which incorporates the thread-like part of edible mushrooms (mycelium) with legumes and grains
Re-imagining alternative protein to expand health in a non processed and affordable manner.
We have a sustainable and ecologically friendly growing system, with which we can produce a variety of high-end tasty products.
We address the demands of the fastest growing markets of flexitarians and vegan/vegetarian looking for a food with high nutritional values.

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MORE FOODS and more choice
at long last!
hi! we are more foods, and we make meat alternatives that are tasty, natural, and healthy, using our high protein proprietary yeast blends – a single cell fungus. our first product, more beef, is everything you’ve always dreamed of – a perfect cut of beef, made 100% of plants with no compromise to your taste buds and no chemical processing   you get more of everything: more protein, more fiber, and more deliciousness. stick to your favorite things, but now, do it with more.

Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom.

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Revolutionizing Food Production with Mycelium

In natural ecosystems, fungi recycle nutrients through a specific fermentation process that digests their surrounding biomass. At Mushlabs, we harness this process to produce food from agro- and food industries’ side streams (i.e. spent coffee grounds, fruit peels and sugarcane bagasse). This is a unique form of food production with many many potential applicatons for circular economy, yielding tasty meat-alternative products. …
… Upcycling nutrients through fermentation with fungi
There are fermented foods in all cultures — tempeh, harissa, soy sauce, cheese, bread… just to name a few. In the food industry, fermentation is often discussed as a food processing step. Instead, we are looking at fermentation as a food production step, by harnessing the fermentation technology inherent to fungal mycelium and harvesting the mycelial biomass as a raw ingredient for meat-alternative products.

Fungi have external digestive systems that excrete enzymes and build up their own mass by digesting the nutrients around them. This makes them the ultimate recyclers in an ecosystem.

Mushrooms are only the tip of the iceberg when talking about fungi and food production. Most of the biocatalytic activity happens in the web of mycelium that literally lies underground below the mushrooms. We see the potential to harness this incredible biology to produce the next generation of fermented food products.

Mushlabs is dedicated to building solutions that change the way we consume food, by producing food that is good to our senses, our bodies and our planet.

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It’s hard to believe – until you read the nutrition label – that Meati is packed with 16 grams of complete protein, is high in fiber, has a rock star lineup of vitamins and minerals, and has zero saturated fat or cholesterol. This sustainable superfood meat substitute is juicy, tender and delicious.

At scale, Meati plans to use 99% less water and land, and emit 99% less carbon dioxide than industrial produced animal protein. How do we plan to do it? Meet our superhero – Mycelium.

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Welcome to our resource for healthcare professionals*  

What is mycoprotein?
To make mycoprotein, we take one of Earth’s most nutrient-rich foods, fungi, that grows in the soil. This fungus is known as Fusarium venenatum.
We then use the age-old process of fermentation – the same process used to create bread, beer and yogurt – to grow mycoprotein. This process creates a sustainable meat alternative that has a closer taste and texture to meat versus other plant-based proteins.
Because producing mycoprotein uses 90% less land and water than producing some animal protein sources, it is a great example of a more sustainable protein source for a growing global population. 

Mycoprotein and health
At Quorn, we are proud of the positive impacts our products can have on health and wellbeing. Here, we summarise our 30-year history of supporting academic research into the effects that Quorn and its key ingredient, mycoprotein, have on various aspects of physical health.

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Mycorena

Fungi-based, next-generation vegan protein. A cooking experience superior to plants, using significantly less resources.

Mycorena creates sustainable protein for food using a proprietary fungi-based process. 
Promyc is our main mycoprotein product. At the basis of how we make mycoprotein lies fermentation, a technique that has been around for millennia but that we improve with state-of-the-art technology and know-how. Producing protein through fermentation is more time-, cost- and feedstock-efficient than traditional farming, with much less environmental impact. It also enables the decentralization of food production, making it possible to produce Promyc directly wherever it is needed.
Mycoprotein is not a novelty. This alternative protein source is already common in the market in countries like Sweden, the UK and the US. Our innovation lies firstly, in the use of specific strains of a family of filamentous fungi whose nutritional value and safety for food applications has been proven for centuries. Secondly, Promyc production generates very little waste as the input of nutrients is exactly balanced with what the fungi consume where the whole fungi are used in the making of Promyc.

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Ecovative spinoff Atlast Food Co. (Rebranded as MyForest Foods Co.) has started selling its plant-based bacon

Now MyForest Foods Co. is a spinoff of Ecovative, the Green Island company Eban Bayer and Gavin McIntyre founded to make environmentally friendly materials. “Mushrooms that are really good and taste like meat have names like chicken of the woods or the beefsteak fungus but they’re actually not commercially cultivated, which is why you probably haven’t eaten them. So what we’ve been doing is taking these mushroom structures from nature, these strains actually…and we re-express them in industrialized slabs,” Bayer tells Food Tank.

uses mycelium to solve the world’s biggest problems, specifically around food production. Atlast develops the MY (short for mycelium) super ingredient, which allows us to grow whole-cut “meats”.

The food company bringing you the tasty bacon alternative that’s wholesome and satisfying. Instead of raising pigs in pastures, we tend to mushrooms in vertical farms, saving land and resources. We promise to always be kind to Mother Nature, and to deliver delicious foods worth celebrating. ?✌️

MyBacon coming to a store near you …..

Atlast Food Co. Re-introduces Itself as MyForest™ Foods Co.

January 2022 – …MyForest Foods has already made waves following their Series A funding round and announcement of MyBacon Strips. Focused on scaling business growth to provide more commercial product availability in 2022, the company recently announced its partnership with Whitecrest Mushrooms Ltd. which plans to produce nearly three million pounds of MyBacon mycelium each year on less than one acre of land. To further prioritize the scalability of the technology used to create mycelium-based food products, MyForest Foods broke ground on 120,000 square feet of infrastructure between a headquarter facility in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and the world’s largest vertical mycelium farm in New York’s Hudson River Valley Region. Both facilities are slated to open this fall. In the interim, MyForest Foods continues to build its team of food innovation experts, expanding career opportunities at MyForest Foods, in the local and remote environments alike.

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Nature is a totally efficient, self-regenerating system. If we discover the laws that govern this system and live synergistically within them, sustainability will follow and humankind will be a success.

R. Buckminster Fuller

Environment: Investment king

Mid-2020: We heard from 425 investors in 27 countries representing an estimated U.S. $25 trillion in assets under management. When comparing focus on ESG factors, 88% of global respondents ranked Environment as the priority most in focus amongst those choices today, reflecting the urgency that is presented by climate change.

Mark Carney:
Mark Carney, the present UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance to prepare for COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021. He was governor of the Bank of England 2013-2020.

Past crises teach us to put people and planet first

… I used the example of BP earlier. There is not a taxonomy that would put BP or any energy company in the green – any large energy company – in the green camp.  But a company that’s moving from brown to beige to olive to green is central to the transition.  And we need tools in order to do that.
So that is part of what we will be working through. …

… We have an opportunity to shift the economy to have a whole economy transition, turning an existential risk into what is, in my view, probably the greatest commercial opportunity of our time, and one that puts people and planet first.

All my Mycelium posts

Additional posts, about Mycelium in Industry:
….all of which starts here:
Mycelium in Industry – Ancient and New

Construction industry,
Packaging industry,
Textile industry,
Furniture industry
Mycelium R&D Projects
Mycelium in Fashion Marketing – One Approach
May 2019 Mycelium in Industry update: Construction, Packaging, Textile, Furniture, +
June 2019 Mycelium Composites? Hands-on – Do it yourself
October 2019 Mycotecture? more-Mycelium in Construction
March 2020 “Mycelium in Industry” Where else can you get information?
March 2020 Mycelium in Construction?…some tangible progress
October 2020 Mycelium Is IN Textile/Fashion – 2020
December 2020 MycoProteins – Mushrooms To Meat?
February 2021 Construction, Mycelium, Industry..Wait A Minute
September 2021 Mycelium Momentum; World Is Waking Up.
January 2022 Myco-Remediation – Decompose And Remedy
July 2023 Mycelium Packaging – How To Make It A Business In 2023

Not necessarily food, but suppliers…………

Suppliers of Mycelium Composite Material, around the world:

>>>>Australia:
>Mr. Russell Whittam, www.aussimushroomsupplies.com.au,
I’ve done lots of work with universities the last few years; supplying them with substrate and how to make their own materiel, etc. as well.
I’ve got a new product coming out about mid-2020 – for making things – just add water, spawn and mold the material. Then let it grow. Contact him at: [email protected]

>>>>Egypt: mycelium material This start-up team has patented their own myco-composite material using mushroom strains found in Egypt. They have started to sell bowls, pots and to offer Mycelium packaging. We offer different products in construction such as insulation panels and open to supplying packaging as protective packaging for those seeking eco-friendly alternatives. We are also open to other creative projects using mycelium material. Visit our website: https://mycellium.co/

>>>>Europe:
>Grown.bio – has a license agreement with Ecovative Design.
their new MycoComposite™ kits consist of only LIVING mushroom material and are supplied to the EU countries. Possible also for geographical Europe, but customs clearances must be taken care of by the person making the order.
Grown.bio is now supplying the Mycelium Composite ™ material to insulate buildings. They have insulated class rooms in an Amsterdam school building and in a house in a village near Rotterdam. Scroll down to Building & Architecture products here. They have supplied the MycoComposite™ to many of the projects taking place in Europe, recently, that have been mentioned in my posts. Grown.bio sells other things made from MycoComposite™.

>>>India:
Finally! >Roha.bio At Roha we develop Mycelium bio-composite based protective packaging that can replace Styrofoam using agricultural residue and mushroom mycelium, we do this by collaborating with farmers and self-help groups in the villages, boosting their income.
On other hand we collaborate with startups and brands in consumer electronics space , design and develop protective packaging for their needs. Roha.bio

>>>>Indonesia:
>MYCL, Mycotech Lab has an internship program. It makes a lot of sense to get some controlled experience with mycelium. MYCOTECH Lab produces and sells, mycelium board composite panels BIOBO, and supplied the labor and material for the MycoTree project.

>>>>Malaysia
>Fungitech Mushroom farm waste is always a big problem for mushroom growers all around the world. In our site, we fully utilise this farm waste to make 100% chemical-free and biodegradable mycelium biomaterial. Currently, we mainly supply this green biomaterial for packaging purpose. This patent pending innovative technology is able to solve mushroom farm waste problem and provide a greener life style to our mother Earth.

>>>>The Netherlands – for Large orders in the EU Mycelium Materials Europe (in short
MME) started in 2018. We grow sustainable mycelium materials based on mushroom technology. We produce two types of organic materials in our own mushroom farm: MyFoam® (pure mycelium foam) and HedelComposite Hedelcomposite is composed of sterilized residual sawdust and inoculated with mycelium. Ready to use. Grow your own biodegradable mycelium objects with Hedelcomposite in just one week!  Maximum of 10 bags (300L) per order. 

>>>>New Zealand
> Bio Fab NZ a new company that Ecovative has licensed in New Zealand. “Lesley, We currently work within Australasia so can only ship within New Zealand and Australia. We are looking at having a large scale plant open early to mid 2021 and aim to set up one in Australia soon after. We are planning on selling Grow-it-yourself kits, but not until our plant is up and running.” says James from [email protected]

>>>>UK
> The Magical Mushroom Company a new company/website in the UK. (Ecovative License)..The Magical Mushroom Company is the UK’s first-ever production plant manufacturing mycelium-based packaging. Founded by three friends wanting to make a difference.

>>>>USA:
>Grow-It-Yourself Kits for MycoComposite™ are now available direct from Ecovative’s Grow.bio. Here you will find all instructions, learning, and purchasing information. Grow.bio, however, only ships the MycoComposite™ material within North America.
>Ecovative LLC has transferred all their Mushroom Packaging production equipment to a facility 4x bigger at Paradise Packaging Co which is now handled under the general website: https://mushroompackaging.com. The new company and new website offer you more information about the mushroom packaging material and how it works.

>>>more places around planet Earth?
From Ecovative:
>If you are interested in building a business in MycoComposite technology, Ecovative is now handling partnership discussions from here: https://mushroompackaging.com/pages/licensing-form Licensing with Ecovative allows the partner to explore alternate substrates, techniques, and products.
>For other issues Contact Ecovative Here

ALWAYS 
How to join the Circular Economy and other eco-concerns of small business owners are the motive for my blog. Tell me what you are looking for.   Maybe I can help you find it.