Today, on World Vegetarian Day, ProVeg International and GFI are extremely proud to announce a groundbreaking new project, Smart Protein, which will be launching in 2020.
Smart Protein is a four-year, €9.6 million collaboration between 33 partners across 21 countries to develop novel proteins using byproducts from pasta, bread, and beer production – ingredients that are not currently widely used in food production. Innovation is at the heart of Smart Protein. The aim is to produce an entirely new range of sustainable, nutritious, and cost-effective protein-rich foods.
Why Smart Protein?
Alternative protein sources are desperately needed if we are to seriously address some of the most urgent challenges posed by the global food system in terms of climate change, environmental degradation, food security, and public health.
What kinds of products will be produced?
The plan is to produce plant-based meats, fish, seafood, cheese, infant formula, and other dairy products, as well as baked goods.
How are they made?
Our unique, highly innovative approach focuses on byproducts and residues, ingredients that are typically used in animal feed. Pasta residues, bread crusts, and spent yeast and malting rootlets from beer production will instead be reintegrated into the food stream for human consumption, using an upcycling process. This upcycling will allow us to use our agricultural resources more efficiently as they will be used to feed humans directly rather than consumed by livestock.