Rising FoodTech pioneer Mycorena collaborates with research organisation RISE to analyse the nutritional uptake of mycoprotein and intends to lead the way toward establishing industry standards for reporting accurate nutritional values.
In a new European Innovation Partnerships project, the collaboration partners aspire to provide insight into the uncharted field of protein digestibility. The project aims to increase the understanding of the digestibility of alternative protein sources and how to optimise it by investigating agricultural side streams as a substrate to produce nutritious mycoprotein.
The project is funded by a grant from the Swedish Board of Agriculture and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, which funds projects that allow industry actors to collaborate to develop new practices and processes that are environmentally and economically sustainable. In addition, the collaboration between Mycorena and RISE is enabled through the contribution of Berte Qvarn, providing agricultural byproducts to aid the project.
Protein digestibility is largely unexplored in the plant-based and alternative protein industry. While many products have great potential in terms of nutritional value, how the body digests and absorbs nutrients still needs to be determined. With a steadily growing industry for new proteins, it is pivotal to understand the impact of the products on the market.
Plant-based products have, for instance, often been found to contain antinutrients which may inhibit the absorption of some nutrients. Mycoprotein, on the other hand, does not contain antinutrients, providing greater possibilities for increased nutritional uptake.
This project is the first step towards a greater understanding of the nutrient digestion of mycoprotein. The ambition is also to investigate methods to extract the protein without losing its functionality. This knowledge will be valuable not only for the partners within the project but also to push the protein segment toward focused research to improve the amount of available nutrients and optimise products.
Mycorena wants to blaze the trail and set a standard for the rest of the industry regarding digestibility and nutrition. For Mycorena, this is vital for enabling a significant shift in the protein industry and promoting sustainable growth.
“Historically, there has been a lot of focus on the high protein content of alternative protein products. However, recently we have noticed a shift in the questions we get from our customers where the concern is no longer regarding numbers but rather the quality and availability of the protein. As pioneers of next-generation mycoprotein, we consider it our responsibility to provide our customers with this information. Our mission is to provide the highest quality of nutritious food for the future. Therefore, we are starting this collaboration with RISE to ensure we are at the forefront of the industry,” says Kristina Karlsson, R&D Manager at Mycorena.
By teaming up with prominent research institutes and developing innovative technologies and processes, Mycorena aims to improve the food system and push the research further. Now, Mycorena and RISE are partnering to provide the food system with the necessary solutions for a more sustainable society.
About Mycorena
Since its founding in 2017, Mycorena has become one of the fastest-growing companies in the food industry and is recognised as one of the leading FoodTech start-ups in Europe. On a mission to change the entire food industry, Mycorena develops innovative fungi technology to provide next-generation food ingredients. The flagship product Promyc is a proprietary mycoprotein ingredient with unparalleled qualities.
About RISE
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden is Sweden’s research institute and innovation partner. Through international collaboration with industry, academia and the public sector, RISE ensures business competitiveness and contributes to a sustainable society.
