Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

What's fueling the boom in food technology?

Israel has become a leading force in food technology, with pioneering start-ups finding ways to create a sustainable food future.

While many flock to Israel for falafel and shakshuka, it is less famous for its food technology.

Yet the country - home to more than 350 agriculture and food technology companies - punches above its weight. In 2018, annual investment in Israel's food tech sector rose to $100 million, according to a recent report by Start-Up Nation Central.
This makes it a strong player within a booming market: BIS Research predicts the global food tech market to be worth more than $250 billion by 2022.

"So much is happening in such a small place," says Tamar Weiss, development manager for the agri-food tech sector of Start-Up Nation Central.

Weiss believes this is down to Israel's ambition to tackle the environmental and ethical challenges around agriculture. "People are aware of it in their own personal life, this has really pushed the sector forward," she adds.


Sustainable food

In 2017, Didier Toubia set up Aleph Farms, an Israeli food company that engineers cultured beef — meat grown in a laboratory from cow cells.

"The objective was to bring balance back to nature, and to use the natural resources on earth in a wiser way," he tells CNN Business.

The company has raised $14 million to date and made headlines around the world last year for developing the first slaughter-free beef steak. In October, it successfully grew meat in space for the first time.

This experiment proved that cultivated meat could be a way of producing high quality protein using less resources, says Toubia.
Barclays predicts the alternative meat sector could reach about $140 billion in sales over the next decade, with companies like Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat leading the charge.

Though not yet commercially available, the cultured meat market is also expanding, with the number of startups in the field increasing from four at the end of 2016 to more than two dozen last year, according to The Good Food Institute.

Israel's thriving scene is in part thanks to its government's Innovation Authority, which provides company grants and has financed a $28 million food tech incubator.

But it is also about the culture. "In Israel, there is a lot of awareness of animal welfare ... I think it is encoded into the Jewish tradition," says Toubia.

Weiss adds to this stating that the kosher culture "brings in a lot of awareness around food: it being clean, or made in a specific way, or linking values with food."


Animal welfare

Yehuda Elram, CEO of Jerusalem-based start-up eggXYt agrees that the Jewish religion values compassion towards animals. "These are conscientious consumers who demand that companies abide by certain rules, among them is ending animal cruelty," he says.

eggXYt has developed a technology that can detect the gender of chicks before hatching, in order to prevent the practice of male chick culling in poultry farming where female chicks are required for egg production.

Each year, roughly seven billion male chicks are killed after hatching, according to industry estimates.

Sorting males from females before the chicks hatch would avoid this, while also helping financially: factories would no longer waste space and energy incubating male eggs, and the eggs could be repurposed for the food or cosmetics industry.

eggXYt is one of a number of startups working on this issue, but is unique in its non-invasive, pre-incubation method. Using CRISPR, a gene editing tool, they insert a detectable biomarker into the laying chicken's DNA which marks the gender of the eggs without any side effects. The laid eggs are then sent through a scanner that identifies the male eggs because of their light fluorescent glow.

"Its accuracy rate is very high and it has no effect on the hatchability of the female eggs. And it leaves the industry with the seven billion male unincubated eggs as a product rather than waste," says Elram.

While eggXYt would not disclose its value, the company was granted $4 million in grants from the Israeli Innovation Authority, EU Horizon 2020 and other awards, says Elram. Its technology is currently undergoing regulatory approval.


Personal health

Another major trend dominating Israel's food tech arena is health, with firms like Amai Proteins and DouxMatok developing sugar alternatives.

Or MyFavorEats, a Tel Aviv-based startup, which has developed an algorithm that customizes online recipes, suggesting alternatives when ingredients are unavailable or tailoring it to a user's dietary requirements.

"For example, a diabetic, who needs to keep a certain amount of carbohydrates per dish, or a professional sports person, who is counting proteins," says Orly Rapaport, the company's CEO.

The algorithm, trained on 1 million recipes, has learned to recognize the role of each ingredient and its taste and texture parameters. Though not yet on the market, the technology will be available through wellness and health apps or recipe publishers.

Not only does this cater to the growing trend of veganism and vegetarianism, but also to the rising prevalence of food allergies. The World Allergy Organization estimates that between 240 and 550 million people suffer from food allergies worldwide.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×