The EU’s new Bioeconomy Strategy has outlined plans that will support fermentation innovators in scaling up production and bringing food products to market.

The strategy says the use of advanced fermentation to develop food and other products is central to achieving the European Commission’s goal of utilising the region’s scientific expertise to boost green growth. It also points to the importance of biorefineries for converting renewable organic materials into vital commodities such as food.

Nonprofit think tank the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) has welcomed proposals to improve access to scale-up facilities and help startups navigate the EU’s regulatory system, but is calling on the Commission to follow this up with concrete actions enabling SMEs to commercialise the findings of a growing network of European scientists.

Two of the fermentation approaches with significant potential are:

• Precision fermentation – used for decades to make products like rennet for cheese and now being applied to produce proteins, including whey, and sustainable palm oil.  
• Biomass fermentation – similar to beer or yoghurt production, this approach is used to grow large quantities of proteins which have a meaty texture and can be combined with other ingredients to produce animal-free meat. It can help reduce waste by transforming agricultural byproducts into nutritious and delicious food. 

 Streamlining approval processes for new food products

Companies using these techniques must apply to regulators before they can sell their products in the EU under the bloc’s Novel Food Regulations. But although the EU’s food safety standards are world-leading, the existing process is challenging to navigate and presents a barrier to European innovations reaching the market.

The new strategy:

• Recognises that risk assessments for new technologies are lengthy, and proposes providing technical support for SMEs developing innovative fermentation-made products.
• States that forthcoming initiatives such as the two Biotech Acts – the first of which is due to be published next month – will simplify regulatory requirements, accelerate product authorisations, and introduce regulatory sandboxes. 

Sandboxes are controlled environments enabling businesses, academics and regulators to design standards and guidance for new products. GFI Europe has called for sandboxes to be introduced across all regulated food and feed categories, including novel foods, to ensure that the full range of new production technologies benefits from these opportunities.

Scaling up production

Startups have struggled to bring fermentation-made foods to market because Europe lacks the large-scale facilities needed to ramp up production, which are often too costly to fund using venture capital.

The strategy: 

• Proposes to help fermentation-based businesses scale up by improving access to pilot and demonstration facilities needed to help innovators begin commercialising innovative products.
• Announces the creation of a Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group, bringing together the Commission, the European Investment Bank Group, private investors and others. 
• Introduces blended-finance schemes aimed at de-risking investments and attracting more private finance for projects such as advanced fermentation facilities and biorefineries.

Lea Seyfarth, Policy Officer at GFI Europe, said: “It’s great to see the Commission recognise the crucial role that fermentation can play in driving green growth, reducing our reliance on imports and boosting Europe’s international competitiveness.

“For Europe to establish itself as a global leader in this technology, these proposals now need to be followed up with concrete actions. The upcoming Biotech Acts must build on this growing momentum with clear policies enabling startups to commercialise Europe’s scientific expertise and bring innovative food products to the market.”