© Combs Global, Sean 'Diddy' Combs
FoodBev Media’s David Echevarría rounds up this week’s food and beverage news, including:
Diageo settles racism dispute with Diddy
Drinks giant Diageo and rapper Sean Combs, known as Diddy, have settled a legal dispute over their joint spirits brands.
The drinks giant ended its partnership with Combs in June last year, after he sued the firm, accusing it of neglecting his tequila brands “due to his race”. At the time, the American rapper claimed that Diageo “typecasted” Cîroc and DeLeon, deciding they are “black brands” that should be targeted only to “urban consumers”.
Combs also alleged that Diageo’s president of reserve and new business, Stephen Rust, told him that “things would be different if he were a white, not Black, celebrity”.
Aleph Farms gains “world’s first” regulatory approval for cell-based beef
Aleph Farms has announced that Israel’s government agency has issued regulatory approval for Aleph Cuts, the “world’s first” cell-based beef steaks, in the form of a ‘No Questions’ letter.
Following a rigorous review process by Israel’s Ministry of Health (MoH), Aleph Farms received the green light – the first ever for non-chicken cultivated meat anywhere in the world. It is also the first for cell-based meat of any kind in the Middle East, and the third cultivated meat company in the world to gain approval, following the US Department of Agriculture’s approval of Good Meat and Upside Foods’ cell-based chicken products in the US last year.
Aleph Farms cultivates its beef, named Aleph Cuts, from cells sourced from cattle. The company says it prioritised beef due to conventional cattle farming’s impact on the environment, as well as its value – of common animal proteins, beef delivers the highest value in global markets, shortening the timeline to price parity.
Mars opens $42m snack-focused R&D facility in Chicago
Mars has opened a new $42 million global research and development hub at its facility in Goose Island, Chicago, US.
The 44,000-square-foot site is one of Mars’s seven global innovation sites across the world, and will focus on conducting chocolate and nut testing, as well as fostering research and innovation.
As Mars aims to double its snacking business in the next decade, the new facility will provide 300 R&D associates in Chicago with the opportunity to create and refine new products for the company’s snacking portfolio, before scaling them globally.
Imagindairy acquires new facility, announces manufacturing milestone
Israel-based food-tech start-up Imagindairy has acquired a new facility and is operating its own industrial-scale precision fermentation production lines.
Imagindairy says it is the “first” company in the industry to achieve this milestone, fully owning and operating its own industrial-scale production lines dedicated solely to animal-free milk proteins.
The facility, located in the Middle East, enables Imagindairy to produce its animal-free dairy proteins at more than 100,000 litres of fermentation capacity, with planned capacity expansion to triple this volume in the next one to two years.
Holland & Barrett launches food range for customers whose senses have been impacted by illness
Holland & Barrett (H&B) with Life Kitchen is a food range designed to help consumers that have experienced changes to their taste or smell due to short- or long-term illnesses, such as cancer treatment or long covid.
The “first-of-its-kind” range on the UK high-street features six taste-boosting food products that help to enhance the flavour of mealtimes for those experiencing changes to taste.
The retailer created the taste-boosting range by partnering with specialists at Life Kitchen and founder of the Centre for Study of the Senses, Barry Smith, with the aim of helping people find pleasure in food again.
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