Beyond The Headlines: dsm-firmenich sells yeast extract unit to Lesaffre, Insect protein advancements

This week in industry news, dsm-firmenich sold its yeast extract business to Lesaffre and Canada-based Entosystem received a US$58 million investment for advancing insect protein production. Meanwhile, Prinova Aromas enhanced its flavor production capacity with a new site in the US and ofi received recognition for its sustainability efforts and coffee farmer support.

Business highlights

Dsm-firmenich completed the sale of its yeast extract business to fermentation company Lesaffre. As part of the transaction, 46 dsm-firmenich employees working on yeast extracts will transfer to Lesaffre. The company announced the move in June and as part of the new transaction, Lesaffre will supply yeast extracts to dsm-firmenich for its savory business. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Prinova Aromas, a division of the Nagase Group, invested in its New Jersey, US, facility to enhance its flavor and fragrance ingredients business. The move aims to streamline logistics operations, enhance essential oil processing, and centralize global R&D, regulatory and quality functions with newly commissioned laboratories. The facility commenced operations last month.

Insect protein formulator Entosytem received US$58 million from Idealist Capital, Sanimax and Fondaction to expand its production capacity and construct a second commercial plant to meet the rising sustainable protein and organic fertilizer demands. Its Drummondville plant in Canada can process 90,000 metric tons of organic matter each year into 5,000 metric tons of high-quality protein meal.

Vaess Agersol’s new site will focus on driving innovation across the meat, fish, bakery, pet food, and plant-based sector.Netherlands-based Vaess Agersol unveiled an alginate gel production facility in Stare Koźle, Poland, which it claims to be the largest in the world. The site enhances the company’s alginate production capabilities, particularly in the sausage industry. The products launched include emulsified brines, plant-based cheese,marbling fat and  melting fat, as well as a bag-in-box alginate packaging solution and casing gel and Polish ham made with Natuvas 253, which is a healthier ham with improved moisture retention and texture, reducing production losses.

The British Retail Consortium-NielsenIQ shop price index stated that food inflation rose by 2.3% in September, up from 2.0% in August in the UK. This is above the three-month average rate of 2.2%. Meanwhile, fresh food inflation accelerated to 1.5%, up from 1.0% in August. This is above the three-month average rate of 1.3%. For ambient food, inflation decelerated to 3.3% in September, down from 3.4% in August. 

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board reported that farm input costs have increased by an average of 44% from December 2019 to May 2024 in the UK, based on its latest inflation-related study. Pig farming input costs rose the most at 54%, followed by dairy farms and beef and sheep farms with a 44% and 39% increase respectively. Feed was a major contributor to the increase in input costs. For cereals and mixed farms, inputs surged by 43%, with fertilizer and machinery related costs being the key drivers.

UK-based events organizer Food Matters Live will debut in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, by providing a platform for the F&B industry to support food ingredient innovation, sustainability and industry collaboration. Its first-ever program in continental Europe, will take place from September 23-25, 2025 in the Dutch city. The platform annually provides companies like Kerry, AAK and Azelis with technical showcases and exclusive tasting sessions to spotlight their solutions. This enables food manufacturers, retailers and brands to strengthen their collaboration with ingredient suppliers, gaining valuable insights and guidance for NPD.

Sustainability highlights

Food ingredients supplier ofi was shortlisted in three sustainability awards for social impact initiatives. The first was a World Coffee Innovation Awards for its efforts in addressing child labor risks in major coffee-growing origins with its Coffee Kindergartens initiative winning the Best Sustainability Initiative category. Secondly, the Reuters Sustainability Awards shortlisted ofi in the Business Transformation category for its work in natural capital accounting. Thirdly, the company was shortlisted for its first social capital impact valuation for customized support to coffee farmers. 

Entosystem will use the US$58 million investment to build a second insect protein facility amid rising sustainable protein demands.Scientists, a former Member of the European Parliament, NGOs and artisanal fishers called for the European Commission (EC) to stick to its commitment to deliver a roadmap for the energy transition of the EU fisheries sector before the end of the year, at a Brussels Ocean Week event. This was a response to a February 2023 promise by the EC to establish a plan for achieving climate neutrality in fisheries by 2050, which is now being delayed due to its decision to create a support group for the Energy Transition Partnership. 

Other highlights

The European wine community launched the Vitaevino campaign that aims to defend wine culture and its role in promoting enjoyment by promoting the legitimate and sustainable place of wine in the society and distinguishing between alcohol abuse and moderate wine consumption. The campaign will run across the EU, with national and regional events hosted by the ministries and local governments in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy (Ministry of Agriculture), Spain (Parliament) and Slovakia and via a press communication in Austria, France and Portugal.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) updated the guidance on the scientific requirements for an application for authorization of a novel food in the EU, including cell culture-derived foods and food ingredients. According to Ermolaos Ververis, scientific officer in EFSA’s Nutrition and Food innovation Unit, the updates were made to reflect changes in the EU legal framework for novel foods and recent advances in food research and innovation. It explains how to describe and identify the novel food, along with details on the production process, composition, specifications and proposed uses.