All PFN ARTICLES

Japan’s obsession with perfect Wagyu is moving from pasture to petri dish. Organoid Farm, the Tokyo biotech now scaling Wagyu muscle cells to 200-litre bioreactors, has started supplying cultivated Wagyu beef cells to labs and foodtech partners across Japan. Their claim? A protein profile that sizzles, smells, and even flexes like the real thing.

After a quarter century of gruesome experimentation, New Zealand’s last genetically engineered - GE animal trials have come to an end. The Soil & Health Association and GE Free NZ say the closure of AgResearch’s Ruakura facility marks the end of an era defined by animal suffering, failed science, and ethical neglect. Their meta-report reveals that from 2000 to 2024, hundreds of cows, goats, and sheep were subjected to GE and gene-editing trials that produced no commercial ben

New Zealand has dropped $42 million into a brand-new Biodiscovery Platform, with the goal of turning native biodiversity into export-ready pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and functional foods. Announced by Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti, the seven-year investment will fund the newly formed Bioeconomy Science Institute, which aims to translate cutting-edge R&D into products that actually make it to market.

Australia’s food future just got a shot of adrenaline. Startupbootcamp Australia has unveiled its latest Cluster Connect accelerator cohort and the line-up reads like a bio-food dream list. Mushrooms, cultivated meat, seaweed biotech, native plant supplements, all under the eye of the federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources. It’s no longer just drones and packaging with the focus shifting squarely into biomanufacturing for food.

Japan’s sushi scene may be heading for a quiet revolution. As wild tuna stocks dwindle and prices soar, Mitsui DM Sugar is preparing to launch a plant-based tuna sashimi brand next year that undercuts the market cost of maguro. This isn’t just a vegan niche product — it’s a calculated strike at the heart of Japan’s seafood economy, where raw tuna is both cultural currency and a disappearing resource.

Forget kale chips, Israel’s Brevel wants you crunching on microalgae pasta and crackers. Using illuminated fermentation (think: high-tech photosynthesis in a tank), Brevel has cracked the code on turning algae into something you can actually eat without holding your nose. The result? Protein-rich tagliatelle looking like it belongs in a boutique pasta bar and dark, nutrient-packed crackers screaming “future snack aisle.”

Pasture grown crops like Barley may soon jump from stockfeed and beer kegs into your latte glass. Scientists at Plant & Food Research are turning hull-less barley into smooth, creamy dairy alternatives - milks today, yoghurts tomorrow, with a nutty, fibre-rich profile speaking directly to oat-milk drinkers hunting for something new.

Apple waste might just be the new secret sauce in meat hybrids. A Cornell study shows the pomace, the skins, seeds, cores and pulp left over from juicing, can be freeze-dried, milled, and blended into beef meatballs at up to 20% without consumers noticing a thing. The result? A fibre boost, longer shelf-life, and a lower reliance on animal protein, all in a format tasting and feeling the same.

New Zealand’s vertical farm outfit 26 Seasons just inked a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Qassim Strawberry & Fruit Cooperative Society, swapping know-how and strawberries in equal measure. It’s not just about berries – it’s a signal that New Zealand’s premium food tech is sliding quietly into the Gulf’s Vision 2030 supermarket basket.

Half a century on, Sydney, Australia's Flemington Markets are still the beating heart of fruit, veg, and flowers for NSW and the ACT. What began in 1975 with nervous tenants staring at empty stalls has become a 2.5 million-tonne food distribution powerhouse servicing millions across metropolitan Australia.

It’s finally here - CowFree milk and cheese, real dairy, zero cows. Israeli based, Strauss Group and Imagindairy have pulled off what was unthinkable a decade ago - supermarket-ready milk and cheese made by precision fermentation technology, not udders. Microbes like Aspergillus oryzae now crank out whey protein 100% nutritionally identical to the cow version.

The Pure Food Co is quietly reshaping aged-care nutrition in New Zealand and Australia — and now its available at home. The company has gone beyond hospitals and rest homes, launching a home-delivery partnership with EAT that’s already winning praise from families.