Nutreco announces opening of first cell feed production facility

Nutreco has announced that it has completed construction on the world’s first dedicated food-grade powder production facility for cell feed in Boxmeer, The Netherlands, and brought it up to commercial operation. This facility produces the first cell feed product developed specifically for the cell-cultured meat industry.

This development is one way in which Nutreco is working towards its purpose of Feeding the Future. To feed the global population in 2050, we need to produce more food than we do today – a momentous challenge for the industry and the world.

At Nutreco, in addition to its passion for the aquaculture, animal nutrition and companion animal industries, and its expertise in helping our customers increase their productivity and reduce their environmental footprints, the company is committed to playing a key role in the development of new solutions and have taken the next step on its innovation journey with this new facility. This new food-certified production facility is a first for the industry and a first for Nutreco.

The team at the facility has successfully produced the first commercial batch of 50kg of cell feed, with plans to produce several 100kg per week, further growing in pace with the cellular agriculture industry. While this is a small portion of the total nine billion kilograms of products Nutreco produces each year, there is great potential to scale further at attractive margins and contribute to the growth of this fledgling industry.

“The cell-cultured protein industry is in its development stage and one of its biggest challenges is how to feed protein cells cost-efficiently, sustainably and at scale," commented Susanne Wiegel, Head of Alternative Protein Program. "We see potential for this industry to be one solution to the challenge of feeding the rising global population and are committed to helping the industry grow by becoming a supplier and a solutions provider.”

"We must continue to drive productivity and reduce the environmental footprints in the animal protein value chain, and produce protein from more and more varied sources – animals as well as alternative sources of protein such as plant-based protein, meat or seafood developed from animal cells and protein produced through fermentation," added David Blakemore, CEO, Nutreco. "Our investments and innovation in the cell-cultured protein industry are just one way we’re tackling the challenge."