Grant to scale up the manufacture of meat and fish flavoured plant proteins
Maastricht-based company Dutch Structuring Technologies (DST) has been awarded a €400,000 grant to make a machine that produces meat and fish flavoured vegetable proteins. The money comes from a European Union (EU) fund of €105 million supplemented by €20 million from the Dutch government, which stimulates innovative work in the southern Netherlands, the OPZuid programme.
Previous production
The company was already making fish and meat replacement proteins, but is now going to produce more. "The prototype made 20 kg per hour, our current machine produces 200 kg, the newly built machine should run a production of 1,000 kg per hour," said Julian Lekner, director of DST. The grant will also be used to develop multiple flavours and textures with the aim to serve as an alternative to meat and fish.
Preserving manufacturing technology
"This is where the food of the future is made," Ad Roest, gedeputeerde (Province of Limburg deputy commissioner), said. He congratulated the company, located on Karveelweg, on the grant earlier this week. "The EU grant programme is essential for the southern Netherlands and certainly also for Limburg. We need to keep manufacturing technology in our region. For that, we need knowledge and skills. Theoretically and scientifically trained people only stay in Limburg if there are jobs for them," Roest said.
DSTis developing the new machine in collaboration with Sobatech Services, also based in Maastricht, and Amsterdam-based Fuji Europe Africa BV.
