On July 13th XPRIZE announced the 28 semifinalist teams moving forward in XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion. The $15 million competition, launched in December 2020, is aimed at reinventing the food of future generations by boosting the production of structured chicken breast or fish fillet alternatives that replicate or outperform conventional chicken and fish in: access, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, nutrition and health, as well as taste and texture.
Selected by the competition’s panel of judges, the 28 semifinalist teams were chosen based on their technical submissions and represent 14 countries all over the world of which only 4 from Europe (Umiami from France, Revo Foods from Austria, Enough – no limits from UK and TFTAK from Estonia)
As the world grows in wealth, the availability of sustainable food can meet the rising demand that allow the next billion to live active and healthy lives. According to Dr. Sirli Rosenvald (TFTAK Team Lead in XPRIZE competition) team TFTAK is aiming to develop plant-based white fish analogue. “We are focusing on Nordic crops like oat, pea, and fava beans to develop advanced plant-based prototypes. As a result, our aim is to reduce the addition of unsustainable and allergenic sources like soy and gluten. In our laboratory we use a broad range of different methods like extrusion, fermentation, enzymatical treatments combined with analytics and sensory methodologies to achieve delicious, nutritious, and sustainable analogue product.”
Over the next year, TFTAK’s team is going to work closely with the competition’s ecosystem and sponsors, which include ASPIRE and The Tony Robbins Foundation, as they begin to develop the first iteration of our product. We are looking forward to end up in the Finalist teams which will be chosen based on the merit of the technical solution prototypes towards the end of 2022. The winning team will need to create at least twenty-five cuts of structured chicken breast or fish fillet analogs of 115 gram or 4 oz that replicate the sensory properties, versatility, and nutritional profile of conventional chicken or fish. Final judging will award one grand prize team a prize of $7 million.
Read more about our plant-based food development.
