Conference Day One
Wednesday, April 24

8:00 am Registration & Morning Coffee

8:45 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

Examining State of Industry & Impact of Alternative Fats on Sustainable Food Systems

9:00 am Advocating Clean Label & Nutrition to Secure Regulatory Approval & Access the Market for Novel Food Products

Synopsis

  • Illustrating the importance of food labelling to signify quality assurance, safety, and traceability standards
  • Delving into the complexity of sustainable food systems to ensure compliance with regulations from an ecological, nutritional, and ethical perspective
  • Building a credible portfolio to gain authorization for use of nutrient claims on alternative food products

Accelerating Novel Fermentation Approaches to Alternative Fats & Oils

9:30 am From Microbes to Food: Enhancing Precision Fermentation to Produce Sustainable Fats for Alternative Foods

Synopsis

  • Manipulating biochemical properties of fatty acids to replicate animal fats for optimal flavor
  • Programming microbes with fermentation to acquire specialized fatty acids for tailored food production
  • Achieving cost-competitiveness to withstand economic pressures arising from commodity-type fats

10:00 am Morning Refreshments & Networking

11:00 am Augmenting Fermentation Technology to Improve Yields & Reduce Costs of Sustainable Fats

  • Shara Ticku Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, C16 Biosciences Inc.

Synopsis

• Specializing in strain engineering and adaptive evolution of microbes to understand process development for fats and oils

• Optimizing upstream fermentation processes such as growth condition, temperature, and pH to prepare for scaling up

• Evaluating downstream fermentation processes to minimize annual costs for profitable outcome

11:30 am The Phaff Yeast Culture Collection: Historical Overview, Knowledge Gaps & Recent Discoveries for Fat Production Using Oleaginous Yeast

  • Kyria Boundy-Mills Curator, Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, University of California Davis

Synopsis

  • Diving into the study of oleaginous (high oil) yeasts and their history over the past 100 years to acknowledge their use for ingredient application
  • Closing the knowledge gap for yeast species to identify their fat composition, nutrient range, stress tolerance, growth profile, and structural changes with cultivation conditions
  • Leveraging the immense biodiversity in the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection to demonstrate cultivation conditions that replicate animal-derived oils

12:00 pm Lunch & Networking

Strengthening Novel Cultivated Approaches to Animal-Free Fats & Oils

1:00 pm Scaling Cultivated Fat By Selecting Optimum Growth Conditions

Synopsis

  • Determining the pros and cons of cell types for enhanced taste and texture
  • Evaluating the significance of bioreactor design and process development
  • Innovating lipid production by selecting the optimal temperature, pH level and agitation to control physical parameters

1:30 pm Elevating Technology & Machine Learning to Facilitate Full Automation of Cultivated Fish Fats & Oils

Synopsis

  • Implementing machine learning for process automation to nurture an end-to-end solution for traditional, incumbent fish cell cultivators
  • Developing prediction models using databases on bioreactor conditions to screen high-quality simulations
  • Fostering partnerships with large seafood corporations and CPG companies to address regulatory barriers

2:00 pm Panel Discussion: Setting Up for Success in Fundraising to Amplify Manufacturing Capacity in Food Tech

Synopsis

Understanding what makes or breaks companies with long-term investment is paramount to achieving profitable unit economics and a healthy fundraising environment. With producers of alternative fats and oils operating at the lower end of the spectrum, here’s what venture capitalists are keen to learn more about:

  • Executing accurate financial models to raise sufficient funding for sophisticated investment choices
  • Redefining the importance of contract manufacturing capacity for alternative ingredient producers
  • Addressing shortages of infrastructure for alternative fats and oils production to increase flexibility
  • Articulating challenges for companies with respect to accessing capital and analyzing techno-economics

2:45 pm Afternoon Refreshments & Networking

Leveraging Plant-Based Approaches to Sustainable Fats & Oils

3:30 pm Producing Sustainable Alternatives to Palm Oil Through Plant-Based Technology for Remarkable Taste

Synopsis

  • Characterizing plant-derived fats for a combination of foods to strategize how to penetrate the market
  • Drawing technological comparisons with fermentation and cultivated techniques to conduct cost-benefit analyses for clearer vision in the business
  • Exploring the process of plant extrusion to exploit renewable green resources for consumer appeal

4:00 pm Roundtable Discussion: Upcycling Agri-Food Side Streams into Yeast Oils to Invent Vegetable Oil Substitutes for Ingredient Formulation

  • Tal Offer Vice President, Research & Development, MeatAfora

Synopsis

  • Innovating palm oil alternatives to decarbonize the value chain and drive better nutritional footprint
  • Collating sugars, fatty acids, and alcohols to enable yeast-led fermentation and generate biomass
  • Aligning sustainable values with partnering companies to accelerate efficient application of fats and oils

4:45 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks

5:00 pm End of Conference Day One