Kyunghyang Shinmun: Estonian food innovators turn by-products into ingredients

Estonian food innovators are developing fermentation-derived fats and a pea-protein salmon alternative, Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun reports after visiting companies and researchers in Estonia.

At Tallinn University of Technology, the reporters sampled a chocolate prototype made with fat produced through yeast fermentation. Estonian biotechnology company ÄIO can use sugars derived from the wood industry and other by-products as feedstock. Its company release says it is still validating industrial production and gathering safety data for food applications; the chocolate demonstration is not evidence of a mass-market launch.

Research moves towards commercial products

The Kyunghyang also visited the Estonian research and development centre TFTAK. Its salmon-style fillet uses pea protein processed to create a fish-like texture. TFTAK’s product page lists a target retail price of €12.50 per kilogram and offers a technology-licensing package.

ÄIO and TFTAK also work together on DigiFoundry 2.0, a project to improve the production economics of microbial oils. Enterprise Estonia says it is contributing €1.94M to the €2.53M research project. The project aims to take fermentation processes closer to industrial scale rather than marking commercial food approval.

Estonian food companies pursue specialised markets

Kyunghyang also met Estonian producer Salvest, whose chief executive described a preference for differentiated organic products rather than competing on the lowest price. The company has discussed its international growth plans earlier.

Read the full Kyunghyang article in Korean.

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