The initial mycelium ingredient approved for sale in the EU under the Novel Food Regulation is expected to enter the market in Q3, 2026, following the European Commission's endorsement of The Protein Brewery's Fermotein mycoprotein, six years after the submission of a dossier.
The choice comes after a favorable vote from the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed in May and a supportive scientific opinion released by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in December.
Fermotein, which the EC identifies as Rhizomucor pusillus mycelium, is authorized for sale in Singapore and has self-GRAS designation in the US, while regulatory submissions are progressing in the UK, Canada, and Australia/New Zealand.
Also Read: European EV Sales Jump as Fuel Costs Rise
The Protein Brewery expects to provide 600 metric tons of Fermotein in 2027 from its demonstration-scale facility in Breda, Netherlands, to fulfill customer obligations in Europe, the US, and Singapore, while production capacity is set to rise to over 2,000 tons by 2029.
Also Read: G7 Leaders Test Trump on Iran, Seek Ukraine Reset
CEO Thijs Bosch stated that this action “establishes a historical benchmark in food technology.” The EU system has now verified that a new, whole-food mycelium component complies with the current Novel Food framework, a route the broader European food biotech industry has monitored attentively for years.
Also Read: US Limits on Frontier AI Access Send Warning Signal to Europe
Lea Seyfarth, policy manager at the nonprofit think tank Good Food Institute Europe, expressed her approval of the news but pointed out that the six years it took for approval “highlights the necessity for the regulatory framework to align with European food innovation.”
She remarked, “The EU must avoid unnecessary future holdups by enhancing the European Food Safety Authority’s capacity and allowing regulators to offer comprehensive scientific advice and specific guidance to applicants prior to submission.”
Other companies like Unibio and Calysta are producing protein-rich ingredients from microbes via gas fermentation (instead of sugars as feedstocks) initially targeting animal feed and pet food.