Food & Beverage Asia June/July 2022

BITING ISSUES 21
MISTA invites
Sempera Organics
as newest member,
adding functional
fungi to its food
innovation platform
Mushroom ingredient supplier Sempera
Organics has joined MISTA, the food
innovation platform. MISTA helps its
member businesses innovate by providing
access to experts from nearly every
discipline in the food system as well as
commercial kitchens and development
labs to facilitate new food advances.
From tea, to flour, to meat substitutes,
mushrooms have a plethora of uses
in food that have grown increasingly
popular. Sempera Organics looks forward
to discovering and refining the next uses
for mushrooms with its MISTA partners.
“Demand for functional mushrooms is
growing as more people learn about their
health benefits, and we are grateful that
MISTA has given us the opportunity to
develop new methods of using them in food,”
said Nirmal Nair, CEO of Sempera Organics,
Scott May, founder and head of MISTA, said:
“Mushroom and mycelium solutions will be
critical in delivering on the consumer promise
of taste, nutrition, clean label and cost.”
As demand for functional mushrooms
increases and they continue being used in
food products and nutraceuticals, Sempera
Organics serves as the supplier meeting
this need. Cultivating mushroom varieties
such as lion's mane, cordyceps, reishi,
chaga, turkey tail, shitake, maitake, almond
mushroom, agarikon, and king oyster in its
own lab, Sempera Organics' growing methods
maximises these varietals' growth, produce
the most nutrient-dense mushrooms, and
accelerate production time for products.
Additionally, Sempera brings companies
these ingredients on a reduced supply
chain, assuring faster and more reliable
delivery than other ingredient suppliers.
The development labs and commercial
kitchens at the MISTA Innovation Centre in
San Francisco provide a space for Sempera
Organics and other member business to
innovate and quickly develop new products. ■
Do Good Foods launches carbon-reduced
chicken to tackle food waste
Do Good Foods, has launched Do Good
Chicken, a simple, tasty option that tackles
food waste and combat climate change.
The product will be launched across grocers
in Philadelphia.
Each year, about 40% of healthy grocery
food gets tossed into landfills. According
to the United Nation Food and Agriculture
Organization, if food waste were its own
country, it would be the third largest emitter
of greenhouse gases in the world. To help
keep this healthy food from going to waste,
Do Good Foods has partnered with grocers
for a smart, impactful solution to protect
the planet.
After community donations, Do Good Foods
takes healthy surplus food from grocery
stores and upcycles it into nutrient-dense
chicken feed that mimics a chicken's
natural diet. The high quality, carbonreduced
chicken is then made available
for purchase at those same markets,
closing the loop and helping combat
food waste. Each delicious Do Good
Chicken saves approximately four pounds
of surplus groceries from being thrown
away, thus preventing approximately
three pounds of greenhouse gases.
Do Good Foods has teamed up with
Philadelphia native, chef and founder
of Carroll Couture Cuisine and Spice
Finch, Jennifer Carroll, to provide home
cooks with an easy, climate-friendly
recipe using delicious Do Good Chicken,
spices, herbs and fresh vegetables.
"Good food should be eaten, not wasted,"
said Jennifer Carroll. "As a chef, restauranter
and someone who just wants to do better
for the environment, it is so exciting to
partner with a brand that is on a mission
to help everyone — from home cooks
to professional chefs — create smarter
meals that make a real impact." ■
FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA JUNE / JULY 2022