SavorEat, the maker of 3D-printed plant-based meat alternatives, launched new products this week, including kosher, vegan, gluten-free, allergen-free pork patties and vegan turkey burgers. These join the company’s vegan beef burgers, which are already sold at a chain restaurant in Israel and will soon be sold in the US.
SavorEat’s products combine additive manufacturing technology (also known as 3D printing technology), plant-based ingredients in cartridges, and a unique plant-based cellulose fiber that binds the ingredients together, creating a meat-like texture. The cellulose fiber was developed by Prof. Oded Shoseyov and Prof. Ido Braslevsky, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Yissum Research Development Company. They teamed up with entrepreneur Racheli Vizman in 2018 to establish SavorEat.
Together, they also developed a unique “robot chef” that makes pattas to specifications. The washing machine-sized device can cook custom-made burgers with varying amounts of protein, fat, cellulose, water and flavorings and colorings, which can be boiled or grilled, making the same “chipping sounds” and emitting the same meaty aromas. he does.
The machine, which is the height of two large microwaves and the length of one, is part of the dining experience, Vizman said. “SavorEat is more than pattas. We are creating something completely unique with a robot chef that customizes the product according to the customer’s personal needs. It’s a relatively new experience,” he previously told The Times of Israel.
The Rehovot-based company is also big on sustainability goals, plays a growing role in the alternative protein sub-sector of the food tech industry and has a strong message on climate change.
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The meat production industry is responsible for 23 percent of all global warming gases, while ammonia from urine fuels acid rain. It takes about 1,000 gallons (3,785 liters) of water to produce 0.4 kilograms of beef. Livestock farming is responsible for 70% to 80% of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
SavorEat’s pork breakfast sausage patty is served in the company’s office kitchen in Rehovot, July 2022. (Politeness)
Plant-based proteins, by comparison, emit significantly less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, SavorEat said. He cited a 2022 report that said if the plant-based protein sector grew to represent 11 percent of total protein consumption by 2035, “the world could see a reduction equivalent to decarbonizing the aviation industry by 95 percent.”
“At SavorEat, we’re passionate about offsetting carbon emissions and reducing waste, so we’ve created a product that can do both,” Vizman said in a company statement this week.
“By expanding into other plant-based meats, we aim to offer greater variety and customization, empowering the planet to eat differently, with healthier and more sustainable options to reduce ecological impact,” he said.
“Personalized food and medicine is the next big thing and I wanted to create better solutions than what is already available,” he said. His vision is to make the robot chef / 3D printing machine “the next microwave, a microwave that actually cooks food in people’s homes, easily, more cost-effectively, and for everyone to eat the way they want.”
Founders of SavorEat from left to right: Professor Ido Braslevsky, Racheli Vizman and Professor Oded Shosayev. (Sharon Byron)
SavorEat’s patties are made from peas and other plant-based proteins with sunflower and coconut fats.
“And it’s kosher! It’s all plant-based, no animal products, no allergens like soy or gluten, and no human touch that can cause cross-contamination, like when chefs handle or cook food on the same grill,” Vizman said, noting . the company works with Israeli rabbinic authorities and is kosher certified.
SavorEat has filed patent applications for its 3D food production method in the United States, Europe and Australia.
SavorEat’s 3D printing robot for plant-based meat alternatives. (Courtesy)
The company went public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in November 2020, raising NIS 42.6 million (about $13 million) from Israeli institutional investors in a share sale.
SavorEat is one of several Israeli companies developing plant-based protein products, including Plantish, which produces 3D-printed vegan “salmon” fillets that recently raised $12 million in funding, and Redefine Meat, a 3D-printed animal the developer of the non-existent Lamb and beef cuts, hamburgers, sausages, lamb kebabs and beef sold in about 200 restaurants and establishments in Israel and Europe (including Michelin-starred restaurants). This month, Redefine Meat signed a deal with Israeli catering company Selina to serve plant-based meat substitutes at more than 150 Selina locations, starting in Tel Aviv and London.
