Meati Foods , a US-based vegan meat company, has announced plans to recruit a team of scientists and establish a Science Advisory Board – the main aim of this Board would be to conduct in-depth research in regard to the nutrition and health benefits offered by mushroom root, a term used to describe a type of mycelium.

Mushroom root is considered a whole-food source of protein, and is the primary ingredient in all Meati Food products; moreover, there is a wealth of scientific evidence to suggest that consuming mycelium has a large array of benefits, such as improvement in heart health, digestion, the immune system, and even blood glucose levels.

The MSAB, or Meati Foods Science Advisory Board, aims to conduct further research into the benefits of incorporating mycelium into an individuals every day diet. The MSAB will comprise of scientists & research professionals from different disciplines in the food industry, ranging from health & nutrition, food development and food safety; these professionals have made significant contributions in their respective fields, with many of them leading breakthroughs in foods that can improve cardiovascular health, the health potential of phytochemicals in upcycled food ingredients, and in developing solutions for celiac disease.

Chairman of the MSAB, Dr Harold Schmitz, is currently a General Partner at the March Group, and a Senior Scholar in the Graduate School of Management at the University of California (UC Davis). Additionally, he is an advisor to the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Bio innovation Institute based in Denmark, and has previously served as Chief Science Officer at Mars Inc.

“Research has shown Meati’s mycelium to be a safe and remarkably nutritious food, with extraordinary potential for contributing a variety of health benefits profound for a single ingredient,” said Dr. Schmitz.

“As a multi-disciplinary team of world-class researchers, the MSAB is eager to explore the role mycelium’s unique array of nutritional attributes can play as a positive addition to anyone’s diet.”

The multi-disciplinary team of world-class scientists and research giants currently associated with MSAB include:

• Dr. Carl L. Keen, Professor Emeritus in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition, whose work includes California’s Proposition 65, a landmark regulation in protecting drinking water sources from toxic substances that cause cancer and birth defect
• Dr. Roberta R. Holt, Associate Researcher in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition, an expert in the effects of phytochemicals in whole foods on physiologic response and the refinement of dietary recommendations to reduce chronic disease development and their effects.
• Dr. Justin Siegel, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the UC Davis Genome Center, the Faculty Director of the Innovation Institute of Food and Health.
• Dr. John Munafo, Flavor Science Director at the University of Tennessee Department of Food Science, who has researched the enhancement of flavor and the health-promoting properties of foods to improve the quality of the global diet.

Founded in 2017 by Tyler Huggins and Justin Whitely, Meati Foods was created to bridge the gap between taste and sustainability in meat-free products. The Meati Foods line of products is high in fiber, with zero cholesterol and sugar; additionally, it is possible to create multiple cows’ worth of protein from ​a single teaspoon of mycelium/mushroom root spores, which can be grown indoors, all year round combined, these factors lead to a highly scalable operation, resulting in mushroom root being one of the more sustainable sources of protein available today. Dubbed 'The Mega Ranch', Meati Foods have recently opened an industrial-scale production facility, which is expected to cultivate Meati at an annual rate of tens of millions of pounds by late 2023.

Their debut line of Meati Foods products, known as Eat Meati™ consists of a range of healthy, meat-free cutlets and steaks that are derived from mycelium or mushroom root, the product line made their retail debut in July 2022, and a direct omni-channel footprint is expected in 2023.

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