EU Approves First Mycelium Protein; AMA Backs Plant-Based Foods

The European Commission adopted its implementing regulation on June 17, 2026, formally adding Rhizomucor pusillus mycelium to the EU list of authorized novel foods. Multiple non-advocacy trade outlets confirmed the approval independently, including FoodBev Media, AgFunderNews, and Food Ingredients First. The Protein Brewery, a Dutch firm spun out of industrial biotech company BioscienZ in 2020, first filed its dossier in May 2020 and received a positive scientific opinion from EFSA in December 2025, followed by a standing committee vote in May 2026. Fermotein is produced by biomass fermentation of a non-fruiting fungal strain grown on glucose, then pasteurized, dried, and milled into powder. The company describes the ingredient as approximately 50% complete protein (PDCAAS score of 1) and 30% dietary fiber. The Protein Brewery already holds US self-GRAS status and Singapore approval; it plans to supply 600 metric tonnes from its Breda factory in 2027 and scale to over 2,000 tonnes by 2029. The implementing regulation grants five years of data exclusivity alongside the company's existing patented production process. Green Queen reports Fermotein "yields 26 times more protein than meat, five times more than soy" and "uses just 1% of the land, consumes 5% of the water and releases 3% of the emissions" compared to beef, figures attributed to the company's own projections [94]. A study commissioned by The Protein Brewery and conducted at Wageningen University found Fermotein "requires five to 30 times less water and five to 20 times less land per kg of protein compared to conventional dairy," per GFI Europe [188].

The AMA House of Delegates passed two resolutions on food at medical meetings on June 8, 2026, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine [7]. The first calls for "evidence-based behavioral science strategies to promote healthier dietary choices at professional gatherings, while respecting individual autonomy." The second resolution asks the AMA to recognize the importance of "modeling prevention through food choices at its own meetings whenever possible, with an emphasis on increasing the plant-based food choice options." The AMA has previously passed resolutions calling for plant-based foods in hospitals and schools, and called for public education on plant-based diets and breast cancer risk reduction. Existing AMA policy considers meat and dairy "no more than optional" in federal food policy. The new resolutions carry no timeline and use aspirational language ("whenever possible") rather than binding targets.

Evidence note: The primary public source for this story is PCRM, an advocacy organization that lobbied actively for these resolutions. The AMA's own meeting pages confirm the Annual HOD meeting took place in early June 2026, and the specific resolution language PCRM quotes is detailed and internally consistent with prior AMA policy documents. No independent trade press coverage of this specific resolution appeared in searches at time of writing.

The Netherlands Nutrition Centre (Voedingscentrum) updated its national dietary guidance model, cutting the recommended weekly meat intake from 500g to 300g (with a 100g red meat cap), raising the weekly legume target from 180g to 250g, halving the daily cheese recommendation to 20g, and explicitly suggesting consumers alternate between traditional dairy and plant-based alternatives. The update also reduced the cheese recommendation by half. Voedingscentrum director Petra Verhoef said: "Health, sustainability, and food safety are inextricably linked. We demonstrate this with the updated Wheel of Five." ProVeg International noted in an Instagram post cited by Vegan Food & Living [52] that Amsterdam has already banned meat advertising in public spaces and that new catering guidelines for schools and offices are moving the country toward a "50 per cent plant-based future." A comparable Finnish dietary guideline update in late 2024 was followed by a documented rise in tofu and legume sales [52].

Quebec Superior Court Justice Catherine Martel authorized a class action against Starbucks, Second Cup, and Tim Hortons over plant-milk surcharges, according to vegconomist [135]. In her ruling, Justice Martel cited Starbucks' own admission that substituting plant-based milk for cow's milk costs the company $0.12, while Starbucks charged customers $0.80 for the swap. She wrote that "it does not appear frivolous or manifestly unfounded to argue that it is disproportionate to charge the consumer more than six times what it costs the merchant to substitute cow's milk with plant-based milk." The class action covers Quebec consumers who paid plant-milk surcharges at Starbucks between December 2021 and November 2024, at Second Cup between December 2021 and February 2025, and at Tim Hortons between December 2021 and January 2025. All three chains dropped their surcharges before the authorization. The lawsuit seeks retroactive compensation.

Barcelona's Court of Appeal ruled substantially in Heura Foods' favor, overturning most of a lower court ruling that had sided with six meat industry groups, INTERPORC, PROVACUNO, INTEROVIC, ASICI, AVIANZA, and INTERCUN, in a case filed in 2022 [137]. The appeals court found Heura's social media communications were not misleading, denigrating, or unlawfully comparative, and noted that Heura "ordinarily cites its source" from institutions including the FAO, WHO, IARC, Spain's AESAN food safety agency, Harvard, and Oxford. The court also found that the sweeping sanctions sought by the meat lobby would have constituted "an unacceptable restriction" on freedom of expression under Article 20 of the Spanish Constitution, and ordered the claimants to pay costs. The only point on which Heura did not prevail was a specific 2020 advertising campaign already withdrawn. The court also ruled that terms including "burger," "sausage," and "chorizo" can be used for plant-based products when their plant-based nature is communicated clearly.