Intertek's Assurance in Action Podcast Network
Intertek's Assurance in Action Podcast Network
Vegan Food Series: Exploring the Vegan and Cultivated Meat Markets
In this episode, we explore the world of cultivated and vegan meat. Alice Johnson discusses the cultivated meat process, highlighting its potential as a sustainable alternative to traditional meat production.
Kerry Finch and Julie Horton from Intertek Assuris delve into the regulatory landscape of cultivated meat, explaining compliance challenges and opportunities in the evolving market.
Finally, Oderay Gonzales Gabriel from Intertek Mexico shares insights on the growing vegan market in Mexico, discussing consumer trends and cultural influences.
Join us for this insightful discussion on innovation, regulation, and consumer preferences in the future of food.
Visit our website to learn more about our Vegan Food Programme
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Hello, and welcome to the third episode of our vegan series on the Assurance and Action Podcast. I'm Refa Priya , global Social Media Marketing Manager for Intertech Business Assurance Food Services, and Caleb Red . In today's episode, we'll be diving into the cultivated meat process, discussing regulatory developments in the market for cultivated meat, and in our around the world segment, we'll hear from our Mexico team about the growth of the vegan market in their country. Our host for today's discussion is Patrick McNamara, global Innovations and Quality Manager for Food Services, who will guide us through these important topics with our expert guests. Let's get started with our first segment on cultivated meat process. Over to you, Patrick.
Speaker 2:One of the key contributors to the increase in availability of vegan and plant-based foods is the development and increased use of alternative protein. Now, most of us are familiar with the presence of plant-based meats in our supermarket aisles , whether they're made from mycelium or wheat soil or pea protein. We might also be familiar with the process of fermentation, another increasing source of alternative protein. However, despite its appearance in numerous newspaper and magazine articles, many consumers are far less clear on cultivated meat and the process by which it is created happily to let some sunshine in through the clouds of consumer uncertainty. We have with us research scientist and president of the Aston All Protein Project, Alice Johnson. Welcome, Alice.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much, Patrick. It's great to be here.
Speaker 2:Pleasure to have you. Now, just for people who are less familiar with the process, perhaps you could give us an overview of how cultivated meat is produced and what type of products we might see produced with it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, of course. So, cultivated meat production begins with a small biopsy. Um, so that's where you take some cells from an animal such as a pig or a cow. Uh , and then you place these inside a controlled environment, and we call these bioreactors. They're then fed with nutrients and oxygen, which encourages them to multiply and expand to large quantities. And when we've got enough, that's when we stimulate them to, to differentiate. So this is where they develop into specific meat cells, such as fat or muscle cells , uh, depending on the product that we wish to create afterwards. They're purified, they're refined, and they're assembled. So you can use techniques such as 3D printing , um, to form meat products such as , uh, you can have unstructured meat products such as mints or the more complex types such as , uh, steak or salmon fillets. Uh, but what I find really , um, exciting about cultivated meats, although perhaps not from a regulatory standpoint, of course , uh, is the sheer variety of methods that can be used to cultivate meats. Um, so I've just given you a really simplified overview, but researchers are using different types of stem cells, and they're tailoring the bioprocess to optimize , uh, production. So, for example, some groups use , um, stem cells that are known as a adherent cells , uh, and these cells need something to hold onto in order to survive. So if they don't attach to anything, they'll die , um, perhaps of loneliness, who knows , uh, <laugh>. But they're, they're quite social beasts, so they like to have lots of friends to surround themselves with. Um, and , uh, adherence cell cells are actually the, the type of cells that I use in my research. Um, so I'm exploring different types of materials, edible materials that they can hold onto . Uh, we call these materials scaffolds because they provide support, and we're working on edible materials because we want to incorporate them into the final product. Um, and these can be used to enhance nutrition and to , um, uh, improve the flavor, for example. Uh, so we could add things like fiber, which is generally lacking in, in conventional conventional meat products. Um, but other groups are experimenting with a bioprocess where the cells attach to one another instead of a scaffold. Uh, and this brings its own set of challenges. Sometimes the cells get too popular , uh, and they're surrounded by so many other cells that the nutrients and oxygen can't reach the, the cells in the, in the middle. Uh, and that leads to death within the core. Um, but going back to your question , uh, the large scale expansion of cells tends to contribute to unstructured products. Um, but my colleague is actually working on 3D bioprinting , uh, and he's creating more structured cuts of meat. Um, but commercially available cultivated meat includes things like , um, there's , there's cultivated meat par , uh, bow have , um, produced this sort of , um, uh, pate , uh, it's called qualia . And a farms are creating whole cuts of beef , uh, whereas companies like Hoxton Farm, Hoxton Farms is , uh, creating cultivated pork fat . Uh , and that's specifically supposed to be used as an ingredient to enhance flavor and plant-based products. So there's just a , a whole range of different, different products
Speaker 2:Product . Yeah, I , I think it's , it's a fascinating area for that very reason. And I think people are using it as ingredients to improve texture and mouth feel in plant-based products, but also more recently in pet foods as well. As I see there's been commercialization of cultivated in pet foods, which is fascinating. Now, indeed, listeners to this particular program will obviously have a focus on, on vegan foods, I think. Um , so can cultivated meat be considered vegan? Is that a question we can answer? <laugh>
Speaker 3:<laugh> , I
Speaker 2:Might putting you on the spot by asking.
Speaker 3:No , not at all. I , I think it's , uh, I think you're right. It's, it's a bit of a complex answer. Uh , maybe if we look at the definition of veganism, we might be able to elucidate , uh, so I've, I've actually got it written down somewhere. So , um, according to the vegan society , uh, veganism is a philosophy and way of living, which seeks to exclude as far as its possible and practicable all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to animals. In dietary terms, it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals. Uh, now I know this is not a legal definition, but , um, I think the majority of of people who class themselves, themselves as vegan , uh, would agree with this definition. And I think the term vegan is often confused with , uh, with those who choose to follow a plant-based diet for other reasons such as health and the environment. Um, vegans tend to follow a vegan lifestyle, not just a diet, because they believe that no animal should be harmed or , uh, exploited. And if we start by looking at the, the very beginning of the bioprocess , the biopsy , uh, we can immediately see that cultivated meat involves the use of products that are derived from animals. Therefore, I'm personally not sure it can be considered vegan. Uh, but the definition does go on to say that veganism promotes the developments and use of animal free alternatives for the benefit , benefit of animals, humans, and the environment. Uh , and cultivated meat certainly aims to do all of those things. Uh , so if we take a utilitarian perspective, it has the potential to greatly reduce animal suffering. Um, a team in the Netherlands, they theorized that cultivated meats could reduce the global population of cattle from over 1 billion , uh, ca cows to less than 100. Uh , so this might be quite a long way off, but I think it's a goal that's worth working towards.
Speaker 2:I , I , I think it's a , it's a fascinating ethical debate, I think, because you're talking really about the, the greater good and the reduction of reliance on animals as , as livestock. And, and I think also we're talking about the very, very small number of animal cells as opposed to , um, in a previous episode, we talked about cross contact with animal products in vegan products that were on sale. And then you're talking again about very, very small amounts of presence of animal products. So I, I , I think that debate is going to run and run, and I , I think a number of people will look at the outcome rather than the process, which I , I think is quite interesting. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> , um, we talked a little bit about the legal definition, and we've had this in previous shows as well, because there's no such thing. The Indian government has a legal definition. Um , they're the only government that does the vegan society, you said , has definition, Intertech has its own definition for our own program. Mm-Hmm . <affirmative> , do you think a legal definition might have a positive impact on acceptance ,
Speaker 3:Perhaps? Um, yeah. Uh , I, I'm not sure. So in terms of calling cultivated meat vegan, is that , is that what you mean to legally define it ?
Speaker 2:Yeah . Perhaps if , if by some legal means we could class cultivated meat as vegan, that might Yeah . Increase the acceptance for ,
Speaker 3:I think, I think it might be detrimental for both vegans and non-vegan to, to cla to class , um, cultivated meat as vegan , uh, because cult , after all cultivated meat is, is meat. Um, so I would argue that we should legally define it as, as meat. Um, but I , I think , uh, I think there's this, this perception that cultivated meat is to provide , uh, a more meat like product for vegans. But I , I don't think that the main target audience for cultivated meat is supposed to be vegans at all. Um, because cultivated meat aims to make a more sustainable, ethical, and healthier food system , uh, that's accessible to everyone. And in order to achieve this, we should be persuading the majority of the global population to go to switch to this novel protein source. Um, and the majority of the, the global population is definitely not vegan. Uh , so <laugh> , um, but consumer acceptance is a really difficult beast, I think. Um, we've , uh, gotta look into a bit more. We've got a group working on it at Aston University, actually, they're looking at That's right . Right . Yeah. Yeah. So they're looking at what predicts whether or not parents would feed cultivated meat to their children. Um, so yeah, watch the space
Speaker 2:<laugh> and I , I think it , it's , it's an interesting area and , and I think if we look at , um, reports from the IPCC, from WHO , from the United Nations Food Systems reports , they all say that biotechnology will form one strand of mitigating the effects of climate change. And I think that's probably where cultivated meat has more of a case, I think, if I'm being honest. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> . Um , just finally , because , um, obviously I , I work for a intertech who , who has a, a supporting role to the food industry in mitigating food safety risk. Um , we often see in the food industry recurring food safety issues , um, in terms of alternative proteins. What sort of risks might they carry? Will we see a reduction in risk , or will there be potentially new risks that we need to look at?
Speaker 3:Hmm . It's an interesting question. Um, excuse me. So, cultivated meat is grown in bioreactors, as I said before, these, these are controlled environments , um, controlled sterile environments. So it's actually , uh, a cleaner , uh, way of producing meat. So, unlike conventional meats, which can , um, can often be sold with diseases, so when a, when a cow is killed, for example, they, they might have some disease , um, and , uh, and they also, their reservoirs for various pathogens, so they can lead to influenza outbreaks and pandemics , um, covid, for example. Uh, so , um, conventional meat is also , uh, it also contains traces of antibiotics a lot of the time. So a cultivated meat will be an antibiotic free product, which is a real plus because antibiotic antibiotic resistance is a pretty scary threat. It's estimated to cause 10 million deaths per year by 2050. So to put that in perspective, that's the same amount of deaths as , uh, as all cancers. So it's a pretty scary thing. Yeah . Um, in terms of fish, cultivated fish , uh, there won't be any mercury or microplastics in the end products. Um, and there will be a knock on effect to other food products as well. Uh, for example, industrial pig farming , um, it produces quite a lot of pig poo , and this often gets sprayed onto crop fields as , as fertilizer. Um, but fertilizer can carry foodborne pathogens such as e coli and salmonella. Uh , so this is actually how salad leaves often get their , um, nasty pathogens. So replacing industrial farming with cultivated , um, with cellular agriculture is likely to reduce a lot of these food safety issues. Um, of course. Sorry, <laugh>
Speaker 2:<laugh> . Yeah. It , it's, it's an interesting and very value value point, and anybody in involved in food safety would understand exactly what you've outlined, but in terms of the risk of the cultivated meat process itself mm-Hmm . <affirmative> , is that something that we need to think about in a new way? Perhaps it needs a specific risk assessment?
Speaker 3:Yes. Oh, for sure. Definitely , definitely. Um, and , uh, I think , uh, a lot of the regulation that's being put into place is pretty stringent, and they're checking every part of the process. Um, they're doing risk assessments on, on the source of the cells. Um, it's, it's, yeah, I , I think there are concerns, anything that's going to be mass produced is going to have food safety issues. Um, and I'm not claiming that cultivated meat is perfect. It certainly has a lot of , uh, potential benefits, but things like contamination during the processing and , uh, and during the storage that they remain concerns , um, I think it's gonna re , I think it's gonna be quite a challenge to maintain sterile conditions on a, on a huge scale , uh, especially if we're not using antibiotics in the process. Um, but the great thing about cultivated meat is that it , it's in a contained environment. There's not gonna be any outbreaks. It can be, the batch can be thrown away. Um, but yeah, it's , uh, it's gonna be an interesting challenge, I think.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I, I , I would absolutely agree. I I saw Petra hanger . You may well know Petra Yes . Speaking associate
Speaker 3:Supervisor <laugh> . Yeah .
Speaker 2:Speaking of the Government Chemist Conference last year, saying that what we needed was an overarching regulatory framework for cultivated production, which makes sense. Mm-Hmm . As a novel process, we need to look at it from a novel view of the process and the risks involved. Mm-Hmm . Um , Alice , unfortunately, we're , we're almost outta time, but thank you so much for joining us today and for talking us through cultivated meat and what the future might look like.
Speaker 3:It's been a pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:You're welcome. Now , um, for those of you listening in, if you'd like to follow Alice's work, you can do so online, but also at the Aston Alt Protein Project and at Rooted Research Collective as well.
Speaker 1:That was very insightful. Now for our second segment, we'll be diving deeper into the regulatory landscape for cultivated meat . Joining us are our experts from the Intertech assures team who will guide us through this regulations. I'll hand things over back to Patrick to lead this engaging discussion. Thank you.
Speaker 2:In the previous session, we heard Alice Johnson explaining the cultivated meat process and some of the potential risks in production, but ultimately, cultivated meat is intended to be a commercial product as easy to purchase as any other supermarket item. So if I'm a cultivated meat producer, how do I take the next step towards commercial sale? What is the current regulatory market? And what do I need to consider in order to demonstrate that my product is safe and legally compliant? Well, the first thing I might do is engage a regulatory expert. And happily, I have not one, but two experts joining me today. So welcome to the program, Julie Horton and Kerry Finch from INTERTECH assures .
Speaker 4:Hi , Patrick,
Speaker 2:Good morning to you. Um, so if I could give the first question, perhaps to you, Julie , um, what is the current regulatory status of cultivated meat?
Speaker 4:So, we'll start with the us . It's a, it's a really large market that a lot of people are interested in. Um, in the United States, the regulatory framework for cultivated meat is based on a structured agreement between the FDA and the USDA, and they have joint oversight at different stages. The FDA basically handles the early steps. This includes cell collection, the management of cell banks, and the actual cell growth and differentiation. And then once those cells are cultivated and ready for harvesting, this oversight transitions to the USDA and the USDA takes responsibility for processing and labeling the final product. So you might ask then, how do you start this process? And you start with the FDA . So for companies to engage with the FDA , you have to undergo a formal consultation process. And that consultation process basically involves direct meetings with the agency, and it involves submitting a detailed technical document that guides the FDA's evaluation of the product safety. And to date, two companies have successfully completed this process with both FDA and USDA , and those are important milestones for the industry. Yeah . However, what we've seen in, you know, the recent, the, the last year or so, is that there are challenges that companies are facing in this regulatory landscape. And this is common with emerging technologies because the regulatory landscape evolves with the technologies evolving at the same time. And the FDA specifically has recently undergone significant staffing changes, which have shifted expectations and processes. So those previous , um, two approvals aren't actually a great template for where the FDA stands now. And this type of uncertainty is, is, again, it's common, but that's where experienced consultancies like ours come in. We can help companies navigate these shifting regulations. We can act as both advisors and a guide on how regulators are currently thinking. It's really crucial to have the right expertise in place to stay ahead of those kind of changes. Patrick?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I , I , I think that's absolutely critical. And I , I mean, you talked about the relationship between the FDA and USDA , and, and it's something that in the food industry generally sort of baffles people. And I think when you're dealing with a novel food, you are dealing with new technology, it is quite, quite difficult to manage the regulatory framework. Really. Um , talking a little bit closer to home to where I am, are the regulations in the European Union also in a similar state of flux, perhaps.
Speaker 5:Hi, Patrick. Um, in the eu, the European Food Safety Authority or FSA are the ones who are responsible for the risk assessment of regulated product applications. And they've made it quite clear that cultivated meat would fall under the scope of the novel food regulations. That is, unless the product met the definition of genetically modified, in which case it would be considered a GM food in the eu. The definition of genetically , genetically modified is very encompassing, and it's interpreted such that any engineered genetic changes to the cell line would result in the cultivated meat being considered genetically modified. Thus , it's very important to consider the process by which the cultivated meat is produced if the company's looking to avoid being classified as GM in the eu.
Speaker 2:Yeah. This , this is classical EU precautionary principle, I think. And , uh, this is , this is something that really people need to think about when they're considering the overall process and how it might be classified. So for people listening in who are perhaps working for EU companies, is there any guidance available on this process?
Speaker 5:Yeah, so for companies that are looking to submit an application in the eu, FSA published many guidance documents. Um, and they've recently updated their guidance document detailing the requirements for novel food applications. And in this update, they included many details related to cultivated meat applications. Um, one downside to the EU is that although there are well is a well-established process, and there's quite a bit of guidance , um, it's a lengthy process, and it currently takes in the range of two to three years from submission to approval. So this could potentially be extended as well as FCU stop clocks where they ask applicant's questions and stop the assessment while the applicant gathers the data. If the a application doesn't contain the information f requires, these stop clocks can add a significant amount of time to the process. So this is where it's very important to work with an experienced consultancy such as Intertech to improve the quality of the submission and reduce the number of stop clocks and the time spent during stop clocks.
Speaker 2:Yeah , I , I , I think that, again, has , has generally outlined when working with the FFDA and , and USDA . I think having people who understand the process and where the bottlenecks and the delays come in, I think is really important. Um, talking about Europe in general , um, the UK of course, is now in a different regulatory framework. And, and for people who are listening from the uk, some of whom we actually work with, and on our customer list, what kind of differences might they see from the EU approach in the uk?
Speaker 5:Yeah , so the UK is looking to change their , the way they regulate these products. They're looking to be more innovative and to foster innovation , uh, within the industry. So , um, just recently, the Food Standards Agency, who are the regulatory body that assess cultivated meat applications , um, they have been approved for a regulatory sandbox for cell cultivated products. They, they received the funding for it. And in this regulatory sandbox, they will gather information about cell cultivated products and use the information to make decisions on how to support the safety of the products. They aim that by working with , uh, a select number of companies, that they'll be able to gather enough information to guide their safety assessments and aim to be able to better guide companies on how to demonstrate the safety of their products, which in turn should speed up the risk assessment process in the uk.
Speaker 2:Well, we would hope so, and it's certainly something that the previous government and the current government were both keen on, was , um, maximizing the use of biotechnology, I think , uh, to support food security. So that'll be interesting to see how it develops in the uk. Now, I know that your cultivated meat consulting team has global experience, so what advice might you have for companies that are looking to commercialize on a , on a global scale living ?
Speaker 4:So, I, I would come in here and say that, you know, I think it's important to know that at this time, there's no official global harmonization of regulations that are related to cultivated meat . However, there's several jurisdictions that have emerged as, as leaders in framing the regulatory status and providing a relatively accessible pathway to market. Singapore in particular, has been a leader from the beginning in this space. And in our experience, the regulators for SFA, the Singapore Food Agency are experienced and responsive. Singapore has made food innovation a national priorities similar to the uk, and the government is actively supporting alternative proteins, including cultivated meat. And this supportive policy environment includes government funding, research grants and incentives for food tech startups. And this creates a more favorable ecosystem for companies in the cultivated meat space. The government's proactive stance signals a long-term commitment, and this will help build a sustainable food system, is what they're betting. And this offers stability for businesses to operate in that market. Other markets are also following suit with well-defined approval processes and have started to become more desirable priority markets as the US process has slowed considerably due to that reorganization I mentioned earlier, specifically Australia, Israel, and Korea are all markets that have developed significant regulatory frameworks for cultivated meat. And in the cases of Australia and Israel, there's quote unquote approved products <laugh> for our clients. We can develop a core do ca and this can largely be used for several jurisdictions with some small modifications. So there's some efficiency to having a global market strategy here.
Speaker 5:Yes, I agree with Julie. Um, and specifically if a client is interested in marketing globally, it is good to engage with us early on so that we can take into consideration the requirements for the various jurisdictions of interest, and then we can provide tailored guidance on the data gathering and the strategic route to market.
Speaker 2:Well , I , I think that that's summed up, you know , uh, the regulatory market and how we support it quite well. The interesting thing for me was , is the focus there , as you said, Julie , on , on food security and how some countries are including cultivated meat in a , a broad portfolio of , of solutions to being net importers being impacted by climate change. Uh , and even places like China have included it in their five year plan for the first time ever, which I think is, is a , an indicator of the way that the market is going. Um, I could talk about this forever because I absolutely love the technology, and it's been great to have both of you walk us through the current market and where it might go and the , the help that is out there for our customers. Um, Julie Kerry , thank you so much for being with me today. It's been a pleasure to have you on the program.
Speaker 1:Thanks for having us, Patrick.
Speaker 2:Pleasure. Now , uh, for those listening in, if you're interested in regulatory support for cultivated meat or Indeed Alternative proteins in general, you can find more information if you go to intech.com/assures/put .
Speaker 1:That was great. Thank you. Now for our final segment of the round the world discussions, we'll turn our attention to Mexico, Patrick, along with an expert from our Intertech , Mexico team, we'll dive deeper into the evolving trends in vegan food. There. Over to you, Patrick.
Speaker 2:The latest detour on our trip around the world's vegan and plant-based markets takes us to Mexico, where I'm delighted to be joined by re Gonzalez. Gabrielle re welcome to the program.
Speaker 6:Thank you, Patrick. Well , it's pleasure.
Speaker 2:Yes , it's good to have you. Now , um, let's start by asking you , how would you describe the vegan market in Mexico right now?
Speaker 6:Um, well , uh, here at Intertech Mexico, we have received, during the last years an amazing variety of vegan products for testing process, especially in the nutrition facts section, live shell and , uh, some sensory services. But , um, also talking about labeling the variety as well is notorious mainly with those replacing the meat, which is interesting because , uh, that means that flavors are changing as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure. I mean , and that, that is interesting and, and it seems like that's mirrored in, in a number of the, the countries that we've spoken to in this series. Um , what do you think are the reasons behind growing interest in vegan foods in Mexico?
Speaker 6:Um, okay. Um, Brazil and Mexico in 2023 , uh, have positioned themselves as Latin American's, main exponent of veganism. And , uh, 44% of consumers in general are interested in plant-based alternatives. It may be , uh, for health issues or just to change their routine, but , uh, those are fun facts because , uh, people or Mexican population between the ages of 2024 were the highest representatives followed by people between the ages of 30 to 34. And , uh, especially since , uh, the year 2020, we have a new front labeling system, which shows the excess of surgery nutrients such as calories added, sugars, sodiums , uh, sodium, trans fats , and saturated fats. And as a result, consumers have been changing for their research for clean labels without those seals, with excess of those nutrients.
Speaker 2:That , that , that's really interesting. 'cause I mean, what you've got there is, is showing that front of pack labeling with clear health markings and indications of, of healthier products has changed consumer behavior in effect in Mexico.
Speaker 6:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:Which was really interesting. Um , so have manufacturers and particularly restaurants, I think if you're a visitor to Mexico , um, have restaurants responded to consumers looking for vegan options?
Speaker 6:Yeah, actually, in 2023, Mexico was one of the most important , um, let's say countries with , um, the most , uh, restaurants began . Restaurants and also comparing to the nineties. Um , that's a , a fun fact because , uh, the other day I was in, and I'm talking about , uh, a supermarket the other day I was walking through through the , uh, dairy , uh, hole , and I saw an amazing, and also an interesting , uh, variety of dairy products, but not the regular ones, vegan ones, and also meat , uh, which I , we , I have discussed that before. But , um, that means , uh, population plus the industries , industries , food industries are changing their mind as well with this product.
Speaker 2:That , that , that's interesting. So clearly the response of younger people in Mexico, which is driving interest in plant-based foods, has been matched by the industry, by supermarkets and by restaurants as well, which is , is good to see. So if we have vegan visitors to Mexico, do you have any recommendation for vegan visitors to Mexico?
Speaker 6:Um, yeah. Well , uh, Mexican food is one of the most , uh, berry ones. It has a lot of , uh, traditional dishes with , uh, plant-based ingredients. And also, if you would like to know a specific place, there's a , um, a website called Vegan Label , uh, that shows some restaurants, specific restaurants in Mexico. Uh , also they have food recommendations approved also and developed by vegans, which that's amazing. And you can actually subscribe to their new newsletter and get some extra information, tips. And also they have a virtual market to get some vegan products or plant-based products. And yeah, in general, Mexican food , uh, you can cook it with the , with the flavor, with the traditional flavors without , uh, using meat or those products that we can scanned , uh, use.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic. All you've done there, I try to be honest, is make me very hungry Indeed. <laugh> <laugh> . That , that's fantastic. Thank you so much for talking about the market in Mexico. Uh , really appreciate you being on the program.
Speaker 6:Thank you very much, Patrick.
Speaker 2:Okay. And , uh, for those listening at home, if you're interested in any support in Mexico, head over to intertech.com/foods, where you'll find the contacts for our team in Mexico.
Speaker 1:That wraps up the third episode of our vegan food series on assurance and action. We hope you enjoyed another in-depth exploration of vegan food. Thank you for tuning in. Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform. Stay tuned for our next episode to dive deeper into the world of vegan food. Until next time, this is refi and Priya signing off. Thank you everyone.