Meati Foods™ Receives U.S. Patent for MushroomRoot™ (Neurospora crassa) Food Applications

Issuance aligns with completion of first Meati AI project yielding remarkable whole food health benefit opportunities with consumption of MushroomRoot

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Meati Foods™, creator of delectable, animal-free meats crafted from the company's unique, whole-food MushroomRoot™, announced today its receipt of a patent on a composition of matter containing Neurospora crassa, commercially known as MushroomRoot. In collaboration with PIPA, Meati™ also completed a swift, AI-driven study on MushroomRoot’s health benefits. The month-long research project, which would have conventionally taken years, identified a range of important health benefits enabled by MushroomRoot’s extraordinary whole food nutrient density, including addressing prevalent nutritional deficiencies and enhancing cardiovascular health. An additional set of rare compounds was identified that could yield even more pointed health benefits.

“The patent is a culmination of our years-long journey to have our foundational work with MushroomRoot and its wide-ranging food applications acknowledged and protected,” said Justin Whiteley, Meati co-founder and chief science officer. “Receiving our patent just after our AI initiative highlighted MushroomRoot’s significant potential for consumer health benefits is truly remarkable, as they together validate our long-term vision of creating not only new food categories but making existing foods more nutritious. The applications of MushroomRoot are truly limitless, and we’re in the driver’s seat with a mission to increase its consumption in service of healthier people and a healthier planet.”

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued U.S. Patent No. 11,751,596 to Meati Foods on September 12, 2023, ensuring exclusivity over Meati’s N. crassa-based inventions until 2039. Meati has showcased MushroomRoot’s versatility as a superior, malleable ingredient with limitless application in products like whole-cut steaks, ground meats, seafood, powders and shelf-stable foods. Meati’s first product line, Eat Meati™ steaks and cutlets, has established leadership in the animal-free meat set across retailers including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Fresh Thyme and Meijer.

PIPA's LEAP™ tool for predictive data analytics identified 14 key compounds in MushroomRoot that can work together or alone to help consumers enjoy better health by addressing gaps in achieving optimal nutrition. These gaps occur when these compounds — all essential dietary nutrients vital for maintaining good health — are consumed in amounts lower than those required for optimal health and performance. LEAP also identified cardiovascular health as the top health opportunity that could be improved by regular consumption of MushroomRoot. Heart disease continues to be the top cause of death for most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, with about 1 in every 5 deaths attributable to heart disease, signaling the need for average diets to better address the cardiovascular system’s needs.

Furthermore, LEAP identified particularly rare compounds in MushroomRoot with very specific potential health benefits. Meati's immediate focus will be to translate the clear health benefits into consumer-friendly health claims and deepening the scientific understanding of MushroomRoot’s potential health benefits. Already recognized for its complete protein (PDCAAS 1.0), Meati's nutrient-rich composition hints at benefits across several common and impactful consumer health needs and opportunities.

“PIPA’s findings in this initial research using AI greatly accelerates our understanding of the wide range of public health benefits possible from regular consumption of mycelium as a whole food,” said Dr. Roberta Holt, a member of the UC Davis Department of Nutrition as well as Meati’s Science Advisory Board. “The unexpected discovery of additional potentially beneficial compounds that are quite rare further emphasizes the importance of integrating AI into research to accelerate our scientific understanding of the complexity of whole food products like Meati, and their potential role in human health.”

Consumers can keep up with the latest developments in Meati Foods' rapid expansion on Instagram or at meati.com.

About Meati Foods™

Founded in 2017, Meati Foods is working to maximize the boundless potential of MushroomRoot™, a whole food cultivated with a modernized version of ancient and natural processes that have helped preserve Earth’s ecosystems for millennia. Eat Meati®, the debut product line from Meati Foods featuring cutlets and steaks made from MushroomRoot, made its national retail debut in March 2023 after a year of record sellouts through its direct-to-doorstep online shop. The products are available at Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Fresh Thyme and Meijer locations across the United States, and the company continues to expand its retail partnerships. Meati's textures and flavors have won the enthusiastic support of some of food's biggest icons, including David Chang (chef and founder of Momofuku and Majordomo Media); John Foraker (Once Upon a Farm CEO and former Annie's Organic CEO); Nicolas Jammet and Jonathan Neman (co-founders of Sweetgreen); Sam Kass (former White House senior policy advisor for nutrition and partner at Acre Venture Partners).

About PIPA

PIPA is an Artificial Intelligence company established in 2015 in California. Their mission is to speed up discovery and innovation in the food, nutrition, and health space through AI. PIPA has partnered with CPG, ingredient, and life science companies on more than 65 programs to bring speed, accuracy, and scale to R&D cycles. From upstream discovery of bioactives and new ingredients for functional foods - all the way to designing disease predictor models and clinical trials, PIPA helps build business resilience and de-risk innovation opportunities.

With a deep bench of subject matter experts and a suite of AI platforms, purpose-built for Nutrition and Food R&D, PIPA shortens the path from discovery to commercialization, enabling the next generation of functional foods, ingredients and nutraceuticals. Learn more about us at pipacorp.com and follow us on LinkedIn for the latest news.