Pronofa
Pronofa was established in 2021 as a spin-off from Denofa, a cornerstone company in Fredrikstad. The goal was to identify new and sustainable raw materials.
The U.N. states that global food production must increase by 70% by 2050, when the world population is expected to surpass 10 billion. Therefore, we need more sources of food.
Pronofa’s breakthrough came when we took a closer look at a small marine animal called tunicates, specifically the local species Ciona. From this animal-derived raw material, we have succeeded in creating an ingredient that can be used in dishes where you would normally use ground meat.
The Ciona-based Purply mince has a mild and pleasant taste and beneficial nutritional content — in addition to an exceptionally low climate footprint.
This is Purply
Pronofa is the first in the world to use tunicates in large-scale food production.
Purply mince is a refined product based on the Nordic tunicate species Ciona. The mince can be used in dishes where traditional minced meat is typically used, such as lasagna, tacos or meatballs.
Purply mince also has a carbon footprint of only 0.97 kg. CO2-eq/kg– which is extremely low, whether you compare it to other minced meat options.
This equals less than 4 % of the carbon footprint of red meat, or less than half that of most types of vegetables and fruit. The reason is that Ciona can be cultivated in a natural environment without feeding, pesticides, medication, freshwater use, or land use.
Cultivation of Ciona and other types of low-trophic aquaculture helps improve marine ecosystems and creates healthier fjords with cleaner water. Tunicates like Ciona feed on plankton (algae). These form in abundant amounts when there are too many nutrients in the sea.
The Oslofjord and several other fjords in Norway struggle with frequent algal blooms. This leads to a lack of sun exposure and low oxygen levels, which severely affects other species that also belong to the fjord.
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