The number of companies creating alternative proteins and animal-free dairy produced through a process known as precision fermentation is growing. Examples of these products include Change Foods’ cheese, Perfect Day’s ice cream and Nature’s Fynd’s cream cheese.
Precision fermentation technology allows these companies to produce bio-identical dairy proteins like whey or casein, but without the direct use of animals. DNA sequences from dairy protein are encoded onto microorganisms like yeast or fungi and placed into a fermentation tanks – like those used to brew beer. The microorganism is then fed simple plant-based nutrients and sugars as it grows. The microbes produce proteins that are identical to those found in cow’s dairy milk, which are then filtered into a pure milk protein isolate that can be used to create dairy products. Although the final products do not contain lactose, they do contain dairy proteins.
Irina Gerry, CMO of Change Foods explained things further. “While cell-cultured meats like Eat Just’s cultured chicken do start with a small biopsy of a live animal, products produced via precision fermentation, like animal-free whey, are created from a digitized database of milk proteins (a line of code for a particular amino-acid sequence) and no animals are involved in the process, not even for a swab or biopsy. The code does indeed come from the sequencing a cow’s genome. However, the original animal is far removed from the final product,” explained
For consumers who want animal-free dairy products for sustainability or ethical reasons, precision fermentation technology represents the possibility of exciting new food options. However, those those with allergy concerns may not want to consume such products.
“The introduction of precision fermentation technology will challenge consumers’ understanding of the term ‘vegan’. Up until now, ‘plant-based’ and ‘vegan’ could basically be used interchangeably for food,” said Gerry.
“While consumers’ definition of veganism may evolve as more and more animal-free products come to market, educating consumers on precision fermentation technology and allergenicity of bio-identical dairy proteins is needed as we embark on this journey.”
READ MORE: Animal-Free Dairy Is Here. But Is It Vegan? [Green Queen Media]
MORE IN ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS: Food Frontier News