30 Oct 2014 Test tube milk: Latest to hit the engineered food scene
Bio-engineering of food ingredients is one of the hottest topics in the food industry, and a new turn in this evolving science belongs to a Silicon Valley-based biotech startup that’s hoping genetically engineered yeast will produce a dairy alternative as good or better than the cow version.
Joining a growing field of recent plant-based alternative meat and dairy startups, Muufri (pronounced “moo free”) was founded in May of 2014. While meat, cheese and egg substitutes have been (or are being) developed by companies such as Hampton Creek Foods, Beyond Meet and Impossible Foods, no one has attempted to replicate one of the most basic and ubiquitous foodstuffs of all: milk.
According to co-founder and CEO Ryan Pandya, it’s one reason he and CTO Perumal Gandhi stepped into the void with Muufri. The converted vegans also cite other industry memes in pursuing the venture, namely, feeding a growing world population expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, and doing it in a sustainable manner. Besides the often inhumane treatment of cattle on large factory farms, some 3 percent of greenhouse gas emissions each year can be attributed to dairy production, according to the UN.
“There are just such a so many problems with the food industry,” says Pandya, who holds a BSc in chemical and biological engineering from Tufts University, “and the way to address those problems with inefficiency is to remove animals from the equation as much as we can.”
Pandya says milk is ideal for synthesizing, with less than 20 components, starting with around 87 percent water and including proteins, enzymes, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The company’s bottom-up process, according to their website, will include six key proteins for structure and function, and eight key fatty acids for flavour and richness. But instead of using cashews and almonds to replicate the curdy backbone as some alternative cheese makers do, Muufri is bioengineering yeast to produce authentic milk proteins, which will give it the same taste and nutrition as regular milk.
Says the Muufri website: “Our solution is to make real milk from the bottom up. It’s a fairly simple mixture: six key proteins for structure and function, eight key fatty acids for flavor and richness. In different ratios, these components give us cow’s milk, goat’s milk, or even buffalo milk – all suitable to become countless products, from toppings to cheeses to desserts.
“Using the same principles of biotechnology behind beer or vegetarian rennet, Muufri will make milk that tastes and functions just like animal-produced milk, but without the problems associated with industrial animal facilities.
:We don’t just solve problems – Muufri adds new value to dairy, too. Because we choose what goes into our product, we can choose to leave out lactose, which is at least partially indigestible by 75% of adults; and we can choose to leave out bad cholesterol for a much healthier product. And because our products are made with the same precision as medicines, they’ll be free of all bacteria – meaning a great-tasting milk with unprecedentedly long shelf life, no pasteurization needed.”
Muufri’s GMO process starts by adding cow DNA sequences into the yeast cells. After growing the cultures in optimal conditions of temperature and concentration, the resulting milk proteins are ready for harvest. Plant-derived fats will also be put through the biotech process to replicate the flavour and make-up of milk fats, while sugars and minerals like calcium will be added separately. The recipe can also easily be tweaked for greater health benefits, using an alternate sugar to lactose for the lactose-intolerant, or leaving cholesterol out altogether. And other types of milk – goat, buffalo, whole, skim – are also a viable option.
According to Pandya, there are several advantages to using yeast. It’s a common organism in the food industry and a component in bread, beer and wine making, and thus easier for consumers to accept, while several strains have been labelled safe by the FDA. It’s also easy to grow, with a fast throughput time in a wide range of temperatures, and Pandya can more easily equate their milk-making process to brewing beer, including the use of similar looking vats. For consumers concerned about a GMO planet, Muufri has engineered the yeast to die within hours after production.
While the goal is to produce a product as good, if not better, than milk, as well as cheaper, Muufri may initially cost twice the amount of cow milk. But without the typical bacteria found in milk, and thus no need for pasteurization, Muufri should have a very long shelf life. The synthetic milk is still in development, and the company is aiming for a marketable product by the US summer of 2015.
Source: Gizmag.com