Precision Fermentation Picks Up

Precision fermentation is about to explode. Partnerships are popping up everywhere with the big promise of producing “value-added ingredients” in a “less resource-intensive manner.”

Say what? “Precision fermentation is a form of fermentation that uses microorganisms as production factories in order to produce specific ingredients.” Foods and ingredients produced using this method include vegan food coloring, plant-based dairy, and lactoferrin (which is found in breast milk). 

The big players: Danone, Unilever, Grupo Bimbo, FrieslandCampina, and Kalsec have all invested in precision fermentation.

Danone has partnered with Michelin; DMC Technologies, a U.S. startup; and Crédit Agricole, a French banking group, to create a huge platform for this production method. The Biotech Open Platform is located in Clermont-Ferrand, France, with the goal of producing through precision fermentation on a large scale.

Soundbite: “From [a] manufacturer standpoint, [the] main challenges in this field are linked to [the] ingredient quantity needed to reach a proper proof of concept to validate its functionality and how we get confidence in the scale up of the ingredient.” — Danone spokesperson 

Meanwhile, Unilever is working with Every Co., a California-based startup, to replace the egg ingredients in The Vegetarian Butcher’s plant-based meat products. 

Grupo Bimbo is using precision-fermented sweet proteins in its baked food products.

Fast fact: Markets and Markets estimates growth of precision fermentation to $36.3B by 2030. This is a compounded annual growth rate of 44%!

What does it mean for corn? Earlier this summer, the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Tech Hub (iFAB) received a $51M federal grant to study new uses for Illinois corn and other crops. The lab is turning corn dextrose into hemoglobin, which mimics blood in fake meat. It’s also making oil by fermenting grains.