Startup Finally Foods Secures $1.2 Million Investment Deal, Forms Alliance with CBC Group in Molecular Farming Venture
In a groundbreaking development for the future of animal agriculture, molecular farming startup Finally Foods has made significant progress in producing dairy proteins in potatoes. This innovative approach, which also involves the use of artificial intelligence, could potentially revolutionise the dairy industry.
Based in Israel, Finally Foods has recently struck a commercial agreement with the Israeli beverage and dairy producer CBC Group. This partnership, worth $1.2 million, will enable Finally Foods to complete its field trial and begin scaling operations towards commercial production.
The first field trial by Finally Foods demonstrated that their potatoes grow just like any other potato in open fields. This is a promising sign for the scalability of molecular farming, which could potentially be cheaper and easier than precision fermentation.
Finally Foods' unique process involves the production of casein proteins, a key component of milk, inside the potato. The casein proteins form a micellar structure inside the potato, a feature that Gabbay, the company's founder, claims is formed inside the plant during the molecular farming process.
In the upcoming trials, Finally Foods aims to produce all four casein subunits in the same potato variety. Gabbay has stated that producing pairs of casein subunits has already been achieved, and their functionality is being tested.
The company is also developing varieties specifically with downstream processing in mind. The downstream processing and purification process for extracting and purifying casein proteins from potatoes is simpler compared to soybeans, making it more cost-effective.
Finally Foods also plans to optimise agronomic conditions and cultivate all the casein formulations they have developed. The startup argues that the unit economics of growing proteins in genetically engineered plants are more favorable compared to precision fermentation.
However, the regulatory pathway for molecular farming is potentially more burdensome. Approval is needed both to grow the genetically modified plants and to market the ingredients they produce. US regulators have warned startups in the field that expressing animal proteins such as egg and dairy proteins in genetically engineered crops will require strict allergen management.
Despite these challenges, the interest in animal-free proteins is growing. Dairy and CPG companies are increasingly interested in buying dairy proteins produced in plants or bioreactors due to climate, sustainability, and demand concerns. Companies engaged in molecular agriculture for animal-free protein production include the Israeli company Finally Foods, which uses molecular agriculture and AI to grow casein in potatoes, and the Brazilian-Singaporean start-up Updairy, producing whey protein from filamentous fungi.
As the world grapples with the impact of industrialised animal agriculture on the environment and public health, innovative solutions like molecular farming could offer a sustainable and ethical alternative. Gabbay predicts that in the future, dairy will come from cows, fermenters, and plants.
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