Israeli startup Imagindairy has quickly raised $13 million in investment to start production of Alt Milk, an alternative to milk, through cellular agriculture from fungi and other microorganisms.
The integration of artificial intelligence with biological systems has enabled Tel Aviv researchers to express the full potential of precision fermentation, with unimaginable results. The future is present, in 2023 on the shelf.
Imagindairy
Imagine … real milk, no cows.
. The message is radical, real milk without cows or animal cells. And so pathogen-free nor antibiotic-free nor hormone-free-as opposed to the North American model of animal husbandry (which absorbs 70 percent of total antimicrobial consumption)-as well as lactose-free. In compliance with bioethics, animal welfare and religious canons on animal derived products.
‘Our Solution. Tasty, healthy and nutritious dairy products that are environmentally friendly and care for animal welfare at affordable prices’
Eyal Afergani, founder and CEO of Imagindairy, also emphasizes the environmental performance of his technology. Which–compared with cow’s milk productions–uses only 10 percent of the water and 1 percent of the land, also having regard to the land needed to produce carbon and nitrogen sources to feed microorganisms. Zero methane emissions.
Cellular agriculture, concept
‘Cellular agriculture is an emerging field in which agricultural products-especially animal-derived products-are produced through processes that operate at the cellular level, as opposed to (typically livestock-based) processes that operate at the level of the whole organism.
Example technologies include meat, skin and dairy products produced at the cellular level. (…) Products under development in this area are typically valued for their environmental, ethical, and sometimes health and safety advantages over animal-derived versions.’ (1)
Cellular agriculture, the two approaches
Cellular agriculture can be realized by two different approaches:
– cell culture (tissue engineering-based cellular agriculture) is carried out by culturing cells obtained from animals through biopsies. Cultivation controls cell proliferation and differentiation to direct the formation of increasing amounts of the desired cell type (e.g., muscle, fat, connective tissue for meat and fish, skin for hides. See notes 2,3),
– precision fermentation(fermentation-based cellular agriculture), instead of animal cells, uses microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, yeasts, fungi, microalgae). Which undergo genetic modification, with the addition of recombinant DNA, so that when fermented into sugars they produce organic molecules destined to make familiar products such as precisely Imagindairy milk. (4)
Time to market, EU rules
Imagindairy is confident of bringing its Alt Milk and derivatives to market by 2023, starting with the Israeli market. In Europe, the time to market may be longer, having to apply the authorization procedure established for Novel Food. (5)
The products – following EFSA’s scientific opinion and the European Commission’s authorization – may in any case be marketed without referring to names such as milk, yogurt, cheese. (6) Avoiding risks of confusion(milk sounding,
cheese sounding
).
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Neil Stephens, Marianne Ellis (2020). Cellular agriculture in the UK: a review. Version 2. Wellcome Open Res. 2020; 5: 12. Published online 2020 Oct 12. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15685.2
(2) Dario Dongo. Israel, Future Meat. First lab-grown meat industry kicks off. FT (Food Times). 4.7.21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/innovazione/israele-future-meat-al-via-la-prima-industria-di-carne-coltivata-in-laboratorio
(3) Dario Dongo. Fish from cell cultures, the new biotech frontier lands in Europe. FT (Food Times). 10/21/21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/innovazione/pesce-da-colture-cellulari-la-nuova-frontiera-biotech-sbarca-in-europa
(4) Stephens N, Di Silvio L, Dunsford I, et al. (2018). Bringing cultured meat to market: Technical, socio-political, and regulatory challenges in cellular agriculture. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2018;78:155-166. 10.1016/j.tifs.2018.04.010
(5) Dario Dongo. Protein for the future, novel food. Challenges and opportunities in EU. FARE(Food and Agriculture Requirements). 12/15/21, https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/archivio-notizie/proteine-per-il-futuro-novel-food-sfide-e-opportunità-in-ue
(6) The Common Market Organization Regulation, so-called Single CMO, in fact reserves the legal designation ‘milk‘ to only ‘the product of normal mammary secretion, obtained by one or more milkings‘. Also understanding ‘dairy products‘ as those ‘derived exclusively from milk‘ (EU reg. 1308/13, Article 78 and Annex VII, Part III)
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
