Startup Creates Building Blocks Of Dairy Products Using Yeast

Foodtech startup DairyX has announced the development of authentic milk proteins in the lab and without cows, using precision fermentation based on microorganisms – specifically yeast. 

The startup’s process creates casein proteins, which make up 80 percent of cow milk proteins, and forms them into the micelles that are the building blocks of dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. 

Yavne-headquartered DairyX says its caseins have amino acid sequences identical to those of their animal counterparts, which means that they are not genetically modified. The caseins also mean there is no need to add the hormones and antibiotics used by dairy farms.

Similarly, the micelles have no cholesterol or lactose, which allows food manufacturers to decide which fats and sugars they add to their formulations. 

The company has also developed technology that helps the gelation of the micelles, which it says is considered the holy grail of the food industry as it enables food manufacturers to produce firm, stretchy and creamy products using traditional dairy-making processes.

“Our biological design genetically manipulated yeast to produce functional caseins that we organized into micelles,” said Galit Kuznets, Head of Strain Development and Fermentation at DairyX. 

“Our machine-learning models simulated fermentation to determine optimal fermentation conditions. We have proven our ability to create a gel from reconstituted casein micelles. All these ingenuities have helped us work smarter and faster to create highly functional micelles,” she said.