The concept is booming. Now 39 companies have launched in the world, including 15 founded last year. “The protein needs are there and the technology is mature: the cost of genome sequencing or DNA synthesis so far used for drugs – like insulin which is made with precision fermentation – has dropped to such an extent that we can afford to use it for food”, explains biologist Elsa Lauwers, chief scientific officer of Paleo, a start-up based in Flemish Brabant whose laboratory is located in Gosselies and which concentrates on animal proteins called “hemes”. The aim is in fact not to provide a complete steak as an end product by precision fermentation, which would be too complex, because the meat contains dozens and dozens of proteins, not to mention fats: “If it is the desired end product, it is better to turn to cultured meat. On the other hand, precision fermentation is really advantageous for the production of a small number of ingredients, in large quantities, quickly and at low cost. Several types of solutions exist, depending on the categories of proteins. Some have a structuring role in meat: companies manufacture collagen, for the moment applied to drinks. One could imagine adding proteins produced by precision fermentation, as a sort of reinforcement to cultured meat if it is deemed too soft. In addition, fats are extremely important for taste, but also for texture, and plant-based alternatives are often criticized for being a little dry.”
The company Nourish Ingredients, for example, manufactures fats by precision fermentation and collaborates with Vow, for cultured meat based on animal cells enriched with animal fats produced by microbes. Among other of these hybrid solutions, the famous Californian company Impossible Foods adds a plant heme protein to vegetable substitutes, such as its Impossible Burger, on sale in the United States since 2016.
Soy, tofu, tempeh, pea protein…
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These heme proteins, which Paleo is also producing, occur naturally in fish and meat (muscles of the animal), up to about 10% of the protein content. A source of dietary iron, they give meat its typical red-brown color and contribute to the particular flavor of meat and fish. “The idea is really to imitate meat in terms of taste and smell sensations, color, and iron intake identical to what is in meat. Based on the types of heme proteins, one tries to mimic the different types of meat that people are used to tasting. We also plan to take care of the texture, with other proteins, but nothing concrete for the moment”, specifies Elsa Lauwers. Concretely, these proteins would be added, in the form of powder or liquid, to recipes for plant-based substitutes: soybeans, tofu, tempeh, pea proteins… “We are focusing on products that already try to imitate meat , but not 100% there. Even adding a lot of heme protein to a spinach burger, it will still be green! Soy, on the other hand, is quite neutral in taste and color. By adding heme protein, it turns red when raw. And above all, when it is cooked, it becomes brown, a little caramelized… It would be possible to add beetroot juice, but it would remain red after cooking, which would not have the same satisfactory effect for the consumer. For the moment, the manufacturers of vegetable substitutes are not satisfied with the appearance after cooking.”
©Paleo. Paleo co-founders Hermes Sanctorum (CEO) on the left and Andy de Jong (COO) on the right
As for the taste, reproducing that of meat with traditional additives is very complicated, explains Elsa Lauwers. “Only animal protein can do that. One of our studies has also shown that when we add our heme proteins to a vegetable burger, it generates the (aromatic) molecules normally found in meat. We are therefore able to recreate the taste and smell of meat using these proteins. We also conducted mass spectrometer analyzes of our proteins: it is impossible to see the difference between our protein and a protein that would have been extracted from a steak. Cultured meat or what is produced by precision fermentation is therefore identical to real products, conventional meats, whereas substitutes may mimic meat but will never have exactly the same nutrients. Cultured meat, on the other hand, is all of the muscle product and components of beef or chicken, while precision fermentation produces only one or a few of the meat ingredients.”
No GMOs
How does it work exactly? The catalog of proteins that a cell can make, whether it’s a microbe like yeast or a cell in our body, is defined by the genome. “We know the code for every protein that we might be interested in producing. It is therefore quite simple to design the DNA molecule that corresponds to this protein, to introduce it into a microbe and to encourage it to manufacture this protein as if it were one of its own. Basically, we take yeast cells, and we introduce the DNA code for heme proteins from different types of animals. We have added to the DNA codes a short DNA sequence, a signal peptide. Its role is to ensure that when the new protein is made in the microbe, that protein is exported. This greatly simplifies the recovery process. No need to break cells to get a new protein, mixed with thousands of other proteins and DNA. All we have to do is take the fermented medium, remove the cells, and concentrate the rest. Cells and DNA are completely removed during protein recovery.”
©Paleo. Elsa Lauwers, chief scientist of Paleo.
This detail is indeed essential: “it means that according to the regulations of the United States and the EU, the final product constitutes a non-GMO and does not contain modified DNA, underlines the biologist. This will be important for authorization and for consumer acceptance, at least in Europe. Clearly, the final product that would be introduced into food is not a genetically modified organism. The organism used to produce the protein is indeed a GMO, but it is cultivated in a confined manner, in steel tanks which are sterilized. The process is similar to what the pharmaceutical and beer industry does.” At this stage, Paleo has designed a series of heme proteins and is refining its production process on a larger scale, in a pilot plant. The approval process in the European market is expected to take two years. “To be profitable, you need 100,000 liter fermenters. In the sector, we will have to invest a lot for factories and production capacity”, warns Elsa Lauwers.
Sustainable and healthy?
What about the sustainability of this production precisely? “It’s a very efficient and energy-efficient process, especially if you compare it to traditional animal agriculture,” says Elsa Lauwers. Besides the cells, we must add sources of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, water and energy. This energy is mainly used to agitate the contents of the fermenter and cool it. But the organic by-products of the process can also be used (for animal feed, fertilizing fields, etc.) and the water can be recycled. In terms of time, we are talking about a process that takes between one and two weeks depending on the complexity of the recovery, compared to the months or years it takes to generate a conventional animal protein. In terms of nutrient efficiency – the efficiency with which the nutrients you supply are converted into a food product – for a fully optimized fermentation process we can achieve up to 80% conversion from raw material to final product, which is very high. The environmental footprint of precision fermentation is very favorable compared to traditional means. In terms of land use and water use, we see a reduction of around 90%. For greenhouse gas emissions, a 70% reduction is a conservative estimate. But in reality, some microbial species are even able to use CO2 as a carbon source. These processes can therefore have a negative carbon footprint. Not to mention the 100% reduction in animal exploitation.”
Is this type of offer coupled with cultured meat intended to replace conventional agriculture? “As other participants in the symposium (organized by the association for the defense of animals Gaia on April 25 on the theme of cultured meat NdlR) said, the idea is to increase the supply of production but without increasing it. the impact, of having more different production systems, answers Elsa Lauwers. The vocation is not to replace one or the other, to oppose vegans and carnivores. But there are many countries on the planet where the daily protein intake is below the WHO recommended intake. The advantage of fermentation is that where you can make beer, you can do precision fermentation. One could imagine protein production in areas that are quite unsuitable for agriculture or in urban environments. It would be “sufficient” to install fermenters and the amount of water and soil required is much lower.”
However, consumers still seem to have reservations, particularly in terms of health risks, according to marketing studies: “I understand the fears. Because it’s new, it’s always scary. But whether it’s cultured meat or precision fermentation, in terms of the finished product that you eat, you’re talking about a product that’s identical to meat, except that it’s is more controlled. What happens with an animal that grows in a factory and then is slaughtered is much more complex than what happens in a fermenter that you can control. There is no risk of parasites. We are much closer to the methods of manufacturing medicines, which are still much more controlled than traditional agriculture.”
