CSM Ingredients and PoLoPo collaborate on developing egg protein grown in potatoes
PoLoPo has partnered with CSM Ingredients to introduce egg protein produced through molecular farming into the commercial baking industry.
PoLoPo announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with CSM Ingredients, a global player in food ingredient research, innovation and production, to help bring PoLoPo’s egg-free egg protein grown in potatoes to the commercial baking market.
CSM and PoLoPo will collaborate on developing PoLoPo’s ovalbumin powder for baking requirements, including foaming, gelation and water binding functions, as well as provide side-by-side assistance with process optimisation, regulatory, and safety requirements.
Commercial baking and other CPG food categories use ovalbumin extensively for its functional properties such as texture, thickening, and increasing shelf life — ovalbumin from molecular farming offers the same performance in an ingredient that is cleaner, more sustainable, more affordable, and more price-stable. Popular applications for ovalbumin include pastries like croissants, muffins, and donuts.
In addition, CSM Ingredients group — a global ingredient-tech company comprising both CSM Ingredients and HIFOOD, an Italy-based developer and producer of plant-based, clean-label, added-value ingredients — has selected PoLoPo for Generate, CSM Ingredient’s group’s innovation hub for ingredient start-ups and food concepts. Generate offers R&D expertise, application opportunities, cutting-edge facilities and commercial support to its start-ups, including validating proofs of concept, shepherding market entry, and access to CSM business networks. Venture and innovation firm Urika Partners leads global innovation for CSM, facilitates the Generate program, and engages with all teams to accommodate the program’s needs and progress.
“Start-ups like PoLoPo are visionary innovators that play a pivotal role in developing concepts and pushing boundaries, and CSM is committed to bring these innovations to the broader food value chain,” said CSM Ingredients group managing director Christian Sobolta. “The global market for ovalbumin powder is projected to reach $36 billion by 2032, and PoLoPo presents an opportunity to change the dynamics of this category in a way that benefits planet and profits.”
“This non-exclusive collaboration enhances our strengths and capacity in meaningful ways, from R&D to implementation to opening more doors with packaged food companies that want to work with the product,” said PoLoPo CEO, Maya Sapir-Mir. “Commercial baking is clearly a key lane for us, and CSM’s technical and commercial expertise is strategically valuable for reaching that industry.”
PoLoPo uses proprietary metabolic engineering techniques to turn potato plants into micro-biofactories. Potato plants manufacture and store the target proteins in the tuber. Tubers are harvested when they reach sufficient size, then their proteins are extracted and dried into a functional protein powder that integrates seamlessly into current food processing lines and formulations.
PoLoPo’s first target protein, ovalbumin, will present a cost-effective alternative to an industry reeling from increased egg prices, supply chain instability, and avian flu outbreaks. The company has submitted for USDA regulatory approval, expected within six months, at which point U.S. partners and growers may begin cultivating PoLoPo’s potato plants.
