Egg protein is crucial in our diets, but the laying hens aren’t.
Laying the foundation for the animal-free egg protein
Precision fermentation is a safe, half-century-old technology, that enables microorganisms to produce complex molecules, such as animal proteins identical to the natural ones. Food enzymes, colors, flavors, citric acid, rennet, and other fermented ingredients have been part of our daily diets already for decades, and medicines like insulin are also made with this technology. Now it’s time to use this technology to make real animal proteins with microbes instead of animals.
We have chosen to use a microorganism found in nature called Trichoderma reesei as our living factory and have trained it to produce ovalbumin, the main protein in egg white. This magical microbe was discovered during World War II when military leaders found out what was responsible for the rapid deterioration of clothing and tents on the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. It is named after the scientist Dr. Elwyn T. Reese, who with colleagues, originally isolated this hungry fungus and set the scene more than 70 years ago for the research that will eventually revolutionize the food system we have today.
Precision fermentation is a bit like beer brewing. In both processes, microorganisms are fed sugar to produce the desired molecules. In beer brewing, the desired outcome is alcohol. In our fermentation tanks, it is egg protein.
How it works
The genetic blueprint of ovalbumin protein is introduced to the T. reesei cells, so that it starts producing egg protein instead of its own proteins. We do not need chickens in any part of the process because we get the blueprint from scientific genetic databases that work like a library of life.
Next, we let the microbe grow in an optimal environment in a fermentation tank. The method is a bit like brewing. In both processes, microorganisms are fed sugar to produce the desired molecules. In beer brewing, the desired outcome is alcohol. In our fermentation tanks, it is egg protein.
Depending on the process stage, we let our fungus gorge on glucose and nutrients or starve it with little food so that the production reaches the highest possible levels. In a way, we have domesticated this hungry fungus and turned it into a living factory.
And the fungus quite likes it. When we feed it plenty of glucose, it’s as happy as can be. Once it is deprived of food, it starts sweating proteins.
The Trichoderma reesei is very good at its job. While the traditional way of producing eggs is highly inefficient, the fungus can make protein with a much higher efficiency. At most, a hen can lay one egg per day.
At the end of the process, our next generation “hen house”, or the fermentation tank is filled with ovalbumin, water and fungal biomass. We separate the egg protein containing liquid from the biomass, and dry the liquid into powder form. This powder we call Bioalbumen®, which is then packed and delivered to our customers across the food industry.
Bioalbumen® production shows potential to reduce environmental impact in all significant impact categories compared to egg protein from chickens. By utilizing the production side streams, the environmental impact of Bioalbumen® can be even greater. Click here for the original anticipatory LCA published in Nature Food to read more.
Naturally circular
By using fungal precision fermentation, there’s potential to utilize agricultural waste materials as feedstock or to harness waste lands for production of ovalbumin.
The leftover biomass is valuable material and has many possible usage scenarios with our partner network, for example as packaging materials, pet food or mycelium based leather alternatives.
Who’s cooking here?
As a science-driven food-biotech company, we want to change the food system for good and give people access to a sustainable, delicious, and healthy food. Just as good as mother nature wanted it to be. Get to know the team behind Onego Bio and learn more about our mission.