Dairy products made using precision fermentation technology from Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) are a step closer to commercial availability, as the team works with industry partner and Sydney-based biotech company, All G, to scale up its milk supplement production.
As biotechnologies like cell cultivation, precision fermentation, plant molecular farming and synthetic biology continue to develop, Australia has the potential to capitalise on a multi-billion dollar opportunity and become a global biomanufacturing leader, according to Cellular Agriculture Australia.
The most recent development has been from a team at The University of Queensland, led by Professor Esteban Marcellin, which has produced dairy proteins in FaBA’s research bioreactors, ready to support larger scale production in partnership with All G.
“We followed the same process as the fermentation of beer but instead of making ethanol, we have produced dairy proteins,” said Marcellin.
“Through precision fermentation, we have created proteins for people with specific dietary preferences. A key part of the project was to transfer new technologies, such as the new bioprocess, from the lab to a company, and this will speed the path to commercial outcomes for All G.”
Transferring the technology from FaBA’s small bioreactors in a laboratory setting to All G’s bioreactors in a manufacturing environment involved scaling the various elements of fermentation to ensure suitability for the larger production units.
UQ senior scientific officer, Dr Aidan Beauglehole, has worked closely with the All G team to develop a specific fermentation process relevant to their business.
“FaBA’s custom-built bioreactors allow us to carefully manage every element of precision fermentation,” said Beauglehole.
“We can precisely control oxygen uptake in the system, control pH at exact levels and we have tested different conditions to ensure optimal growth. By closely monitoring and adjusting every element of the fermentation, we have demonstrated we can improve growth rates and better control any by-products of the process.
“It is very exciting that FaBA’s Innovative Ingredients Program has transferred this technology to an industry partner,” he said.
The project was supported by the Australian Government Department of Education through the Trailblazer Universities Program.
All G recently received regulatory approval in China to sell precision fermentation lactoferrin – bioequivalent bovine lactoferrin that is structurally and functionally identical to natural bovine lactoferrin – the first in the world to do so.
All G CTO, Dr Guillaume Barbier, said the optimised bioprocess would allow the start-up to expedite its development of dairy products.
“Precision fermentation is an emerging yet crucial industry for the future of dairy products,” said Barbier.
“Working with FaBA has allowed us to move ahead of the curve with the development of dairy products using new technology good for people and the planet.”
