“Bringing heme protein to fruition”: Motif Foodworks and Solar Biotech expand plant-based partnership

28 Jan 2022 --- US start-up Solar Biotech and food technology company Motif Foodworks are expanding their development and manufacturing partnership to advance the taste and nutrition profile of plant-based foods. This comes on the heels of Motif unveiling the beef-like heme-binding protein Hemami recently, following GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) approval by the FDA.

This is an extension of a partnership that began in 2020, when Motif Foodworks used Solar Biotech’s development and precision fermentation capabilities for pilot-scale production of Hemami, a yeast-derived heme protein.

“The incremental and nimble adjustments paid off. After just two years of development, we introduced Hemami and Appetex, our texture food-tech, closing the experience gap for meat alternatives and paving the way for the next generation of plant-based foods,” Jonathan McIntyre, CEO of Motif FoodWorks tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

The companies now plan to scale their production.

Scaling precision fermentation of heme proteins
Under the agreement, Solar Biotech will continue supporting Motif’s growth into new plant-based product areas with pilot-scale precision fermentation and downstream processing capacity.

“Solar Biotech has worked closely with Motif to bring the heme protein from small-scale lab settings to industrial production,” Vera Maximenko, vice president of R&D of Solar Biotech, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.Scientists make natural heme protein using advanced biology.

“This partnership leverages knowledge to optimize and troubleshoot the scale-up process in addition to several other significant hurdles to bringing heme protein to fruition,” says Maximenko.

The heme protein Hemami provides umami flavor and meaty aroma to plant-based alternatives. Heme proteins, such as hemoglobin and myoglobin, are iron-containing oxygen-binding proteins found in most mammals. 

When formulating realistic meat alternatives, mimicking the natural composition of meats by adding animal-free heme protein creates a complex flavor analogous to real meat. 

“What makes the heme protein desirable for a meat alternative is that it can be synthesized using microorganisms through advanced biology. This process is cruelty-free and avoids the pitfalls of extensive synthetic organic chemistry,” explains Maximenko.

 The microbes are cultivated using a fraction of the resources needed for traditional agriculture, which is a sustainable way of producing alternative protein. 

Maximenko explains: “The heme protein that we produce is identical to the protein in your everyday meat and acts the same way, allowing us to cook plant-based burgers to different degrees, just like meat.”

Advanced biology allows scientists to make natural heme protein rather than a synthetic additive. The product is free from antibiotics and hormones, often used in animal rearing. 

Taste of the futureMicrobes are cultivated without the need for agricultural processes.
Solar Biotech uses biological systems and technology to produce SynBio products through precision fermentation and downstream processing.

“The continuation of our partnership will help secure the infrastructure needed to build out Motif’s pipeline of future products,” says McIntyre. 

“It will be an important link in the move to create more fermentation infrastructure, leading to a sustainable food-supply chain that has a positive impact on people, animals and the planet,” he says.

With the extended partnership, Solar Biotech will support Motif’s sampling needs for new food technologies to improve the taste, texture and nutrition of alternative dairy and other plant-based foods.

“The expanded partnership between Solar Biotech and Motif Foodworks will allow us to move forward with even more ground-breaking animal-free innovations. Looking to the future of advanced biology is exhilarating because the applications reach far beyond just food,” concludes Maximenko.

By Inga de Jong

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