Cheese inside plants: NewMoo formulates liquid casein for cow-free dairy

28 May 2024 --- Food tech start-up NewMoo has developed a “hormone-free” liquid casein using plant molecular farming that is naturally free of lactose and cholesterol and mimics the functionality of dairy cheese. The technique is pegged as a cost-effective process that “sets the cow free” from the industrial milk production process and yields a sustainable source of proteins. 

Casein is the main ingredient in cheese, allowing it to stretch, melt and bubble — all properties that cheese alternative manufacturers struggle to achieve.

“Our animal-free liquid casein mimics all the functional traits of real milk protein for crafting cheese the traditional way,” explains Daphna Miller, co-founder and CEO of NewMoo.

“This means it can seamlessly replace dairy milk in any dairy cheese manufacturing facility without the need for any special equipment or reconfiguration of existing equipment.”

NewMoo’s caseins can form the basis for a manufacturing cheese that has the “exact melting and stretching behavior” as animal dairy cheese and delivers the typical aroma, flavor and texture that consumers desire. 

“Our animal-free proteins are identical to animal-derived caseins,” she adds.

NewMoo’s animal-free proteins are built on “exclusive research and intellectual property.” The ingredients were unveiled after three years of stealth.

Why casein?
The dairy industry considers caseins the “holy grail” of milk structure as they make up nearly 80% of the proteins in dairy milk.

NewMoo says its technique “sets the cow free” from industrial milk production (Image credit: NewMoo).NewMoo focused on formulating animal-free caseins to give dairy manufacturers a way to develop “almost any dairy product” through plants, instead of cows with cheese as the base. 

“The resulting product allows cheesemakers to deliver the same genuine cheese experience as traditional dairy cheese via a cost-effective, animal-free and sustainable pathway,” underscores the company.

The method expresses casein proteins in plant seeds that can “grow abundantly through traditional field agriculture and match dairy proteins in nutrition, composition and function.”

Seeds as bioreactors
The Weizmann Institute of Science scientists in Rehovot, Israel developed the ingredient and say the innovation “allows for the expression of two or more caseins within a single plant via a novel approach to plant molecular farming.” The seeds are then sown in outdoor fields. 

After harvesting the plants, a “unique development process” yields the NewMoo casein liquid base that can be used to formulate cheese without animal involvement.

“Unlike protein powders, the NewMoo liquid casein is production-ready, helping streamline production and go-to-market,” remarks Miller.

“As opposed to current precision fermentation practices, our approach doesn’t require expensive bioreactor machinery to grow our proteins. The plant seeds themselves act as bioreactors.”

The method gives NewMoo the flexibility to produce the complex proteins on a large scale and “at exceptional cost parity,” she adds. 

The protein's manufacturing process is easily scalable for simple implementation and benefits the consumers, the dairy producers, farmers, the health and animal welfare-conscious flexitarians and the global climate. 

Miller also believes the technology holds potential for ushering in the future of sustainable animal-free dairy products.

Flexitarians seek vegan cheeses with the meltability and stretch of traditional cheese.Catering to flexitarians
The global cheese market is valued at US$135 billion and is projected to reach US$220 billion by 2028. However, the alternative dairy movement is still lagging, mainly due to sensory and nutritional challenges.

A lot of the vegan cheese aimed at flexitarians struggle to achieve the meltability of traditional cheese and contain little or no protein.

“Our goal is to assist dairy cheese manufacturers broaden their market scope to include the burgeoning flexitarian demographic,” asserts Hod Yanover, VP of Food Development for NewMoo. 

Cow-free casein innovation
Plant-based, cell-based and precision-fermentation are key technologies gaining ground in the move toward animal-free food. 

In February, New Culture developed “cow cheese without the cow” through precision fermentation and its first product is mozzarella for pizzerias, which appears and behaves just like conventional cheese.

Biotech company Pureture also dived into the plant-based casein space with its non-GMO protein for use in cheese alternatives, milk and yogurt.

Those Vegan Cowboys and Germany-based Formo, recently joined forces in an “industry-defining partnership” that will bring animal-free caseins to the mass market.

By Insha Naureen