Remilk secures self-affirmed GRAS for non-animal, real dairy protein

08 Jun 2022 --- Remilk non-animal dairy proteins have been granted generally recognized as safe (GRAS) approval based on US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifications, making it suitable for human consumption in the US. 

“Regulatory approval in the US is great news for the dairy product manufacturers and consumers seeking non-animal real-dairy products. We are working diligently with regulators around the world to offer Remilk products to consumers in other countries,” says Aviv Wolff, CEO and co-founder, Remilk. 

“We believe that the first regulators to adapt approval processes to alternative protein production systems will be those who benefit most from the availability of a stable, reliable supply of nutritious, affordable, sustainable foods in their countries,” Wolff outlines.

Safe for consumption claims
GRAS status indicates that Remilk protein is considered safe for consumption in food and beverages, which means it can be used by manufacturers to make non-animal varieties of popular consumer products such as ice cream, yogurt, and cream cheese. 

Remilk proteins are bio-equivalent to their traditional counterparts and dairy produced using them is indistinguishable in taste and function from conventional dairy, claims the company.Remilk protein is identical to cow-based milk protein. 

Non-animal dairy cleared for consumption
Remilk protein is identical to cow-based milk protein but produced without a single animal cell.  With this regulatory clearance, the company can begin selling to US consumer packaged goods, with sales anticipated to begin in the coming quarters.

According to a recent study conducted by YouGov on behalf of Remilk, 37% of Americans say they avoid products made with cow’s milk, with nearly 50% citing health and wellness as primary drivers, followed by environmental (33%) and animal welfare concerns.

Meanwhile, Imagindairy unveiled its fast-to-market functional animal-free dairy proteins. The company is creating true milk proteins that are indistinguishable from the real thing via a natural process of precision fermentation.

UK-based food-tech firm Better Dairy is also in the R&D phase of developing animal-free cheeses using precision fermentation.

Using proprietary genome editing technology, Brain Biotech and Formo are collaborating to produce bioidentical milk protein. The move has the potential to accelerate commercialization of alternative milk proteins.

Edited by Inga de Jong