FDA greenlights Superbrewed Food’s postbiotic cultured protein for dairy and alt-dairy

07 Mar 2024 --- The FDA has granted the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status to Superbrewed Food’s bacteria biomass protein after a three-year evaluation, paving the way for its widespread adoption by F&B brands in the US, particularly in dairy and alternative dairy applications.

The non-GMO ingredient— labeled as Postbiotic Cultured Protein — is claimed to be the “first-ever” FDA-notified, bacteria-derived biomass ingredient, similar in concept to nutritional fungal proteins and a natural progression of consumer-accepted probiotics and prebiotics.

“The FDA no-questions letter, coupled with our recently announced manufacturing partnership with Döhler, allow Superbrewed Food to expand into new markets and reach more consumers through iconic and emerging brands,” says Bryan Tracy, CEO and co-founder of Superbrewed Food.

The collaboration focuses on the large-scale production of a non-GMO, plant-based and allergen-free postbiotic protein ingredient.

He considers the approval a “transformative moment” for the food ingredients industry and Superbrewed Food, which previously also partnered with Bel Group to develop a line of cheese products incorporating the Postbiotic Cultured Protein.

A “whole” food ingredient
Postbiotic Cultured Protein is a sustainable, animal-free and allergen-free ingredient that can work as a “replacement or complement” to animal and plant proteins in F&B formulations, says the company.

The postbiotic cultured protein contains 85% protein, iron, zinc, phosphorus and B12 (Image credit: Superbrewed Food).The ingredient contains over 85% protein, with a high content of essential and branched-chain amino acids and is a “whole food ingredient,” as opposed to a protein isolate. Beneficial minerals and vitamins, including iron, zinc, phosphorus and B12, also form part of the probiotic’s composition, which provides nutrition beyond protein.

“Postbiotic Cultured Protein exhibits neutral taste, minimal color, excellent pH and temperature stability and good functional properties. Accordingly, it functions well in sports and lifestyle beverages, baked goods, confectionery, meat alternatives and healthy snacks,” notes the company.

The natural ingredients are formulated from an anaerobic fermentation process that uses microflora native to the human microbiome, providing better nutritional and functional benefits than other plant, microbial and animal proteins.

Safety evaluation
Superbrewed Food has filed applications for market authorization of its postbiotic as a “novel food” in the EU, Great Britain and Canada as well.

As part of the European Commission’s market authorization process, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conducts a safety evaluation on any microorganism in the novel food to determine if the microbial species is suitable for Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS). 

Superbrewed’s microorganism was added to the EFSA QPS list in January 2024 based on the “well-documented absence” of any safety concerns for humans, animals or the environment associated with the species.

Precision fermentation makes strides
The F&B industry is increasingly pushing fermentation advancements worldwide due to its versatility and perceived health benefits.

In January, the company received a US patent granting it 18 years of market exclusivity for bacterial-biomass protein production.Industry giant Cargill's CEO recently told Food Ingredients First that the company uses fermentation to make sweetening compounds like Reb M and Reb D that are 300 times sweeter than sugar and made in a more sustainable process.

Last month, New Culture developed “cow cheese without the cow” through precision fermentation to formulate the first animal-free casein protein for pizza mozzarella in the US market. Its first product is mozzarella for pizzerias, which appears and behaves like conventional cheese.

The technique is also the focus of research for creating natural food colors from oleaginous yeast and baker’s yeast and companies too, due to its perception as a pathway to holistic health, as mentioned in an ADM report last year.

Meanwhile, the UK government recently backed a fermentation hub led by the Imperial College London with a US$13 million investment alt-protein innovation. As part of the program, researchers will work on developing the three types of fermentation – traditional, biomass and precision fermentation to produce flavors and textures of animal products.

Edited by Insha Naureen