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Imagindairy jumpstarts industrial cow-free milk protein plant amid hybrid dairy revolution

January 30, 2024 - from the Food Ingredients First:

"Imagindairy, an Israeli food tech start-up crafting 'authentic' dairy proteins without cows, has acquired industrial-scale precision fermentation production lines at a new facility. This advancement for bovine-free dairy comes as Japanese food researchers under DAIZ Engineering are teaming up to scale the new European Germination Food-Tech Center located in the Netherlands’ 'Food Valley' to drive innovation for hybrid dairy solutions unlocking the nutritional “power of germination” in seeds.

"At present, Imagindairy is already producing industrial-scale batches in the new facility at a competitive cost structure to traditional dairy. The new facility allows Imagindairy access to production at more than 100,000 liters of fermentation capacity, with planned capacity expansion to triple this volume in the next one to two years.

"Imagindairy considers fully owning and operating the production and manufacturing of its animal-free dairy protein a “big step forward,” allowing the company full control of the production process and the flexibility to scale up to support mass-market adoption as an industrial company.

"Imagindairy’s new facility announcement comes on the heels of another major company milestone, as the start-up received a 'no questions' response letter from the US Food & Drug Administration last month for the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notice submitted by the company.

"This signifies that the ingredient is safe to be used in food and beverage products, providing a regulatory green light for food and beverage manufacturers to partner with Imagindairy.

"Products made using Imagindairy’s animal-free dairy protein are expected to be launched in the US in the coming year.

"The new facility is located in the “Food Valley” of the Netherlands, in Wageningen, where global agricultural and food-technologies are centered. Over 1,500 food-related and chemical companies from various countries gather at this hub and collaborative efforts across different industries and partnerships among academia, industry and government are driving food tech development here.

"Based on the acquired expertise in plant-based proteins, the new Food-Tech Center will develop new food ingredients which will be proposed to global food manufacturers. "