Australian shop shelves may soon include lab-produced synthetic milk alongside conventional cow’s milk and the increasingly popular plant-based substitutes.
Thanks to a developing area of biotechnology known as “precise fermentation,” the novel milk may have the same biochemical composition and flavor even if it is not generated by cows or goats.
Companies supporting the new product claim that it is more environmentally friendly and more sustainable than conventional dairy production.
The animal-free protein from microflora is already produced by the American business Perfect Day and utilized in goods like ice cream, milk, and protein powder.
Soon, synthetic milk manufactured in a lab but similar to cow’s milk would be available in Australian supermarkets.
Eden Brew, situated in Werribee, Victoria, is leading the effort in Australia and plans to have its goods on store shelves there by the middle of 2023.
The firm is funded by the CSIRO’s venture capital division and Norco, the country’s oldest dairy cooperative, which also assists with product packaging and marketing.
Jim Fader, the CEO of Eden Brew, asserts that his artificial milk is “indistinguishable from dairy milk.”
He said that by focusing on customers who wished to lessen their influence on the environment, the company was adopting a “clean and green” strategy.
Another business, All G Foods, raised $25 million last month to speed up the creation of synthetic milk, which it hopes to have in Australian stores for less money than cow’s milk within seven years.
Some synthetic milk products such as protein powder, milk and ice-cream already exist overseas (pictured)
Microorganisms, like the mushroom’s mycelium fibers, may be genetically modified in a lab to make complex compounds like proteins at a very low cost.
After being fed nutrients like sugar, the organisms are allowed to ferment, where they make the necessary proteins.
Then, these proteins are gathered, refined, flavor-infused, and packaged into food items.
Chemically, the finished product is similar to conventional goods.
Traditional plant milk substitutes like soy, almond, rice, and oat milks are now more widely accepted by consumers and are taking up more shelf space.
The demand for oat milk in particular has soared throughout the world, with one of the major producers, the Swedish business Oatley, being valued at $13 billion in May.
In 2021, Cafe Pulse’s Sean Edwards conducted a study of 900 coffee sellers and discovered that 25% of all coffee orders contained plant-based milk.
He said that almond was the most popular choice, followed by soy and oat, albeit oat had just recently been introduced and was becoming more popular.
According to Mr. Edwards, who spoke to the ABC, “oat milk was 0.2% two years ago, and today it accounts for 20% of the market.”
“Oat will quickly overtake the top spot.” Oat will replace almond in the food industry during the next six to twelve months.
It’s mostly because when people sample oat, they notice how silky and smooth the beverage is. Compared to most other plant milks, it more closely mimics dairy.
The supermarket milk shelf could look a little different by 2023 when the first synthetic milks go on sale