A pizza with animal-free mozzarella

© New Culture

Cheese Alternatives

New Culture Partners with CJ CheilJedang to Streamline Costs of Animal-Free Mozzarella

Californian animal-free cheese producer New Culture announces a partnership with its previous investor, South Korean biotech giant CJ CheilJedang. New Culture develops casein from precision fermentation to make cow-free cheeses that melt, stretch, bubble, brown, and taste like conventional cheese without the lactose, cholesterol, hormones, and antibiotics found in milk.  The partnership will focus on reducing the production cost of New Culture’s casein to obtain a competitive price for its first product, animal-free mozzarella for pizzerias. Seung June Choi, Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning at CJ CheilJedang, comments, “Since our initial investment in New Culture in 2022, the CJ CheilJedang team has continued to be impressed by the company’s technical progress, robust bioprocess, and global ambition in the animal-free dairy industry.” Expertise to fuel …

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Slice of pizza with melting New Culture cheese

© New Culture

Fermentation

New Culture Announces “World First” GRAS Status for Precision Fermentation Casein, Paving the Way for Animal-Free Mozzarella

Following a review by an independent panel of qualified scientific and toxicology experts, Californian animal-free cheese producer New Culture announces that it has self-affirmed its precision fermentation-derived casein as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).  New Culture claims this achievement marks the “world’s first” GRAS designation for animal-free casein, which allows it to sell its products containing casein in the USA. New Culture has yet to notify the FDA through the GRAS Notification Program. It is worth noting that this step is not mandatory; however, the FDA strongly encourages manufacturers to contact the agency by submitting a notice. Inja Radman, co-founder and CSO of New Culture, shares: “Having secured another ‘world’s first’ for our animal-free casein is a testament to the hard-working and innovative team we have …

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New Culture's animal-free casein reaches milestone scale

Image credit: New Culture

Fermentation

New Culture is “Redefining the Boundaries of What’s Possible in Dairy” with Significant Upscaling of Animal-Free Mozzarella

California startup New Culture announces that it has successfully increased the production of its precision fermentation platform to a much larger scale and additionally has achieved a reduction of 80% in product cost. According to the company, it has managed to produce enough animal-free casein in a single run to make cheese for 25,000 pizzas. Founded in 2019, New Culture makes animal-free mozzarella by combining traditional cheese-making methods and casein proteins derived from precision fermentation. The company debuted its revolutionary cheese in June at Nancy Silverton’s Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles — where New Culture’s mozzarella will officially launch in 2024 before expanding to other pizzerias nationwide.  New Culture has received financial support from companies, including Kraft Heinz, ADM, and biotech giant CJ CheilJedang, to develop further its innovative …

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brie cheese

© FÆRM

Cheese Alternatives

FÆRM: Mimicking Dairy Fermentation to Craft the Next Generation of Plant-Based Cheese

FÆRM is a Danish food tech startup using food science and traditional cheesemaking techniques to craft the next generation of plant-based cheese. The company claims its animal-free cheese is made with clean-label ingredients and boasts an authentic cheese flavor. Founded in 2020 by Andrea Donau, Mikkel Dupont, and Anna Gundorph, FÆRM has designed a new patented technology that mimics traditional dairy fermentation using rennet and cultures such as lactic acid bacteria. The technology ferments legume-based plant matrices to transform them into cheese without using additives, colorants, or flavorings.  Achieving the impossible According to FÆRM, its R&D team has accomplished a feat not many companies have been able to achieve: making soy milk coagulate like cow’s milk. “Through research, stubbornness, and countless tests, we achieved the …

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