Fungus could produce a sustainable egg white alternative

Researchers at VTT developed a fungus-produced egg white alternative produced with low carbon energy production methods.

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(VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland)
(VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland)
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

Researchers at VTT developed a fungus-produced egg white alternative produced with low carbon energy production methods.

“This technology enables production of specific egg proteins without the need to rear chickens to produce the eggs. Thus, it’s groundbreaking way to produce food proteins with clear positive impacts to environment and ethics of food production. It also opens up totally new business field for the food industry, since the value chain is not dependent on existing agrifood chain,” explained Doctoral Researcher Natasha Järviö from the University of Helsinki.

Approximately 1.6 million tons of egg protein were consumed in 2020, with further growth expected in the coming years. Ovalbumin, a glycoprotein, is one of the biggest sources of protein within an egg.

Potential sustainability benefits for plant-based egg whites

Using biotechnology and precision fermentation methods, the researchers inserted the gene that carries the blueprint for ovalbumin into the fungus, Trichoderma reesei. Once grown, the mature ovalbumin protein can be separated from the fungal cells and concentrated and dried to create an egg white alternative.

According to the study published in Nature Food, fungus-produced ovalbumin requires less electricity per kilogram of protein powder, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 31-55% and land use requirements by 90% compared to traditional poultry production methods.

“Producing egg-white powder with fungi instead of chicken therefore provides an alternative. It removes the animal from the production process, and we are still able to use the same protein and keep the same functionality that chicken-based egg white protein powder provides,” Järviö said.

“The challenge is to tailor the microbe (efficient protein expression) and the bioprocess (optimal growth conditions) in a way that we can reach high enough protein yields. It also very important to develop an excellent down-stream-processing to ensure pure-enough and stable product. These all are critical factors when scaling up and commercializing the process.”

The global egg substitute market is expected to surpass $1.1 billion by the year 2023, according to supplier intelligence company, IndustryARC. The report cites the rising adoption of veganism and an increased demand for animal-free products as the main factors fueling the 6% estimated market growth between 2018 to 2023.

 

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