Subj : Cow-less dairy products firm gets green light for huge expansion
To   : All
From : News
Date : Mon May 20 2024 12:57 pm

A company developing dairy proteins in the laboratory without cows has been
given the green light to scale up production by a factor of 500.


Auckland-based Daisy Lab uses genetically modified organisms to create milk
protein. However, there are concerns about what this technology could mean
for the dairy industry.


Co-founder and chief scientific officer Nikki Freed said genetically modified
yeast is used to make proteins.


"What we're interested in doing is making proteins that are typically found
in cow's milk but doing that without the cow."


A process known as precision fermentation uses microbes as "factories" to
produce specific ingredients.


It is commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry, but the team at Daisy Lab
believes dairy proteins, such as whey, casein and lactoferrin, can be
produced in the same way.


Freed added: "Our next steps will be basically creating or partnering with
another company to create consumer formulations, so you see this on the
supermarket shelf."


The Environmental Protection Authority has granted approval for the company
to scale up production 500-fold from its existing allowance.


Genetically modified organisms are considered a new organism and thus require
approval, said general manager of hazardous substances and new organisms
Chris Hill


"The kind of genetic modifications they are doing are also low risk; I mean,
they're not producing anything that could mimic a virus or anything like
that."


Agriculture and trade expert Alan Renwick said demand for protein is growing
rapidly.


"It will be taking part of a growing market, but of course longer term, once
they become very competitive, once they are able to produce at scale cheaply,
then it may begin to erode into the dairy market."


Freed said she does not think Daisy Lab will disrupt the dairy industry "too
much."


"I think even Fonterra recognises they cannot keep growing their herds. We
can't keep using the land that we have like we're using right now.

In a statement, Fonterra said it has been actively researching and investing
in precision fermentation since 2018.


It added there are numerous challenges to overcome before the technology can
produce protein at similar costs to those sourced from milk.

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