PoLoPo Inks Agreement With CSM Ingredients to Bring Egg Protein to Commercial Baking
PoLoPo, a pioneer in molecular farming, recently announced that it has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with CSM Ingredients, a global player in food ingredient research, innovation, and production, to help commercial bakeries use PoLoPo’s egg-free egg protein cultivated in potatoes.
PoLoPo and CSM will work together to improve PoLoPo’s ovalbumin powder for baking needs, such as foaming, gelation, and water-binding capabilities. They will also support each other with process optimization, safety, and regulatory requirements.
“Commercial baking and other CPG food categories use ovalbumin extensively for its functional properties such as texture, thickening, and increasing shelf life—ovalbumin from molecular farming offers the same performance in an ingredient that is cleaner, more sustainable, more affordable, and more price-stable. Popular applications for ovalbumin include pastries like croissants, muffins, and donuts,” according to a recent press release.
Additionally, PoLoPo has been chosen for Generate, CSM Ingredients group’s innovation hub for ingredient startups and food concepts. CSM Ingredients group is a global ingredient-tech company that consists of both CSM Ingredients and HIFOOD, an Italian developer and producer of plant-based, clean-label, added-value ingredients. Generate provides its companies with R&D experience, application opportunities, state-of-the-art facilities, and commercial support, which includes access to CSM business networks, shepherding market entry, and evaluating proofs of concept. Urika Partners, a venture and innovation business, organizes the Generate program, leads global innovation for CSM, and works with all teams to meet the needs and advance the program.
“Startups like PoLoPo are visionary innovators that play a pivotal role in developing concepts and pushing boundaries, and CSM is committed to bringing these innovations to the broader food value chain. The global market for ovalbumin powder is projected to reach USD36bn by 2032, and PoLoPo presents an opportunity to change the dynamics of this category in a way that benefits the planet and profits,” CSM Ingredients group Managing Director, Christian Sobolta, mentioned.
“This non-exclusive collaboration enhances our strengths and capacity in meaningful ways, from R&D to implementation to opening more doors with packaged food companies that want to work with the product. Commercial baking is a key lane for us, and CSM’s technical and commercial expertise is strategically valuable for reaching that industry,” PoLoPo CEO, Maya Sapir-Mir, added.
PoLoPo uses proprietary metabolic engineering techniques to turn potato plants into micro-biofactories. Potato plants manufacture and store the target proteins in the tuber. Tubers are harvested when they reach sufficient size, then their proteins are extracted and dried into a functional protein powder that integrates seamlessly into current food processing lines and formulations.
PoLoPo’s first target protein, ovalbumin, will present a cost-effective alternative to an industry reeling from increased egg prices, supply chain instability, and avian flu outbreaks. The company has submitted for USDA regulatory approval, expected within six months, at which point U.S. partners and growers may begin cultivating PoLoPo’s potato plants.
