German food tech startup Formo has obtained self-affirmed GRAS status for its precision-fermented casein in the US and established a partnership to commercialise the ingredient. This enables the firm to sell the animal-free dairy protein to food manufacturers in the US.

Formo suggests this technology can fill the protein performance gap. “We are not saying precision fermentation replaces dairy farming. We are saying it adds a new capability to the protein supply layer that lets the food industry meet the performance era of demand without those structural constraints,” co-founder and CEO Raffael Wohlgensinger said. “The future is not dairy versus fermentation – it is dairy plus fermentation, with each playing the role the market is asking it to play,” he added.

Formo is positioning its recombinant αS1-casein as an ingredient that formulators reach for when seeking “functional precision, clean specification, and consistent performance” for next-gen dairy and nutrition.