Editorial ¦ IDM
March/April 2021 ¦ international-dairy.com · 3
Not a substitute,
but a supplement
Enormous potential for nature-identical milk ingredients
It is to be hoped that the dairy industry will recognise the emerging market for nature-identical
proteins and possibly also fats as relevant. What is meant is ‘cellular agriculture‘, i.e. the production
of milk components by ‘precision fermentation‘ and ‘stem cell cultivation‘. Casein or whey protein
produced by genetically modified yeast cells will in all likelihood never be able to completely replace
original milk, just as plant-based milk substitutes probably have a limited substitution potential. But
markets are opening up. And, if in the long run, even a few percent of the milk ingredients produced
worldwide are contributed by the new processes, we are quickly talking about a raw material
quantity in the order of magnitude of the milk production of an entire country. Therefore, there
is a strong case for dairy companies to look at the new possibilities opened up by fermentation
technology. Tnuva or Hochland, and now also Bel, have already publicly committed themselves to
what probably only hopeless traditionalists would call a border crossing in the form of participation
in corresponding start-ups.
Nature-identical milk ingredients are unlikely to develop much competition in the EU in the long term.
The situation is different in regions where milk production simply makes no sense, such as in the Saudi
desert, in countries where part of the population is still starving, or in states that strive for the highest
possible self-sufficiency, such as Singapore or China. There, fermentation products are likely to
be quickly and readily absorbed by a consumer base that is often tech-savvy anyway. Apart from the
avoiding of by-products of low value in a dairy industry, right down to the bull calves, or the problem
of exporting livestock, the sustainability advantages of fermentation products in terms of space and
resource requirements will come into their own.
The extraction of individual, high-quality milk ingredients such as lactoferrin or special whey proteins,
which are used as ingredients in baby food, for example, is therefore likely to take a back seat, but at
the moment may be much more promising than simply reproducing milk or cheese. The best example
is the market for high-quality special baby food, which literally sucks up fermentatively produced GOS
and HMO, with the manufacturers of these ingredients earning splendidly.
We are currently experiencing a new industrial revolution, not only in IT, but also in food production. If
you want to stay on the winning side, you should – no, you have to deal with the new opportunities.
Of course, there will also be winners on the traditional side, because there will always be demand for
real cheese, etc. Companies just have to decide where they want to go, says Roland Sossna.
Roland Sossna
Editor IDM
International Dairy Magazine
sossna@blmedien.de
international-dairy.com
/international-dairy.com
/international-dairy.com
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