Fundamental change coming to supermarket dairy aisles – Are you in favour of it?
- Replies 11
We’ve long known that nearly all the products we see in supermarkets are tweaked to appeal to the customers. Otherwise, we’d have smaller, less tasty, and unattractive versions of produce infiltrating the stores.
As the years fly by, scientific innovations improve and we’re bound to see more genetically modified products in stores. The latest one? It involves dairy.
An Aussie startup, Eden Bren, has revealed that retailers will be stocking dairy products that won’t come from animals in 2024.
You’re probably thinking this is old news–considering the availability of popular milk alternatives such as oat, almond, and soy–but the big difference is that the new products will be produced using fermentation.
New milk products that won’t come from animals will be rolled out. Source: Unsplash
While lab-grown meats typically require cells from an animal, Eden Brew has created its bovine DNA synthetically. Yeast is then ‘trained’ to ‘express milk proteins’ through a fermentation process that’s similar to brewing alcohol.
This means that Eden Brew’s dairy will offer the same health benefits as regular milk and can even be altered to meet specific nutritional requirements such as increased calcium for the elderly.
Because its milk proteins are ‘nature identical’, the new products will still contain a few of the allergens found in regular milk.
However, they will be free of lactose, which is the culprit for most intolerances.
Eden Brew founder Jim Fader explained that the company isn’t aiming to replace conventional milk, saying: ‘We see this as less about taking sales away from dairy and more about helping dairy meet future demand.’
‘I can see the potential that fermented foods have… About 20 per cent of the category in the next 10 plus years.’
If you’re lactose intolerant, this alternative might be worth a shot! Source: Green Queen
What will it taste like?
Mr Fader clarified that Eden Brew should taste ‘exactly the same as regular milk’.
Retailing between $4.50 to $5.00 a litre, Eden Brew’s milk will be launched at a price similar to high-end plant-based milk.
The company is looking to increase its scale of fermentation and improve brewing efficiency by 2027 to drop the retail price down to $3.00 by 2028.
Can the same concept be applied to cheese?
Solids and fats from cheese require the milk to be dewatered. Eden Brew will be able to skip this step and turn its raw proteins into cheese, yoghurt, and ice cream.
Where can we get our hands on the new products?
Eden Brew plans to submit its ice cream for government accreditation by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand this year. The products will be first rolled out in northern NSW and southern Queensland the following summer.
‘Supermarkets are well aware of products like ours, the broad protein category. They’re stocking a lot of plant-based meats now,’ Mr Fader said.
‘They're very in tune with what the food trends are in this space.’
‘We will target cafes, restaurants, health food shops, and possibly supermarkets within a contained geography initially. That's in part because the amount of protein that we would be making wouldn't sustain a national launch.’
Is Eden Brew good for the environment?
With greater demands for environmentally unsustainable amounts of protein, these products could reduce the need to grow cattle herds, which in turn helps decrease methane emissions and land use.
Mr Fader added that his company is proud to give consumers ‘more sustainable versions’ of the food items they ‘know and love’.
‘We're a fraction of the environmental footprint of regular milk and there is no animal involved in the process. We create bovine DNA synthetically, so you don’t even need the animal.’
Reducing the need for cattle will also have animal welfare implications. To ensure that there’s a sustainable supply of milk, cows are usually required to give birth annually and then separated from their calves.
On most broad-acre farms, extra cows serve no financial purpose and are either euthanised, buried, or auctioned for their meat.
The new product could potentially decrease methane emissions. Source: TWEF
While lab-grown products aren’t available in Australian supermarkets yet, Woolworths has seen the demand for plant-based proteins soar by over 50 per cent in recent years.
A survey of the mega retailer’s customers in March 2021 discovered that 62 per cent purchase meat or dairy-free products occasionally. It also found that 88 per cent of purchases were not made by vegans or vegetarians, but rather by customers who also bought meat.
‘With the rise of “flexitarian” customers looking to add variety to their diets, many customers are buying both meat and a broader range of plant-based alternatives.’ a Woolworths spokesperson stated.
‘Our range of plant-based products is constantly growing across core shopping categories, including milk alternatives, meat alternatives, cheese, yoghurt, tofu, falafels, snacking and dips.’
Science is pretty amazing, eh? What are your thoughts about this latest innovation? Are you in favour of it? Let us know in the comments!
Learn more about Eden Brew by watching the video below:
Source: SkyNews Australia
As the years fly by, scientific innovations improve and we’re bound to see more genetically modified products in stores. The latest one? It involves dairy.
An Aussie startup, Eden Bren, has revealed that retailers will be stocking dairy products that won’t come from animals in 2024.
You’re probably thinking this is old news–considering the availability of popular milk alternatives such as oat, almond, and soy–but the big difference is that the new products will be produced using fermentation.
New milk products that won’t come from animals will be rolled out. Source: Unsplash
While lab-grown meats typically require cells from an animal, Eden Brew has created its bovine DNA synthetically. Yeast is then ‘trained’ to ‘express milk proteins’ through a fermentation process that’s similar to brewing alcohol.
This means that Eden Brew’s dairy will offer the same health benefits as regular milk and can even be altered to meet specific nutritional requirements such as increased calcium for the elderly.
Because its milk proteins are ‘nature identical’, the new products will still contain a few of the allergens found in regular milk.
However, they will be free of lactose, which is the culprit for most intolerances.
Eden Brew founder Jim Fader explained that the company isn’t aiming to replace conventional milk, saying: ‘We see this as less about taking sales away from dairy and more about helping dairy meet future demand.’
‘I can see the potential that fermented foods have… About 20 per cent of the category in the next 10 plus years.’
If you’re lactose intolerant, this alternative might be worth a shot! Source: Green Queen
What will it taste like?
Mr Fader clarified that Eden Brew should taste ‘exactly the same as regular milk’.
Retailing between $4.50 to $5.00 a litre, Eden Brew’s milk will be launched at a price similar to high-end plant-based milk.
The company is looking to increase its scale of fermentation and improve brewing efficiency by 2027 to drop the retail price down to $3.00 by 2028.
Can the same concept be applied to cheese?
Solids and fats from cheese require the milk to be dewatered. Eden Brew will be able to skip this step and turn its raw proteins into cheese, yoghurt, and ice cream.
Where can we get our hands on the new products?
Eden Brew plans to submit its ice cream for government accreditation by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand this year. The products will be first rolled out in northern NSW and southern Queensland the following summer.
‘Supermarkets are well aware of products like ours, the broad protein category. They’re stocking a lot of plant-based meats now,’ Mr Fader said.
‘They're very in tune with what the food trends are in this space.’
‘We will target cafes, restaurants, health food shops, and possibly supermarkets within a contained geography initially. That's in part because the amount of protein that we would be making wouldn't sustain a national launch.’
Is Eden Brew good for the environment?
With greater demands for environmentally unsustainable amounts of protein, these products could reduce the need to grow cattle herds, which in turn helps decrease methane emissions and land use.
Mr Fader added that his company is proud to give consumers ‘more sustainable versions’ of the food items they ‘know and love’.
‘We're a fraction of the environmental footprint of regular milk and there is no animal involved in the process. We create bovine DNA synthetically, so you don’t even need the animal.’
Reducing the need for cattle will also have animal welfare implications. To ensure that there’s a sustainable supply of milk, cows are usually required to give birth annually and then separated from their calves.
On most broad-acre farms, extra cows serve no financial purpose and are either euthanised, buried, or auctioned for their meat.
The new product could potentially decrease methane emissions. Source: TWEF
While lab-grown products aren’t available in Australian supermarkets yet, Woolworths has seen the demand for plant-based proteins soar by over 50 per cent in recent years.
A survey of the mega retailer’s customers in March 2021 discovered that 62 per cent purchase meat or dairy-free products occasionally. It also found that 88 per cent of purchases were not made by vegans or vegetarians, but rather by customers who also bought meat.
‘With the rise of “flexitarian” customers looking to add variety to their diets, many customers are buying both meat and a broader range of plant-based alternatives.’ a Woolworths spokesperson stated.
‘Our range of plant-based products is constantly growing across core shopping categories, including milk alternatives, meat alternatives, cheese, yoghurt, tofu, falafels, snacking and dips.’
Science is pretty amazing, eh? What are your thoughts about this latest innovation? Are you in favour of it? Let us know in the comments!
Learn more about Eden Brew by watching the video below:
Source: SkyNews Australia
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