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They produce cheese and yoghurt from ‘cow-free milk’!
In these days everyone knows about plant-based milk alternatives such as oat and soy milk. But now, a food technology company is aiming to take alternative dairy products to another level.
California-based company Perfect Day uses molds to produce dairy protein that’s “molecularly identical” to cow’s milk protein. This means that the product can be used in dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt.
“We wondered what is the substance that does not exist in plant milk but is found in animal milk that provides great flexibility and nutritional value in producing other products,” said Ryan Pandya, co-founder of the firm.
How is cow’s milk produced without a cow?
Perfect Day put together the gene encoding the ‘whey’ protein in cow’s milk and loaded it into a ‘mold’ strain. When this mold is grown in fermentation tanks, it produces the ‘whey’ protein. This is then filtered, dried and used in products such as cheese and ice cream.
Products manufactured by this method are already on the shelves in the USA and Hong Kong.
“The product we produce appeals to people who love dairy products but are concerned about the planet and animals,” Pandya noted.
The protein produced by Perfect Day does not contain lactose, hormones or cholesterol. However, since it has the same structure as the protein in cow’s milk, it is not suitable for people with dairy allergies.
Pandya says their products are “vegan-friendly.”
The product also has some positive features for the environment. Pandya states that milk production, when the cows are deactivated, becomes much more efficient, with 97 percent less greenhouse gas emissions compared to normal milk.
