The startup Onego Bio uses fungal fermentation to produce Bioalbumen®, a bioidentical ovalbumin protein, and aims to revolutionize food production with this animal-free egg alternative. Ovalbumin is the predominant protein in chicken egg white, accounting for 65% of the protein.
Bioalbumen® is produced by the genetically modified microorganism Trichoderma reesei. At the end of the process, the fermentation tank is filled with ovalbumin, water, and fungal biomass. The liquid containing the egg protein is separated from the biomass and dried into a powder, the Bioalbumen®. The fermentation process produces a consistent protein product with superior functionality. Bioalbumen® contains all essential amino acids, has high protein digestibility, and provides over 90 g of protein per 100 g. Its neutral taste and functional properties position it as an ideal, sustainable replacement for chicken egg white protein powder, a widely used ingredient in the food industry, according to the startup.
The startup is partnering with co-manufacturers to accelerate its market entry. At the same time, it continues to finalize its internal production plans and is seeking funding to build its first production facility. North America was chosen as their first-launch market due to a faster regulatory landscape compared to Europe.
A single full-scale production plant would, in the start-up’s vision, have a fermentation capacity of two million liters, equivalent to the ovalbumin output of an egg farm with six million laying hens, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90%, land consumption by 95%, and water consumption by 72% [1].
- Onego Bio Ltd., Helsinki, Finland
[1] Natasha Järviö, Tuure Parviainen, Netta-Leena Maljanen, Yumi Kobayashi, Lauri Kujanpää, Dilek Ercili-Cura, Christopher P. Landowski, Toni Ryynänen, Emilia Nordlund, Hanna L. Tuomisto, Ovalbumin production using Trichoderma reesei culture and low-carbon energy could mitigate the environmental impacts of chicken-egg-derived ovalbumin, Nature Food 2021, 2, 1005–1013. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00418-2
[2] Deepti Diwan, Minaxi Sharma, Meisam Tabatabaei, Vijai Kumar Gupta, Ovalbumin production without poultry, Nature Food 2021, 2, 924–925. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00438-y
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