January 2024: Tuller: The cultured milk of Imagindairy Israel received approval from the FDA

Prof. Tamir Tuller, Edmond J. Safra member (Engineering), in collaboration with the food-tech company Imagindairy, developed a technology for efficient production of milk identical in taste and color to cow's milk.

The company's production method is based on precision fermentation combined with AI technology and computational biology, allowing the company to produce large quantities of proteins in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner.

The researchers decided to use a filamentous fungus as a factory to create milk proteins. For this purpose, as first step, they inserted the genetic code of the cow's milk protein into the genome of the fungus, such that it begins to produce this specific protein. In the next step, they improved the genome of the fungus, partly using computational models and AI, to transform the fungus into an efficient factory of milk proteins.

Imagindairy received approval from the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA), which means that its proteins are safe to use and can be marketed in the US market. The company is preparing to launch its first products during the coming year.

Read more here.