There are several people all around the world who love to reduce animal protein in their diet. However, most of these people often forget their motto when it comes to milk, as a day will be incomplete without a cup of hot coffee or a cheesecake. And now, Imagindairy Ltd, an Israeli startup is milking new technology to leave the cow out of the dairy equation. Using the natural process of precision fermentation, the company is creating true milk proteins that are indistinguishable from real milk.
Recreating real milk without cows
Imagindairy's proprietary technology recreates nature-identical, animal-free versions of whey and casein proteins that can be used to produce dairy analogs. The milk created by the Israeli company has not only the flavor and texture but also has the nutritional value of real milk from cows. The company believes that this new technique will help to develop a full range of non-dairy products that perfectly mimic dairy versions yet contain no cholesterol.
As the milk developed by Imagindairy is lactose-free, it can be served to people who have lactose intolerance or sensitivity. Moreover, the proprietary technology radically lowers the burden of dairy livestock on the environment.
Milk without impacting animals or the environment
"Our microflora-based production method was inspired by nature to recreate these proteins. Our vision was to deliver an animal-free version of the primary dairy proteins — whey and casein — that can allow product makers to match real dairy products in terms of protein concentration, nutrient profile, and the full sensory experiences of the animal-derived versions. I look forward to being able to give my kids such treats as a cup of nutritious, tasty milk or creamy yogurt without the hard impact on animals or on the environment they must inherit," said Eyal Afergan, Ph.D., Co-founder, and CEO of Imagindairy, in a statement.
The milk without a cow is developed by a team headed by Dr. Arie Abo, a specialist in protein biochemistry, in collaboration with Tamir Tuller, a professor at Tel Aviv University.
"We developed an advanced protein production platform that allows us to optimize every step in creating milk proteins. This allowed us to achieve the yield that is needed to achieve commercial production," said Tuller, who is also the co-founder of Imagindairy.
