Molecular farming firm PoLoPo has has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CSM Ingredients, a global player in food ingredient research, innovation and production.

The strategic partnership is set to help bring PoLoPo’s egg-free egg protein – grown in potatoes – to the commercial baking market. PoLoPo uses proprietary metabolic engineering techniques to turn potato plants into micro-biofactories. Potato plants manufacture and store the target proteins in the tuber. Tubers are harvested when they reach sufficient size, then their proteins are extracted and dried into a functional protein powder that integrates seamlessly into current food processing lines and formulations.

The companies will work together to develop PoLoPo’s ovalbumin powder for baking requirements, including foaming, gelation and water binding functions, as well as provide side-by-side assistance with process optimisation, regulatory and safety requirements.

Commercial baking and other CPG food categories use ovalbumin for its functional properties such as texture, thickening and increasing shelf life. PoLoPo’s molecularly farmed albumin offers the same performance as conventional ovalbumin, while being a cleaner, more sustainable, more affordable, and more price-stable ingredient.

In addition, CSM Ingredients group – a global ingredient-tech company comprising both CSM Ingredients and HIFOOD, an Italy-based developer and producer of plant-based, clean-label, added-value ingredients – has selected PoLoPo for Generate, CSM Ingredient’s group’s innovation hub for ingredient start-ups and food concepts.

Generate offers R&D expertise, application opportunities, cutting-edge facilities and commercial support to its start-ups, including validating proofs of concept, shepherding market entry, and access to CSM business networks.

“Startups like PoLoPo are visionary innovators that play a pivotal role in developing concepts and pushing boundaries, and CSM is committed to bring these innovations to the broader food value chain,” said CSM Ingredients group Managing Director Christian Sobolta. “The global market for ovalbumin powder is projected to reach $36 billion by 2032, and PoLoPo presents an opportunity to change the dynamics of this category in a way that benefits planet and profits.”

“This non-exclusive collaboration enhances our strengths and capacity in meaningful ways, from R&D to implementation to opening more doors with packaged food companies that want to work with the product,” said PoLoPo CEO, Maya Sapir-Mir. “Commercial baking is clearly a key lane for us, and CSM’s technical and commercial expertise is strategically valuable for reaching that industry.”

In May, PoLoPo submitted for USDA regulatory approval, expected within six months, at which point US partners and growers may begin cultivating PoLoPo’s potato plants.

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