PoLoPo has submitted an application for Regulatory Status Review (RSR) to the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for its SuperAA platform.

This marks the first step towards regulatory approval for SuperAA, a platform that turns potato plants into micro-biofactories, using proprietary metabolic engineering techniques.

PoLoPo first announced its new SuperAA platform in April – it is currently deployed in potatoes at greenhouse scale and can generate both a native protein (patatin) as well as egg protein (ovalbumin).

This development makes PoLoPo the first Israeli molecular farming company to seek regulatory approval in the US.

If granted, the USDA approval will establish that PoLoPo’s platform poses no agricultural or pest risk compared to traditional potato growing. The approval – which is expected within six months – will enable PoLoPo to pursue its commercial plans to grow its transgenic potato plants in the US through partners and local growers.

PoLoPo’s CEO, Maya Sapir-Mir, said: “This is an important milestone for molecular farming as well as for PoLoPo to establish safety and clearance to begin growing GMO plants. The production of ovalbumin in plants, not animals, will transform food processing with a price- and supply chain-stable option and set off a domino effect on sustainability, a big first step toward changing our food industry.”

PoLoPo’s platform enables potato plants to manufacture target proteins in the plant and store them in the tuber. Tubers are harvested when they reach sufficient size, at which point their proteins are extracted and dried into a powder that integrates ‘seamlessly’ into current food processing lines and formulations.

While derived from genetically engineered plants, the resulting protein powder contains no genetic material and is considered non-GMO.

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