Diving overview:
- Food tech startup BioBetter has opened its first food-grade pilot facility, which will serve as its home base. Unique molecular farming technology using tobacco plants. BioBetter has discovered a new purpose for tobacco plants, converting them into bioreactors to produce growth factors used in cultured meat..
- israeli startup companyUsing genetically modified plants as a self-sustaining bioreactor without using animals The result is “authentic, well-structured” muscle tissue, Statement from the factory.
- Carefully designed to prevent leakage of transgenic or carcinogenic substances. The bioreactor is grown in a large-scale nethouse cultivation system, It aims to address price parity, one of the many hurdles facing the industry.
Dive Insight:
The newly opened plant has the capacity to process approximately 200 pounds of tobacco plant-derived growth factors each day. The company said the facility is currently going through the necessary steps to obtain approval for a food manufacturing license from the Ministry of Health.
“Our holistic approach not only emphasizes our commitment to safety and environmental responsibility, but also streamlines the regulatory process,” reveals Dana Yarden, MD, co-founder of BioBetter. “We plan to use recycled, low-quality water for irrigation and minimize the use of nitrogen fertilizers, reducing emissions and environmental impact.
BioBetter’s molecular agriculture innovation aims to significantly reduce the overall cost of cultured meat production. However, once you achieve this, It depends on whether we can mass-produce growth factors.This says that BioBetter found a solution in the following way. Rapid growth and abundant protein production in engineered tobacco plants.
“The most important challenge for the cultured meat industry is producing at a reasonable cost and scaling up,” Aviv Oren, director of business engagement and innovation at the Good Food Institute, said in a statement. “Biobetter’s technology is a critical addition that has the potential to accelerate this industry.”
What makes BioBetter’s technology unique is that it doesn’t require custom or pharmaceutical-based equipment, which is often expensive, CEO Amit Yaari said. moreover, No additional capital required for production According to a report from Food Materials First, spending investments. The company plans to partner with agricultural manufacturers that already have the appropriate manufacturing facilities, equipment and production expertise to facilitate market entry, the company said.
“Over the past year, our activities and cooperation have expanded significantly,” Yarden added in a statement. “We shared [growth factor] We have provided samples with numerous cultured meat companies and cell culture media manufacturers around the world and have obtained promising proof-of-concept results. ”
