Leading the whey: the synthetic milk startups shaking up the dairy industry

The industry is expanding rapidly. In the US, cow-free dairy proteins produced by the firm Perfect Day are now widely used in products including ice-cream, cream cheese, chocolate and protein powders. Another American startup, New Culture, is commercialising a synthetic milk-based mozzarella, while the Israeli firm Remilk has set up a giant facility in Denmark to produce cheese, yoghurt and ice-cream.

It will be some time before cow-free milk arrives in Australian supermarkets, but startups such as All G Foods and the CSIRO spin-off company Eden Brew are racing to bring products to market within the next two years.

Most synthetic dairy companies are focusing on producing milk proteins using a process known as precision fermentation. It involves genetically programming yeast or other microorganisms using synthetic DNA to produce a specific protein. Jim Fader, the co-founder of Eden Brew, compares the process to beer brewing.

Aggregates of casein, known as micelles, give milk its characteristic appearance and heat stability.

Eden Brew is producing six proteins that are most abundant in milk. Once brewed, these will be purified and dried.

Milena Bojovic, who is completing a PhD at Macquarie University, says while the promise of cow-free fresh milk has been widely trumpeted, the impact of synthetic dairy is likely to be greater on products such as milk powder.

Bojovic, who has analysed global dairy trends as part of her research, is concerned that technological advances may leave farmers behind. Large dairy players such as Norco and Fonterra, a New Zealand multinational cooperative, have begun to invest in synthetic protein production.