Feeding bacteria to one’s pet doesn’t sound as good as giving them a probiotic. Likewise, eating the products of bacterial fermentation don’t sound as appetizing as yogurt, cheese, sourdough bread or sauerkraut. Nevertheless, bacteria have been a part of human and animal diets for centuries. Probiotics and prebiotics are two examples of how bacteria have entered the pet food supply chain in a good way.
Bacterial products may play a larger role in future pet foods as protein from bacterial fermentation become more available. Bacterial proteins may also provide an option for formulating vegan pet foods.
California-based Calysta introduced a bacterial protein pet food ingredient in Europe this summer, FeedKind Pet. One dog treat made with the bacterial protein is now on shelves. After launching in May, Dr. Clauder’s Trainee Snack Natural Cultivated Protein was awarded in October with the 2024 Innovation Award by European pet food retailer, Fressnapf.
“Calysta is the world leader in this technology,” Herman Sloot, vice president commercial development at Calysta told Petfood Industry. “We’re the only producer to have reached full commercial scale, and it has taken 10 years of hard work and investment to get here. Even then, we acquired the base of our technology – it had already benefited from years of development in Norway prior to our acquisition in 2014.
“From first producing a few grammes of FeedKind protein at our pilot facility in the UK, we now operate the largest fermenters in the world at Calysseo, our joint venture with Adisseo. The two fermenters are extremely efficient and will soon reach 20,000 metric tons of output per year.”
Producing bacterial protein products requires less infrastructure than many other protein sources, he said. All that is required is a biomass fermenter and a downstream processing facility to dry the product into a form that allows customers to easily integrate into their products.
Calysto has approvals already in place to use it in pet food products in several countries across the world, and plans to apply for GRAS certification in the United States. Introducing a novel pet food ingredient involves education beyond legislation though.
“It’s never been seen before, so our job is to show producers what it can do,” Sloot said. “The intrinsic characteristics of FeedKind Pet; being meat-free, highly nutritious, healthy, tasty and sustainable, are a clear fit to the needs in the pet industry, so we’re very confident we will find our place in the market.”
Bacterial proteins may fit into the pet food market as environmentally sustainable, vegan, non-GMO protein sources with no concerns over animal welfare.
Environmental and ethical aspects of bacterial protein in pet food
Lower ecological impacts have been one major driving force behind alternative protein sources compared to animal-based protein sources. Bacterial protein may offer a lower carbon footprint and less resource use than other protein sources.
“Our studies have shown that the carbon impact of FeedKind Pet is superior to meat, and that we are competitive with both insect meal and plant-based proteins,” Sloot said. “However, that’s not the whole story. FeedKind is not dependent on any other food- or feed-based supply as needed for production of insect meal, and our protein uses significantly less water and land than other types of protein, making production very self-contained.”
The waste stream resulting from bacterial fermentation is self-contained, he said. That allows direct carbon capture from the fermenters, which is currently in development by Calysta.
Along with a low carbon footprint, bacterial fermentation can also be conducted with a smaller physical footprint than many animal- or plant-based protein sources, while using less water and other resource inputs.
Along sustainability benefits, bacterial proteins may also help pet food producers meet consumers’ animal welfare demands, while appealing to health trends.
Since FeedKind is produced without using any plant or animal ingredients, it is considered a vegan ingredient, Sloot said.
“We also know that consumers have an appetite for products made by bacterial fermentation, be it yoghurt, cheese or bread, or even kimchi,” he said. “The gut-health benefits of this technology in both pet and human food products are well recognized, and we think this will be a particular draw for the market.”
With sustainability and ethical credentials, proteins produced through bacterial fermentation may continue their market growth and acceptance.
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