Dairy acid whey can be turned into a food-grade compound and used as a protein additive, NZ company shows.
Taking a near toxic dairy processing waste stream and turning it into a high value, high protein food compound has earned a Kiwi start-up company the top award at Australia’s Agriventures evokeAG conference.
Mara Bio was the winner of the agtech innovation award at the conference from a field of over 50 exhibitors. Its exhibit is also part of pitch to venture capital funders as it seeks $2.5 million to advance its fermentation technology to a pilot-scale level.
The technology enables dairy acid whey, a waste product of casein and protein extraction, to be turned into a protein-dense food-grade compound that can be used itself as a protein additive.
Headed up by Mark Balchin and Dr Maya Tangestani, the start-up company has proven the technology is worth scaling up and could provide dairy processors with a valued product to recover from a waste stream that is inherently difficult to deal with.
Typically whey waste is a headache for dairy processors, with the product sometimes applied to land near dairy factories via irrigation.
Mara Bio’s technology takes the waste stream and adds undisclosed ingredients along with fungal mycelium in a process Balchin likens to brewing beer.
After a short fermentation of only a few days, the resulting product has the appearance of apple puree. Separation of the liquid from the solid leaves a solid with a 30-50% protein component.
“The protein extracted at the end has a level of protein in it that is similar to whey protein, and that makes the ears of dairy processors prick up,” he said.
The liquid left also has potential to yield useful products including soluble fibre and enzymes, something Mara Bio is still to explore.
Balchin describes the resulting protein solid as a B2B ingredient that could be added to other protein compounds as an ingredient base.
“It is a very complete protein at that point. It also contains a high fibre component and could be eaten in that form.”
Part of the reason for the couple to attend evokeAG in Brisbane was to attract potential investors for their funding round, and they are also in conversation with a number of dairy processors in New Zealand, Australia and United States.
Mara Bio was accepted as one of only 10 international guest exhibitors at evokeAG, selected from 130 applicants.
“By 2030 there will be 200 billion litres of whey waste produced a year by the dairy sector. We are using fermentation to help create a new revenue stream, it is a win-win for the environment and for processors,” said Balchin.
• Rennie attended evokeAG in Brisbane with funding assistance from evokeAG organisers and Plant & Food Research.
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