A funny thing happened when molecular farming company PoLoPo started talking to customers about its egg protein grown in potato plants: they also wanted to buy patatin, the potato’s native protein. So PoLoPo said “we can do that!”
Even though it’s a wonderful ingredient, patatin is usually expensive, requiring a lot of extracting and drying for little yield. But PoLoPo potatoes naturally contain much higher levels of patatin (in addition to ovalbumin), so the economics of producing it change.
PoLoPo, a molecular farming pioneer, today announced it will begin supplying patatin, the native protein in potatoes, to commercial clients following regulatory approval.
PoLoPo uses proprietary metabolic engineering techniques to turn potato plants into micro-biofactories that manufacture the target proteins. Its platform is capable of producing egg protein (ovalbumin) in potatoes, but also increases the potato’s naturally occurring protein. PoLoPo expects its process will be able to produce large volumes of functional patatin affordably.
Patatin is a versatile, allergy-friendly, high-quality protein (PDCAAS value of 0.99) with all essential amino acids that is valued in the food/beverage and nutraceutical industries. It is used in plant-based meat and dairy products for emulsifying, gelling, and texturizing as well as bakery and protein drinks.
“We are keeping our eyes on the prize, which is bringing molecular-farmed egg protein to market, but conversations with clients revealed an additional demand for patatin in large quantities at a fair price,” said PoLoPo CEO, Maya Sapir-Mir, PhD. “Because patatin is the potato’s native protein, we expect it will be a relatively easy regulatory process and a fast time-to-market.”
Most potato proteins on the market are non-functional, as manufacturers destroy the proteins while extracting potato starch. Non-functional potato protein is commonly directed to animal feed including pet foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
Current prices of functional patatin are high, more than $100 per kilogram (more than $220 per pound). It is cost-prohibitive to extract and dry with existing food processing infrastructure, however, because PoLoPo transgenic potato plants produce such high levels of patatin, this becomes far more economical and returns better yields of protein.
PoLoPo’s plants produce proteins and store them in its tubers. Tubers are harvested when they reach sufficient size, then 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.
PoLoPo’s proteins will soon be available to the food industry for testing, and is seeking growing partners in the U.S. To obtain a sample or for more information contact info@polopo.tech.
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About PoLoPo
PoLoPo is a molecular farming pioneer producing proteins directly in common crops, beginning with egg protein (ovalbumin) grown in potatoes. The biotechnology startup was founded in 2022 by scientists with a deep understanding of plant genetics and protein expression. PoLoPo has won multiple innovation awards and has raised $2.3 million from leading food-tech investors including FoodLabs, Milk & Honey Ventures, CPT Capital, Siddhi Capital, Plug and Play, and Hack Capital. For more information visit www.polopo.tech.
