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Biotech United States

First Chicken-Free Egg White Product Reaches US Markets (newatlas.com) 106

Posted by BeauHD from the first-of-its-kind dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from New Atlas: One of the first products made using a novel animal-free egg white is now available in the United States. The unique macarons are the first to be made with an egg white protein that comes from engineered yeast, designed to be indistinguishable from what is found in chicken eggs. The Every Company, founded in 2014 under the name Clara Foods, is one of several food technology companies working to create real animal-free proteins using a method called precision fermentation. The idea behind the process is to break down certain animal products, such as milk and eggs, to their molecular components and then use microorganisms to produce those components. Earlier this year the first cow-free dairy milk using this method hit supermarket shelves in the United States. That product was created using whey proteins from engineered fungus, while other companies are working on similar dairy products using engineered yeast to produce the desired milk proteins.

The Every Company has spent the last few years focusing on using the same technique to produce chicken-free egg whites, working with engineered yeast to produce proteins found in egg whites. The company has not disclosed the specific combination of proteins used to create its final egg white product, however it is likely ovalbumin -- the primary protein component in egg whites -- plays a strong role in the recipe. Arturo Elizondo, CEO of Every Company, said the new egg white product functions exactly like a chicken-derived egg white. It whips, aerates and bakes in ways identical to traditional egg whites, and the company has teamed up with San Francisco-based bakery Chantal Guillon to launch the product in a line of iconic French macarons. The chicken-free egg white is the third animal-free product created by the Every Company. Its first fully commercialized product was an animal-free pepsin, launched in early 2021.
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First Chicken-Free Egg White Product Reaches US Markets More

First Chicken-Free Egg White Product Reaches US Markets

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  • Why in the world would you want this?

    I mean, you don't have to kill a chicken to get the egg to eat it....so, what's the point of making an artificial one even to vegetarians?

    If if only to vegans, they're such a small percentage of humans on the face of the earth....will they ever pay back all the development costs, etc..

    And can all they have to go through to produce this even be cheaper than just letting a chicken to eat bugs, etc....and old enough to start naturally producing eggs?

    I see this as a solu

    • "Why in the world would you want this?"

      A Vegan île flottante?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dgatwood ( 11270 )

      Why in the world would you want this?

      My guess would be that for mass production, in the long term, it will be easier and cheaper than separating the eggs. And if you think that's an easy task, the yolk's on you.

      • Speak of yolk, that is the more nourishing part of the egg. It had a bad rap for 30 years, thanks mostly in part to vegan activists, that was undeserved because we didn't understand dietary cholesterol, which it turns out is completely harmless, and if you have high cholesterol it isn't because you had too many eggs, or even meat.

        • Not sure I'd call it harmless, but it is true that high cholesterol is usually there for metabolic reasons (i.e., resistance to insulin, leptin, ghrelin and similar hormones, and, hence, the whole interlocking spectrum of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, tendency toward early heart failure, stroke, etc.).

          It is a leading indicator; many people test for high cholesterol before they manifest other symptoms of metabolic syndrome, so it's a great early warning to exercise more and to eat less c

          • Not sure I'd call it harmless

            I'm not an expert on the topic, but my understanding on this is that back in the 70s a study was done that erroneously concluded that dietary cholesterol raises blood cholesterol. Later on we found out that it only does so if you have really low cholesterol to begin with. In other words, your body uses the cholesterol you provide it only if it actually needs it. If your serum already has all of the cholesterol that your liver determines that it needs, your liver breaks down the extra cholesterol and uses it

            • Lowering intake of sugar and other high-glycemic carbs is often enough to halt or even reverse metabolic syndrome. I was able to do that once, although life changes beyond my immediate control have pushed me back into "all-carbs, all the time" mode, and I'm struggling to find a way back.

    • I can see a reason for both just not today.

      Long term space travel and colonization will require a rethink on how food is produced. Something like this is a lab which means it could be done aboard ship and you dont have to figure out if chickens can fly in zero g letslone produce eggs

      • I, for one, want a space chicken.

        I already have chickens, and they produce delicious, healthy eggs. They're happy chickens - they get to roam in the yard and eat worms and bugs and whatever else. I have zero desire for artificial egg whites, and assuming I was in space I would still have no desire for artificial egg whites.

        Give me space chicken, or give me earth.

        • Will those chickens continue to live when their production declines? Commercial layers don't. And their brothers most certainly are not happy (or alive).

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by slazzy ( 864185 )
      1. To start with to end up with a living egg-laying chicken you typically kill roosters since they hatch at about a 1:1 ratio...
      2. Most egg-laying chickens live in deplorable conditions (some are great, MOST are terrible living in cages pooping on top of each other for their entire lives)
      3. When chickens stop laying enough eggs (after 1-2 years of their 15 year lifespan, they're killed off)

      Personally, I'm a meat eater but I try to find more environmentally options and animal-friendly options where po
      • And when the chickens are killed= you have meat. Chickens can convert "stuff" into protein.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by hazem ( 472289 )

          And when the chickens are killed= you have meat. Chickens can convert "stuff" into protein.

          Typically chickens used for eggs are not desirable as meat sources because they tend to be less tender, less nutritious, and taste gamier. Different chickens are usually used for each purpose.

          • Typically chickens used for eggs are not desirable as meat sources because they tend to be less tender, less nutritious, and taste gamier. Different chickens are usually used for each purpose.

            None of it goes to waste in any case. My cat is not picky about her chicken.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dbialac ( 320955 )
        So why aren't you in line buying newborn roosters along with hens beyond their prime and raising them in favorable conditions?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Rhipf ( 525263 )

        You realize that this new method of making "egg whites" involves yeast living in deplorable conditions pooping on each other as well? Once the yeast has done its job it is also unceremoniously killed off. About the only thing this method has over traditional egg production is that all members of the community get to suffer the same fate and there is no culling of the males.

        8^)

    • Why in the world would you want this?

      Preface: I am an ethusiastic meat/egg/dairy consumer.

      But I recognize that the mass production of animal products can frequently be problematic because while I have no problem eating animals and their products, I do have a problem with them being mistreated for however long their lives are.

      Hence here we are, mass production of eggs is an industry rife with abuse and so if I was given an option for something that is exactly like eggs but doesn't involve chickens, then I'm all in favor.

      So if they get it right

    • my first thought was the same. however then i started thinking about the possibilities that may come from this technology and on that level, im pretty interested in what else can be done, that isnt pandering to the foodie fad of the week

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by kellin ( 28417 )

      I take it you're not a fan of Star Trek? I mean, this is basically the pre-cursor to a food replicator. We need to get to a post-scarcity society, and this is just an early step.

      My only concern is whether or not it really is a nutritionally viable substitute.

      • Thing about that though is that people on earth in Trek are still making wine the old fashioned way, presumably so they can experience seasonality and terroir, but those are also factors in every other food so we can assume that they're still doing it with at least animal products, if not actual meat. The crew on Voyager were willing to eat Neelix's cooking just to get a change from replicator food. They could have just shoved all his ingredients into the system and then used the mass for replication, but t

    • I wonder if it looks anything like pig semen?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Misagon ( 1135 )

      An article [newatlas.com] linked to from the article mentions that
      - Land use could be reduced ~90%
      - Greenhouse gas emissions reduced 34% to 72%, partly dependent on which energy source you'd use.

      I would also anticipate less health risk if you could omit having live chicken: No risk of salmonella, no bird flu, etc.

      Of course nothing beats a real egg if you want a real egg (no pun intended), but if all you need is the egg-white protein for making other products, then why not?

    • Because typically the conditions for the chicken are still pretty horrible even in the factories they're willing to show on camera [youtu.be].

    • be cheaper than just letting a chicken to eat bugs, etc

      Letting a chicken eat bugs, etc is the most expensive way to produce eggs. You have zero clues about food production. Please don't comment.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by PPH ( 736903 )

        Letting a chicken eat bugs, etc is the most expensive way to produce eggs.

        Besides, we are going to need those bugs to feed humans soon.

    • Won't someone think of the yeast?!

      I would have thought that anyone who was trying to get away from animal-based food products would also be strongly opposed to consuming "engineered" food as well.

      This looks like a solution in search of a problem to me.

    • Why in the world would you want this?

      Most of the resources used in making eggs go to keeping the hen alive. If you can replace the hen with yeast, it is much more efficient. About 90% more efficient depending how you measure it. [vox.com]

      Expect to see prices for plant based foods become much, much cheaper than animal based products once the technology is mature, and the patents expire.

      Here is a good video on the topic. [youtu.be]

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dbialac ( 320955 )
        One thing that is missed frequently is that just because you make something that you think is better or you like doesn't mean other people want it.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by donkeyb ( 965462 )

        ...and the patents expire.

        And therein lies a problem - I don't remember having to wait for the patent to expire on the chicken that I eat.

      • I really hope prices do drop. That hasn't happened yet unfortunately.

        I can't digest animal products. I used to pay a pretty good premium to have plant-based "burgers" and "meatballs" and other prepared meals and whatnot, but the current economic climate has pretty much killed my ability to afford them.

        There are other good ways to get cheap protein (beans, mushrooms, pea protein powder, TVP and other cheap soy products, etc.), but those require time, which also is in short supply. The convenience factor o

    • in factory farms. But it's probably more because if this works out it would be a *lot* cheaper. Much, much less energy because you're not keeping a chicken alive to make eggs. Also a much more controlled environment. No need to worry about anti-biotics, your chickens fighting , etc, etc.

    • As the population grows, sustaining massive chicken farms to keep up with egg needs will not be possible. Have you ever been to a chicken farm? 70,000 birds in a single building. Even "free range" is a marketing gimmick. They get 2sqft of space and are legally considered "free range". I wonder about people with allergies if this stuff will help too.

      • Stop assuming shitty USA animal welfare standards are the norm in the rest of the developed world. There is a reason they have to chlorine wash everything in the USA and still have salmonella rates more the 10 times that in the UK, And that is because your animal welfare and food hygiene regulations are third world.

      • As the population grows

        Well, as I understand it...especially in the western countries..population is actually slowing, not growing.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dbialac ( 320955 )
      Vegetarians and Vegans are looking for ways that they can enjoy meat without actually eating meat. For some reason, they think the rest of us want fake meat as well. Related, I don't know how the vegetarian/vegan natural foods people are going to get their heads around this type of processed food.

    • This really has very little to do with vegans even though it happens to be a vegan product. Despite man's efforts to domesticate and selectively breed animals to be outstanding protein sources, they are no longer the most economical or environmentally friendly means to get at those proteins. When the goal is to eat a steak or an over easy egg you'll be going to "the source" for a while. However, simpler products like milk, egg whites or fast food ground beef are excellent targets for lab based replacement.

    • Chickens don't make eggs for humans to eat. The truth, that very few people understand, is that synthetic is better than natural. Natural has all kinds of toxins, and you have no idea what molecules are in a natural product. Did you know that any natural product has literally tens of thousands of molecules of various structures? Cholesterol various other mad toxins. The liver has to deal with them, and (literally) only God knows the long term side effects of all the crap that is in a given natural food. I m

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by havana9 ( 101033 )
      For the same reason that margarine or vegetable-based fats are used in industrial products instead of butter. Is going to be cheaper and more straightforward to use in an industrial food factory.

      • For the same reason that margarine or vegetable-based fats are used in industrial products instead of butter.

        Not a great example to use...considering the harmful health effects that have been found from consuming things like margarine, etc....

    • Why in the world would you want this?

      I mean, you don't have to kill a chicken to get the egg to eat it....so, what's the point of making an artificial one even to vegetarians?

      If if only to vegans, they're such a small percentage of humans on the face of the earth....will they ever pay back all the development costs, etc..

      And can all they have to go through to produce this even be cheaper than just letting a chicken to eat bugs, etc....and old enough to start naturally producing eggs?

      I see this as a solution in search of a problem.

      No chicken -> Egg. This *IS* the solution to *THE* problem. We have officially won "Science" :)

    • For one thing, many people are intensely allergic to eggs.

      Some unfortunately may be allergic to these as well, given the chemical similarity.

  • ...an egg-white product then, is it? Sort of like "plant-based meat" or other terminology that flies in the face of reality.

    • It definitely isn't, but if you get to the same place in the end, the difference is irrelevant when it comes to use. It's not irrelevant to vegans, though I'm still not sure how they got here from vega.

    • It does appear that unlike "plant based meat" the production of ovalbumin by the fungus means that it's the same protein that makes up part of egg whites. At this point, it's not 100% identical as ovalbumin only makes up part of the protein in egg whites. Perhaps they will engineer fungus to produce the other components.
      Personally, I have little use for egg whites. For me, it's all about the yolk.
      • This might replace eggs in cooking, for those who can't have them. That includes not only vegans, but the many people who are allergic to eggs, provided, of course, that the ovalbumin is not the specific thing they are allergic to.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hawk ( 1151 )

      >...an egg-white product then, is it?

      yeah, just the white.

      So it seems that the yolk's on them . . . :_)

  • Ah yes, I too wish to visit the Mycogen District. I hear it's the best microfood to be found anywhere on Trantor.

  • Having to put seeds in the ground or take care (or not) of animals for food is a stupid and unsustainable way to mass produce food. Imagine a world where a few days of factory operation can generate the equivalent of the nations supply of egg white.
    • I bet you would line right up for some soylent green...

    • Ah yes, imagine the tasteless, boring mass of nutrients and proteins to sap all enjoyment from life. Imagine a world where food has no real taste, no real variety. Where "farm fresh egg" is a flavor of cartoned genetically modified yeast product instead of something that comes from a shell out of the hind end of a chicken, and tastes vaguely like egg and vaguely like the shelf-stable container it's been in for the last 3 years.

      This is not a world in which I want to live. I eat because it's necessary, but

      • We wont have a choice and after half a generation of what you describe, people wont know anything else.

      • Ah yes, imagine the tasteless, boring mass of nutrients and proteins to sap all enjoyment from life. Imagine a world where food has no real taste, no real variety. Where "farm fresh egg" is a flavor of cartoned genetically modified yeast product instead of something that comes from a shell out of the hind end of a chicken, and tastes vaguely like egg and vaguely like the shelf-stable container it's been in for the last 3 years.

        This is not a world in which I want to live. I eat because it's necessary, but also because I *enjoy* good food. And good food does not come from "a few days of factory operation."

        It's just another option. If you could scale this up to cost less, I will buy a ton of the stuff. I would love a ton of healthy and nutritious egg whites at a lower cost than what I pay today. It's similar to fresh fruit vs frozen. I love a good fresh strawberry, but if I am going to run it through the blender and mix it with something for a smoothie, I use cheaper, more sustainable frozen strawberries.

        I am an omnivore with no serious food restrictions. I enjoy eggs too. If I want something that tas

        • My cost is somewhere around $0.14/egg for something fresh and tasty that includes both a white and a yolk. For $20 in feed a month, I get more eggs than I can possibly use (about 3dz/week). I don't really feel the need to go cheaper, but if I did I could buy feed for about half the price (I just buy the fancy stuff because the chickens like it and the eggs taste better w/ the higher protein content).

          I guess for city-dwellers the cost argument could almost make sense, except that it would still be far chea

      • We're talking about egg whites here, dumbass. Add a single regular egg and some fucking pepper - you'll enjoy it. Reducing consumption doesn't mean eliminating it. And I guarantee you that your pretentious fat ass is eating plenty of ingredients that come from factory operation and you don't even know the difference.

  • That's it. Just don't.

    • For profit. Fixes the problem of wanting to sell something.

    • It (agriculture) is broken. Most of the resources used in making eggs go to keeping the hen alive. If you can replace the hen with yeast is much more efficient. About 90% more efficient depending how you measure it. [vox.com]

      Expect to see prices for plant based foods become much, much cheaper than animal based products once the technology is mature, and the patents expire.

      • I'd still like a real egg, please. Thanks. Unlike you, I've never had any moral dilemmas surrounding animals and their rights.

        • I'd still like a real egg, please. Thanks. Unlike you, I've never had any moral dilemmas surrounding animals and their rights.

          You didn't even read my comment...

          Moral dilemmas aside, the economic case for this technology is staggering.

        • Psst, you still can, dummy. This is about economic benefit and reduction of consumption, not the elimination of it. Your fat ass will still have plenty of real eggs to douse in hot sauce.

      • > yeast is much more efficient

        We don't even know all of the molecular components of egg - biology is constantly discovering new things. The idea that we're done with discovery and are ready for engineering is belied by dozens of papers a year.

        This method produces one set of proteins to make something that can fool a person into thinking they're eating an egg.

        Who pays for the related healthcare costs stemming from micronutrient malnutrition?

        Our chickens here eat mostly creepy crawlies and grain we put up

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Misagon ( 1135 )

      The existence of Salmonella in US eggs, is something that I find to be broken.

      In Europe and Japan, people like to eat raw or half-cooked eggs.
      In the US, people don't eat raw eggs because they are expected to infect you with Salmonella.
      In the US, eggs are washed to remove bacteria on the shell, whereas they are not in Europe. Washing reduces the shelf life and increases the risk of infection after the washing. US eggs are refrigerated to counterbalance the reduced shelf life caused by washing.

      But why do egg

      • Note that the UK was next to no salmonella in the chicken population, a radical change compared to 30 years ago when most eggs/chickens in the UK where contaminated with salmonella. A couple of years ago now we went a whole year in the UK without a single salmonella death.

      • Almost all of our (U.S.) chickens are raised in horrific and unsanitary conditions that even most of us here are not aware of. Google "CAFO" (concentrated animal feeding operation) if you'd like more detail, but, unless you have a very strong stomach, you probably don't.

        The severe health impact is not only to the animals, but to those who consume them also.

  • accordingly, whatever. You can keep your Beyond Trash too, I'll stay right here in the Matrix with the real fucking steaks and eggs.

  • Why not just get these products from chickens and cows? Like humans have for hundreds of millennia. I doubt there is any improvement in nutrition or taste. In fact nutrition probably took a hit.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dbialac ( 320955 )
      I do agree with one part of this development, but not for earth-based consumption. We are at the dawn of becoming a space based species. It isn't easy to build a space ship. Right now it's much harder to build a space ship that will accommodate a chicken, let alone a cow.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by rlwinm ( 6158720 )
        Space exploration requires that we carry a subset of our biosphere with us. For true long space travel I have to wonder why not carry chickens and cows with us? And the associated plants. The big challenge to this is artificial gravity - which we kinda know how to do. It may seem like wasted mass on a spacecraft until you realize the redundancy benefits chickens and cows get you in terms of life support.

        We as a species need our complex support system to really come with us. Plus if we do attempt to colon
  • I'll take the real egg. It's not like there's a world shortage. Seems like a solution is search of a problem.
    • Or, you know, it will be significantly cheaper to make, is perfectly fine for many in the population and doesn't take away the ability to eat natural egg whites as you see fit. Shit, you can probably just mix in an egg with this and never know the difference. This isn't some woke environmental conspiracy at work here - it's good old capitalism, you just aren't the market for it, and that's fine.
  • I thought it was interesting that the summary and article referred to "engineered fungus". That would be genetically modified fungus. Personally, I'm not afraid of GMO, but there are others that are. Will it be more acceptable because it's a fungus and not corn or soybeans or some animal? Or if its purpose is to remove animals from the food chain will that make GMOs more palatable to others?
    Covid vaccines seem to make GMOs a little more acceptable. Will "milk" or "egg whites" also be acceptable?

    • Covid vaccines seem to make GMOs a little more acceptable.

      How are these things even remotely related?

      • Because you have an interesting dichotomy. Some people that refuse to eat GMO food were quite willing to have GMO vaccine injected directly into their bodies. Those people may now realize the inconsistency of their position.

        The converse case would not be affected, those who were willing to eat GMO food will probably be willing to eat this too, but might still refuse to have GMO vaccines pumped into their bodies.

        Those who object to chemistry set food will object to this egg substitute as well.

        • might still refuse to have GMO vaccines pumped into their bodies.

          These are genetically engineered vaccines, they are not GMOs. A virus is not an organism and a vaccine that uses part of a virus cannot even reproduce in a human.

      • Because that's how some Covid vaccines were created. Along with strange political motivations, some people refuse to take Covid vaccine due to GMO fears. https://allianceforscience.cor... [cornell.edu]

        • A virus is not an organism. Ergo, the vaccine is not a GMO. You may believe this is mere pedantry but organisms can all live and reproduce on their own but a virus cannot much less a vaccine which only uses a section of the virus. Additionally, the complexity of an organism is also muuuuch higher as the simplest organism (Mycoplasma genitalium) has 580,070 base pairs while the vaccine has a mere 3,822 base pairs.

          • I'm sure that will go over well with the anti-GMO crowd. Tell them that modifying something with fewer base pairs is safer than something with more base pairs.
            I'm not anti-GMO. I don't think I'll become a mutant by eating a GMO tortilla chip dipped in salsa made with GMO tomatoes. But the people who are afraid of those *and* Covid vaccines are the ones I originally was referring to.
            Given the recent global havoc caused by "a virus", I think it's might be a difficult sell to tell people that a geneticall

            • To be clear, I wasn't trying to convince anyone that it was somehow safer. My point was simply that "GMO" is a HUGE misnomer because not only is it not an organism, not only can it not reproduce, but it's only a small part of the original thing. It's like saying you built a custom car and the only thing you made was the car door.

              The only thing I'm trying to convince people of is to not call it something it is not.

    • There are Vegans who avoid industrial processed foods and they would likely not go for this product for philosophical reasons. There are others who might follow a "vegan diet" for environmental reasons or to avoid animal cruelty, and a product like this might be great for them. It would be interesting if it has less allergy potential than real eggs, but I don't know if that's the case.

  • Factory workers, travel agents, cashiers, truck and taxi drivers, and now chickens fear the loss of jobs as automation and technology keeps marching on. With the coming wave of egg replacements, it appears we'll have to focus on retraining chickens for new jobs in other industries. All we need now on top of everything else in the world is a massive wave of unemployed chickens running about and living off of handouts. On the other hand, it's the humane thing to do so I'm all for it.
  • I cannot find the egg whites or the cow free milk for sale after a quick Google search. Call me skeptical.

  • Folks - egg whites are the least desirable part. All of the vitamins, proteins, fat, cholesterol, etc are in the Yolk. Anything made with the whites is usually a sugary product, which makes it bad for you. Sure, in an Agile sense, starting with the whites makes sense. Its the easiest, and can be broken down into protein powder. But nothing is achieved until they get the yolk. Flavor-wise too.

  • I can't wait to guzzle this stuff as part of a Tik Tok challenge! ....Then I am going walk into an open elevator shaft. :)

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