Israeli startup paves way for eco-friendly ‘cowless’ dairy products

Tel Aviv [Spain], May 20 (ANI/TPS): The Rehovot-based Remilk company, a prominent player in developing and manufacturing dairy protein without animal involvement, received approval from Israel’s Health Ministry.

This significant regulatory milestone paves the way for Remilk’s non-animal dairy products to be marketed and sold to Israeli consumers. It also positions Israel as one of the pioneering countries in providing eco-friendly, genuine dairy products that are cow-, lactose- and cholesterol-free and devoid of antibiotics and growth hormones. I asked Alex Shandrovsky, an adviser for early-startup accelerators in the food tech industry, “Why?”

Recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly tasted a grouper filet constructed on a 3D printer. But, why do we need to recreate food? Why can’t a steak just be a steak? Or a glass of milk–simply be a glass of milk? The kind we get from a cow.

Israel’s food tech sector has witnessed a remarkable surge in investment, increasing from USD53 million in 2015 to USD 866 million in 2021. The sector encompasses a diverse range of cutting-edge solutions that include nutrition, cultured meat, new ingredients, alternative proteins, packaging and food safety, processing systems, retail, restaurant tech, health and wellness.

Israel, with the second-most food technology companies after the US, hosts more than 100 alternative protein companies. Forty per cent of them are startups with breakthrough technology that is shaping the future of our food.

According to Shandrovsky, the main drivers behind food innovation include providing the solution to feeding a growing population effectively.

“In 2050, it is expected that the global population will exceed 9 billion people,” he explained. “As the population grows, the middle class is expected to grow as well, making the demand for meat and dairy excessive to effectively feed the growing population. It all boils down to how we scale the farming to meet the demand.”

And, according to the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases–part of the National Institutes of Health–approximately 68 per cent of the world’s population is lactose intolerant. In some countries such as Ghana, Malawi, South Korea, and Yemen, 100% of the population is lactose intolerant.