The British startup Clean Food Group is developing a sustainable, bioequivalent and laboratory-grown alternative to controversial palm oil. It is neutral in taste and color, as well as palm oil, but without its burden of environmental impact, deforestation, erosion and habitat loss in biodiverse regions.

Palm oil is a controversial ingredient. Its reputation has been obscured in recent years due to links to deforestation in biodiversity regions and the conversion of carbon-rich peat soils. However, the global palm oil market remains strong. In 2021, its value was estimated at $50.6 billion and is expected to reach $65.5 billion by 2027. Palm oil is the most consumed vegetable oil in the world. And because it is neutral in color and flavor, the ingredient is one of the favorite of food manufacturers.

Christopher Chuck, professor of Bioprocess Engineering at the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Bath, has been working on a yeast-based alternative to palm oil for the past eight years. In the first quarter of 2022, the relevant intellectual property was acquired by the Clean Food Group, of which Professor Chuck is the group's technical advisor. "Our dependence on palm oil has a huge environmental cost," Professor Chuck said.

"We have worked for many years to create robust alternatives to palm oil that give us a real opportunity to reduce the impact of a range of products that until now it was only possible to produce with palm oil and the deforestation, pollution and emissions that come with it."

Source: Agrolink