Enifer and Valio team up to bring PEKILO® protein to the dinner table

News
2 November, 2023
Elisa Arte
Ingredient Development Manager

PEKILO® has shown its potential as our future food. The path from fungus to our dinner table has been long, but now we are only a few years away from having the mycoprotein in our plates.

The prominent topic of future food production and its effects on our environment is a topic that can’t be bypassed. Our current customs of consuming food are not sustainable. Sustainable food production is necessary, and cellular agriculture is one answer to the demand of future food production, reasons Elisa Arte, Enifer’s Ingredient Development Manager.

Food culture is in a constant change and development. Soon, we may have food that we couldn’t even imagine, which is great because we need significant changes in our food customs. When we include more sustainable options in the market to choose from, it will be easier to choose ethical and environmentally friendly products”, says Arte.

Arte is leading the development of PEKILO® – a fungus known as mycoprotein produced by cellular agriculture – to human food. As a significant high protein source, PEKILO® is a sustainable solution for future food needs. But first, it must undergo a process to ensure the product for example meets EU legislation.

From fungus to food

PEKILO® was developed from fungus in the 70s and had a history of fifteen years in farming used as fodder. In 2020 Enifer (formerly eniferBio) saw the potential of the forgotten mycoprotein in the food industry. Its nutritional value in high-protein and dietary fibre content was considered as an alternative food source for the near future.

We already eat foods where similar production processes have been utilised or that contain fungus similar to PEKILO®“, Arte says.

Making fodder into human food is not far-fetched. For example, oats have been and still are commonly used as fodder, but are also part of most people’s everyday diet. PEKILO® might have a similar path. Arte highlights that PEKILO® is an ingredient to be offered to companies that will create the final food product. An agreement with Valio has already been signed, and new products are constantly being tested

Sustainable solutions from fermentation

Cellular agriculture allows the production of edible proteins through fermentation and therefore requires less natural resources: only a small amount of water and growing land area.

PEKILO® is not only sustainable to produce but also an excellent example of a product that can be entirely created by side stream“, Arte says.

The use of by-products will not only make it more sustainable, but also lowers the production costs. Also as a mycoprotein, PEKILO® is less sensitive to price fluctuation caused by external factors such as environmental conditions. PEKILO® has enormous potential, but for Arte, one of the most relevant factors when talking about food is taste. Arte describes PEKILO®’s taste as mild and pleasant, easy to use as the base of food products.

I want PEKILO® to be the mycoprotein, but PEKILO® alone won’t resolve the challenges of future food production. In cooperation with other actors, the impact will be even greater“, Arte states