Brewing Innovation: The Continuing Rise of Precision Fermentation

Humans have been using fermentation for over 10,000 years. Over this time, we have found many uses for the natural products of microbial metabolism. The culturing of microorganisms has given us foodstuffs like beer, yoghurt, tempeh, and sauerkraut.

More recently, advancements in genetic engineering have taken fermentation a step further. Microorganisms such as yeast can be modified to produce specific protein structures, using sugars as a food source. Originally used to manufacture biomolecular pharmaceuticals such as insulin, these techniques, collectively known as precision fermentation, are now being deployed to produce foodstuffs at scale.

Power in precision

An area of focus is the production of high-value ingredients, usually human- or animal-derived, which are traditionally expensive and resource-intensive to obtain from livestock farming. For example, Turtle Tree, a Singaporean biotechnology company, have cultivated microbe cultures which can produce pure lactoferrin, a protein responsible for iron transport and a key component of the human immune system. Although lactoferrin is abundant in human milk, commercial supplies have traditionally been obtained from cow milk at great cost. Precision fermentation allows Turtle Tree to produce cheaper lactoferrin with reduced land use and lower carbon emissions. They call their product LF+ and its success has led to a partnership with Novonesis, which will be aimed at scaling and commercializing LF+ for early life nutrition.

Turtle Tree are not alone. All G also use precision fermentation to produce lactoferrin.Better Dairy, who we have previously discussed (see our earlier blog ‘Cheese without Cows’), have used precision fermentation to produce everything from cheese to osteopontin, a protein found in bones. EVERY use modified yeast to produce an analogue for beaten eggs which replicate the nutritional profile and cooking properties of chicken eggs. Sun Bear Biofutures have modified oil-producing yeast to yield palm oil and cocoa butter equivalents, potentially eliminating thousands of miles from these products’ supply chains.

Growing commercial interest is being accompanied by increasing acceptance from industry regulators. In 2025, Turtle Tree received a regulatory green light from the FDA for their precision-fermented lactoferrin. In 2026, the UK government has identified precision fermentation as a technology with potential high impact and near-term feasibility in their Thematic Report on Emerging Food Innovations in the UK, saying “the technology is well established and scalable … and it is being applied to produce newer, more complex functional ingredients”, and stating that some products of precision fermentation, such as rennet and human-identical milk, are already approved and widely available in the UK.

When biology meets engineering

The wide range of small companies demonstrating different applications of precision fermentation and the recognition of this technology by regulatory bodies signals a shift in focus within the field. The primary challenges associated with bringing precision fermentation products to market have moved from feasibility to scalability.

Despite the promise of the products described above, they cannot compete with their traditional alternatives when produced at lab scale and maintaining productivity in much larger industrial reactors is not straightforward. Challenges relating to oxygen transfer, heat removal, mixing, and contamination control must all be addressed.

Food packaging giant Tetrapak has taken notice and developed the Bioreactor RF, an industrial scale bioreactor which aims to overcome many of the hurdles associated with scaling up precision fermentation. For example, the Bioreactor RF does not require the shaft seals associated with conventional mechanically driven agitators, a source of contamination for precision fermentation batches, and uses magnetic agitation instead.

However, challenges in industrial scale precision fermentation remain.  Future progress will be driven as much by developments in large-scale engineering as by genetic and biomolecular advancements. The breadth of innovation within precision fermentation means that patent protection will have to extend well beyond engineered microorganisms. Valuable intellectual property may arise from genetic constructs, fermentation processes, feedstock formulations, purification methods, reactor designs, and food products incorporating fermentation-derived ingredients. Those seeking patents for their precision fermentation enterprises will have to consider innovations at all scales as they develop an IP strategy.

Jane Liu, Senior Associate and Patent Attorney at Mewburn Ellis comments:

“Precision fermentation now accounts for around a third of food innovation activity in the UK, making it one of the most active areas in the alternative protein sector. As regulatory frameworks continue to develop and products move closer to mainstream adoption, innovators are increasingly focusing on how to differentiate their technologies. Thoughtful IP strategies will be an important part of that, helping businesses protect the innovations that underpin long-term commercial success.”