Dutch Start-Up Envisions a Palm and Coconut Oil-Free Future

NoPalm Ingredients, a Dutch start-up is on a mission to disrupt the palm oil industry with microbial oil alternatives for the food industry, reports the FoodNavigator on August 09. Entrepreneur founders Lars Langhout, CEO and Jeroen Hugenholtz, CTO said they feel ‘obliged’ to step in with sustainable alternative to palm oil which has been linked to deforestation issues.  However, both acknowledge palm oil continues to be a sought-after commodity, which is present in approximately 50-70% of all packaged products found in the supermarket.
NoPalm Ingredients’ solution is designed to replace the use of palm, and other tropical oils, in food, cosmetics and detergents.  The approach is anti-waste and ‘circular by nature’. It crushes side streams such as potato peels, rejected vegetables, or any other biomass that contains either sugar, organic acids, or alcohol, to ferment with yeast, the report said.  Without revealing the specifics of the strain, the start-up said it was using a ‘wild yeast strain’. The yeast fills with lipids, which are harvested and used as a substitute for tropical oils, the report added.
The company expects its first microbial fat-based ingredients will reach the market in 2025, which is also when it plans to establish its own commercial facility.  However, before that happens, it will need to receive regulatory approval from relevant agencies like the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).  Presently though, the startup is fermenting at 100L scale, and is planning a 4,000L fermentation in September, Langhout said.