MycoTechnology accelerates honey truffle sweetener commercialization

22 Apr 2024 --- MycoTechnology has scaled production of its sweet protein from honey truffles — from a lab benchmark to 3,000-liter tanks — improving production process efficiency, optimizing costs and validating safety and digestibility. Meanwhile, safety evaluations indicate that the protein is not considered allergenic or toxic and can be fully digested in human digestive systems.

The company surpassed its initial timeline expectations after announcing the sweetener’s discovery less than a year ago. MycoTechnology notes that sweet proteins offer appealing, non-nutritive alternatives to sugar and artificial sweeteners. 

“Following global best practices in partnership with world-class industry experts, our findings suggest that honey truffle sweetener is likely to be an ideal general-purpose sweetener for foods and beverages,” comments Sue Potter, Ph.D., senior director of global regulatory affairs. 

“We’re confident in the results we’ve received so far, and we’re on track for regulatory submissions in key global jurisdictions.”

The company is also improving strain development, process yield and quality. It attempts to make the honey truffle sweetener economically competitive with sugar and other high-intensity sweeteners through simplified downstream processing, allowing for flexible and less capital-intensive manufacturing. 

Safety support   
The safety evaluations, including genetic testing for toxicity, allergenicity and digestibility, also indicate that the sweet protein breaks down completely into amino acids found in other dietary protein sources, such as meat, fish or eggs. 

According to in silico analysis, the molecule has minimal potential for other secondary effects beyond sweetness, as it has no similarity to other known protein structures. 

“Our team has achieved remarkable results, exceeding initial expectations for speed of scale-up, mechanistic understanding of the protein, sensory characterization and applications development with industry partners,” says Ranjan Patnaik, Ph.D., chief technology officer at MycoTechnology. 

“This progress reflects Myco’s unique ability to integrate discovery with commercial development to create innovative, impactful solutions from nature quickly.”

MycoTechnology is preparing for regulatory submissions and collaborating with industry partners to bring the sweetener to market.

Sweetener alternative 
According to MycoTechnology, the protein is the “first new naturally derived sweetener discovered in decades” and offers a clean label option for F&B manufacturers. 

The company isolated the protein responsible for the sweet taste of honey truffles. It used precision fermentation to produce the sweetener, with a clean taste profile and potency between 1,000 and 2,500 times sweeter than sucrose. 

F&B manufacturers increasingly focus on reducing sugar content while maintaining a complete sensory profile to address growing global sugar intake and meet consumer demand for healthier products. 

At the same time, there is an ongoing discussion on the safety and health benefits of low- or no-calorie sweeteners. Research indicates that these sweeteners are critical to healthy eating habits like weight management. 

However, the WHO cautioned against using non-sugar sweeteners for weight control last year. At the time, experts found the supporting evidence for this claim insufficient. 

By Jolanda van Hal