Acrylamide-reducing yeast
Renaissance BioScience Corp, with its wholly owned subsidiary Renaissance Ingredients Inc, has announced the filing of a provisional application to the US Patent and Trademark Office for the patent of its non-GMO acrylamide-reducing (AR) baker’s yeast.
The application protects the company’s adaptively evolved yeast strains that naturally reduce acrylamide by up to 95 per cent in a variety of foods.
Acrylamide is a World Health Organisation Group IIA carcinogen that has been shown to be mutagenic and neurotoxic in a variety of laboratory animal studies. In 2002, acrylamide was identified in a range of common foods including bread, toast, potato chips, fries, cereals and coffee. Acrylamide is not added to foods, but forms naturally from the amino acid asparagine when foods are heated above 120 degrees centigrade (eg baking, roasting or frying).
“Our AR yeast is an important step towards solving the global health concerns posed by dietary acrylamide,” says Renaissance Ingredients president Dr Matthew Dahabieh. “Our testing, both in-house and with commercial partners, demonstrates that AR yeast reduces acrylamide by up to 95 per cent in a variety of foods.”
Renaissance’s AR yeast strains are traditional baker’s yeast with an accelerated natural ability to consume asparagine, thereby reducing acrylamide. As such, AR yeast can seamlessly replace conventional yeast without disruption to the baking process. Renaissance Ingredients has also conducted numerous successful studies using AR yeast in foods where yeast is not a traditional ingredient.
“Our in-house studies highlight the versatility and efficacy of our AR yeast in reducing acrylamide not only in baked goods and toast, but also in potato products, snack foods, cereal products and coffee. We are now looking to demonstrate this efficacy in pilot-scale trials by working closely with interested industry partners,” adds Dahabieh.
