Dive Brief:
- Renaissance BioScience and its wholly owned subsidiary Renaissance Ingredients Inc. submitted a provisional patent application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for non-GMO acrylamide-reducing (AR) baker’s yeast.
- The World Health Organization considers acrylamide a Group IIA carcinogen. It is a by-product, not an added ingredient, of baking, roasting, or frying (above 120°C) foods containing asparagine, an amino acid. Acrylamide has been found in coffee and many carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, cereals, fries and potato chips.
- All the Renaissance AR yeast strains are traditional baker’s yeast. Testing has shown that the AR yeast naturally consumes the amino acid asparagine faster, which reduces acrylamide in foods by up to 95%.
Dive Insight:
In November 2013 the FDA issued non-binding industry guidelines concerning acrylamide but has otherwise taken a wait-and-see approach. The new yeast strains offer food manufacturers an option to reduce acrylamide in baked goods "with no disruption to the baking process" and no GMO concerns.
Renaissance also states that the AR yeast can be used in foods in which yeast is not normally an 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."