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An Auckland startup has been approved to scale up its production of dairy proteins using genetically modified yeasts.
Daisy Lab uses precision fermentation to make whey or casein products.
Those are then used to make things like ice cream or cheeses with much the same flavour and feel as cow-derived versions.
The big win is the lab-grown proteins have 90 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions per unit Daisy Lab's technique also means it could fit into existing dairy industry plant.
The startup, founded in 2020 by Irina Miller, Nikki Freed and Emily McIsaac is now working towards building a small plant, with the scale-up approval, it can produce batches of 5000 litres.
Irina Miller is chief executive of Daisy Lab.