By infopadweb 21 January 2026
AFIDOP AND UNIVERSITÀ CATTOLICA – A SCIENTIFIC STUDY TO PROTECT THE IDENTITY OF PDO AND PGI CHEESES: RESEARCH FINDINGS
January 2026
In today’s context, new food technologies risk being perceived, without adequate assessment, as more sustainable solutions than traditional production systems linked to conventional livestock farming and specific territories, such as those characterizing PDO and PGI cheeses.
For this reason, AFIDOP initiated a collaboration with the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, through the research centre TROFIC (Transdisciplinary Research On Food Issues Center), to carry out an independent study. The objective was to provide scientific evidence on the efficiency of producing milk proteins in cellular factories through precision fermentation, to assess food safety, and to determine the environmental impact of this technology in comparison with sustainable livestock farming systems.
The activity was structured to deliver an objective assessment of precision fermentation. Specifically, the research aimed to determine whether cellular production platforms could represent a real alternative to traditional production through the development of a specific yeast strain (Komagataella phaffii).
Research Objectives
The study, coordinated by Prof. Pier Sandro Cocconcelli, focused on three main objectives. First, it measured the actual efficiency of producing bovine beta-casein within a bioreactor. At the same time, a comprehensive food safety assessment was conducted, following the stringent standards established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Finally, the research addressed sustainability by calculating the environmental impact of the process using the PEF 3.0 methodology, enabling a direct comparison between biotechnological production and the traditional cow’s milk supply chain.
Results
The study showed that while it is technically possible to produce milk proteins that are structurally identical to bovine proteins, the technology still presents significant limitations. The production yield reached approximately 300 mg/L of beta-casein, a value dramatically lower than the average 26 g/L naturally present in cow’s milk.
From a food safety perspective, the analysis detected the presence of residual recombinant DNA in the final product, containing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. Although no immediate toxicological risks were identified, this finding entails strict regulatory requirements, including mandatory classification and labelling as a GMO product, and necessitates the adoption of more advanced purification strategies.
One of the most relevant findings concerns sustainability. Casein production via precision fermentation showed significantly higher environmental impacts compared to cow’s milk. For each gram of protein produced, the biotechnological system generated an environmental burden 15 to 1,000 times greater than that of the traditional supply chain. This result is mainly due to the high energy demand and resource consumption required for bioreactor operation and substrate sterilization.
Under current technological conditions, cow’s milk remains the most efficient and sustainable system for supplying milk proteins. The full research results are available for download on this page.
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Activity carried out with MASAF funds granted under Ministerial Decree No. 0672678 of 20/12/2024. CUP J88H24002550007 |