{"id":17944,"date":"2021-09-03T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T13:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=17944"},"modified":"2021-08-19T10:25:31","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T14:25:31","slug":"genetically-modified-microbial-rennet-how-vegetarian-is-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2021\/09\/03\/genetically-modified-microbial-rennet-how-vegetarian-is-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Genetically Modified Microbial Rennet: How Vegetarian Is It?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By\nJeanne Yacoubou, MS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nVegetarian Resource Group recently received an email inquiry from a food\nscientist. She asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs\ngenetically engineered microbial rennet considered vegetarian?…My question is\nnot just whether the genetically engineered microbial rennet is vegetarian, but\nthis rennet is added to milk to make cheese, and in the cheese-making process,\nwhey is produced, and this whey is concentrated to make whey protein isolate. I\nwould like to know if this end product “whey protein isolate” is\nconsidered vegetarian due to the use of genetically engineered microbial rennet\nin the manufacturing process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\nis how we responded in August 2021:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have\nyou seen an article<\/a> we did in 2012 on microbial rennets and fermentation\nproduced chymosin (FPC)? In that piece, we describe the bioengineering involved.\nWe point out exactly where and when the genetic code for an animal’s enzyme\n(specifically a bovine calf’s) comes into play to produce the active component\nof rennet known as chymosin. It is chymosin that does the actual work of\ncurdling cow’s milk during dairy cheese making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\nspeaking with enzyme company experts, I personally do not believe\nbovine-derived, bioengineered chymosin is vegetarian. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At\nsome point long ago, the genetic material encoding for bovine chymosin was\nremoved from an animal. This could have happened when rennet-containing\nmaterial or cells from a calf’s stomach were removed from the animal. Patent\napplications describe animal glands from a slaughterhouse as the source of the\ngenetic material. In any case, we know that the original process was never\nanimal-free. The goal was to extract and isolate the genetic code for the\ncheese-producing enzyme. This process is a form of bioengineering that produces\na genetically modified organism (GMO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enzyme\nmanufacture today, many generations of microbes later, depends on that first\nbovine. The gene encoding for bovine chymosin directs the microbes to produce\nbovine chymosin each and every time, even today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\ndon’t distinguish the two enzymes as (1) non-vegetarian originally, but (2)\ntransformed into being vegetarian many microbial generations later after (or\nbecause of) genetic bioengineering and microbial fermentation. The genetic code\nused, in both cases, is bovine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nis true that once the genetic material was removed from animal rennet, cells in\nthe calf’s stomach lining, or from the animal’s glands, no more animals were\nneeded. Animals aren’t used to make each batch of enzyme. Researchers extracted\nthe genetic blueprint from one animal\/animal organ and made copies of it in the\nlab via and in microbes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nthis basis, many vegetarians and cheese companies using FPC produced in this\nmanner consider cheese made with it as “vegetarian.” (They also\nconsider it \u201cnon-GMO.\u201d) Possibly, they do not consider animal genes as \u201canimal\nproducts\u201d or \u201canimal-derived ingredients.\u201d The presence of animal ingredients\nwould make their product non-vegetarian. No calf is used to make each fresh\nbatch of enzymes, either. So, they assert, bovine FPC must be vegetarian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\na result, you’ll find “vegetarian rennet” or \u201cvegetarian enzymes\u201d on\ndairy cheese labels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\ndescribed in our 2012 article linked to above, due to technological advances in\nfood science, there are cheese-producing enzymes originally formed from the\nencoding of genetic material (modified or not) belonging to a microbial<\/em>\nspecies and inserted into organisms of a different microbial<\/em> species to\nyield chymosin after fermentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\nenzymes are truly bioengineered \u201cmicrobial enzymes\u201d in every sense of that\nterm, known as FPC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possibly,\nthis biotechnological discovery was found through experimentation to yield\ngreater amounts of chymosin, or a type of chymosin that leads to better-tasting\ncheese. Maybe it was less expensive to manufacture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nwhatever reason, I would call it \u201cvegetarian rennet.\u201d I don’t know if or how\nmuch of these 100% authentically microbial chymosins exist today or, if they\ndo, what their market share is as compared to the bovine FPC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nany case, 90%+ of all dairy cheese in the United States is made with some type\nof FPC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which\ntype of FPC? Although The VRG has not done research this year on FPC, we\nsuspect that it is largely bovine chymosin produced through bioengineering as\ndescribed initially in this article that’s widely used today to make dairy\ncheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rennet or FPC in Whey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nThe VRG reported in 2008<\/a>, 90-95%\nof the small quantity of milk-curdling enzyme used to make a batch of cheese\nremains in the whey during dairy cheese making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So,\nto answer the second part of our inquirer’s question concerning the vegetarian\nstatus of whey protein isolate, the argument given above directly applies here\nas well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nmy view, whey and similar products derived from dairy cheese making using\nbovine FPC are not vegetarian. This is not the view shared by many vegetarians\nor by food and beverage companies selling products containing whey or related\ningredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nif a type of FPC that is completely free from all animal products, including\nanimal genes at any and all points during the development of the FPC from its\nfirst creation until now, is used to make cheese, then I would describe both\nthe enzyme and the cheese formed from it as vegetarian. Similarly, the whey and\nwhey-containing products formed during that<\/em> FPC’s use in cheese making\nwould also be vegetarian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VRG recommendation to companies regarding FPC and labeling of cheese\nand whey-containing products<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nVRG recommends that all companies using FPC to make dairy cheese, whey, whey\nprotein isolate, or products containing them specify on their labels and on\ntheir websites how their FPC was made. Then consumers will have all the\ninformation they need to determine if a product is right for them, whatever\ntheir dietary preference. They may even decide to choose vegan cheese<\/a>\ninstead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More\nspecifically, if their FPC resulted from the laboratory engineering of a calf’s\ngenetic material many microbial generations ago and inserted into a microbe’s\ngenetic makeup, then state it as such. If their FPC came from a uniquely microbial<\/em>\ntransfer of microbial <\/em>genetic information only<\/strong>, with no animal\ngenetic inputs ever, even at the beginning, then this should be so stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VRG\nreaders who have any further questions about FPC and its use in cheese or\nwhey-containing foods and beverages should contact food companies directly.\nThey, in turn, should contact their ingredient suppliers and hopefully relay\nsource information back to you. For tips on how to ask questions in order to\nmaximize your chance of receiving accurate information from food companies,\nthis VRG article<\/a> may be helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nmore ingredient information, see https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/ingredients\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ncontents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including\nVegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice.\nMedical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We\noften depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It\nis impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have\ndifferent views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about\nwhether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or\nconfirmation on your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS The Vegetarian Resource Group recently received an email inquiry from a food scientist. She asked: \u201cIs genetically engineered microbial rennet considered vegetarian?…My question is not just whether the genetically engineered microbial rennet is vegetarian, but this rennet is added to milk to make cheese, and in the cheese-making process, whey is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17944"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17946,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17944\/revisions\/17946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}