The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued an approval letter allowing US food technology startup BMC Ingredients to sell its Rhiza mycoprotein in India, where the company plans to launch in the second quarter of 2027.
India is the fourth market to clear Rhiza, after the United States, Singapore and Canada. BMC Ingredients, formerly The Better Meat Co, makes it by submerged fermentation of the fungus Neurospora crassa, which has a long history in foods such as Indonesia's fermented oncom. During fermentation the fungus forms a dense mesh of fibres with a chewy texture, so no extraction is needed: the biomass is filtered, diced, dried, shredded and sieved.
The company says Rhiza contains 45 to 51 percent protein and 30 percent fibre. It sells it to food makers in two forms: RhizaTex chunks for meat analogues and blended meat, and RhizaPro powder for dairy alternatives, smoothies, bars, pasta and baked goods.
"Indians want more protein, but they don't have to get it from meat or processed isolates like whey," said co-founder and chief executive Paul Shapiro. Green Queen notes that fermented proteins are a fast-growing segment in India, where several brands now sell yeast protein powders, while one analysis finds the risk of protein deficiency in Indian adults is low once protein quality is accounted for.
BMC Ingredients closed a $31 million Series A round last year and runs a 9,000-litre bioreactor at a demonstration plant in Sacramento. A contract manufacturer in Asia is to scale production to 100 dry tonnes a month from the second quarter of 2027, when Rhiza is due to enter India and Canada. The company says it has five agreements with meat producers in the Americas and Asia projected to bring $13 million a year. The report is by Anay Mridul.
Photo: Roland Gromes / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Green Queen
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