YOKNE’AM ILLIT, ISRAEL – Phytolon and Ginkgo Bioworks have completed the first development milestone of their collaboration to produce food colors. The partnership, which began in February 2022, aims to produce vibrant betalain pigments spanning the yellow-to-purple spectrum using cell engineering. Betalain pigments are found in food like beets and cactus fruit, according to Phytolon, which added it has improved the efficiency of its yeast strains to generate colors that offer cost-efficient replacements to artificial dyes.
Based in Yokne’am Illit, Phytolon offers food colors via fermentation-based technologies. The company expects to soon bring a full color palette enabled by the two yeast strains to the market.
“This achievement puts our colors at the forefront to efficiently replace artificial dyes in our food and create a healthy and sustainable world,” said Tal Zeltzer, co-founder and chief technology officer of Phytolon. “Our clients are now able to explore high-performing natural colors in their brands, covering the full range from purple to pink, red, orange, and yellow shades.”
Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks is building a platform for cell programming and biosecurity.
“We are thrilled to see our collaboration with Phytolon accelerate, and we’re proud to be a driving force behind the realization of this milestone and the R&D breakthroughs it represents,” said Kevin Madden, senior vice president of commercialization at Ginkgo Bioworks. “Ginkgo natural product services have enabled Phytolon’s products to be competitive worldwide and create a broader palette of options for the industry.”
