BioTork, LLC, a Florida-based biotechnology company has created a sustainable, GMO-free, vegan omega-3 oil produced from algae. This omega-3 oil will be launched in the nutraceutical, feed and food industries worldwide as a direct replacement to fish oil.
Until now, the performance of algae has been either improved through genetic modification or rely on wild microbes, and generally uses a refined and costly substrate. Not only are GMOs an issue for entry into a consumer sector, but also relying on an expensive process is a major drawback for having a competitive product. BioTork’s product is naturally evolved, not genetically modified, and therefore does not carry the GMO label.
BioTork’s omega-3 oil is 100 percent from algae and can therefore be consumed by vegans and vegetarians. The algae is grown on several agro-industrial waste or by-products that are globally massively available. These substrates are completely renewable.
Eudes de Crecy, CEO of BioTork, commenting about the company’s future involvement in the omega-3 industry: “We will have the means to seriously move the lines in this global challenge of delivering alternative omega-3 sources. This will help alleviate the current supply/demand issues and contribute to a much higher quality food.”
In addition to overfishing issues, fish also accumulate mercury and other heavy metals through their diet, and therefore fish oil contains at the very least trace amounts of mercury and heavy metals. Algae does not contain such heavy metals and therefore BioTork’s omega-3 oil is free of heavy metals.
Manufacturers also often use solvents to extract DHA from oil to get higher concentrations of DHA in their products. BioTork’s oil is naturally concentrated with a high DHA content (40 percent DHA), extracted using a mechanical expelling process that results in an unaltered higher quality oil. The quality of this oil allows for market penetration in the nutraceuticals and high quality food industry for high-end applications.
BioTork’s omega-3 oil is set to hit pilot scale stage by early 2016, with demonstration and commercial production following shortly thereafter. Mr. de Crecy added about the coming scale-up stage: “Robustness is a key advantage of our development platform. We are therefore confident that the results we have in the lab will be confirmed quite easily at the industrial scale.
