Brewed chicken protein made by precision fermentation tested in pet food

In a groundbreaking new project, scientists used precision fermentation to produce brewed chicken protein and evaluated it for use in pet food. Dogs that consumed the protein in their kibble during a six-month study had beneficial digestive effects, the researchers found.

Scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Bond Pet Foods, Inc., in Boulder, Colorado, partnered on the project. The study is believed to be the first to use precision fermentation to produce a protein composed of both yeast and chicken protein and assess its safety in pet food. 

Healthy adult dogs that consumed the brewed chicken protein during the six-month feeding study had beneficial changes in their fecal metabolites and gut microbiota, with no allergic reactions or adverse changes in blood chemistry or other markers, said Kelly Swanson, a professor and the director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

Read more from the Illinois News Bureau.