March 28, 2024
The future of SynBio in focus at FaBA Round Table
From research to retail, at the heart of everything we do should be the consumer.
Dr Francisco ‘Paco’ Codoner, CEO, ScaleUp Bio in Singapore, gave a fascinating opening address for the FaBA SynBio Round Table in March, urging researchers and industry to develop products that are safe and healthy – and to ensure products meet the needs of consumers.
Synthetic Biology – or the redesign of organisms to develop new foods and ingredients – has the potential to revolutionise the food and beverage manufacturing industry.
Dr Codoner reminded SynBio Round Table participants that fermentation has long been on the people’s plates.
“When I say synthetic biology, people are concerned, but fermentation has been in daily products for a long time – beer, wine, cheese, dairy products. We use fermentation every day – this is adding precision into that,” Dr Codoner said.
The SynBio Round Table was an opportunity for experts from industry, government and academia to share their insights and experiences on a range of aspects relating to the emerging technology including ethics, sustainability, financial implications and regulatory framework.
FaBA Innovative Ingredients Program Lead, Professor Esteban Marcellin added: “Synthetic biology is exciting. It brings new ingredients and it may bring new flavours. In 10 years’ time, I see that we will be able to make new foods and new flavours, much like the excitement of discovering a new continent with new cuisines 500 years ago.”
Watch this space, as the Innovative Ingredients Program develops a White Paper from the Round Table discussions, which outlines opportunities and challenges for Australia’s burgeoning field of synthetic biology.