Protein derived from brewer’s spent yeast more sustainable than other plant-based protein according to life cycle assessment

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The study, conducted at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, compared a patty made from proteins sourced from brewer’s spent yeast to conventional beef and a vegan patty as benchmarks.

Rendering of burger patty made of Yeastin brewer's spent yeast protein. Courtesy of Yeastup.

Rendering of burger patty made of Yeastin brewer's spent yeast protein. Courtesy of Yeastup.

Yeastup AG, a Swiss startup based in Brugg, Switzerland, announced the results of a life cycle assessment evaluating the environmental impact of burger patty production. The study, conducted at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, compared a patty made from proteins sourced from brewer’s spent yeast (BSY) to conventional beef and a vegan patty as benchmarks.

According to the ISO 14040 ff Life Cycle Assessment, the BSY-derived protein called Yeastin, manufactured by Yeastup, could reduce the environmental footprint of a 113 g burger patty by 74 to 81%, depending on the indicator examined. The study determined that the production of pea protein had a greatest environmental impact on the conventional vegan patty (19-45%), while meat in the beef patty produced a figure of 84-98%.

“Thanks to the use of an industrial by-product, Yeastin requires no arable land, no cultivation, no irrigation and no pesticides. This is a clear ecological benefit over animal and plant sources,” explains Daniel Gnos, founder of Yeastup AG, in a press release.

Of the environmental footprint that Yeastin does produce, the analysis attributes 56% of it to the animal feed substitution that replaces the BSY previously used for that purpose. Compared to the benchmark pea protein, the environmental impact of the BSY-derived protein was 81% lower, produces 74% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and requires 80% lower cumulative energy demand.

With this life cycle assessment, Yeastup is making the case for Yeastin to be an environmentally-friendly alternative to both animal and plant-based proteins. “With these results, we aim to demonstrate the potential environmental benefits of using proteins derived from a high-quality brewery residue to our current and future project partners in the food industry using a global benchmark,” said Gnos.

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