A new food technology start-up is planning to find a substitute for eggs.
According to the Associated Press, Hampton Creek Foods, a startup in San Francisco's tech-heavy South of Market neighborhood, is looking to replace chicken eggs in all recipes. The company launched its first product, an egg-free mayonnaise, which is currently being sold at Whole Foods Markets.
"Inside, research chefs bake cookies and cakes, whip up batches of flavored mayonnaise and pan-fry omelets and French toast all without eggs, " the AP reported.
The San Francisco startup, funded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Silicon Valley investors, is looking to breakdown the global egg industry that researchers say is wasting energy, contaminating the environment, causing outbreaks and bounding chickens to small spaces. The company is apart of new "food-tech ventures that aim to change the way we eat."
"There's nothing to indicate that this will be a trend that will end anytime soon," said Anand Sanwal, CEO of CB Insights, a New York firm that tracks venture capital investment. "Sustainability and challenges to the food supply are pretty fundamental issues."
The AP reported that Venture capital firms, poured in about $350 million into food-related startups last year. Hampton Creek's is also backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and Khosla Ventures. Despite their efforts, the American Egg Board, which represents U.S. producers, state eggs are one product that can not be replaced.
"Our customers have said they're not interested in egg substitutes," Mitch Kanter, executive director of the board-funded Egg Nutrition Center, said in a statement. "They want real, natural eggs with their familiar ingredients."
According to Claire Kremen, faculty co-director of the Berkeley Food Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, the industry has reduced their use of water and greenhouse gas emissions. Also hens are living longer lives "due to better health and nutrition."
Researchers are looking for plants that can "fulfill the culinary functions of eggs." The company has studied more than 1,500 types of plants, which came from over 60 countries. Josh Tetrick, the company's CEO, said that researched have found 11 "hits."
"Our approach is to use plants that are much more sustainable, less greenhouse gas emissions, less water, no animal involved and a whole lot more affordable, to create a better food system," Tetrick said.
With their egg-free mayonnaise already on store shelves, Hampton Creek Foods hopes to continue the trend with selling cookie dough and a batter
"The egg is a miracle, so one of the hardest parts of replacing it is all the functions that it can do," said Chris Jones, the company's culinary director and a former contestant on Bravo TV's "Top Chef".
