Fake Food Series: EVERY's Lab-Manufactured Egg Protein: What Are Consumers Really Buying?
Genetically engineered fungus, industrial fermentation, questionable regulatory safeguards, and the growing distance between natural foods and manufactured substitutes.
An Egg Protein That Never Came From an Egg
Egg whites have long been a familiar choice for people seeking a natural, low-fat source of high-quality protein. They are readily available, contain virtually no fat, and provide protein without the cholesterol found in egg yolks. Their origin is straightforward: a chicken lays an egg, and the white is separated from the yolk.
Now, California-based biotechnology company The EVERY Company is offering something quite different. Its product, OvoPro, is marketed as an animal-free egg-white protein that can replace conventional egg whites in numerous food applications.
The marketing emphasizes the benefits of egg protein without chickens. But consumers deserve to know exactly what that means.
EVERY does not produce eggs. It manufactures a protein normally found in chicken egg whites by using genetically engineered yeast, a single-celled fungus, as a biological production system.
The fungus is genetically modified to carry instructions for manufacturing chicken ovalbumin, the principal protein in natural egg whites. The resulting protein is extracted, purified, and processed into a commercial food ingredient.
What consumers are buying is a laboratory-developed, industrially manufactured protein produced by genetically modified fungus.
For people who deliberately choose natural foods and avoid genetically engineered ingredients, that manufacturing origin is central to understanding the product.
From a Naturally Occurring Fungus to a Protein Factory
The microorganism used by EVERY is Komagataella phaffii, formerly classified as Pichia pastoris, a naturally occurring yeast belonging to the fungal kingdom. Originally found in tree-associated environments, it has no established history of direct human consumption as a traditional food, unlike baker's yeast.
During the 1970s, Phillips Petroleum developed methods to cultivate this fungus for industrial protein production, initially for animal feed. In the 1980s, researchers developed techniques to genetically modify it to manufacture proteins originating from other organisms. The technology subsequently became widely used in pharmaceutical and industrial enzyme production.
EVERY, originally founded as Clara Foods in 2014, adapted this decades-old technology to manufacture ovalbumin, a protein naturally found in chicken egg whites, for use as a commercial food ingredient.
EVERY's production process begins with a laboratory-cultivated variety of this naturally occurring fungus, which scientists genetically modify to manufacture chicken egg-white protein.
Scientists first identify the genetic instructions chickens naturally carry for producing ovalbumin, the main protein found in egg whites. Using computers, they prepare a digital blueprint of that DNA sequence. Specialized laboratory equipment then chemically assembles actual DNA molecules according to the blueprint, without needing to extract DNA from a chicken.
Scientists insert this synthetic chicken gene into the fungus, along with additional genetic instructions that enable it to manufacture and release ovalbumin. The genetically modified fungus then becomes a living production system for manufacturing the egg-white protein.
The modified fungus is then cultivated in industrial fermentation tanks containing nutrients that support its growth. As the yeast multiplies, its cellular machinery manufactures the egg-white protein specified by the inserted genetic instructions.
After fermentation, the manufacturer separates the yeast cells from the protein-containing liquid. The protein undergoes additional purification and processing before becoming a powdered food ingredient.
The finished ingredient is intended to contain purified protein rather than living genetically modified yeast. This is the manufacturing process described in EVERY's FDA documentation, identified as GRAS Notice No. 1104.
There is a substantial difference between using naturally occurring microorganisms to ferment familiar foods and genetically modifying a fungus to manufacture an animal protein. Both involve microorganisms, but the biological processes and resulting food products are different.
Consumers should know that EVERY's egg-white protein originates from an engineered fungal production system, not from an egg.
The Marketing Question: When Is an Egg Protein No Longer an Egg Product?
EVERY promotes its technology as a way to produce egg proteins without chickens.
Its ovalbumin is designed to perform many of the functions associated with natural egg whites, including foaming, whipping, binding, and gelling. These properties are valuable in baking, confectionery, prepared foods, and protein formulations.
From a manufacturer's perspective, the attraction is understandable. An ingredient capable of replacing conventional egg-white protein could reduce dependence on poultry production and provide greater control over ingredient supply.
But consumers do not necessarily evaluate food in the same way manufacturers do.
A manufacturer may be interested in whether an ingredient performs properly in a recipe. A consumer may be interested in where it came from, how it was produced, and how extensively it was processed.
EVERY's product is described as egg-white protein because the intended protein is ovalbumin, a naturally occurring component of chicken egg whites. The manufacturing process, however, does not involve extracting that protein from an egg.
The company's terminology may be technically appropriate for identifying the protein, but phrases such as animal-free egg protein can leave consumers with an incomplete understanding of its origin. The product is also certified vegan, despite being manufactured by a genetically engineered fungus using synthetic DNA based on a chicken gene. While the certification reflects the absence of animal-derived ingredients in its production, it says little about the industrial process used to manufacture the protein.
The product is not nutritionally equivalent to a whole egg, and it is not produced through conventional egg processing. For consumers seeking natural nutrition, those details are essential.
A manufactured protein that performs like egg white should be identified clearly by its manufacturing origin, not merely by the natural food component it reproduces.
Low Fat Is Not the Same as Natural Nutrition
EVERY's protein contains negligible fat and no cholesterol, characteristics that may appeal to people following low-fat diets. However, conventional egg whites already offer high-quality protein with virtually no fat, no cholesterol, and minimal carbohydrates, without genetic engineering or industrial fermentation.
For consumers seeking minimally processed, low-fat protein, fermentation-produced ovalbumin offers no obvious nutritional advantage over natural egg whites. Its principal appeal is as an animal-free alternative and as a functional ingredient for food manufacturers.
Unlike a whole egg, purified ovalbumin does not provide the full range of nutrients found in natural eggs, including the fats, choline, vitamins, and minerals supplied by the yolk.
High protein, low fat, and zero cholesterol may look attractive on a nutrition label, but these characteristics alone do not establish nutritional superiority or reveal the extent of industrial processing involved.
What Has Actually Been Tested?
EVERY submitted a safety assessment to the FDA, which issued a no questions response on October 17, 2023. The submission included manufacturing information, allergen assessments, and laboratory analyses from three nonconsecutive production batches, covering protein composition, microbial contamination, heavy metals, and other quality specifications.
However, testing three batches does not establish the purity of every subsequent commercial production batch.
Of particular concern is the removal of spent genetically modified yeast biomass. Although the yeast cells are separated from the protein-containing liquid, residual fungal proteins, cellular fragments, and genetic material may require additional purification.
EVERY works with Huvepharma's subsidiary Biovet AD in Bulgaria and has announced a production partnership with ADM in Iowa. Maintaining consistent purification standards across different manufacturing facilities is therefore particularly important.
The central question is whether independent testing verifies that the finished ovalbumin from out of state or overseas factories consistently meets purity specifications, particularly regarding residual fungal material, and whether those results are publicly available.
The GRAS System: When Manufacturers Judge Their Own Evidence
Under the U.S. Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) system, manufacturers can determine that a food ingredient is safe for its intended use without obtaining mandatory premarket FDA approval. They may commission laboratory studies, assemble scientific evidence, and rely on qualified experts to support their own safety conclusions.
The system does not require a uniform set of laboratory tests or independent government verification for every GRAS ingredient. This leaves considerable responsibility with the manufacturer, creating a potential conflict of interest between commercial interests and consumer protection.
EVERY voluntarily submitted its safety assessment to the FDA, receiving a no questions response in October 2023. However, that response does not constitute FDA approval or certification of every subsequent production batch.
This distinction becomes particularly important when commercial manufacturing is carried out by outside contractors, including facilities in other states or overseas. EVERY's arrangements include production in Bulgaria and a planned expansion in Iowa. The manufacturer remains responsible for ensuring that the finished protein meets its specifications, including the removal of spent genetically modified yeast biomass and unwanted fungal residues.
The central concern is the reliance on manufacturer-directed quality testing and oversight. Who independently verifies the purity of the finished product, particularly when production takes place thousands of miles from the company's headquarters? And what evidence is publicly available to demonstrate that every manufacturing facility consistently meets the required standards?
Manufacturing Controls: What Could Go Wrong?
Manufacturing ovalbumin using genetically engineered yeast requires strict control of fermentation, purification, and quality testing.
Potential risks include microbial contamination, residual fungal biomass, incomplete purification, inconsistent fermentation conditions, genetic instability, and inadequate laboratory testing. Any of these could compromise the purity or consistency of the finished ingredient.
EVERY's FDA submission describes manufacturing controls intended to address these risks. However, documented procedures do not establish that every commercial production batch consistently meets the required specifications.
As production expands through outside manufacturing partners, the critical issue is whether those controls are consistently applied and independently verified at every facility.
Who Independently Checks the Finished Product?
The FDA has authority to inspect manufacturing facilities, examine records, collect product samples, and conduct independent laboratory testing. But how often does it exercise that authority for EVERY's commercially produced ovalbumin?
Manufacturers remain primarily responsible for ensuring their products meet safety and purity specifications. EVERY reports laboratory testing and manufacturing controls, including the use of accredited laboratories. However, manufacturer-commissioned testing is not the same as independent government sampling and verification.
Publicly available information reviewed for this article does not establish whether the FDA has independently collected and tested EVERY's finished commercial products, particularly for residual fungal material.
The FDA has the authority to verify the manufacturer's claims. The unanswered question is whether it has actually done so.
Egg Allergies: Removing the Chicken Does Not Remove the Allergen
Ovalbumin is a known chicken egg allergen. Although EVERY manufactures this protein without chickens, its production method does not eliminate the risk of allergic reactions.
EVERY acknowledges that its protein is unsuitable for people with egg allergies. Consumers may nevertheless interpret animal-free as meaning free of animal-associated allergens. That is fundamentally wrong!
Clear ingredient identification and egg-allergen labeling are essential, particularly when the protein appears in foods consumers would not ordinarily associate with eggs.
Food Labeling: How Much Does the Consumer Really Learn?
EVERY recommends ingredient descriptions such as egg white protein (from fermentation). While technically informative, this wording does not clearly disclose that the protein is manufactured by a genetically engineered fungus carrying synthetically derived "genetic instructions" from a chicken gene (not the actual chicken gene itself).
Healthier Comforts, EVERY's fermentation-produced egg-white protein, prominently displays “FREE FROM GMO's” on its packaging. This is misleading labeling: a product manufactured through genetic engineering is marketed with a prominent GMO-free claim, leaving consumers with an inaccurate impression of how their food was produced.
For consumers seeking natural, minimally processed foods or avoiding genetically engineered ingredients, that distinction is reason for serious concern.
Consumers should not need to consult FDA technical documents to discover how an ingredient was manufactured. Meaningful labeling should identify its biological origin and production method, rather than relying on familiar nutritional claims such as high protein, low fat, and cholesterol-free.
Whose Interests Does This Technology Serve?
EVERY's technology offers food manufacturers obvious commercial advantages: predictable protein production, reduced dependence on poultry supplies, and greater control over ingredients, storage, and manufacturing costs.
But since when did industrial convenience become a nutritional benefit for consumers?
For people seeking natural, minimally processed foods, replacing ordinary egg whites with a protein manufactured by genetically engineered fungus is hardly an improvement. Conventional egg whites already provide high-quality, low-fat, cholesterol-free protein without synthetic DNA, industrial fermentation, or elaborate purification procedures.
The food industry increasingly presents manufacturing innovations as advances in nutrition, even when their primary advantages benefit production and profitability.
Consumers deserve to know whose interests these innovations actually serve. Making food production more convenient and profitable does not automatically make the resulting food healthier, more nutritious, or more desirable.
Conclusion: An Industrial Substitute We Don't Need
EVERY has taken a naturally occurring fungus, genetically engineered it to manufacture chicken egg-white protein, and packaged the result as a modern food innovation.
What exactly has been improved for the consumer?
Natural egg whites already provide high-quality protein without fat or cholesterol. They require neither synthetic chicken genes nor industrial fermentation, and they leave no questions about residual genetically modified fungal biomass.
Meanwhile, independent verification of EVERY's ongoing commercial production remains insufficiently transparent, and consumers are expected to trust manufacturer-directed testing and regulatory paperwork.
For consumers who value natural, minimally processed food, this is an industrial solution to a problem that never existed. We see no compelling nutritional reason to replace ordinary egg whites with a laboratory-engineered fungal product.
References and Further Reading
U.S. Food and Drug Administration — GRAS Notice No. 1104. Egg-white protein produced by Komagataella phaffii ATCC GSD-1235. Includes intended uses, submission information, and regulatory status. https://hfpappexternal.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/index.cfm?id=1104&set=grasnotices
FDA — The EVERY Company's GRAS Submission. Manufacturing methods, production organism, genetic modifications, product specifications, and safety information. https://www.fda.gov/media/170789/download
FDA — Response to GRAS Notice No. 1104, October 17, 2023. The agency's evaluation and no questions response. https://www.fda.gov/media/175248/download
U.S. Code of Federal Regulations — 21 CFR § 170.30. Requirements for general recognition of safety based on scientific procedures. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-170.30
U.S. Food and Drug Administration — GRAS Notice Inventory. Public records of submitted notices, supporting materials, and FDA responses. https://www.fda.gov/food/generally-recognized-safe-gras/gras-notice-inventory
The EVERY Company — Official Website. Product information and company descriptions of its precision-fermentation technology. https://every.com
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