26 Oct 2022

Singapore approves Solein, a protein powder grown from CO2 and hydrogen

Biotechnology and synthetic biologyFood and agriculture
AI illustration · Illustrative scene, not a photograph of the specific device or experiment.

What was demonstrated

Solar Foods announced on 26 October 2022 that the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) had approved Solein, a microbial protein-rich powder made by Solar Foods, allowing the sale of food products containing it in Singapore. The announcement gives no exact approval date. It gives the powder's composition as 65-70% protein, 5-8% fat and 3-5% mineral nutrients, and says the microbes are fed carbon dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen, with small amounts of nutrients. It does not name the microbe and gives no details of the safety assessment.

Why it matters

This appears to be an early regulatory decision that allows a protein made by microbes fed on CO2 and hydrogen to be sold as food. If the approval holds as described, it suggests that gas-fermented protein can pass a national food safety review, although one approval in one market does not show that the process is cost-competitive or scalable.

Caveats

  • The approval was announced in October 2022 and the company announcement is the primary source. The record does not confirm later commercial production, sales or approvals in other markets.
  • The protein and fat figures are the company's own composition figures for the powder. No independent analysis is cited in the announcement.
  • The two sources disagree on the gases listed as feedstock: the company lists carbon dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen, while the Singapore government article lists hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The microbe is not named in either source.
  • The company announcement gives no approval conditions and no details of the safety assessment. A Singapore Economic Development Board article quotes SFA as saying it did not find toxicity concerns and assessed that the inputs are unlikely to cause illness in people. This is the only regulator safety statement in the record.

Technology profiles

Sources

  1. company announcement
    Solar Foods receives novel food regulatory approval for a protein grown with CO2 and electricity
    Solar Foods Oy, 26 Oct 2022.
  2. news
    Singapore first to approve protein 'made from air'
    Singapore Economic Development Board, 27 Oct 2022.

Last reviewed 22 Oct 2026.