ScaleUp Bio, Singapore’s pioneer provider of CDMO services for microbial and precision fermentation, has secured a food manufacturing license from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) for its commercial pilot production facility in Tuas, western Singapore.
The FSA ensures that food production practices meet established safety standards by inspecting infrastructure and facilities. It also requires proper training, collaboration, and regulatory adherence to maintain high hygiene and operational quality levels.
“We are moving one step forward towards enabling the next food revolution”
The company states that this milestone positions it as one of the few approved CDMOs offering fermentation services at 10,000 L for food ingredients worldwide.
Francisco Codoñer, CEO of ScaleUp Bio, shares, “ScaleUp Bio’s value proposition offers anyone with the next best concept in food to bring that idea to reality, and to pilot stage commercial production in Singapore, backed by a blue-chip corporate ecosystem of support. With this milestone, we are moving one step forward towards enabling the next food revolution.”
Sustainable products for Asia
Established in 2022 as a joint venture company of ADM and Nurasa, ScaleUp Bio provides a pathway from bench-to-market pipeline and facilitates entry into Asian markets and other regions. According to Food Frontier’s 2023 report, China is the most promising market in Asia for alternative proteins, followed by Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand.
During the last year and a half, ScaleUp Bio has built a 2,266 m2 dedicated food-grade pilot food production facility to offer food innovators access to up to 10,000 L of fermentation and associated downstream processing capacity. Last November, the company announced its first customers and began showcasing the facility via scheduled visits.
Guo Xiu Ling, CEO of Nurasa, shared, “At Nurasa, we are committed to pioneering a new world of sustainably produced nutrition solutions for our planet. ScaleUp Bio’s milestone from SFA is a pivotal step forward in this journey.”
A sustainable food system
ScaleUp Bio also operates the Fermentation Joint Lab at Nurasa’s Food Tech Innovation Centre with A*STAR (Singapore Agency For Science, Technology and Research) and the Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation. This lab is dedicated to R&D and equipped with food-grade 100 L fermenters to bring ideas to life.
Gary McGuigan, President of Asia-Pacific at ADM, said, “Congratulations to the team on receiving the SFA’s food manufacturing license. We look forward to continuing our support for ScaleUp Bio and aspiring food-tech companies as we collectively pave the way for a more sustainable food system.”
