SAN FRANCISCO — Clara Foods launched the first animal-free pepsin for commercial use. The pepsin will be distributed by Ingredion, Inc., the company’s go-to-market partner for North America.

While a single kilogram of conventional pepsin requires more than 100 pigs to create, Clara Foods uses a proprietary precision fermentation technology to create an animal-free product that has the functionality of animal-derived pepsin, with the added benefits of safe and consistent sourcing, quality control, price stability and increased sustainability, according to the company. The animal-free pepsin is available to companies globally that source protein at a mass scale.

“We’ve been knee-deep in R&D for the last six years building out our technology platform, scaling up and expanding our product portfolio,” said Arturo Elizondo, co-founder and chief executive officer of Clara Foods. “Pepsin represents the first of several products coming online, and I could not be more excited.”

The company is working toward commercializing the first egg proteins made without chicken eggs.