MOA Yeast and MOA Q5 Ingredients

MOA Foodtech is a Spanish biomass fermentation company founded in late 2020 with its address in Noain, Navarre. It positions itself as a B2B platform combining biotechnology and AI to turn agrifood side streams, such as distillers' grains and crop residues, into high-value ingredients.

Its self-GRAS yeast strains convert side streams into a yeast biomass with roughly 50% protein and 35% fiber, and a second ingredient with gelling and emulsifying properties, made without precision fermentation or GMOs. The catalog includes MOA Yeast, MOA Q5, the MOA Box starch valorization unit and the Albatros AI tool for strain selection.

• MOA Yeast: Inactive yeast ingredient with an umami profile for taste and salt reduction.
• MOA Q5: Second yeast-based ingredient with functional properties.
• MOA Box: Turnkey starch and starch-rich byproduct valorization.
• Albatros: Proprietary AI tool for selecting fermentation microorganisms.
• Custom co-development: Ingredients tailored to a customer's byproduct stream.

Vietnamese plant-based burger and meatball makers can use it to cut salt and mask bitterness. Snack and bakery producers can add it for fibre and protein, and breweries or starch mills can assess valorizing spent grain or starch residues.

• Cuts salt by 30-50% in recipes while keeping flavor, as stated on the product page.
• Masks bitter notes typical of plant proteins in burgers and meat analogues.
• Adds protein and fibre to bakery and snacks, with consistent batch-to-batch performance.
• Vegan and allergen-free, with Non-Novel Food status in the EU and GRAS status in the US.

Food manufacturers want alternative proteins and flavor tools that reduce salt and mask off-notes in plant-based products. Turning agrifood side streams into ingredients also supports circular-economy goals, which is relevant to Vietnam's large rice, cassava and brewing by-product volumes.

Founded late 2020 by Bosco Emparanza, Susana Sanchez and Jose Maria Elorza. Based in Noain, Navarre, Spain. Backed by the European Innovation Council with a 2.3 million EUR grant and a 12.5 million EUR equity commitment reported 19 February 2025.