Assertion Partly supported AI assessment confidence: 85% certainty 4/5 debate potential 1/5

Nielsen: Over 90% of global cheese relies on recombinant chymosin

Alec Nielsen · The Future Will Be Genetically Engineered · Feb 24, 2020 · at 5:21

Alec Nielsen, co-founder and CEO of synthetic biology company Asimov, gives a historical timeline of major commercial biotechnology breakthroughs.

0:00 / 0:06exact quote · 6.1s

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“Over 90% of the cheese in the world is produced using recombinantly produced chymosin.”

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The claim, plainly

Over 90 percent of global cheese is produced using recombinantly produced chymosin.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

While fermentation-produced (recombinant) chymosin (FPC) is the dominant enzyme used in cheese manufacturing—accounting for 80% to 90% of cheese production in North America and the UK—it does not exceed 90% on a global scale. Academic literature (such as reviews in PubMed Central) estimates bioengineered rennet accounts for approximately 80% of global cheese production, while detailed market research reports place FPC's global market share closer to 65%. The lower global figure is primarily due to European Union regulations (where EU countries generate nearly half of global cheese output and require traditional animal rennet for Protected Designation of Origin cheeses) as well as the continued use of non-GM microbial rennets.

In North America and the UK, FPC accounts for roughly 80% to 90% of commercial cheese production.
Academic reviews (PMC) state bioengineered/recombinant rennet is used in approximately 80% of global cheese production.
Market reports (e.g., Fortune Business Insights) estimate recombinant chymosin represents ~65% of the global coagulant market, with non-GM microbial rennet and animal rennet making up the remainder.
The EU produces 45-50% of global cheese, and traditional animal rennet is required by law for many European Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheeses.

Checked against

[1] tallow.app [2] modernengineeringmarvels.com [3] wikipedia.org [4] wikipedia.org [5] vrg.org [6] seedworld.com [7] edairynews.com [8] wikipedia.org

fermentation produced chymosin percent cheese production global OR worldwide "global market share" "chymosin" OR "rennet" 90% OR 80% recombinant chymosin global cheese percentage OR 90 chymosin fermentation produced global cheese market share 90 "80%" OR "90%" "global cheese production" chymosin OR rennet "recombinant chymosin" "global market share" OR "global cheese" "global cheese" "fermentation-produced chymosin" percentage OR percent recombinantly produced chymosin percent of cheese

assessed as of 2026-07-28

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Mentioned

cheese chymosin

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