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UK bio-tech business Clean Food Group has announced an investment and strategic collaboration with Alianza Team, a Latin American food production and lipid-based technology specialist. The long-term collaboration agreement aims to accelerate Clean Food Group’s pathway to commercialisation, combining Clean Food Group’s expertise in producing microbial oils with Alianza’s 75 years’ experience in developing functional, value-add oil and fat products for food manufacturers. Together, the two companies plan to develop and bring to market products that meet the industry’s need for sustainable, functional and cost-competitive oils and fats to replace commonly used, agriculturally intensive food ingredients. As part of the collaboration, Alianza is investing in Clean Food Group’s current Pre Series A funding round. Supported by new and existing investors, the round is expected to close this month. Capital raised from the funding will accelerate scale-up of Clean Food Group’s technology platform while advancing critical regulatory and commercial pathways. Clean Food Group aims to complete a Series A funding round in 2024, by which time it expects to have validated its technology at a commercial scale and have clear line of sight to near-term revenue generation. Funds raised in the Series A round will support the build of a commercial scale manufacturing facility. Its technology platform was developed through eight years of research led by the company’s technical lead, Chris Chuck. It uses proven, scalable yeast strains and fermentation technology, using food waste as its food source to deliver sustainable oil and fat alternatives. Clean Food Group’s co-founder and CEO, Alex Neves, said: “We are delighted to be sharing the news of this investment and collaboration with Alianza Team today”. “The strategic collaboration with Alianza Team will drive forward our commercialisation strategy and support our objective to bring sustainable oils and fats on to the market, at commercial scale, within the next three years.” Luis Botero, president and CEO at Alianza Team, added: “Alianza Team is committed to creating a new future of healthy and sustainable food choices for our customers”. “We are excited to be investing in and collaborating with Clean Food Group, an organisation where we believe our shared core values of innovation and sustainability will deliver healthier, more nutritional foods to improve our food systems for future generations.”