Weve been writing a lot lately about leading-edge food technology coming out of Israel. Today Remilk, an Israel-based start-up producing identical dairy products through microbial fermentation, completed a $11.3 million funding round.

While thats not big news by current financial standards, the technology is. The company is using fermentation to create true dairy-based proteins but without the use of cows or any other animal.

Remilk claims its "lab-made" dairy product is indistinguishable from natural dairy and is essential for developing the authentic taste and texture of dairy derivatives like cheese, yogurt and cream. The company uses a patented process to replicate the properties of the dairy proteins; it even optimizes functionalities compared to their animal-derived equivalent.

“Today’s non-dairy alternatives address environmental and health concerns, but universally fail to create authentic dairy-based products, like cheese," said Aviv Wolff, co-founder & CEO at Remilk. "We’re bridging this gap by making dairy products with dairy proteins, without needing a single cow.”

Remilk products are cholesterol-free and contain no lactose, antibiotics or growth hormones. Theyre also far more sustainable and eco-friendly than traditional dairy systems, requiring 1% of the land, 4% of the feedstock and 10% of the water to produce than comparable dairy products, according to the company.

With this new capital, the company plans to expand its production and distribution capabilities and, "for the first time in history … cost-efficiently replac dairy cows in industrial-scale dairy protein production, without compromising on taste, functionality, or nutritional values."