From a beehive to a molecule that works

BeeTechnology's platform operates in four stages: isolation of bacteria associated with bees, characterization of the molecules they produce through metagenomic, metaproteomic and bioinformatic analysis, production of the selected molecule by fermentation, and validation of the application on real food with external laboratories accredited under ISO 17025.

The antimicrobial arsenal available to the food industry is remarkably small. A handful of molecules found decades ago, used today in products and processes that didn't exist back then. Meanwhile, the fraction of microbial diversity that has been cultured and characterized remains minimal. That's an unexhausted space for discovery, and it's where we work.

STAGE 01. WHERE DO WE LOOK FOR NEW MOLECULES?

We start in the hive. It's a warm, humid, densely populated environment, with thousands of individuals in permanent contact and stored food — the conditions under which an infection should spread unchecked. Healthy colonies, however, hold on, and part of that resilience lies in the bacteria that live associated with bees and the molecules they produce to control other microorganisms.

We isolate those bacteria and add them to our culture collection. Each isolate goes through an antimicrobial activity screening against reference strains.

Isolation happened once. Since then we work with the collection, not the hive.

STAGE 02. HOW IS A CANDIDATE MOLECULE CHARACTERIZED?

Isolates with activity are characterized through metagenomic, metaproteomic and bioinformatic analysis, identifying antimicrobial peptides and the pathways associated with their production. Activity is quantified with minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration against reference strains, under laboratory protocol.

STAGE 03. HOW IS IT PRODUCED AT SCALE?

The molecule is produced by fermentation. Process development covers batch and semi-continuous regimes, with studies on agitation, kinetics and productivity aimed at making the cost per treated unit compatible with the real margins of a food plant.

STAGE 04. HOW IS IT VALIDATED ON FOOD?

The final formulation is liquid and acts on the surface, with application methods adapted to each line: immersion, micro-droplet spraying or tumbler massaging. Validation happens on real food, with microbiological and sensory analysis run by external laboratories accredited under ISO 17025 and ISO methods per parameter.

We don't use bees to produce

We get asked this in every meeting, so we answer it head-on. No bee is sacrificed or consumed in our process. The bacteria are already isolated and live in culture. We produce by fermentation: we feed them in a fermenter and they generate the molecules. The hive was the starting point of the research, not an input to production.

Inhibiting and killing are not the same

An inhibitory agent slows the multiplication of a microorganism as long as conditions hold. A bactericidal agent reduces the viable population present. The distinction is measured with two parameters: minimum inhibitory concentration, at which growth stops, and minimum bactericidal concentration, at which cell death occurs. We care about the second one.

How we state what we know

We distinguish three levels of evidence and identify them in every result we publish.

Laboratory activity. Culture assays. They establish that the molecule acts on a microorganism and at what concentration.

Proof of concept in matrix. Trial on the real food, with a reduced number of replicates and under laboratory conditions.

Accredited laboratory validation. Trial on the real food, with microbiological and sensory analysis run by an accredited third party.

We don't present a result from one level as if it were from another. It's a long-term decision: in food safety, technical credibility is the commercial asset.

FAQ

Are the bacteria you use the same ones that live in bees?

They come from there. They were isolated from bees and are now kept in our culture collection, which is where the production cultures come from. We don't go back to the apiary to produce.

What are antimicrobial peptides?

They're short, proteinaceous molecules that many organisms produce as a defense against other microorganisms. They act mainly by destabilizing the target microorganism's cell membrane — a mechanism different from most clinically used antibiotics.

What's the difference between minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration?

Minimum inhibitory concentration is the lowest concentration at which a microorganism's growth stops. Minimum bactericidal concentration is the lowest concentration at which cell death occurs. A product can inhibit without killing, and that difference completely changes what a food-safety program can expect.

Why produce by fermentation and not chemical synthesis?

Because the molecule is of biological origin and fermentation reproduces the pathway that naturally generates it. It also allows scaling without introducing synthetic inputs into the process, which matters for customers seeking cleaner labels.