BMC Ingredients Wins FSSAI Approval for Rhiza Mycelium Ahead of 2027 India Launch
Indian food regulator FSSAI has issued an approval letter for BMC Ingredients' Rhiza mycelium, making India the fourth market to clear the ingredient, with supply to Indian manufacturers planned for the second quarter of 2027
Rhiza is made by fermenting the fungus Neurospora crassa and is sold in two formats: a textured chunk for hybrid or alternative meat options and a blendable protein-and-fibre powder
The approval is a precondition for commercial supply in India, but the launch still depends on a production facility that is set to open in 2027
BMC Ingredients, the Sacramento-based company formerly known as The Better Meat Co, has received an approval letter from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for Rhiza, its fermentation-derived mycelium ingredient. This is a critical development as it plans to start supplying Indian food manufacturers in the second quarter of 2027.
Credits: BMC Ingredients
What the approval covers
India regulates novel ingredients under the Food Safety and Standards (Approval for Non-Specified Food and Food Ingredients) Regulations 2017. Products without an established history of use in India need prior approval before they can be manufactured or imported for sale. Without this letter, Rhiza could not be sold in India at all.
The approval adds to a regulatory record that BMC Ingredients has been building since 2024. The US FDA issued a no-questions letter on the ingredient’s GRAS notice in July 2024. Singapore approved Rhiza later that year, and Health Canada issued a Letter of No Objection in July 2026.
Four clearances in a little over two years give BMC a regulatory head start that newer mycoprotein producers will take time to match.
The ingredient
Rhiza is made from Neurospora crassa. Neurospora is the genus behind oncom (Indonesia) and okara (China), fermented foods that have been traditionally eaten for generations. BMC grows the fungus by submerged fermentation, then filters, dehydrates and mills the biomass. It sells the result in two formats. RhizaTex is a textured granule for meat analogues and blended meat. RhizaPro is a powder for bakery, pasta, bars and dairy alternatives.
According to the company, Rhiza contains 45 to 50% protein and around 30% fibre. Its composition also includes longevity compounds ergothioneine and spermidine, BMC reported last month.
Rhiza Pro Smoothie - Credits: BMC Ingredients
The potential to power protein for one of the world’s largest markets
India’s appetite for protein is growing quickly. MarketsandMarkets values the country’s protein ingredients market at about $2.1bn in 2026 and forecasts it to reach roughly $3.3bn by 2031, a compound annual growth rate of 9.1%. That is faster than the 7.9% it projects for the global market.
BMC is not the only company betting on this demand. Earlier this month, Dhampur Bio Organics signed a 10-year licence with Planetary to produce mycoprotein in India. As a price-led ingredients market with familiar protein sources already in place, including soy chunks, pulses, dairy, plant isolates and whey, a new ingredient will be judged on cost per gram of protein and on how it performs in Indian formulations.
BMC is offering Rhiza for both blended meat and fully animal-free products. India’s large vegetarian population suggests that powder applications in bakery, snacks and dairy alternatives may be a large opportunity. They are also where Rhiza will compete most directly with established soy and pulse proteins.
From approval to the factory floor
India’s approval gives BMC access to the world’s most populous country just as demand for protein there is accelerating. The timing also works in its favour: Indian supply is planned for the same quarter its contract production facility is due to open, so Rhiza can move from approval to commercial volumes without a long wait in between.
There's a strong potential fit with mycoprotein and Indian consumers- adding protein and fibre to the breads, snacks and ready meals Indian consumers already buy, without asking them to change what they eat. Combined with clean-label positioning, that gives manufacturers an easy story to tell on pack.
The next milestone to look for is BMC’s first Indian customers. If Rhiza can compete with established proteins on cost, India could become one of its largest markets.
