The US Department of Agriculture has approved “Piggy Sooy,” a new kind of soybean that has protein genes from pigs spliced into its DNA. The approval will allow the company to plant and transport these new soybeans without permits.

“We believe this milestone sets the stage for a revolution in the food-industrial biotech landscape, paving the way for expedited adoption of molecular farming technology by other industry players,” said co-founder and CTO Martin Salinas.

Moolec announced the development of Piggy Sooy in June of last year, as part of its “Meat Replacement Program.” Its patented soybeans contain genes for the expression of porcine myoglobin. The beans have a pink hue and will be sold whole, rather than having the animal protein extracted from them and processed.

Moolec will market Piggy Sooy as an alternative to meat in products like sausages and burgers. The company plans to partner with other companies and may license its patented soybeans for use.

Over $30 million in funding for R&D and scaling has been raised so far, and the company has secured a deal to supply 15,000 tonnes of soybeans. It has a facility in Argentina which can crush 10,000 tonnes of soybeans annually.

Piggy Sooy will not be Moolec’s only product coming to market soon. The company is using a new technology it calls “SPC” to make plants into miniature bioreactors that produce new compounds. The USDA has already approved a GMO safflower oil named GLASO. Yeasts and yellow peas are being used to produce animal proteins including bovine chymosin and bovine myogoblin.

The announcement of the USDA’s approval of Piggy Sooy caused the value of Moolec’s stock to increase by 121% last Monday. This was a significant reversal after the company’s shares plunged from a high of around $20 to less than $2.50. Before the announcement, shares were trading at $1.40.