This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Lab-grown protein that mimics the color, taste and texture of meat. Egg white substitutes used for baked goods.
Food colorants that replace beta-carotene extracted from carrots. Those are some of the products created with precision fermentation, an emerging technology that can develop tailored food ingredients in the laboratory. If adapted to large-scale production, it can potentially contribute to reducing global food insecurity by creating affordable, sustainable products supplementing those delivered by traditional agriculture.
While precision fermentation has been around for decades, the technology has primarily been used in the production of fuel and animal feed. Regular yeast that is used for corn ethanol fermentation can't process nonedible grain sources such as corn stover, but with metabolic engineering it's possible to produce yeast that can ferment sugar from cellulosic biomass. More recently, the technology is also being applied to food production, such as alternative proteins, vitamins and nutrients.
Traditional fermentation uses naturally existing microorganisms to produce beer, wine, cheese and other consumables. However, precision fermentation uses genetically engineered microorganisms to redirect the cellular metabolism to produce specific food ingredients. One example is leghemoglobin, an alternative protein that is used to give plant-based burgers a red, bloodlike color.
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are at the forefront of these developments. Several facilities on campus provide resources for precision fermentation technology and applications, including the NSF iBioFoundry and the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory. IBRL is a research and development facility that helps companies bridge the gap from basic discovery to commercialization of bioproducts.
It is part of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and The Grainger College of Engineering at the U. of I. "Precision fermentation is one of our core competencies, and one of the areas that has been the busiest for the IBRL. Currently, we're seeing a lot of interest from the major consumer packaged goods companies on replacing traditionally petroleum-derived ingredients with natural alternatives, including food dyes, noncaloric sweeteners and preservatives," said Beth Conerty, IBRL associate director of business development.
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