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: The question is no longer whether microbial foods can be made. The question now is who can be first to turn them into an industry.
KAIST researchers have analyzed the conditions required for the microbial food industry to succeed across manufacturing, markets and regulation, and have proposed growth strategies for the next-generation protein industry. A research team led by Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, together with researchers from SilicoBio, a KAIST faculty startup, has analyzed the conditions needed for the microbial food industry to succeed in terms of manufacturing, market entry and regulatory readiness, and has presented an industrialization strategy and roadmap. This study, with Seok Yeong Jung, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, as first author and researchers from SilicoBio participating as co-authors, was published July 17 in the journal One Earth.
This study is significant because it did not develop a new microorganism or production technology, but instead systematically analyzed the key challenges involved in connecting laboratory-based core technologies to real-world industry. In particular, by presenting an integrated perspective that encompasses manufacturing readiness, market entry strategies and regulatory responses, the study proposes a direction for developing microbial foods beyond the next-generation protein industry into a future biomanufacturing platform. It is expected to serve as an important milestone for strengthening national biomanufacturing competitiveness and fostering the global sustainable food industry.
The researchers found that competition in the microbial food industry is shifting from productivity at the laboratory level to manufacturing readiness. They identified stable raw material supply and quality control, control of and safety assurance for non-model microorganisms, reduction of downstream processing costs and regulatory compliance for byproduct recycling as key factors that will determine the pace of commercialization. Manufacturing readiness refers to the level at which a laboratory technology can be reliably produced at industrial scale.
Non-model microorganisms are microorganisms with high industrial potential but insufficient accumulated research infrastructure. Downstream processing refers to the processes of separating, purifying, concentrating and drying target components after fermentation. The researchers particularly emphasized that future competitiveness will depend less on the excellence of any single technology and more on the ability to build integrated manufacturing platforms.
An integrated manufacturing platform refers to a production system that operates the entire process as one connected framework, from strain development and large-scale fermentation to purification, quality control and product formulation. Even for the same microbial food product, the choice of raw material can affect pretreatment costs and quality variability, while the choice of strain and fermentation process can greatly influence production cost, energy use and product quality. The researchers therefore concluded that future industrial competitiveness will depend on how quickly companies can build manufacturing platforms that optimize these factors in an integrated way.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
