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The new fermentation applications of biotechnology are resulting in new foods and new food producers. This development is not restricted to the United States, but is a world-wide trend. Japan is now challenging Scotland, a large producer of whiskey. However, Scottish entrepreneurs are responding to the Japanese rivalry by creating a new, competitively priced soy sauce.
Biotechnology will probably play an expanded role in the refinement of conventional fermentation processes involving dairy products, beverages, cocoa, and the development of new strains of bacteria and yeasts. Yet, there is a bias among the biogenetic companies against the food and drink markets because the profit margins are considerably less than in pharmaceuticals. Any new product will be viewed by licensing authorities as new and novel and, therefore, will be subject to the same costly approval procedures as pharmaceuticals.
Biotechnology can shorten certain time spans that will benefit the food industry. For example a commercially available enzyme can reduce the ripening period for cheddar cheese by 2 months (about a third). The savings are projected at more than $50 million annually for the industry, once the enzyme is further refined and becomes acceptable to cheese makers. The product is comparable in flavor and texture with the naturally matured cheese and possesses the advantage of production in unlimited quantities. Unlike rennin made from the stomachs of calves, the new product would be acceptable to vegetarians.
Other biotechnology firms are seeking salable bioproducts for cheese making. Whey, for example, has received considerable interest as a source of protein, a flavour enhancer, binder in hamburgers, and substitute for egg whites in baking, although the cost has yet to become competitive. Another byproduct of whey is methane gas. Eight thousand tons of cheese will produce about 80,000 tons of whey waste,
from which 300 tons of protein can be extracted and a volume of methane gas equivalent to 600 tons of crude oil.
Food use of various fungi is also being pursued. Since the 1960s, a European bread producer has spent over $45 million on a fungus that can be formed into acceptable food substitutes. Commercial production started as early as 1984. An example of such a mycoprotein is Fusarium graminearum, a mold which is related to mushrooms and truffles; it is odorless and tasteless, and contains about 45 per cent protein and 13 per cent fat, a composition similar to beef. Fusarium is high in dietary fiber.
This mycoprotein possesses an amino acid content close to that recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as "ideal" for human consumption. Even more unusual is the versatility of the fungus, which has the capacity to be used in soups, fortified drinks, biscuits, and makes a convincing mock chicken, ham, veal and fish. Mycoproteins could be grown on any surplus carbohydrate, and convert it into foods of much higher nutritional and commercial value. In the United Kingdom, the surplus carbohydrates might be derived from wheat; in Ireland, the potato; and in tropical countries, cassava, rice, or sugar. The only obstacle remaining is public willingness to accept the new product at mealtimes.
New foods and drinks that have been available since the turn of the century. Some more new ones may not even be currently imaginable. Consumers will probably not know that biotechnology is involved in their diet.
Adapted from: Joel Schor. "The Evolution and Development of Biotechnology: A Revolutionary Force in American Agriculture." Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 1994.
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