This section was originally developed in 2008 by EuropaBio and ESAB under the FP6 White Biotech TP project (part of the SusChem ETP project). It was updated in July 2013 by the FP7 BIO-TIC project.
Today's applications
Food & Feed
How can we use Industrial Biotechnology in Food and Feed Production?
A wide range of foods and feed products use industrial biotechnology. These include everyday foods such as cheese, where the enzyme chymosin is used as a replacement to animal rennet, fruit juices, where pectinase enzymes are used to improve clarity and baby foods where trypsin is used to pre-digest foods. The enzymes may be derived from animals or plants, but more frequently they come from microorganisms such as fungi.
The global market for food enzymes is expected to reach $1.3 billion by 2015, whilst the global market for feed enzymes is expected to reach $727 million in 2015. Carbohydrase has diverse applications within the food industry, making it the largest type of food enzyme, accounting for almost 70% of the market. The global food enzyme market is predicted to reach $2.3 billion by 2018.
What are the advantages of Industrial Biotechnology in Food and Feed Production?
Enzymes have played a key role in food production for centuries: they are used to improve both the production processes and the product quality.
The digestibility of nutrients may also be improved through the use of enzymes. In feeds, enzymes can reduce the level of nutrients released through faecal matter. In animal diets enzyme use can reduce non-protein nitrogen supplements, reducing the release of urea. These biotechnological interventions can positively affect the environment.
The use of industrial biotechnology tools can also help improve food and feed processing. Enzymes can work under milder conditions, are more specific than chemicals and often have less impact on natural flavors and colours than other processes, producing fewer side products. As enzymes generally work at low temperatures, they also help lower energy consumption.
In some cases, industrial biotechnology may help overcome ethical concerns over the use of particular enzymes used in the food industry. Cheese enzymes for example provide an alternative to animal rennet – a cheese coagulant – and a more reliable supply for cheese makers. This can also reassure possible public concerns connected to the use of animal-derived material.
The use of industrial biotechnology may help increase the availability of more scarce materials needed as feeds. For example, omega 3 fatty acids produced by yeast-based fermentation could significantly decrease the use of fish oil in salmon aquaculture. Farmed salmon once needed 4 kg of wild fish to provide sufficient omega 3 fatty acids, but with industrial biotechnology only 1 kg of wild fish is needed. This not only helps in the aquaculture of salmon, but helps to preserve wild fish stocks, whilst still maintaining nutritional value and quality.
Industrial biotechnology can also improve the life-span of a product. By adding a special amylase that diminishes the crystallisation of starch, the structure of the starch can be changed to retain more moisture. As a result, bread stays soft longer - thereby reducing waste.
Industrial biotechnology can also improve the energy and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) balance of a product. A life cycle analysis study has compared the enzymatic and the caustic process for degumming soybean oils using data from a US manufacturer who operates both processes. The study showed a reduction of 44 tonnes of GHG’s per 1,000 tonnes of refined vegetable oil for the enzymatic process, principally due to the increased yield from the enzymatic process, but also due to a reduction in waste treatment of some byproducts.
In some cases, food processing would be impossible without the use of enzymes; for example the reduction of cloudiness in fruit juices is only possible through the use of pectinase enzymes.
What is the role of biotechnology?
Biotechnology has an important role in identifying particular enzymes for specific applications and in adjusting the level of production of these enzymes so that they are available in sufficient quantities and qualities for industrial purposes. Production of enzymes within microbial systems can result in higher productivity and lower costs.
As demonstrated in the examples above, biotechnology can have important benefits, not only in improving food and feed nutritional profiles, but also in prolonging the shelf-life of products, as well as the GHG and energy balance of the production process.
More information on
Examples of applications on WikipediaFood enzyme examples from EUFIC