The importance of micro-organisms in food production Aims: Know that micro-organisms can be used as a food source. Know the advantages of using micro-organisms as a food source.

History………….. In the 1960s it was thought that there would soon be a global shortage of food. Many food scientists decided to search for new types of food to prevent this potential disaster. After many years of searching all around the world they found a possible solution growing naturally in a field in Buckinghamshire: mycoprotein! In order to get this new food to a wider audience, the scientists developed the mycoprotein into Quorn foods.

The Story of Quorn (as told by Marlow foods, the makers of Quorn) The Quorn story

Quorn comes from Fusarium venenatum, a member of the fungi family that includes truffles, morels and other mushrooms. But it is not a mushroom itself. Quorn is fermented in vats via a process similar to that used for yogurt or beer. This produces a type of foodstuff called mycoprotein, which is then mixed with egg whites, flavored and shaped into foods resembling poultry and meat products with zero cholesterol and less saturated fat than the foods it mimics.

A fermenter is a big container full of liquid ‘culture medium’ which micro-organisms can grow and reproduce in. The fermenter needs to have the right conditions for the micro-organisms to grow and produce the useful product.

What is added in the fermenter? Raw materials: The fungus Fusarium Air to supply oxygen as the micro-organisms respires aerobically Food, this is in the liquid ‘culture medium’, sugar and minerals and vitamins Nitrogen is also needed; this is supplied as ammonia. pH & temperature are monitored and adjusted Aseptic conditions to prevent contamination Motorised stirrer used

Optimising fermentation conditions Play the game and see how much quorn you can manufacture Quorn production game

Advantages of using micro-organisms for food Micro-organisms grow very quickly Easy to look after – just need food, oxygen and the right temperature Can be produced whether the climate is hot or cold – so anywhere in the World. Use of waste products from other industrial processes Solving global hunger Consumer health benefits Cheap

Disadvantages of using micro-organisms for food Allergic responses to products in food

Quorntroversy FDA has completed the safety review of mycoprotein "The new product is made from a fungus, but a darn good-tasting one," the citation notes. In a Feb. 27 letter to the FDA's food safety center, Center for Science director Michael Jacobson began brightly enough: "We applaud the company for developing and marketing nutritious products that have little impact on the environment, especially compared to meat and poultry." At issue is the product label's use of the words "mushroom in origin." "While all mushrooms are fungi, not all fungi are mushrooms," Jacobson said. "It is a fungus and should be labeled as such." Other experts cited Quorn as an important new product. "From a health point of view, it is quite valuable," said Miller, a member of the "generally recognized as safe" committee that was paid by Marlow to review Quorn for the FDA. Jacobson agrees that some Quorn products are low enough in fat to have benefits. But he notes that critics of genetically engineered foods in Europe and the United States have been surprisingly quiet about Quorn. While they objected vociferously to Starlink genetically modified corn, "it contained just one minuscule (new) protein," Jacobson said. "With the mycoprotein in Quorn, there are thousands of proteins that Americans have never eaten before." While Quorn is not a genetically modified food, neither is it as natural as it sounds on the label, Jacobson said. "This is high-tech stuff grown in a vat and turned into delicious, attractive products," he said. "But what does this say about where our food supply is going?"