About this Research Topic

Background

The use of microbial biomass as a source of food proteins and exopolysaccharides (EPS) is an area of growing interest for the food industry. Microalgae, fungi, and bacteria have the potential to play a key role in the centralized and decentralized production of high value foods. Scientific and technological advancements in recent years have provided several proof-of-concepts to translate the research carried out over the last few decades into real processes and products. However, there are still scientific and technological hurdles to overcome to ensure sufficient and sustainable production of ingredients and functional components using microorganisms, thus contributing to the development of food products based on underutilized sources. The use of single-cell proteins and/or microbial exopolysaccharides, which can either be produced in-situ or introduced into the food matrix during production, enables a range of new product developments with known but also new taste and texture profiles.

The widespread use of proteins and exopolysaccharides from single cells as a food ingredient still falls short of its potential due to technological and societal hurdles, which are further amplified by the lack of real application scenarios. Quantitative sustainability assessments of single cells production for proteins and EPS are very scarce. While EPS-forming starter cultures or extracted EPSs are already successfully applied in the dairy industry, their use in vegetarian and plant protein-based vegan products (e.g. meat alternatives) is still very rare, which is partly due to a lack of knowledge in the field of controlled in-situ EPS formation and ingredient interactions in complex food matrices. The goal of this Research Topic is hence to provide an up-to-date overview of research and development that has been undertaken recently to overcome challenges associated with production, processing and sustainability analysis of single cell proteins and exopolysaccharides. These include new cultivation techniques, new cell lines, improved downstream efficiency, better understanding of consumers, sustainability analyses (e.g., Life Cycle Assessment), and new insights into the physicochemical, techno-functional, and nutritional properties of unicellular proteins and formed exopolysaccharides.

This Research Topic welcomes articles covering recent advances in designing foods with single-cell proteins and/or microbial exopolysaccharides: cultivation techniques, downstream processing approaches, application scenarios, physicochemical as well as techno-functional properties, composition, nutritional characteristics, sustainability analyses, and consumer attitude. The collection will accept Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Perspective articles.

Keywords: Microalgae, bacteria, bioreactor, yeast, fungi, sustainability, vegan, vegetarian, plant-based, hydrogenotrophs, harvesting, proteins, exopolysaccharides, in-situ EPS production, texture, structure-function relationships

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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