The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has published a new report discussing the food safety aspects of precision fermentation.
Titled Precision Fermentation – With a Focus on Food Safety, the report outlines the importance of establishing regulatory frameworks and safety protocols within the industry. It notes that there is currently no universally accepted definition of precision fermentation, which could hinder the development of effective regulatory frameworks.
The authors acknowledge that there are existing frameworks in countries such as Singapore and the US, but claim that a cohesive global approach to regulation is needed. They suggest that authorities elsewhere in the world could look to these countries when establishing regulatory processes. Additionally, they argue that regulations should be adaptive in order to keep up with technological developments.
“A variety of food ingredients can be produced”
FAO also states that risk assessments could be conducted to establish whether existing food safety regulatory frameworks are adequate to ensure that precision-fermented foods are produced safely. The report notes that while precision fermentation usually uses established fermentation processes, there may be differences in production hosts, scale, processing modes, and types of food applications.
Additionally, the authors outline case studies of successful applications of precision fermentation, including the production of animal-free whey protein, human-identical milk oligosaccharides for infant nutrition, and soy leghemoglobin (animal-free heme used in plant-based meat alternatives).
“A wide variety of food ingredients can be produced through precision fermentation,” says the report. “Identifying the general characteristics of precision fermentation production processes and the potential associated hazards can be a first useful step for competent authorities to initiate regulatory actions. To this end, precision fermentation production processes have been studied through an in-depth literature synthesis, and existing regulatory frameworks applicable to precision fermentation-derived food products were collected from various jurisdictions.”
