Safe and resource-aware microbial design for food production
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Oh, Juyoung
Jiménez, José I
Kim, Juhyun
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Precision fermentation is redefining microbial food manufacturing by enabling programmable biosynthesis of nutrients and functional ingredients. Despite this progress, industrial-scale deployment is limited by metabolic burden, growth-production trade-offs, biosafety concerns, and the costs of downstream processing. Conventional intracellular systems inherently generate host-derived impurities and endotoxins, challenging food-grade standards. Here, we review platform-level advances that decouple biosynthesis from cellular constraints and streamline process design, with a focus on approaches aligned to food industry requirements. We highlight cell-free systems and non-replicative minicells as intrinsically contained production chassis, detail advances in secretion and efflux engineering for efficient extracellular product recovery, and discuss division-of-labor microbial consortia to address resource allocation limits. Together, these innovations integrate biosafety and process efficiency, providing a safe-by-design framework for next-generation microbial food systems that meet both regulatory and industrial needs.
Date Issued
2026-08-01
Date Acceptance
2026-06-01
Citation
Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 2026, 100
ISSN
0958-1669
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Current Opinion in Biotechnology
Volume
100
Copyright Statement
© 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved. This is the author’s accepted manuscript made available under a CC-BY licence in accordance with Imperial’s Research Publications Open Access policy (www.imperial.ac.uk/oa-policy)
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
103529
Date Publish Online
2026-06-09