21 hours Ago By Sara Talpos
-- Shares Facebook Twitter Reddit Email This article originally appeared on Undark. A s a teenager growing up in Nigeria, Helen Onyeaka was obsessed with microorganisms. The tiny lifeforms, which include bacteria and yeast, can be grown quickly and in huge quantities.
Onyeaka wondered if that abundance could be harnessed to feed people in conflict zones where children were suffering from malnutrition , their distended stomachs a clear sign of protein deficiency. "I used to dream microbes as food," she recently recalled. Today, Onyeaka is an industrial microbiologist and a deputy director of the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action, at the University of Birmingham in the U.
K. In her lab, she is testing her decades-old hypothesis, trying to identify microorganisms that could one day serve as an alternative protein source while using a fraction of the land, water, and industrial fertilizer needed to support traditional crops and livestock. She's not the only person studying what are sometimes called single-cell proteins or edible microorganisms .
While human diets have long included relatively small quantities of microbes — think of the live bacteria in yogurt, or the oven-killed yeast in bread — researchers at universities and dozens of startups across the globe are now investigating whether some microbes could serve as a caloric substitute for a wide range of foods and ingredients, including eggs, milk, meat, and flour. Some products have already been cleared for sale in the U.S.
And, late last year a Finnish company called Solar Foods completed requirements, outlined by the Food and Drug Administration, that allow the company to sell a powdery protein made of pasteurized bacteria. Edible microbes face considerable hurdles to going mainstream, however. Would-be producers need to ensure that their organisms are safe to eat in large quantities and amenable to mass production.
And ideally, any new product should look, feel, and taste as good as the food it replaces — and be able to overcome any skepticism from consumers uncertain about using bacteria in their kitchen. For now, few edible microbes are ready for primetime, according to Onyeaka and other experts. Still, said Onyeaka, "the potential is there.
" According to a report from the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit that advocates for alternative proteins, at least 80 companies are focused on producing food from yeast, bacteria, fungi, certain strains of algae, and other microorganisms. Some products are already on the market, wrote Adam Leman, a GFI scientist. In an email to Undark, he pointed to Quorn, a meat substitute made from fungal cells that was launched in 1985.
Over the past decade, a boomlet of new companies has emerged. Among them is Solar Foods. Prior to co-founding the company in 2017, CEO Pasi Vainikka worked for a government-owned research center, where he oversaw the largest renewable energy program in Finland.
Agriculture is responsible for a large portion of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, said Vainikka. Cow burps and deforestation are particularly problematic. One solution, Vainikka continued, is to replace livestock with an organism that doesn't produce much greenhouse gas or require fertile land.
His company selected a bacterium from nature that doesn't eat sugar or perform photosynthesis. Instead, it gets its energy from hydrogen. At the company's factory in Finland, a fermentation machine captures carbon dioxide and water from the surrounding air.
Electricity is then used to split the water molecules, freeing up hydrogen atoms. The microbes multiply as they consume the hydrogen, the carbon dioxide, and a few additional nutrients, such as calcium and phosphorous. Eventually, the bacteria are removed from the fermenter, pasteurized, and dried.
The final product — dubbed Solein — is about 75% protein, has a yellow hue, and tastes a bit like mushrooms. Solein has been used in restaurants in Singapore, said Vainikka, including as a milk substitute in ice cream. The company recently filed paperwork with U.
S. regulators saying that the ingredients are generally recognized as safe , and according to Vainikka, the goal is to introduce Solein as an ingredient in packaged goods at some point in 2025. I n her U.
K. lab, Onyeaka is growing Chlorella vulgaris , a green single-celled algae about 2 to 10 microns in diameter — roughly the width of a strand of spider silk. She and a graduate student feed the algae different nutrients to influence its protein content.
The end goal, said Onyeaka, is to grow nutritious algae in quantities large enough to be used as flour by the baking industry. "At the end of the work, we're going to be making green bread, green cakes — so watch out," she said with a laugh. Onyeaka readily admits her Chlorella has a long way to go.
Last November, she co-authored a review article noting the significant challenges along that path — including high production costs and the organism's capacity to accumulate heavy metals from the surrounding environment. She and her team will eventually have to ensure that the microbe is safe for human consumption by testing it for potential toxins and allergens, among other risks. Another issue highlighted in the review paper: Chlorella doesn't taste very good.
(The researchers describe "an earthy, strong flavor and smell" that is "quite unpleasant" to some consumers.) The product may need to be blended with other strong-flavored ingredients, the paper suggests, or perhaps researchers might look for new, more mild strains. Some people are finding ways to make microbes delicious.
Chef Greg Baxtrom was initially approached to see if he'd be interested in serving a meal featuring Solein at his Brooklyn restaurant, Olmsted. He didn't want to force the new product onto the menu, he said, but was curious to see if he might be able to use the protein-rich powder to create egg- or dairy-free versions of some of the restaurant's classic dishes. He couldn't get the Solein to work as an egg substitute in his carrot crepe.
But he could get it to replace the crepe's butter and milk. And Solein did work as an egg substitute in a beer batter for squash rings. Ultimately, he found it worked particularly well as a milk substitute in spaetzle, a German noodle traditionally made from milk, flour, and eggs.
Baxtrom said he planned to experiment with the product a bit more in January. "I'm not going to try to force it, but if it works, then great," he said. "I can accommodate more allergies.
" Vainikka said that he frequently consumes Solein in dishes served at the small restaurant located within Solar Foods' headquarters. In the long run, he said, he sees the business as "an organism company with a selection of different strains for different purposes." A person might balk at glass of yellow milk made from Solein, he pointed out, but perhaps there's a white microbe that would be less visually objectionable.
The company could also supply microbes with different tastes, textures, and nutritional profiles, said Vainikka. For her part, Onyeaka is looking beyond academia, communicating with companies that share her interest in Chlorella . Using advanced molecular tools, one Chinese company has learned that the typically green microbe can change colors, depending on what it's fed, she said.
She added, " Chlorella is just amazing." This article was originally published on Undark . Read the original article .
By Sara Talpos MORE FROM Sara Talpos Related Topics ------------------------------------------ Algae Bacteria Food Partner Undark Related Articles Advertisement:.
