Fermentation, but make it precise: using microbial cell factories to make our food

Like age-old fermentation, which is the use of food-safe microorganisms to convert an ingredient into a product with different sensory and nutritional properties through microbial metabolism, precision fermentation promises to improve the appeal of foods for generations to come. Precision fermentation harnesses engineered microorganisms to produce specific molecules through carefully designed modifications of their metabolic pathways. In the food industry, this includes both using engineered food-fermenting microorganisms to make fermented foods with new sensory and nutritional properties and using engineered microorganisms to manufacture food ingredients that are scarce or require unsustainable production methods. Enzymes and metabolic pathways that are integral to cheesemaking, expensive flavor determinants in hopped beer, one of the industries’ favorite oils, and the blood-red iron-containing proteins that make meat alternatives craveable can all be produced in sustainable and affordable ways because of precision fermentation. Thanks to rapidly advancing precise genome editing tools, the future of the food industry can rely on microbial cell factories to keep consumers fed and satisfied.