At present, the large scale production and commercialisation of mycoproteins as meat alternatives throughout the EU – the most notable example of which is Quorn – has not raised any significant food safety concern.

Furthermore, the proximity between mycoprotein and the texture and taste of meat have made it easy to accept by consumers.[1]

Health benefits have been reported for the consumption of mycoproteins, in particular positive effects on blood cholesterol concentration and glycemic response.[2]

Meat alternatives produced from cultivated mycoproteins have been associated with potential allergenic risks, while future efforts to switch to alternative sources of carbon for feedstock could be associated with mycotoxins.[3]

Recombinant dairy proteins present a high nucleic acid content, which could influence their potential to replace dairy proteins. Treatments to reduce nucleic acid content come at a higher environmental cost.[4]

Lifecycle studies of the production of dairy alternatives via cellular agriculture have concluded that they would generally have an equivalent footprint to the production of dairy proteins directly extracted from raw milk. This suggests that dairy proteins produced via cellular agriculture could compete with conventional dairy proteins in the more developed dairy markets of the EU, especially if renewable rather than fossil fueled energy was to become widespread, and the costs of conventional dairy production were to rise.[5]

However, at present, “the economics of food-grade precision fermentation is nowhere near competing with commodity dairy”.[6]

There are many applications of microbial fermentation beyond mycoprotein for meat alternatives and cultured dairy alternatives. Gas-fermenting microbes may offer substitutes for animal-based protein ingredients with a much lower environmental footprint.[7]