A lack of sufficient food-grade industrial capacity and infrastructure to scale up commercial production (and of the capital investment that it requires) is a technical obstacle to the growth of the microbial fermentation sector and uptake in the EU. Addressing large scale processing challenges more generally will be required for strains and production processes that are at this stage less mature.

Fermentation processes, especially downstream processing, rely on feedstocks such as refined sugars. The sector seeks lower-footprint alternatives, e.g. agricultural residues, waste streams, or gas as feedstocks instead of refined crops.

Water use for microbial fermentation has been flagged as another obstacle, which, if unaddressed, would undermine the “green” ambitions of the sector and its claims.

Regulatory ramework

In the EU, a complex regulatory framework applies to products obtained through microbial fermentation, which includes novel foods, GMOs and food improvement agents, among others.

This combined with the length and complexity of approvals process for such products is an obstacle to the further evolution of the sector in the EU, warranting more streamlined processes and a faster response from EFSA on applications.

Existing restrictions in labelling and marketing – such as reserved terms for dairy products, which are also relevant to some microbial fermentation products – are also challenges for sector expansion.