In this section
@article{Oh:2026:10.1016/j.copbio.2026.103529,
author = {Oh, J and Jiménez, JI and Kim, J},
doi = {10.1016/j.copbio.2026.103529},
journal = {Current Opinion in Biotechnology},
title = {Safe and resource-aware microbial design for food production},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2026.103529},
volume = {100},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - 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.
AU - Oh,J
AU - Jiménez,JI
AU - Kim,J
DO - 10.1016/j.copbio.2026.103529
PY - 2026///
SN - 0958-1669
TI - Safe and resource-aware microbial design for food production
T2 - Current Opinion in Biotechnology
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2026.103529
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2026.103529
VL - 100
ER -
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