The Better Meat Co., West Sacramento, CA, USA.
The Better Meat Co., West Sacramento, CA, USA.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2022 Oct;168:113342. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2022.113342. Epub 2022 Aug 11.
Cultivation of filamentous fungi to produce sustainable, nutrient rich meat replacements has recently attracted significant commercial and research interest. Here, we report evidence for the safety and nutritional value of Neurospora crassa mycoprotein, a whole mycelium food ingredient produced by fermentation and minimal downstream processing. N. crassa has a long history of human use in fermented foods and in molecular biology research. A survey of studies that used N. crassa in animal feed revealed no adverse effects to the health of the animals. Furthermore, a review of the literature found no reports of confirmed allergenicity or toxicity in humans involving N. crassa. Genomic toxigenicity analysis and in vitro testing did not identify any toxins in N. crassa mycoprotein. Two independent genomic allergenicity studies did not identify proteins that would be considered a particular risk for allergenic potential. Furthermore, nutritional analysis demonstrated that N. crassa mycoprotein is a good source of complete protein and is rich in fiber, potassium, and iron. Taken together, the presented data and the history of human use without evidence of human or animal harm indicate that foods containing N. crassa can generally be regarded as safe.
丝状真菌的培养以生产可持续的、营养丰富的肉类替代品，最近引起了商业和研究界的极大兴趣。在这里，我们报告了 Neurospora crassa 真菌蛋白（一种通过发酵和最少下游加工生产的全菌丝体食品成分）的安全性和营养价值的证据。Neurospora crassa 在发酵食品和分子生物学研究中有着悠久的人类使用历史。一项对在动物饲料中使用 Neurospora crassa 的研究的调查显示，它对动物的健康没有任何不良影响。此外，对文献的回顾发现，没有涉及 Neurospora crassa 的人类确认过敏或毒性的报告。基因组毒性分析和体外测试未在 Neurospora crassa 真菌蛋白中发现任何毒素。两项独立的基因组变应原性研究没有发现被认为具有特定变应原潜力的蛋白质。此外，营养分析表明，Neurospora crassa 真菌蛋白是一种很好的完整蛋白质来源，富含纤维、钾和铁。综上所述，所提供的数据和没有人类或动物伤害证据的人类使用历史表明，含有 Neurospora crassa 的食物通常可以被认为是安全的。
