Fermenting a future for food in Australia

The Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) based at The University of Queensland (UQ) has released a report, ‘Precision Fermentation: A Future of Food in Australia’, that says precision fermentation is a transformative opportunity to strengthen food systems, foster economic growth, enhance environmental sustainability and boost food security.

“Fermentation has been used for centuries to create staples like bread, cheese and beer,” said Professor Esteban Marcellin, from FaBA. “Precision fermentation builds on traditional methods, offering the potential to develop entirely new ingredients, flavours and tastes.

“This technology can enhance and diversify our food supply: imagine microbial strains precisely engineered to yield high-quality protein. We are on the brink of producing tailored, sustainable food sources.”

More than 70 authors from industry, government and academia contributed to the white paper, which explores areas crucial for industry growth, such as regulatory needs, sustainability, economic impacts and ethical considerations.

Among the eight key recommendations are establishing common international standards, boosting investment in large-scale manufacturing and standardising methods to assess environmental impacts.

“Our primary recommendation is to develop a National Food Plan that would unify efforts in regulation, innovation and promotion of precision fermentation,” Marcellin said. “This approach would enable streamlined approvals, better integration with traditional agriculture and a coordinated strategy to build a robust industry.”

FaBA Director Dr Chris Downs said research has an important role to play in meeting future food challenges.

“As a global society, we must innovate and transform the food system if we are to address some of the greatest challenges of our time,” he said. “Precision fermentation represents a promising approach, alongside conventional food production, for the future of Australia’s food and beverage industry.”

Image: Dr James Heffernan working with a FaBA-funded bioreactor at the UQ Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.