Members of the Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood) including Dr Gail CHANG Jinhui, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition (FSN), and Dr Daisy ZHAO Danyue, Assistant Professor in FSN, in an interview with Sing Tao Daily, shared on the developments and prospects of fermentation technology for protein production in Hong Kong.
Dr Chang pointed out that there is not much research on and industry for producing edible fermented proteins (excluding those for medical purposes) in Hong Kong. Although Hong Kong has relatively loose regulations on novel food ingredients, the market size is small and consumers are not interested in novel proteins. The low acceptance of novel food products has made the production of edible proteins difficult, since the industry needs to achieve economies of scale to lower costs.
On the other hand, Dr Zhao mentioned that industrial fermentation in general requires a large space and high equipment costs, as well as high-level standards for safety management and energy supply due to the exhaust and cooling processes involved. It is difficult for Hong Kong to achieve so. Algae fermentation does not require heating and can be carried out on a relatively small scale. Not only can algae fermentation convert nutrients into high-quality protein, but also other nutrients such as carotene, making this method more cost-effective.
Online coverage:
Sing Tao Daily - https://lnkd.in/gDCtyptZ (Chinese only)
| Research Units | Research Institute for Future Food |
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