Smart food for the XXI century is a review dealing with some interesting biotechnological food approaches: gluten-free bread using iRNA silecing, micoprotein processing for its comercialization and edible films and coatings.

1. Calabuig Serna Tono, Esteller Cucala Paula, Martínez Rodero Iris
Escola Tècnica Superior d’Enginyeria Agronòmica i del Medi Natural, Universitat Politècnica de València
Nutrients
(sterilized)
Fusarium
venetatum
A3/5
Fermentation
RNA
reduction
Centrifugation Refrigeration Myco-protein Mixing
Egg albumin
Colour or
other flavoour
ingredients
Stabilisation QuornTM product
In 1967, and after having tested more than 3,000
candidate organisms, British food company RHM selected
strain Fusarum venetatum A3/A5 as a food source
component.
Fusarium venetatum A3/A5, a microfungus of the
ascomycota phylum, is the main ingredient of
mycoprotein, that combined with other additives leads to
a huge variety of products registered as QuornTM products.
QuornTM first product, being a vegetable pie, came to
market in the 1980s and nowadays there are over 90
products available. Definitely, a perfect choice for not only
vegetarians but for those willing to give it a try.
Key nutritional facts
§ High quality protein with all essential amino acids
§ High in dietary fibre
§ Low in saturated fats, no cholesterol or trans fats
§ Low in sodium
Production Process
Nutrients
§ Glucose and ammonium are the
carbon and nitrogen source,
respectively, added in excess
§ Potassium, magnesium, phosphate
Myco-protein: raw material for Quorn products
Mixing: with binding agent (egg albumin) and other ingredients
Stabilisation: includes shaping, texturizing and packaging
Celiac disease
Celiac disease is an allergic-related illness characterized by an abnormal immune reaction against
gluten fraction proteins (mainly gliadins), which are storage proteins contained in some vegetal
grains or seeds as wheat. As celiac patients need to follow a strict gluten-free diet, they are not
allowed to intake this kind of food. Some raw materials have been used in order to develop
substitute doughs for wheat flours, but the problem is they show worse quality and are difficult to
bake.
Biotechnological crops
By using plant-transformation methods it is possible to obtain transgenic wheat plants with lower
gliadin content. These modified crops allow the production of gluten-free wheat dough to produce
bread suitable for celiac patients. This genetically modified wheat has been engineered using
interference RNA technology, which allows the under-expression of target genes.
Transgenic plants: the ultimate way to achieve gluten-free bread
Bread from gluten-free wheat
Flour from transgenic wheat with lower content of gliadins has
been used in order to produce dough. Resulting baked bread
properties have been compared with breads from wild type
wheat flour and from rice flour, respectively. Bread from
modified wheat showed reduced gliadin contents up to a 97%
in comparison to “wild type” bread but with proper baking and
suitable sensory properties. Celiac patients can consume 67g
of this bread per day without showing significant health
consequences.
Figure 2. Breads from: wild type wheat flour, reduced
content in gliadins wheat flour and rice flour.
(Gil-Humanes et al., 2014)
Figure 1. RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC).
(Based on Rutz and Scheffold, 2004)
Figure 4. Product coated with edible coating by layer-by-
layer method.
Food product
Adhesive layer
Food product
Active layer
Coated food product
The edible packaging which mimics how nature wraps
Edible films and coatings arises as the most suitable solution
for current food preservation: they are thin layers of edible
materials contributing to food structural integrity,
mechanical-handling properties improvement, distribution and
marketing.
Food shelf-life
Food texture and appearance is controlled by 3 factors
during its shelf-life:
1. Product characteristics and properties: enzymatic,
chemical, physical and microbiological changes.
2. External agents exposition during storage and
distribution: temperature, relative humidity and light
intensity.
3. Barrier properties of packaging material: protection
against gases (O2, CO2, N2), water vapour, aromas and
light.
Requirements for an edible coating material
§ Good adhesion to food surface
§ Low permeability to water vapor, O2 and CO2
§ Acceptable color, taste, flavor and texture
Materials used as edible coatings
Edible films and coatings may be classified according to the
kind of material from which they derive. Each chemical class
has its inherent properties, advantages, and limitations for
being used as films:
§ Proteins
§ Polysaccharides
§ Lipids
§ Composite
Wikicell: a delicious edible form of packaging
As any other edible packaging, Wikicell is designed to be an
integral part of the product –which could be eaten, improving
food quality and it is biodegradable. It encloses foods or drinks
in a way similar to how nature protects a coconut or an orange.
Harvard bioengineer David Edwards believes he has found a
way to reduce the current amount of packaging waste: eating
it. The edible membrane is capable of keeping food such as
yogurt, cheese and juice fresh for up to six months.
Figure 5. The anatomy of WikiCell. (Image credit: Majance)
Today’s foods are not conceived only to feed humans, but also to prevent nutrition-related diseases and to improve consumers’ physical and mental well being. In this sense, functional foods play a
key role. Their rising demand is a consequence of the increase in life expectancy as well as the growing desire of more and more people to improve not only their life quality but also to become more
environmentally friendly. The European Comission’s Concerted Action of Funcional Food Science in Europe (FuFoSE) defines functional food as a product that has beneficial effects on one or more
functions in the human organism. Functional foods have been developed in virtually all food categories and from a product point of view, the functional property can be included in numerous different
ways. In this poster some interesting examples of food innovations are highlighted.
Meat for veggies
Fermentation: microorganism growth
§ Continuos process, up to 6 weeks
§ 40 m high reactors
§ at 30oC and pH 6
RNA reduction
§ Heat shock treatment at 64-65oC.
§ For safety standards
Centrifugation: at 90oC, yields >20% solids
Refrigeration: from 90oC to 4oC
Food skin: the packaging revolution
This gene silencing mechanism is based on the artificial introduction of DNA constructs with inverted
sequences of the endogenous target genes, in this case the genes encoding for α, β and ω gliadins.
When the artificial constructs are transcribed in the plant, the resulting transgenic mRNAs join the
complementary mRNAs of the gliadin genes and form double stranded RNA molecules. These double
stranded RNA molecules are detected and cleaved by a DICER ribonuclease and fragments called
microRNA (miRNA) and interfering RNA (siRNA) are obtained. miRNA and siRNA are recognized by
RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and Argonaute proteins (AGOs), and they specifically induce
the silencing of gliadins genes from which RNA fragments are originated.
X O2
Figure 3. Potential of an edible coating as a
moisture barrier.
CO2
H2O
O2
X
X
Coated food Non-coated food
CO2
H2O
To sum up
§ The use of modern biotechnology to modify foods for human consumption is an undeniable source of unlimited possibilities.
§ These types of technologies allow the development not only of the products themselves but also the optimization in their
production.
§ Nutritionally enhanced crops may be a solution to end with world-wide malnutrition as well as to ease some chronic diseases.
§ Microorganisms can be a food source which provides the world with nutritious, abundant and environmentally friendly products.
§ Taking advantage of edible coating in order to preserve food, extra properties such as probiotics or nutraceuticals can be added.
§ Though this tendency is slowly changing, society feels rather skeptical and cautious about new biotechnological edible products.
Main references
Fakhouri, F. M., Martelli, S. M., Caon, T., Velasco, J. I., & Mei, L. H. I. (2015). Edible
films and coatings based on starch/gelatin: Film properties and effect of coatings
on quality of refrigerated Red Crimson grapes. Postharvest Biology and Technology,
109, 57-64.
Gil-Humanes, J., Pistón, F., Altamirano-Fortoul, R., Real, A., Comino, I., Sousa, C., ...
& Barro, F. (2014). Reduced-gliadin wheat bread: an alternative to the gluten-free
diet for consumers suffering gluten-related pathologies. PloS one,9(3), e90898.
Wiebe, M. (2002). Myco-protein from Fusarium venenatum: a well-established
product for human consumption. Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 58(4),
421-427.
Image 2. QuornTM
Meat Free Thai
Chicken Fillets.
Image 1. QuornTM
Meat Free Chorizo.