FOOD

20/06/2020

BIOTECHNOLOGY
ASSIGNMENT TOPIC:

Food Advancements by
Biotechnologists

FABIA YOUSAF
S2017242018
FOOD ADVANCEMENTS BY
BIOTECHNOLOGISTS:
Biotechnologists led many food advancements which cause increase food
production and enhanced the food quality and safety of food. Biotechnologists
dealt with food security and have tried their best to augment the nutritional and
health aspect of food.

Purpose of food advancements is to enhance;

 Nutritional value(functional food)
 Industrial utility
 Shelf life
 Therapeutic value
 Medicinal properties
 Novel taste
 Esthetic appeal

Advancement in food safety and quality;

 Refinement in microwave assisting processing (thermal processing and
freeze drying)
 High pressure processing
 Ultrasonic processing
 Digestion modeling
 Advance in freezing technology
 Emulsion science
 Development in new films and performance packaging material
Crop biotechnology
 Enhanced input trait; herbicide tolerance, virus and insect protection and
tolerance to environmental stress as drought
 Corn with higher amounts of lysine for animal feed, or vegetable oils with
increased levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
 Crops that produce pharmaceuticals or improve the processing of bio-
based fuels
 Animal biotechnology;
 Cloning is another modern technology that facilitates breeding of the
healthiest and most productive livestock.
 Genetic engineering is another potential tool being explored in breeding
programs for food-producing animals

EXAMPLES OF FOOD
ADVANCEMETS:
1.EDIPEEL;
It is an edible thin coating for perishable fruits and vegetables to enhance
their shelf life
Edipeel is made from nontoxic organic compounds (lipids and glycerolipids)
which are derived from unwanted peel seeds and pulp of various types of
fruits and vegetables.
It comes as water soluble powder that forms a colorless layer outside fruit
and vegetables as protective seal and preventing them from oxidation and
dehydration and hence double their shelf life. e.g;
Avocadoes, strawberries, mangoes, apple, banana. Etc.
 2. Lab grown meat;
Cultured meat/lab grown meat/clean meat/invitro meat is synthetically
produced meat by invitro cultivation of animal cells

The cell growth is based on the idea of tissue engineering. The cells are extracted
through biopsy probes from animals under anesthesia. These cells are grown in
culture medium in bioreactor where they proliferate and differentiate into
muscle tissue.
Biotechnologist created world’s first hamburger of lab grown meat in 2013

3. MATS (Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilization);

A food processing technology that use long wave microwave energy with heat
to sterilize packaged food
Provide a consumer with high quality, natural and additive free packaged food.
colour, texture, taste is not lost. e.g ; canned foods

4. Biotechnological production of prebiotics;

Prebiotics from non-digestible carbohydrates (oligosaccharides) are produced
through biotechnological method for fortification of functional foods.
 5.Fe
rmentation in biotechnology

 Biotechnology can improve the edibility, consistency, and shelf life of food
by preventing the growth of unwanted toxin-producing microorganisms
naturally present in foods, production of antimicrobial agent to kill
undesirable putrefactive microorganisms.
 Fermentation process raise the dietary value of the food along with the
biosynthesis of vitamins, necessary amino acids, food flavoring, additives,
preservatives, and proteins by improving the protein and fiber
digestibility.

6. Delaying tomato ripening;

The producers of the tomato used antisense technology to silence a gene
that produces polygalacturonase, a pectin-degrading enzyme found in ripe
tomatoes, thus slowing the ripening process
 7.Genetically modified food to prevent malnutrition;
 Rice is deficient in iron and vitamin A .But through genetic modification we
can prevent malnutrition in areas where rice is staple food .The first
provitamin rich transgenic rice was produced by incorporating crtI gene
and psy gene from bacteria and daffodils.
 And to cope up with iron deficiency rice is transformed with a foreign gene
encoding iron containing gene named ferritin. 
 Protein, starch and oil composition and content as well as micronutrient
content can all be improved to make foods and feeds more nutritious.
 For example, a new strain of potatoes containing 30–60% more starch has
been developed by inserting a bacterial gene for an enzyme in the starch
biosynthetic pathway. These high-starch potatoes have less moisture and
therefore absorb less fat during frying
Name of transgenic Molecular pathway for Enhanced Essential Foreign genes
plant modification amino acids incorporated
Tobacco Synthetic gene approach Overall amino acids Asp1
Sulphur containing amino acid
sunflower seed Manipulation of gene expression Gene encoding 2S albumin
(MET)
Manipulation of homologous
Potato Mostly amino acids AMA1
protein

Enzymes;
Genes for the enzymes have been cloned so as to get higher production in less
time period. These enzymes are used for making cheese, curd and flavoring food
items.
Following are some genetically modified enzymes used in food industry:
• Catalase used in mayonnaise production and it removes hydrogen peroxide.

• Chymosin useful in cheese production as it coagulates milk.

• Glucose oxidase is used in baking as it stabilizes the dough.

• α-amylase converts starch into maltose and used in baking for sweetness.

• Protease used for meat tenderization process, baking and dairy products