Microorganisms and food

Microorganisms and food

Microorganisms are used while making a lot of foods. Sometimes the microbial product (what the microbes make) is eaten. But sometimes it's just used to help make a food.

In this first two examples, the microbial product is used to produce food:

ENZYMES ----> enzymes such as invertase are used in the manufacture of sweets and other foods. Invertase converts the sucrose (a sugar) into glucose and fructose (different types of sugar) which taste sweeter. This means that less sugar is needed for the same sweetness - meaning manufacturers can save money and produce low-calorie sweet products. Invertase is naturally produced by a yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

CHYMOSIN ----> cheese is made using a substance called rennet. Naturally, rennet comes from stomachs of a slaughtered calf and it consists mostly of the enzyme called chymosin. Vegeterian cheese is made using chymosin from genetically modified microorganisms (GM bacteria in this case). To make the vegeterian cheese, the genes responsible for chymosin…