CELIA MARTIN
Regulatory Affairs Director, Lallemand Bio-Ingredients, Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

The protein demand is expected to increase for the next decades. Meat consumption is no more sustainable, with the effect of animal agriculture on emissions, use of water and land resources. Finding alternatives to meat is a way to tackle climate change. Most of the alternative proteins have lower carbon footprint than meat, as shown by LCA studies. Microbial protein and in particular yeast protein, is an interesting option in terms of sustainability. The regulatory pathway to market involves a safety assessment, with the GRAS in the US and the Novel Food regulation in the EU being most common procedures. Political commitment including consumer awareness and education strategies would be key to further develop the alternative protein market.

Proteins are key macronutrients in the diet, as they constitute a source of nitrogen and essential amino acids from which we build structural and functional elements in the body, such as muscles, proteins, hormones, or enzymes. A significant part of the dietary protein comes from animal products -meat, dairy, eggs- which consumption has been raising for the last decades. With the growing worldwide population, the economic development, and the emergence of protein-rich diets the meat consumption will continue to raise (1).

The problem is that the production of animal derived proteins is a big contributor to the environmental change. Conventional animal agriculture is responsible for 14,5% of the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions takes up 77% of the agricultural land on earth and consumes almost a third of the water used in global agriculture (2, 3). In addition to the land degradation, biodiversity loss, animal welfare and resources efficiency, animal derived products have also a negative impact on health. The carcinogenicity of red meat and processed meat was pointed out by the World Health Organization (4) and a recent study showed that foods associa ...