Biosynthesis here refers to the process of using microorganisms as ‘factories’ to produce end products such as nutrients, including proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and more.
Whilst biosynthesis per se is not a new process, there is a particular drive in China right now to fully develop this as a full-fledged production solution for the food industry, a movement spearheaded by academic and industrial research and supported by the government.
“The government of China is very focused on biosynthesis now, especially for the food industry, and development of this area was highlighted in both the 2024 national master plan as well as the recent 2025 one which shows continued interest,” Jiangnan University Academic Committee Director, Chinese Communist Party member and bioengineering expert Professor Chen Jian told the floor at the recent Food Industry China (FIC) 2025 show in Shanghai.
“Food is a particularly important mission for this sector as there are various challenges which it has high potential to help address, for instance improving food quality, taste and other sensory aspects.
“Another important area is in terms of personalisation which is a new but increasingly important demand that Chinese consumers have of their foods and beverages – this is an area where biosynthesis can fully showcase its potential as it can be used to customise products down to the exact texture or nutrition content.”
Prof Chen added that the food industry is going to face more and more ‘new demands’ when it comes to this market, and the best if not only way to address this challenge will be to ensure that the technology progresses in tandem.
“We have a lot of the enzymatic and engineering expertise available, and where there are new demands from consumers which industry and government recognise, this will help to funnel in the right support so that biosynthesis technology can grow rapidly,” he said.
“New demands can be varying, but there tend to be three basic principles at the core of these – Guaranteeing food safety and provenance; Improvement of product quality and production efficiency; and ensuring that nutritional and taste demands are met.
“We also know that there are three basic methods of meeting these new demands: Improving the process; Replacing parts of the process; or Revolutionising the process – there can be no doubt that this last is going to be the most efficient, and biosynthesis very definitely falls into this category.”
Investing to overcome roadblocks
That said, Prof Chen believes that there is a need to recognise and acknowledge current bottlenecks in biosynthesis so investment and research into these areas can be accelerated, before this can truly become a steady food supply option.
“The biggest challenges to address in the sector currently are organism selection, fermentation process parameters and turning the products of the process into actual food items,” he said.
“We need a library of organisms that are safe, efficient and cost effective to act as ‘workhorses’ per se, and a lot more effort is also needed to research specific parameters that can optimise the fermentation process and yield the best product possible.
“But most importantly, we need to ensure that these end-products are actually suitable to be made into foods at the end of the processing, as no consumer is going to want to eat a powder or sludge no matter how nutritious it is.
“This means that specific characteristics need to be highlighted, e.g. fibrousity for meat products, gelation for bakery products, foaming for dairy products or solubility for beverages.
“This is going to be the most challenging part, but also the most important in making certain that biosynthesis can truly become a core food technology in China.”
