Alternative proteins for meat and dairy replacers: Food safety and future trends.

Traditionally, meat and dairy products have been important protein sources in the human diet. Consumers are eating more plant-based proteins, which is reflected in current market trends. Assessing how alternative proteins are processed and their impact on food safety helps realize market opportunities while ensuring food safety. In this review, an analysis of the food safety hazards, along with current industry trends and processing methods associated with alternative proteins for meat and dairy products for the European Union market is described. Understanding the effects of processing and safety alternative proteins is paramount to ensuring food safety and understanding the risks to consumers. However, the data here is limited. With the expected further increase in protein alternatives in consumers' diets, the risk of food allergens is apparent. The occurrence of processing contaminants in plant-based alternatives may occur, along with anti-nutritional compounds, which interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Further, typical food safety hazards related to the plant, the product itself, or processing are relevant. Although hazards in insects and seaweed are being addressed, other protein alternatives like cultured meat and SCPs warrant attention. Our findings can aid industry and governmental authorities in understanding current trends and prioritizing hazards for future monitoring.

Melanin biosynthesis pathway in Agaricus bisporus mushrooms.

With the full genome sequence of Agaricus bisporus available, it was possible to investigate the genes involved in the melanin biosynthesis pathway of button mushrooms. Based on different BLAST and alignments, genes were identified in the genome which are postulated to be involved in this pathway. Seven housekeeping genes were tested of which 18S rRNA was the only housekeeping gene that was stably expressed in various tissues of different developmental stages. Gene expression was determined for most gene homologs (26 genes) involved in the melanin pathway. Of the analysed genes, those encoding polyphenol oxidase (PPO), the PPO co-factor L-chain (unique for A. bisporus), and a putative transcription factor (photoregulator B) were among the highest expressed in skin tissue. An in depth look was taken at the clustering of several PPO genes and the PPO co-factor gene on chromosome 5, which showed that almost 25% of the protein encoding genes in this cluster have a conserved NACHT and WD40 domain or a P-loop nucleoside triphosphate hydrolase. This article will be the start for an in depth study of the melanin pathway and its role in quality losses of this economically important product.