Novel approaches in microbial enzyme production∗

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Abstract
The rapid developments in food biotechnology with an increase in novel applications of enzyme technology create new demands for the availability of food grade enzymes. Relatively few enzymes are today available in large commercial quantities, and new applications require enzymes with new characteristics. Enzymes for food and feed applications are obtained from animal, plant, and microbial sources, although most are of microbial origin. The majority of microbial industrial enzymes are extracellular hydrolases, but others such as glucose isomerase and glucose oxidase are cell bound. Such intracellular enzymes are used either as whole cell preparations or they are recovered and purified to a varying degree. Microbial enzymes are usually produced by batch aerobic submerged fermentation, although continuous culture technology is also applied. Certain fungal enzymes are produced by solid‐state fermentation, and novel methods such as aqueous two‐phase systems and immobilized viable cell techniques have been developed. The paper discusses some new developments and their potential.