Sustainable chicken mushroom mycelia production technology

Project aims

The overall goal of the investigation is to establish the “chicken of the woods” mushroom Laetiporus sulfureus as an economically viable and secure bioactive ingredient for food, with special emphasis on its application as a meat substitute. In contribution to this medium to long-term goal we initially aim at the development of a high-efficiency production process of fungal mycelium in stainless steel bioreactors. Since mushrooms suffer from hydrodynamic stress and disintegration of their cell filaments in stirred tank bioreactors, we aim to teach the fungus to grow in attachment to small substrate particles, a technology which is known as morphology engineering. This technology is supposed to represent a key milestone in increasing productivities and process economics.

To further achieve a maximum level of sustainability, we intend to apply 100% alternative substrates based on a combination of side streams from brewery and potato processing industry. As a fungus naturally growing on trees, the chicken of the woods mushroom is capable of utilizing non-pretreated lignocellulosics, present in these substrates. However, to facilitate maximum growth rate, the complex macromolecular structure of alternative substrates needs to be chopped down into easily utilizable sugars, which will be addressed via mechanical and enzymatic pretreatment. Enzymatic pretreatment will be accomplished by recycling of the spent fermentation media which contain extracellular carbohydrate-degrading enzymes secreted by the fungus during the cultivation. Finally, a detailed chemical evaluation of mycoprotein or whole grain chicken of the woods mycelia and potentially toxic ingredients will generate first evidence for future regulatory approval (eg., as a novel food) by national authorities and the European Food Safety Agency.