Perspective and Emerging Sources Novel Foods and Ingredients From Fungi

Innovative food products based on filamentous fungi are finding many applications in the food industry in these years. Fungi can give a significant contribution to the production of natural additives and to the design of sustainable food products, alternative to the traditional ones because of their composition, balanced in amino acid and rich in a wide range of functional compounds. To increase the yield of cultured fungi, a number of advanced and sustainable cultivation systems have been developed in the last years. Furthermore, scientific research on the recovery of agroindustrial byproducts as substrates for fungal fermentation has shed light on novel food categories. Innovative methods aimed at producing novel foods from recycled stale bread and brewing residues are under development or are already on the market, reducing significantly the production costs and, at the same time, contributing to consolidate circular economy models.