The Mycoprotein Story
In 1964 the world’s population was quickly overtaking UN projections and there were widespread forecasts of a global shortage of protein by the 1980s.
The late Lord Rank, who, as J Arthur Rank, had created the Rank film empire, was then the Chairman of the Rank Hovis McDougall group of companies (RHM). Lord Rank believed that something should be done.
As RHM was a major processor of cereals he instructed his research director, Dr Arnold Spicer to investigate the feasibility of a process to “turn starch into protein” using some form of fermentation.
The creation of a new food
Three criteria were set for the new food: it should be above all safe, it should be of a high nutritional value and last, but by no means least, it should be “delicious to eat.”
The three main organoleptic characteristics of food quality are flavour, colour and texture. In previous attempts to create new foods, texture had proved most problematic. It was concluded a filamentous micro-organism – a fungus would aid the creation of ‘good’ texture.
The first three years of development utilized a Penicillium strain that was isolated from discarded surplus starch near an RHM factory. This organism performed well in batch culture, but its protein content was low and it did not grow satisfactorily in continuous culture, which was essential for commercial success.
Fusarium graminearum
In 1967, an extensive survey was mounted involving some 3,000 organisms taken from soil samples from all over the world. Ironically, the organism identified as the most suitable came from a garden in Marlow in Buckinghamshire, barely four miles from the Research Centre.
The organism was identified as Fusarium graminearum and was given the code A3/5, which was how the new product was known until 1974 when the UK Food Standards Committee established the name Mycoprotein. Some years later, the original organism was reclassified as Fusarium venenatum, but this was purely a question of classification.
The launch of Quorn
By the time Quorn™ products came to market in the 1980s the threat of a global protein shortage seemed to have abated. So the Quorn™ range was instead launched as the answer to vegetarians’ prayers; nutritious and versatile foods which have the texture of meat but none of the associated guilt.
However twenty years later, with climate change threatening the availability of land for rearing livestock and the growing awareness of the environmental impact of meat production, it is interesting to reflect that Mycoprotein may yet be set to fulfil its original mission.