Applications of cold-adapted proteases in the food industry

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses that enzyme technology has been an integral part of food processing and improvement of food quality for a long time and advances in enzyme technology will be important for the production of better and safer foods. The utilization of by-products from the fishing and agricultural industries for added value largely depends on a thorough understanding of enzyme reactions. Relatively few enzymes are used in a wide variety of food processes, for the production of corn syrup and speciality fats, and to facilitate juice extraction from fruits, in addition to their use as antimicrobial preservatives. The most common food processing enzymes are hydrolases, including the proteases, glucosidases, and lipases. Proteolytic cold-adapted “superactive” enzymes from marine sources offer advantages for the food industry, although their purification and structure determination are often problematic. The tremendous knowledge gathered on enzyme structures and function in recent years has opened up a new era for food processing applications with enzymes. A new phase of enzyme technology may revolutionize the ways foods are prepared and processed in the near future. It is becoming easier to obtain relatively large numbers of naturally rare proteins, crystallography requires smaller amounts of purified proteins and smaller crystals are easier to work with than ever before.