Safety assays and nutritional values of mycoprotein produced by Fusarium venenatum IR372C from date waste as substrate

Abstract BACKGROUND Nutritional and environmental benefits of mycoprotein verify its beneficial role on the health of humankind in the next decades. Agro‐industrial wastes can be used as cheap substrates to decrease the total cost of product. However, fungi may produce toxins or lead to allergic reactions in consumers. Therefore, the study of the safety and nutritional aspects of this product are very important. RESULTS Fusarium venenatum IR372C was cultured on date wastes and ammonium salts in submerge fermentation. The safety and nutritional issues of produced mycoprotein were investigated including allergy tests and analyses of toxins, as well as existence of toxin genes, and content of heavy metals, metals, amino acids and fatty acids. The results showed that fumonisin genes in F. venenatum IR372C remain without any gene expression during 1 week fermentation. Zearalenone and deoxynivalenol cannot be detected in the fermentation medium after 3 weeks. Prick tests on 30 volunteers demonstrated no sensitivities to mycoprotein. The content of lead was 658 μg kg −1 as the highest heavy metal followed by arsenic, cadmium and mercury at 161, 30.57 and 0 μg kg −1 , respectively. Produced mycoprotein includes essential amino acids at appropriate contents and the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acid was nearly 2:1. Also, calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc were found in mycoprotein, which could have health beneficial impacts on consumers. CONCLUSION This study has provided information on safety aspects of mycoprotein production by F. venentaum IR372C from date wastes. However, further studies with focus on long‐term clinical benefits of diets containing mycoprotein are necessary. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry