Screening marine microbes for novel biosurfactant production for utilisation in the food industry.

Biosurfactants of microbial origin offer huge market potential as natural; non-toxic; biodegradable and sustainable replacements for chemically derived surfactants currently used in the food industry (In 2007, demand for surfactants in food processing in the United States alone totalled $405 million). Within this study, PML Applications Ltd will systematically screen its large and diverse marine bacterial repository for novel biosurfactant producing organisms with the potential for high biosurfactant productivity and novel chemical structure and functionality for use in food systems. This screening programme represents the first of its kind and scale in the UK with an envisaged output being the identification of several key marine bacterial strains that could be utilised by manufacturers worldwide for the production of novel and healthier food ingredients.