Figure 3.

Pathways for the industrialised production of functional foods. There are three main pathways through which microorganisms are applied in food production. Application of microbial biomass (A): Microbial biomass is obtained from microorganisms sourced from food, humans, and the environment through screening, identification, and fermentation. Application of substance carriers (B): Microorganisms can synthesise various high-value bioactive ingredients, which are then extracted, separated, and purified to obtain pure substances. Application of cell factory (C): Cell factory refers to the use of microorganisms as production hosts to achieve the industrialisation of target products. Applications in food (D): The microbial biomass or extracted compounds obtained from the three above-mentioned methods are used as food ingredients, starter cultures, or dietary supplements for food production.