Safety Regulations of Edible Ingredients Derived from Corynebacterium glutamicum

Abstract

Corynebacterium glutamicum has been researched and developed as a strain that produces various edible ingredients, starting with glutamic acid. Due to environmental pollution and food security issues, studies on using C. glutamicum as a single-cell protein (SCP) are emerging. For the past 20 years, cases valid as safe among edible ingredients derived from C. glutamicum by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were L-glutamic acid, L-lysine, L-arginine, L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-histidine, L-threonine, L-methionine, L-tryptophan, L-glutamine, 2′-fucosyllactose, corn syrup fermentation product, and D-psicose 3-epimerase. According to validation, it is recommended that the final product should be free of viable cells and recombinant DNA of the production strain. Although there is a possibility that viable cells may be present in the final product, it can be considered safe if the strain qualifies for Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) or Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). Even if there is a possibility that recombinant DNA may be present in the final product, it can be considered safe as long as it is not a gene of concern for antibiotic resistance, toxicity, or pathogenicity. This review provides insights for future safety validation of edible ingredients derived from C. glutamicum, including SCPs.