Enhancing the Sustainability of Fungal Proteins from Fusarium venenatum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae through Membrane Filtration Optimization
Kesaria Peikrishvili
11/08/2026
Due to the growing global demand for sustainable protein sources, fungal proteins have gained significant attention because of their efficient nutritional value and potential health benefits. Large-scale production of fungal proteins is pivotal to meet elevating global demand for nutritious proteins while diminishing the reliance on resource-intensive protein production methods, such as animal agriculture. Moreover, industrial scale production will guarantee food security by providing high quality, valuable protein sources with lower water or land use. However, the efficiency of mycoprotein downstream processing remains a key obstacle in their large-scale production. Microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) are membrane-based separation techniques that demonstrate effective future methods for the recovery and purification of fungal proteins. This paper evaluates the use of MF and UF in mycoprotein processing, focusing on species like Fusarium venenatum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to improve protein quality, recovery, and feasibility. The findings demonstrate that optimization of membrane-based filtration parameters such as pH, membrane pore size, transmembrane pressure, cross-flow velocity and cleaning strategies enhance protein quality and yield. Compared to traditional methods, membrane-based filtration demonstrates improved performance and MF and UF represent a promising method for a large-scale mycoprotein production. The findings emphasize the significance of suitable parameters in case to avoid potential limitations like fouling, lower flux or cake layer formation and support the amelioration of scalable and sustainable alternative protein production systems. However, further pilot studies are recommended to confirm laboratory findings.