A Review on Microbial Enzymes in the Food Industry: Current Innovations and Future Prospects

Year : 2026 | Volume : 15 | Issue : 01 | Page : 43 53
    By

    Rajesh Kumar,

  • Chanchal,

  • Baanipreet Kaur,

  • Ruby Deshwal,

  • Ghazal Firoz,

  • Anjali Bharti,

  • Vinod Kumar Gupta,

  1. Research Intern, Rapture Biotech International (P) Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
  2. Research Intern, Rapture Biotech International (P) Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
  3. Research Intern, Rapture Biotech International (P) Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
  4. Student, Rapture Biotech International (P) Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
  5. Research Intern, Rapture Biotech International (P) Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
  6. Research Intern, Rapture Biotech International (P) Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
  7. Chief Scientific Officer, Rapture Biotech International (P) Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Over the past few decades, microbial enzymes have become indispensable biocatalysts in food production, fundamentally revolutionizing how we approach manufacturing processes while simultaneously enhancing the quality of what we produce. Today, approximately 200 of the 4,000 known enzymes are deployed commercially with proteases, amylases, lipases, and lactases leading the charge in industrial food applications. This review brings together the latest innovations in how we use microbial enzymes for food processing, while also exploring exciting possibilities for their future. These enzymes do more than just improve texture and flavor, they extend shelf life, minimize waste, and enable the creation of genuinely sustainable food products. What makes this particularly exciting is how enzyme engineering, genetic modification, and precision fermentation have opened entirely new possibilities for customizing enzyme properties to meet specific industrial needs. The global food enzymes market continues to experience remarkable growth, fueled by what consumers increasingly demand: natural processing aids, products with clean labels, and manufacturing approaches that respect environmental constraints. But the field still faces real hurdles like regulatory compliance, maintaining enzyme stability under challenging industrial conditions and the persistent challenge of production costs all remain significant obstacles. Throughout this review, we examine where microbial enzymes make the biggest impact across dairy, bakery, beverages, meat processing, and specialty food sectors, while also addressing regulatory frameworks and charting out where enzyme technology development might head next.

Keywords: : Microbial enzymes, food processing, amylase, protease, lipase, enzyme engineering, sustainable food production, food quality, enzyme biotechnology, industrial applications

[This article belongs to Research & Reviews : Journal of Food Science & Technology ]

How to cite this article:
Rajesh Kumar, Chanchal, Baanipreet Kaur, Ruby Deshwal, Ghazal Firoz, Anjali Bharti, Vinod Kumar Gupta. A Review on Microbial Enzymes in the Food Industry: Current Innovations and Future Prospects. Research & Reviews : Journal of Food Science & Technology. 2026; 15(01):43-53.
How to cite this URL:
Rajesh Kumar, Chanchal, Baanipreet Kaur, Ruby Deshwal, Ghazal Firoz, Anjali Bharti, Vinod Kumar Gupta. A Review on Microbial Enzymes in the Food Industry: Current Innovations and Future Prospects. Research & Reviews : Journal of Food Science & Technology. 2026; 15(01):43-53. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/rrjofst/article=2026/view=236234


References

  1. Fedoroff NV. Food in a future of 10 billion. Agric Food Secur. 2015;4:11. doi:10.1186/s40066-015-0031-7.
  2. Bell EL, Finnigan W, France SP, Green AP, Hayes MA, Hepworth LJ, Lovelock SL, Niikura H, Osuna S, Romero E, Ryan KS, Turner NJ, Flitsch SL. Biocatalysis. Nat Rev Methods Primers. 2021;1(1):46. doi:10.1038/s43586-021-00044-z.
  3. Siddiqui SA, Erol Z, Rugji J, Taşçı F, Kahraman HA, Toppi V, Musa L, Di Giacinto G, Bahmid NA, Mehdizadeh M, Castro-Muñoz R. An overview of fermentation in the food industry – Looking back from a new perspective. Bioresour Bioprocess. 2023;10(1):85. doi:10.1186/s40643-023-00702-y.
  4. Singh R, Kumar M, Mittal A, Mehta PK. Microbial enzymes: Industrial progress in 21st century. 3 Biotech. 2016;6:174. doi:10.1007/s13205-016-0485-8.
  5. Mascarin GM, Golo PS, de Souza Ribeiro-Silva C, Muniz ER, de Oliveira Franco A, Kobori NN, Fernandes ÉKK. Advances in submerged liquid fermentation and formulation of entomopathogenic fungi. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2024;108(1):451. doi:10.1007/s00253-024-13287-z.
  6. Boukid F, Ganeshan S, Wang Y, Tülbek MÇ, Nickerson MT. Bioengineered enzymes and precision fermentation in the food industry. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(12):10156. doi:10.3390/ijms241210156.
  7. Olempska-Beer ZS, Merker RI, Ditto MD, DiNovi MJ. Food-processing enzymes from recombinant microorganisms – A review. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2006;45(2):144–158. doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2006.05.001.
  8. Rebholz GF, Sebald K, Dirndorfer S, Dawid C, Hofmann T, Scherf KA. Impact of exogenous α-amylases on sugar formation in straight dough wheat bread. Eur Food Res Technol. 2021;247(3):695–706. doi:10.1007/s00217-020-03657-y.
  9. Espinosa-Ramírez J, Pérez-Carrillo E, Serna-Saldívar SO. Maltose and glucose utilization during fermentation of barley and sorghum lager beers as affected by β-amylase or amyloglucosidase addition. J Cereal Sci. 2014;60(3):602–609. doi:10.1016/j.jcs.2014.07.008.
  10. Zhao X, Zheng Z, Zhang J, Sarwar A, Aziz T, Yang Z. Change of proteolysis and sensory profile during ripening of Cheddar-style cheese as influenced by a microbial rennet from rice wine. Food Sci Nutr. 2019;7(4):1540–1550. doi:10.1002/fsn3.1003.
  11. Madhusankha GDMP, Thilakarathna RCN. Meat tenderization mechanism and the impact of plant exogenous proteases: A review. Arab J Chem. 2021;14(2):102967. doi:10.1016/j.arabjc.2020.102967.
  12. Gu M, Hong T, Ma Y, Xi J, Zhao Q, Xu D, Jin Y, Wu F, Xu X. Effects of a commercial peptidase on rheology, microstructure, gluten properties of wheat dough and bread quality. LWT. 2022;160:113266. doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2022.113266.
  13. McSweeney PLH, Sousa MJ. Biochemical pathways for the production of flavour compounds in cheeses during ripening: A review. Lait. 2000;80(3):293–324. doi:10.1051/lait:2000127.
  14. Reyes-Reyes AL, Valero Barranco F, Sandoval G. Recent advances in lipases and their applications in the food and nutraceutical industry. Catalysts. 2022;12(9):960. doi:10.3390/catal12090960.
  15. Sivakanthan S, Madhujith T. Current trends in applications of enzymatic interesterification of fats and oils: A review. LWT. 2020;132:109880. doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2020.109880.
  16. Bendelja Ljoljić D, Dolenčić Špehar I, Kos I, Hulak N, Vnučec I. Lactose-free dairy products: A growing market and nutritional advantages. In: Book of the 50th Food Quality and Safety Conference. Brno: Mendel University; 2024. p. 41–45. doi:10.11118/978-80-7509-996-9-0041.
  17. Ribeiro DS, Henrique SMB, Oliveira LS, Macedo GA, Fleuri LF. Enzymes in juice processing: A review. Int J Food Sci Technol. 2010;45(4):635–641. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2010.02177.x.
  18. Liu X, Wang C, Zhang X, Zhang G, Zhou J, Chen J. Application prospect of protein-glutaminase in the development of plant-based protein foods. Foods. 2022;11(3):440. doi:10.3390/foods11030440.
  19. Li L, Pei Y, Cheng K, Deng Y, Dong X, Fang R, Chu B, Wei P, Chen Q, Xiao G. Production and evaluation of enzyme-modified cheese adding protease or lipase to improve quality properties. J Biosci Bioeng. 2023;135(5):389–394. doi:10.1016/j.jbiosc.2023.02.006.
  20. Marcellino N, Beuvier E, Grappin R, Guéguen M, Benson DR. Diversity of Geotrichum candidum strains isolated from traditional cheesemaking fabrications in France. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2001;67:4752–4759. doi:10.1128/AEM.67.10.4752-4759.2001.
  21. Yin L, Wei Y, Wu W, Peng Y, Ding W, Xiao S, He B, Wang X, Wu Y. Effect of enzymes on baking quality of wheat dough and storage quality of toast bread. Int J Food Sci Technol. 2024;59(12):9479–9489. doi:10.1111/ijfs.17597.
  22. Decamps K, Joye IJ, Courtin CM, Delcour JA. Glucose and pyranose oxidase improve bread dough stability. J Cereal Sci. 2012;55(3):380–384. doi:10.1016/j.jcs.2012.01.007.
  23. Evans E. Brewing: Science and practice. J Sci Food Agric. 2005;86:169. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2344.
  24. Stanek-Wandzel N, Krzyszowska A, Zarębska M, Gębura K, Wasilewski T, Hordyjewicz-Baran Z, Tomaka M. Evaluation of cellulase, pectinase, and hemicellulase effectiveness in extraction of phenolic compounds from grape pomace. Int J Mol Sci. 2024;25(24):13538. doi:10.3390/ijms252413538.
  25. Hailemichael F. Production and industrial application of microbial aspartic protease: A review. Int J Food Eng Technol. 2021;5(2):85. doi:10.11648/j.ijfet.20210502.17.
  26. González-Osuna MF, Bernal-Mercado AT, Wong-Corral FJ, Ezquerra-Brauer JM, Soto-Valdez H, Castillo A, Rodríguez-Figueroa JC, Del-Toro-Sánchez CL. Bioactive peptides and protein hydrolysates used in meat and meat products’ preservation: A review. ACS Food Sci Technol. 2024;4(5):1003–1016. doi:10.1021/acsfoodscitech.3c00605.
  27. Fan Y, Zheng S, Annamalai PK, Bhandari B, Prakash S. Enhancement of the texture and microstructure of faba bean-based meat analogues with brewers’ spent grain through enzymatic treatments. Sustain Food Technol. 2024;2(3):826–836. doi:10.1039/d4fb00045e.
  28. Ye H, Tao X, Zhang W, Chen Y, Yu Q, Xie J. Food-derived bioactive peptides: Production, biological activities, opportunities and challenges. J Future Foods. 2022;2(4):294–306. doi:10.1016/j.jfutfo.2022.08.002.
  29. Porter JL, Rusli RA, Ollis DL. Directed evolution of enzymes for industrial biocatalysis. ChemBioChem. 2016;17:197–203. doi:10.1002/cbic.201500280.
  30. Hu Z, Liu Y, Huang Y, Yu P. Advances in the directed evolution of computer-aided enzymes. Curr Top Med Chem. 2025;26. doi:10.2174/0115680266377310250526045137.
  31. Deckers M, Deforce D, Fraiture MA, Roosens NHC. Genetically modified micro-organisms for industrial food enzyme production: An overview. Foods. 2020;9(3):326. doi:10.3390/foods9030326.
  32. Huang W, Wang S, Wei Y, Bai Y, Zhu Z, Yin D, Liu T, Sheng X, Zhou Z. Design and evolution of artificial enzyme with in-situ biosynthesized non-canonical amino acid. Nat Commun. 2025;16(1):8698. doi:10.1038/s41467-025-63733-3.
  33. Hu J, Arantes V, Pribowo A, Saddler JN. The synergistic action of accessory enzymes enhances the hydrolytic potential of a cellulase mixture but is highly substrate specific. Biotechnol Biofuels. 2013;6(1):112. doi:10.1186/1754-6834-6-112.
  34. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Guidance for industry: Recommendations for submission of chemical and technological data for food additive petitions and GRAS notices for enzyme preparations. Silver Spring (MD): US Food and Drug Administration; 2022. Available from: http://www.fda.gov/FoodGuidances
  35. Zhang Y, Geary T, Simpson BK. Genetically modified food enzymes: A review. Curr Opin Food Sci. 2019;25:14–18. doi:10.1016/j.cofs.2019.01.002.
  36. Modarres HP, Mofrad MR, Sanati-Nezhad A. Protein thermostability engineering. RSC Adv. 2016;6(116):115252–115270. doi:10.1039/c6ra16992a.
  37. Du YH, Wang MY, Yang LH, Tong LL, Guo DS, Ji XJ. Optimization and scale-up of fermentation processes driven by models. Bioengineering. 2022;9(9):473. doi:10.3390/bioengineering9090473.
  38. Hwang H, Nam SJ. The influence of consumers’ knowledge on their responses to genetically modified foods. GM Crops Food. 2021;12(1):146–157. doi:10.1080/21645698.2020.1840911.
  39. Søndergaard HA, Grunert KG, Scholderer J. Consumer attitudes to enzymes in food production. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2005;16(10):466–474. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2005.06.003.
  40. Khan MF. Recent advances in microbial enzyme applications for sustainable textile processing and waste management. Sci. 2025;7(2):46. doi:10.3390/sci7020046.
  41. Prithviraj V, Díaz LP, Lemus-Mondaca R, Ullah A, Roopesh MS. Emerging advancements in 3D food printing. Front Food Sci Technol. 2025;5. doi:10.3389/frfst.2025.1607449.
Regular Issue Subscription Review Article
Volume 15
Issue 01
Received 10/01/2025
Accepted 16/12/2025
Published 22/01/2026
Publication Time 377 Days
224

Login


My IP

PlumX Metrics