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Article: Fungus factories: additives from fungi are already widely used in the food industry, and plenty more await discovery.(Food science)
- Article from:
- Chemistry and Industry
- Article date:
- September 29, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Society of Chemical Industry. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Fungi haven't had much good press lately. Since last year's flooding in the UK and Hurricane Katrina in the US before that, the public face of fungi has been looking distinctly mouldy. Behind the headlines, however, mycologists undertaking the eradication programmes know a lot more about fungi than just how to get rid of them. Even some of the antifungal agents they use in clean-up operations are made of, or derived from, fungi.
While efforts are ongoing to stop food going mouldy or dealing with the problems of mycotoxin contamination, fungi are also beginning to attract attention for the benefits they can bring.
'Random screening of fungi has been done ...