RESEARCH ARTICLE

Sustainable bioconversion of food waste into high-yield and low-RNA Fusarium venenatum mycoprotein.

Bioresource technology · 9 August 2026 · DOI 10.1016/j.biortech.2026.135289

Researchers grew F. venenatum on cabbage, carrot, corn and mixed food wastes, comparing biomass with a glucose laboratory medium and assessing RNA, protein, mycotoxins, metabolic changes and life-cycle impacts. Food-waste cultures produced 32.68–74.16% more dry biomass, contained 35.16–54.91% less RNA and had 1.76–33.86% more protein. Mixed-waste mycoprotein yielded 7.93 g/L biomass and 2.55 g RNA per 100 g, still exceeding the WHO recommendation. Mycotoxins were below selected commodity benchmarks, while life-cycle analysis found lower environmental impacts than glucose-based production.