Yeasts

Abstract

Yeasts are described as simple fungi with a limited range of activity or as an offshoot of bacteria which reached ultimate development on a simple diet of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The romantic version is that algae took their chlorophyll and photosynthesis into plants and became part of the structure as chloroplasts, whilst yeasts took their ability to find energy in sugars into plants at mitochondria, which oxidise food and produce adenosine triphosphate as an intermediate in carbohydrate manipulation. In less-romantic commercial terms, yeasts are attractive for microbial protein because they are already established as health foods and should in theory bring no problems when they are ultimately supplied as bulk protein foods. Consumer acceptance is a powerful force in planning and capital investment.