Precision Fermentation for Novel Food Ingredients: Biotechnological Advances, Safety and Pathways to Sustainable Food Security – A Critical Review

Environmental degradation, climate change and population growth are placing unprecedented pressure on conventional agricultural systems and threaten global food and nutrition security. Precision fermentation, which combines genetic and metabolic engineering with controlled microbial fermentation, offers a platform to produce high‑value food ingredients such as alternative proteins, tailored lipids, oligosaccharides, vitamins, flavours and enzymes with improved resource efficiency and reduced environmental footprint. This review examines the current state of precision fermentation for food, covering fundamental principles, host selection and engineering strategies, process design and integration with circular bioeconomy concepts. recent advances are synthesized in major ingredient classes and examine available techno economic and life cycle assessment evidence, including reported cost ranges, greenhouse gas emissions, energy demand and water use, while emphasising that sustainability outcomes depend on feedstock choice, process productivity, downstream purification, allocation assumptions, and energy source. Particular attention is given to safety and regulatory dimensions, including GMO versus non‑GMO approaches, labelling and consumer acceptance, and the evolving frameworks governing precision‑fermented ingredients in major jurisdictions. Remaining challenges related to scale‑up, feedstock availability, process optimization and equitable deployment in low‑ and middle‑income countries are evaluated. Priority research and policy directions are identified for future food systems.