Recent strategies in synthetic food production for sustainable food security: applications and challenges

Due to rapid growth in population, instability in conventional agricultural production, and depletion of natural resources, currently, there is huge pressure to fulfill the demands for nutritious, safe, and cheaper food. Environmental changes have also impacted the livestock, forestry, aquaculture, and fisheries production in a variety of ways that may result in adverse health outcomes, trade disruption, compromised livelihoods, and negative economic effects. Recent technological development in synthetic food production has proven to be a transformative solution for the safe, nutritious, qualitative, and quantitative sustainable food requirements. The aim of this review is to address the need and explore recent technological innovations in cell, tissue, and stem culture technologies; genetically modified organisms (GMO); microbial fermentation technology; plant protein engineering using synthetic biology; artificial intelligence and digital technologies for the production of synthetic foods, such as cultured meat, artificial sweeteners, microbial proteins, novel fats, fortified and synthetic dairy products, and functional food ingredients with enhanced nutritional profiles and scalable production potential. The review will also explore the applications of synthetic foods in nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, food preservatives, and food additives, highlighting their significant role in improving human health. The findings of this review paper suggest that the development of synthetic food products could be a promising food resource toward resilient global food systems for the growing population. Although significant progress has been made in synthetic food production, it faces many challenges, such as high production costs, a lack of technological optimization, regulatory complexities, and safe use of synthetic foods. Also, for the successful commercialization of synthetic food products, there is a need to develop advanced technology to reduce the production cost and encourage legislative frameworks and public involvement.