On 19–20 March 2026, the University of Mons (UMONS) hosted a successful two-day international workshop titled “Boosting the use of Purple Phototrophic Bacteria (PPB) as innovative food and feed ingredients: From metabolism to health-promoting effects.” The University...
Within the European project Purple4Life, our team at the University of Antwerp is exploring how purple phototrophic bacteria can contribute to more sustainable and circular bioprocesses. These metabolically versatile microorganisms have strong potential as...
Within the framework of the Purple4Life project, CNR is developing a safety assessment workflow for PPB, focusing on their suitability as innovative food and feed ingredients
CNR is developing and applying protein allergenicity assessment methodologies to PPB by integrating complementary in silico and in vitro approaches. These methodologies include bioinformatic screening of protein sequences for homology to known allergens, alongside experimental validation using laboratory-based assays. As part of this work, we are currently establishing and optimizing extraction protocols for the recovery of total protein content from four strains of Rhodobacter capsulatus, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, and Rhodospirillum rubrum, ensuring reproducibility and suitability for downstream allergenicity analyses.
Ensuring the safety of PPB is essential to unlock their full potential as sustainable biotechnological resources. PPB play a key role in circular economy solutions by converting waste streams and industrial by-products into high-value biomolecules and innovative food and feed ingredients. Establishing rigorous safety evidence is critical to meet EU regulatory requirements, build consumer and stakeholder trust, and facilitate future market uptake of PPB-derived products across multiple sectors.
Our team is committed to ensuring that PPB can be safely and effectively introduced as innovative food and feed ingredients by generating robust, science‑based evidence on their safety. We aim to build a solid foundation that supports both scientific credibility and future regulatory approval.
Next, we will characterize the PPB protein profile by electrophoresis systems and high-resolution LC MS/MS instruments, supported by advanced bioinformatics for protein identification. This will allow applying in silico pipeline to screen PPB proteins for sequence similarity to known allergens.