The recent series of texts 'Developments in Food Proteins' comprised in
all seven volumes which were published in the course of the decade
1982-1991. Each volume contained inter alia one or more chapters that
were concerned with new or developing sources of food proteins. Most of
these have now been collected together in an up- dated and re-evaluated
form for the present volume. 'New' sources of food proteins includes
those sources that are unconventional, that are still of very limited
significance in market terms, or that are at present of very localized
use. Several of these were included in 'Developments in Food Proteins'.
One of them, algae, appeared both in Volume 1 and in an up-dated form in
Volume 7. It is therefore not included here. Others, such as yeasts and
bacteria, have not yet increased in practical importance as potential
food components beyond the long-term promise already evident at that
time. However, leaf protein, as described in the present Chapter 10, has
moved from the original rather crude concept to a much more
sophisticated product in the form of Rubisco. Fungal protein, as Quorn
(Chapter 11), has also proved to be potentially of real food value.
'Developing' sources of food protein are those sources that have always
been basic items in human diets.