Microbial Protease — Hidden Processing Agent — Is It Vegan?
Also known as: Protease enzyme, Subtilisin, Alcalase, Bacterial protease
Vegan
No animals or animal-derived substances are involved in producing this agent.
Not required on labels
Listed as 'protease' or 'enzyme' in ingredient lists where relevant. Not required when used as a processing aid.
Source
Produced by microbial fermentation from Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, or Aspergillus species. Entirely microbial and vegan.
Used In
Meat tenderising (cleaves peptide bonds in muscle proteins), bread baking (gluten reduction — used in cracker and biscuit production), beer chill-haze prevention, leather dehairing and bating (industrial use), detergents.
How to Avoid
No need to avoid — microbial protease is vegan.
Editorial Notes
Microbial proteases have replaced many traditional animal-derived enzyme applications. In cheese ripening, protease activity is critical for flavour development. In meat processing, papain (plant-derived, from papaya) and microbial proteases are the main commercial tenderising enzymes. Animal-derived proteases (trypsin, chymotrypsin) still exist but are less common in food applications.