Phytase-containing foodstuffs and methods of making and using them

A method to produce a foodstuff comprising a polypeptide having a phytase activity comprising:

• (a) providing a cell comprising an isolated or a recombinant phytase-encoding nucleic acid having a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of
• (i) a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:
• 1,
• (ii) a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:
• 1, wherein T can also be U;
• and
• (iii) a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide as set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 or a phytase having a sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 with conservative amino acid substitutions, wherein conservative amino acid substitutions comprise replacements, one for another, among the aliphatic amino acids Ala, Val, Leu and Ile, or, interchange of the hydroxyl residues Ser and Thr, or, exchange of the acidic residues Asp and Glu, or, substitution between the amide residues Asn and Gln, or, exchange of the basic residues Lys and Arg, or, replacements among the aromatic residues Phe, Tyr, or any combination thereof, or active fragments thereof;
• (b) culturing the cell under conditions wherein said nucleic acid is expressed as a polypeptide having a phytase activity;
• and
• (c) converting said cell into a composition suitable for a foodstuff.