Treatment of agro-industrial food byproducts and wastes by fermentation and enzymes

Agro-industrial food by-products and wastes (FBPW) may be processed by fermentation with Yeast and Bacteria, and/or enzymatic catalysis to obtain compounds of industrial interest, including bioactive metabolites, nutrients, fibers, enzymes, and microbial biomass. The enzymatic approach has been also successful in recovering chitin from marine by-products and edible insects. The “spent” biomass resulting from the fermentation of FBW and (green)-extraction of value compounds can be exploited for its ability in sequestering a pool of food contaminants (i.e., mycotoxins, heavy metals) and to inhibit bacterial pathogens growth. In addition, enzymatic treatments can reduce mycotoxins contamination in food/feed. 
The current task aims to optimize and scale-up enzyme- or microorganisms-driven bioprocesses of FBPW and/or their extract to improve their nutritional quality and safety, and (in the case of microorganisms) to produce microbial biomasses in a sustainable way.

1) FBPW characterization (all partners).
2) Suitable microbial strains and/or enzymes will be selected and characterized based on by-products to be valorized (all partners).
3) The effects of fermentation of FBPW and/or their extracts with selected microbial strains, in terms of soluble dietary fibers, polyphenols availability, and anti-nutritional factors will be investigated (all partners). 
4) Valorization of fiber bio-waste products into food applications (e.g., bakery and confectionary products, meat and/or fish alternatives), and design of new consumer-friendly food in collaboration with Sacco.
5) Reuse and valorisation of sauce production waste in collaboration with Barilla.
6) Enzymatic processes will be set up and automated through the integration of enabling technologies, e.g., using immobilized enzymes in flow chemistry reactors (UNIMI). 
7) Enzyme-based approaches will be set up to reduce the concentration of mycotoxins in Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS), and in maize kernels. The use of the detoxified ingredients as such or as ingredients in cereal-based food products will be assessed (CNR).

1. Optimization and scale-up of at least one fermentation process that leads to improvement of quality of FBPW and/or their extracts.
2. Production of at least two types of microbial biomasses, cultured on FBPW, for various industrial processes.
3. Optimization and scale-up of at least one enzyme-based bioprocess of FBPW and/or their extracts.
4. Optimization of enzymatic treatment to reduce mycotoxins in DDGS and in maize flour. The use of detoxified corn waste as such or as ingredients in cereal-based food products will be also evaluated.
5. Evaluation of the safety, nutritional, and technological properties of the end products obtained from enzyme-mediated mycotoxin degradation.
6. Novel microbial solutions to valorize fiber bio-waste products into food applications (e.g., bakery and confectionary products, meat and/or fish alternatives).
7. Sauce production waste valorization; technologies for separating glass from waste.