Full title:
Volledige titel:
Microbial fermentation products as protein sources in food and feed applications from Flemish companies’
Timing:
Timing:
2022-2023
Total budget:
Totaal budget:
3.600.000
Funding source:
Financiering:
EWI - Vlaamse Veerkracht
Partners of the ProteINN Club:
Partners van de ProteINN Club:
Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, ILVO
Description:
Omschrijving:
Scaling up the fermentation and purification of microbial protein, and its processing into food or feed products, is a crucial but highly capital-intensive step for many companies. Providing lab and pilot equipment accessible for these companies can help them to overcome this hurdle. For this purpose, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant and ILVO invest in the necessary lab and pilot equipment at both pilot plants, mainly for the production, purification (via filtration, centrifugation, spray drying), characterization and further processing of the nutrient flows. Both organizations are independent research institutes and service providers for process and product development and scale-up. Both pilot facilities each have a specific, but complementary focus: BBEPP is primarily aimed at the development of industrial biotechnology, and Food Pilot as a partnership between ILVO and Flanders' FOOD is aimed at processing to applications in the agro-food chain. The ILVO Living Lab Livestock provides its expertise on the nutritional evaluation of animal feed for different farm animals. The new investments will support companies in the agro-food sector to valorize the microbial fermentation streams into high-quality food products or ingredients and animal feed in a process of co-creation. The pilot equipment will be put into service and two showcases will be conducted, one with application in a food product and one in feed. Additionally, the equipment will be equipped with the necessary sensors so that a sustainability analysis can be performed on the entire process starting with the fermentation until the end products. This with a view to communicating as objectively as possible to society and the consumer. Finally, specific communication initiatives will be taken towards the agro-food sector in order to stimulate the applications by companies, to further valorize them and to enable the transition towards microbial protein.