Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Microbial and enzymatic biotechnologies to obtain new products/novel foods/added-value compounds from food by-products and food waste with high shelf-life, digestibility, nutritional value, low anti- nutritional factors and undesired microorganisms and compounds (in connection with Spokes 3 and 4).
Collection of microbial cultures and enzymes (M18).
Innovative applications for at least one novel food product with enhanced shelf-life/digestibility/nutritional value(M36).
Report on the efficacy and sustainability of developed biotechnologies (M36).
Innovative and sustainable strategies to recover bioactive ingredients from food chain waste and develop new high-value food ingredients/products are based on enzymatic hydrolysis by natural enzymes of plant or microbial origin.
Food by-products, such as legumes or those deriving from the dairy sector, are rich in bioactive compounds such as proteins, amino acids and peptides, starches, dietary fibers, and fats. Applying natural enzymes increases the bioaccessibility of nutraceutical compounds and reduces antinutritional factors and allergenicity potential. The derived hydrolysates result in added-value products that can be used as functional supplements or food ingredients in formulating innovative products.
Microbial enzymes (fungal chitinases) can also be used to improve the digestibility and bioavailability of protein fractions for human consumption derived from the bioconversion of waste by edible insects that have recently been promoted as a source of protein with a high nutritional value.
The research activities will consider three subjects: