Call for partners: MiBod: Microbial biomass digestibility

The real nutrition value of microbial biomass

Food-grade microbial biomass presents a promising avenue for producing protein ingredients while efficiently utilizing scarce resources and upcycling side-streams. Bacteria, yeast, and fungi-derived microbial biomass can offer high protein content and quality, leading to the development of nutritious, palatable, and cost-effective food products. However, the novelty of this technology has created a challenge for providers of microbial biomass ingredients as little is known about the digestibility of microbial biomass and protein nutrition of its ingredients. We understand these concerns and are here to assist in addressing these challenges.

Investigating the factors that influence protein digestibility

Our project aims to investigate how different types and processing techniques of microbial biomass (such as yeast, bacteria, fungi, and algae) affect protein digestibility and nucleotides. We aim to determine if certain cell walls act as barriers against digestive enzymes and identify pre- and post-processing steps that enhance microbial protein bioavailability while reducing nucleotide content, thus maximizing the nutritive value of biomass as an ingredient. Our objective is to equip our partners with the knowledge to optimize their biomass production in terms of nutritional quality.

Consortium is open for partners

The consortium is open for industrial partners active in microbial biomass
production or its application in food products, in designing and providing
equipment for biomass production and downstream processing. Public-private partnership partners provide in-cash and in-kind support to the project in return for access to developed knowledge and license rights to foreground.