The project
Funbrew integrates both fundamental and applied research to fully exploit the potential of breweries side streams and to enable the development of sustainable food systems.
What?
Brewer’s spent grain is a by-product of beer manufacturing, consisting of the external layers of barley which are separated from the mash before fermentation. It is produced in big amount worldwide, estimated as 39 million tons on average. The spent is rich in fibers and protein and is a potential source of valuable nutrients. Still, the majority of it is used as animal feed or discarded. The project aims at recycling brewer’s spent grain into a functional ingredient for food industry. Our target are cereal-based food such as baked goods, pasta and breakfast cereals, widely consumed every day in our diets.
Why?
The raising world population and food demands require a more sustainable approach towards natural resources. The use of agricultural by-products in food manufacturing is one way to increase the sustainability of the food chain. The use of spent grain proposed in Funbrew follows a “closed-loop” model expected to have a positive impact on environment and nutrition, making more of a good resource. Bread, pasta and breakfast cereals nutritional value can increase, delivering healthier products to everybody.
How?
Brewer’s spent grain is rich in nutrients but does not have a good performance when used in food as such. The focus of Funbrew is the establishment of bioprocessing technologies, such as controlled fermentation, able to transform the properties of the brewer’s spent grain enhancing its processability. The mission of Funbrew is to integrate both fundamental and applied research to use the potential of breweries side streams and to enable the development of more sustainable food systems. And it will be healthy too!
Who?
The University of Helsinki carries out research of an internationally high standard and has regularly been ranked among Europe’s 10 to 15 best universities on worldwide ranking lists. At the Grain Technology and Bioprocessing Research Group (Department of Food and Nutrition), biotransformation of agricultural resources is a main research topic. The group has several collaborative projects publicly or industrially funded with national and international partners.
The Department of Plant, Soil and Food science is involved in a broad range of agricultural related research for the public and private sector. Within food science, the study of traditional and innovative food products as wells the development of novel/functional foods are among the core activities. Its favorable position in the city of Bari attracts several international researchers and collaborative project within the Mediterranean basin.
ISE-Division of AgriFood and Bioscience conducts strategic and applied research on an extensive range of subjects related to product and process development, quality, product safety, production efficiency and environmental matters. RISE has a strong industry-driven research program and several international collaborations.
The Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, is the only trilingual university in Europe, located at the crossroads between the German-speaking and Italian economies and cultures, carries out research on multiple fields. At the Faculty of Science and Technology, sustainability and interdisciplinarity constitute the starting point for the solution of complex issues related to mountain territories and the fields of energy efficiency, food production and food quality control as well as innovation in industrial processes and products including the exploitation of by-products by lactic fermentation.
Our industrial collaborators
News
Funbrew Workshop 30th of June 2021
BREWER’S SPENT GRAIN fermentation: how an underutilized by-product becomes a
Funbrew project participated in the SUSFOOD Mid-term seminar
Funbrew project participated in the SUSFOOD Mid-term seminar Ghent (28th -
FUNBREW at FEMS2019
The FUNBREW project will present their research at FEMS2019,
Funbrew @funbrewproject Only 1 week left to submit the abstract for this fantastic event 🧫🔬😃 https://t.co/vEEKRCPv3A 1 week ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @cemasvlc: In our latest magazine we talked about #foodwaste with Rosa Rolle, Team Leader Food Losses and Food Waste from @FAO. 🎙️ “Eac… 10 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @RTEBrainstorm: What food from beer waste would you like to go with your pint? By Kamaljit Moirangthem, Rossana Coda & Dilip Rai @BSG_Bi… 14 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @CarloRizzello: Bioplastic from fermentation of wasted bread in... seawater. Our last research, released today. #sapienza #uniba Exploi… 19 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Side-streams are a great opportunity for innovations! https://t.co/xPDsQvwje0 23 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Food https://t.co/oSyfqQGGz4 while we work to get great up-cycled food, as consumers we can take many actions to r… https://t.co/rxwtyDgndB 28 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject @susfood_eranet Thank you!
We loved the experience 😀 1 month ago Funbrew @funbrewproject We love our microbes 🦠💚 https://t.co/xfAkDdnOcZ 1 month ago Funbrew @funbrewproject What a great experience today, to meet young students and brainstorm about sustainable solutions to food waste in s… https://t.co/oxyltIPxtC 1 month ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @RonanBrownen: This is quite something 2 months ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @EUatUN: Tonight in Brussels, the colours of the Ukrainian flag light up EU buildings. A symbol of our solidarity. Friendship. And ste… 2 months ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Only 1 week left to submit the abstract for this fantastic event 🧫🔬😃 https://t.co/vEEKRCPv3A 1 week ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @cemasvlc: In our latest magazine we talked about #foodwaste with Rosa Rolle, Team Leader Food Losses and Food Waste from @FAO. 🎙️ “Eac… 10 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @RTEBrainstorm: What food from beer waste would you like to go with your pint? By Kamaljit Moirangthem, Rossana Coda & Dilip Rai @BSG_Bi… 14 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @CarloRizzello: Bioplastic from fermentation of wasted bread in... seawater. Our last research, released today. #sapienza #uniba Exploi… 19 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Side-streams are a great opportunity for innovations! https://t.co/xPDsQvwje0 23 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Food https://t.co/oSyfqQGGz4 while we work to get great up-cycled food, as consumers we can take many actions to r… https://t.co/rxwtyDgndB 28 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject @susfood_eranet Thank you!
We loved the experience 😀 1 month ago Funbrew @funbrewproject We love our microbes 🦠💚 https://t.co/xfAkDdnOcZ 1 month ago Funbrew @funbrewproject What a great experience today, to meet young students and brainstorm about sustainable solutions to food waste in s… https://t.co/oxyltIPxtC 1 month ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @RonanBrownen: This is quite something 2 months ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @EUatUN: Tonight in Brussels, the colours of the Ukrainian flag light up EU buildings. A symbol of our solidarity. Friendship. And ste… 2 months ago