Funbrew - Biotransformation of brewers' spent grain

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?

University of Helsinki

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.

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University of Bari

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.

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RISE Research Institutes of Sweden

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.

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University of Bozen-Bolzano

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.

The project

What?

Why?

How?

Who?

University of Helsinki

University of Bari

RISE Research Institutes of Sweden

University of Bozen-Bolzano

Contact