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.
Funbrew @funbrewproject Hopefully in the future also by-products like the barley spent grains will be used for healthier food products! https://t.co/H9qZSaNUn6 3 hours ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @FEMSTweets: The @funbrewproject takes beer brewing, microbes, and laboratory science and aims to make these all work together to create… 6 days ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Brewers´spent grains will enrich our bread and cereal products with fibers too 🙂
(working on that...)👩🔬 https://t.co/uTkxdNwF4C 3 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @WWF: This #BiodiversityDay commit to at least one of these #Connect2Earth challenges and together we can help make a huge difference to… 5 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Analyzing polyphenols in our bioprocessed spent in the beautiful Granada...looking forward to know more, thank you… https://t.co/LcN8jWXUC2 5 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject @BeatriceCoda Woo, we want to know your time! 5 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @FEMSTweets: The @funbrewproject takes beer brewing, microbes, and laboratory science and aims to make these all work together to create… 9 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @FAO: Don't waste food 🍽️
Save energy 💡
Recycle ♻️ What is your #ClimateAction for a #ZeroHunger world? We all need to act now! #E… 9 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @EIT_Food: Wonky carrots, blemished bananas, ugly apples… Once cut up & peeled it makes no difference. Today is #BananaDay, use it to he… 10 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @ToastAle: #WednesdayWisdom 🌏 If we can reduce #plastic production and consumption, and move towards #circulareconomies with little or… 11 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @EUFIC: #EUFIC paid #internship program! 👨🏻🎓👩🏻🎓 We are looking for MSc students with a passion for #foodscience & communication to jo… 12 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Brewers´spent samples are being prepared (immunolabelling) to be examined by confocal laser microscopy. We can lear… https://t.co/8l8723VAMd 12 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Hopefully in the future also by-products like the barley spent grains will be used for healthier food products! https://t.co/H9qZSaNUn6 3 hours ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @FEMSTweets: The @funbrewproject takes beer brewing, microbes, and laboratory science and aims to make these all work together to create… 6 days ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Brewers´spent grains will enrich our bread and cereal products with fibers too 🙂
(working on that...)👩🔬 https://t.co/uTkxdNwF4C 3 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @WWF: This #BiodiversityDay commit to at least one of these #Connect2Earth challenges and together we can help make a huge difference to… 5 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Analyzing polyphenols in our bioprocessed spent in the beautiful Granada...looking forward to know more, thank you… https://t.co/LcN8jWXUC2 5 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject @BeatriceCoda Woo, we want to know your time! 5 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @FEMSTweets: The @funbrewproject takes beer brewing, microbes, and laboratory science and aims to make these all work together to create… 9 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @FAO: Don't waste food 🍽️
Save energy 💡
Recycle ♻️ What is your #ClimateAction for a #ZeroHunger world? We all need to act now! #E… 9 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @EIT_Food: Wonky carrots, blemished bananas, ugly apples… Once cut up & peeled it makes no difference. Today is #BananaDay, use it to he… 10 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @ToastAle: #WednesdayWisdom 🌏 If we can reduce #plastic production and consumption, and move towards #circulareconomies with little or… 11 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject RT @EUFIC: #EUFIC paid #internship program! 👨🏻🎓👩🏻🎓 We are looking for MSc students with a passion for #foodscience & communication to jo… 12 weeks ago Funbrew @funbrewproject Brewers´spent samples are being prepared (immunolabelling) to be examined by confocal laser microscopy. We can lear… https://t.co/8l8723VAMd 12 weeks ago