Innovating for Tomorrow’s Food: Operational Launch of the Ferments du Futur Grand Challenge

Cheese, bread, yogurt, sausage, sauerkraut, kefir, wine… We already consume many traditional fermented foods. The goal of the grand challenge is to better understand the mechanisms of food fermentation to make them evolve if necessary, according to health issues, climate change or even to adapt to consumer expectations. Ferments du Futur should also make it possible to develop new fermented foods, based in particular on grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. These innovations should help to ‘infuse’ our food and strengthen its sustainability.

Monday, December 12th, 3 months after its official launch, marks the operational start of the Grand Défi future fermentations Which aims to mobilize natural fermentation technologies to accelerate the agricultural and food revolution in the service of safe, healthy and sustainable food.

> Safer because fermentation is a natural transformation process that allows for better food preservation, limiting the use of additives.

> Healthier because fermentation can produce important nutrients, such as vitamins, improve intestinal flora or even improve the sensory qualities of foods while reducing their sugar or salt content.

> More sustainable because fermentation is a solution to adapt to variations in raw materials linked to climate change or to reduce food waste.

Focusing on food, Ferments du Futur may gradually open up to other applications, particularly in the agricultural sector.

A unique innovation platform in Europe

Under the impetus of INRAE ​​and ANIA, aNot Thirty public and private partners have decided to join the program and join forces to remove scientific and technological obstacles that slow innovation in areas of future brewing. There are already 6 institutions of higher education and research in particular 7 specialized research units in microbiology, food processing processes and data science; 21 companies including 8 start-ups, 7 VSE/SME/ETI companies, 6 large groups and 7 associate members (consortia, professions, technical institutes, competitive groups). This diversity of actors combined into one decision-making body, the Strategic Steering Committee (COS), will have a role in directing the program and contributing to its operational and financial performance.

The program will therefore build on the excellence of the French research teams in the field of Ferments du Futur, on a national scale but also across regional centres, and on an innovation platform dedicated to more mature projects that will be installed on the Saclay plateau from the end of 2023.

Diverse scientific and technological challenges in an accelerated timeline

The goal is to answer fundamental questions for innovation in the field of yeast and fermented foods. How to develop yeast compatible with foods of plant origin? What technologies monitor microbial dynamics in fermentation processes in real time? How do you evaluate the benefit of fermented foods in the maturation of the intestinal flora in infants? What is the contribution of artificial intelligence to the development of new combinations of yeast?

These questions may lead, among others, to the emergence of research projects under calls for projects, with an annual envelope of 1.5 million euros, the first of which will be launched in early 2023 in order to select 5 to 7 pre-competition projects. Targeting strategic priorities. By the end of 2024, the first pre-competition results for the Ferments du Futur Grand Challenge are expected.

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Damien benoAnd the boss executive from fermentation from future

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34 Partners from the public and private sectors are already participating in the programme