(23e) Food Waste Valorization for Short-Chain Fatty Acid Production Via Precision Fermentation

There is an increasing need for innovative methods in food production that require a more sustainable approach. While bovine milk has long been a dietary staple, its production through animal farming poses significant environmental challenges. Plant-based milk has emerged as a more sustainable substitute, however, it lacks sensory and functional qualities due to lower levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) compared to traditional dairy. These gaps have led to the development of microbial milk through precision fermentation, which serves as a natural alternative to both animal and plant-based milks. Since a vast number of research has already focused on utilizing precision fermentation to produce proteins and medium to long-chain fatty acids for microbial milk, this research focuses on targeting and optimizing SCFA production. In this study, food preparation wastes that are inedible, unavoidable and abundant are used as substrates to grow human gut microbes that produce short chain fatty acids such as butyric acid to be used as an ingredient not only in microbial milk applications but also as a flavoring agent in artificial meat applications.