Research

Transforming our food system towards sustainability is an important starting point for achieving the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As the use of animal-based ingredients and foods contributes to global environmental problems, the shift towards alternative protein sources is an important lever for achieving these global agreements. The protein transition describes this shift from animal protein sources to alternative protein sources such as plant-based or precision fermented proteins. Precision fermentation in particular offers promising solutions to the challenge of producing proteins sustainably, efficiently and with less environmental impact, but at the same time with specific functionality. Milk and its proteins are at the centre of research and commercial activities in the field of precision fermentation, especially cheese as an important application area for these proteins. A major obstacle to the development of innovative food products from precision fermented milk proteins is a lack of understanding of the relationship between food structure and texture. Specifically, there is a major scientific gap in understanding how the physico-chemical properties of emulsion interfaces and their structure affect food texture. The lack of understanding of this relationship leads to difficulties on several levels, particularly in the application and use of proteins produced by precision fermentation. Dairy proteins are often used as functional ingredients in foods and play a key role in determining the final texture, structure and other sensory properties of the food. However, the physicochemical properties of the oil-water interphase can influence the behaviour and performance of these proteins in food systems. Without a clear understanding of this relationship, it can be difficult to predict how milk proteins will behave in different food applications, which can lead to inconsistent or sub-optimal results.

During silage fermentation butyric acid-producing clostridia can multiply as a result of incorrect fermentation. As contaminants, clostridia enter the barn environment with the silage and are transferred into the raw milk during milking. This subsequently leads to serious quality defects in dairy products, in particular to undesirable gas formation during hard cheese ripening. Monitoring of silage quality with regard to clostridial contamination is therefore of great importance in order to avoid the introduction of clostridia into cheese production. As part of the project, a molecular biological detection method for clostridia is to be developed for long-term use in the quality control of silage.

In the course of the project, selected fermented vegetable foods (vegetables fermented with lactic acid) are to be microbiologically characterized. The samples are provided by the client including the relevant documentation. A number of microbiologically relevant parameters are then recorded using modern methods and important key microorganisms are specifically isolated and identified. Particular focus should be placed on the detection of yeasts. The aim of the project is to understand the micro-ecological conditions in the fermented products. Final measures to stabilize and optimize product quality can then be derived from this.