Source: CORNELL UNIVERSITY submitted to
A NOVEL, FLEXIBLE BIOMANUFACTURING PROCESS FOR THE CONVERSION OF FOOD BY-PRODUCTS/WASTE INTO VALUE-ADDED FOODS AND INGREDIENTS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1022677
Grant No.
2020-67017-31454
Cumulative Award Amt.
$460,000.00
Proposal No.
2019-06722
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jun 1, 2020
Project End Date
May 31, 2025
Grant Year
2020
Program Code
[A1364]- Novel Foods and Innovative Manufacturing Technologies
Project Director
Alcaine, S.
Recipient Organization
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
ITHACA,NY 14853
Performing Department
Food Science
Non Technical Summary
In 2018 the US produced over 13 billion lbs. of cheese, 690 million lbs. of cottage cheese, and 1.5 billion lbs. of Greek yogurt.The manufacturing of these dairy products also results in the production of lactose-rich by-products.Some of these by-products are used for human and animal food ingredients, but calculations suggest that there is an excess of nearly 5 billion lbs of these lactose-rich by-products. Current utilization schemes for these by-products include soil application, wastewater treatment, and aerobic digesters, all of which are capacity limited and thus challenged as meaningful diversions to prevent dairy waste.New technologies are needed to recycle and valorize these by-product streams, however, the presence of lactose is a challenge. Nearly 70% of the global population is thought to be lactose intolerant, including 30-50 million Americans, with intolerance rates above 75% among US minorities. This inability to digest lactose, results in gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and bloating, making successful utilization of excess lactose-rich by-products in foods and food ingredients problematic.Fermentation is a traditional process that converts sugars to other products, like ethanol or organic acids, thus modifying the quality and nutritional composition of the food.We propose a novel biomanufacturing process, that leverages a unique lactose-fermenting yeast which can convert lactose into multiple food ingredients like acetic acid, ethanol, or the digestible sugar galactose.Our project will describe and optimize the fermentation conditions to produce these food ingredients, as well as evaluate consumer acceptance of their use to create novel low and non-alcoholic beverages that are similar to other non-dairy-based beverages currently finding popularity in the US market. The outcomes of this project are expected to have a positive impact by providing an innovative manufacturing technology that will enable US food companies to convert lactose containing by-products into novel foods and ingredients consumable by a wider population, while also reducing food waste and increasing the efficiency and sustainability of the US dairy supply chain.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
25%
Developmental
25%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
4034020110310%
5014020110350%
5023450110340%
Goals / Objectives
The long-term project goal is to develop and describe a novel biomanufacturing technology that utilizesB. clausseniito convert lactose-containing by-products from the dairy supply chain into value-added food products and ingredients, thereby improving the accessibility and sustainability US food production.In the future this biomanufacturing could be supplemented with by-products from other food categories.This goal will be achieved through the following specific objectives:Obj 1. Evaluation of the impact of substrate type and fermentation conditions on acetic acid production byB. clausseniiunder aerobic conditions.Obj 2. Evaluation of the impact of substrate type and fermentation conditions on ethanol and galactose production byB. clausseniiunder anaerobic conditions.Obj 3. Execution of distillation trials for the separation of galactose from ethanol, and drying trials for the production of galactose powder.Obj 4. Development and consumer evaluation of prototype beverages made with combinations of the above ingredients.
Project Methods
The knowledge and data from this project will be delivered through several efforts:i)peer-reviewed articles published in stakeholder relevant journals, like the Journal of Dairy Science; ii) outreach at conferences like the American Dairy Science Association as well as industry focused meetings like the New York Cheese Manufacturers Association Meetings and the American Cheese Society; and iii) incorporation into extension education programs, for example, the PI teaches a workshop on the Science of Yogurt and Fermented Dairy Products, and the information from this project will be worked into the section on by-product reutilization. While outside the scope of this project, the hope is that the results of the project will provide the basis for the development of a 2 to 3 day, in-person extension workshop specifically focused on the production of novel fermented beverages from food by-products.One key evaluation is understanding whether this biomanufacturing process can produce novel beverages that are acceptable to consumers.The consumer sensory evaluations outlined in objective 4 will also provide insight into consumer perceptions, purchase intent, and hurdles to purchasing food made from food "waste".This objective will also provide a proof-of-concept to food manufactures that desirable products can be made from dairy by-products using this novel process.

Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience: We presented work from this project, particular on fermentation conditions for acetic acid production from dairy by-products, galactose-rich chews from dairy by-products, and novel beverages at multiple scientific and industry focused conferences and meeting, thereby reaching industry and academic audiences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This work has been presented at multiple conferences and industry events. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plant to complete validation of our acetic acid model and continue work on novel beverage and powders.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Reducing waste of nutritionally valuable foods is critical for the future sustainability of our food systems and their ability to support projected population growth.In US, the equivalent of ~5 billion lbs. of dairy solids, rich in minerals, vitamins and lactose, were underutilized in 2018.The lack of market for these dairy by-products means that the theses solids remain as low-solid liquids, which are an environmental challenge due to high biological oxygen demand. A further challenge is that ~50 million Americans are lactose intolerant making utilization of these by-products in foods and ingredients problematic.Our aim is to develop and describe a novel biomanufacturing technology that utilizesBrettanomyces clausseniito convert lactose-containing by-products from the dairy supply chain into value-added food products and ingredients, like acetic acid, ethanol, or galactose, thereby improving the accessibility and sustainability US food production.Our specific objectives are and progress thus far are below: Obj 1. Evaluation of the impact of substrate type and fermentation conditions on acetic acid production byB. clausseniiunder aerobic conditions. Progress:For cheese whey permeate (WP), a face centered central composite RSM was designed to study the effect of agitation (100-250 RPM), pitch rate (5-8 log cells/mL), time (6-30 days), and temperature (25-35?) on final fermentate composition after aerobic fermentation of hydrolyzed WP byB. claussenii. WP powder was reconstituted at 20% solids (168 g/L lactose) and treated with a commercial β-galactosidase at 33 BLU/g lactose for 24 hours. 150 mL fermentations were then carried out in biological triplicate for each combination of time, temperature, agitation, and pitch rate in an environmental chamber, where the humidity was maintained at 65%. Due to the limitation of only being able to run one temperature at a time in the environmental chamber, treatments were run in single-temperature blocks, effectively nesting the biological replicates within the temperature effect. After fermentation, cells were removed by centrifugation and initial mass, final mass, pellet mass, mass of cell-free media, density as measured by a DMA-35, and substrate concentrations quantified by HPLC-RID were used to account for evaporation and calculate the total amount of acetic acid produced, as well as glucose consumed and residual galactose. RSM models, including the random effect of biological replicate, were fit for each of the four response variables, and custom desirability functions were employed in JMP in order to simultaneously maximize the quantities of acetic acid produced, glucose consumed, residual galactose, and minimize the alcohol by volume. With equal weighting, the optimized conditions were 18 days, 25?, 221 RPM, and 8 CFU/mL pitch rate. Our results here are analogous to the findings in milk permeate, and serve as a first step in optimizing the production of low-glucose, low alcohol, galactose rich bioproducts that are high in acetic acid, which can potentially improve the utilization of whey waste streams. Obj 2. Evaluation of the impact of substrate type and fermentation conditions on ethanol and galactose production byB. clausseniiunder anaerobic conditions. Progress:Work on this object was presented in 2023 and published in peer-reviewed journals 2023. Obj 3. Execution of distillation trials for the separation of galactose from ethanol, and drying trials for the production of galactose powder. Progress:Work on this object was presented in 2023 and published in peer-reviewed journals 2023. Obj 4. Development and consumer evaluation of prototype beverages made with combinations of the above ingredients. Progress:Sports application: Galactose is a low-glycemic sugar that is important for glycogen synthesis.Galactose powders from dairy by-products are also rich in electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.These electrolyte and glycogen replenishment are important for athletes, we thus evaluated the use of galactose powders developed in objective 3 as ingredients in the development of hydrations chews.Cheese whey permeate was used at the feedstock and was fermented byB. clausseniiunder the optimal conditions from objective 3.The galactose powder producedcontained 59.6% galactose, 0.3% lactose, and no detectable glucose.Mineral content was: 393 mg/100g Ca, 135 mg/100g Mg, 3280 mg/100g K, and 1120 mg/100g Na. Prototype development explored agar, gelatin, and locust bean gum as gelling agents.The final formulation used both a gelatin/ locust bean gum blend, and included stevia and natural flavors for sweetness.A sensory panel (n=36) was used for acceptability testing of the galactose-rich chew vs a commercial hydration chew, providing feedback for further flavor optimization of these upcycle, better-for-you products. Beverage application: A novel beverage, combining yogurt acid whey with grape pomace left from the wine industry to create a novel upcycled, lower alcohol wine.The goals of this study were to assess the feasibility of producing alcoholic beverages utilizing yogurt acid whey (YAW) and grape and to compare the whey/pomace beverages to commercial examples of grape pomace beverages (piquettes) in terms of their sensory qualities and chemical composition. Two whey piquettes were produced, and five commercial examples of piquette beverages were obtained from producers in various geographies. One whey piquette was prepared using a pre-fermented YAW base, and one using YAW obtained from a local dairy processor that was subsequently pasteurized, filtered, carbon filtered, and treated with a commercial lactase. Sugars and organic acids were quantified using HPLC-RID, and semi-quantitative volatile composition was carried out using HS-SPME-GCMS. Descriptive analysis was conducted using a trained panel of 11 individuals with prior experience evaluating wine and tequila. The YAW products tended to be lower alcohol (4.2 and 5.8%) than the commercial products, which ranged from 4.2 to 8.2% ABV, and were also generally lower in pH, while being higher in titratable acidity and lactic acid content. The panel rated the whey beverages significantly higher for acidity, saltiness, umami, and addition to dairy aroma, while they tended to rate lower for bitterness, sweetness, and fruity aroma (p<0.05 for Tukey HSD means comparisons following mixed model ANOVA with two-factor interactions). The whey piquettes also tended to be higher in aroma compounds characterized as earthy (1 octen-3-ol), fatty/cheesy (hexanoic acid, isovaleric acid), and fermented (3-methylpentanol), while being lower in many fruity esters and variable in terms of floral and citrus volatiles. These results characterize the sensory and chemical signatures of piquette beverages for the first time and show the potential for whey as an ingredient in these products. Additionally, they demonstrate that whey can become a new and interesting ingredient for brewers and other beverage producers to develop novel and more sustainable product offerings. Additional work is underway to assess potential post-fermentation treatment to increase potential consumer liking of whey/pomace beverages.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: SD Alcaine. Fermentation 2.0  Novel Dairy Beverages. American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting (June 25-28). Ottawa, ON, Canada. 2023.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Flores, V.K.R "STRATEGIES TO REDUCE WASTE IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY: IMPROVING PRODUCT STABILITY AND UPCYCLING RESIDUES"
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Marchan, E. "UPCYCLING WHEY PERMEATE: GALACTOSE + ELECTROLYTE POWDERS FOR LOW GLYCEMIC SPORTS CHEWS"
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Rivera Flores VK, Fan X, DeMarsh TA, deRiancho DL, Alcaine SD. Leveraging Milk Permeate Fermentation to Produce Lactose-Free, Low-In-Glucose, Galactose-Rich Bioproducts: Optimizations and Applications. Fermentation. 2023 Sep 8;9(9):825.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Rivera Flores VK, DeMarsh TA, Fan X, Alcaine SD. Cheese whey permeate as a precursor of lactose-free, galactose-rich bioproducts: An approach for optimization and application. Food and Bioprocess Technology. 2023 Oct 24:1-21.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Hauser, DG, Rivera Flores, V, Alcaine, SD Upcycling whey permeate into an acetic-acid beverage with Brettanomyces claussenii, a preliminary study. American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting (June 25-28). Ottawa, ON, Canada. 2023. (Poster)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Hauser, D.G., Flores, V.K.R., & Alcaine S.D. Upcycling whey permeate into an acetic acid beverage with Brettanomyces claussenii, a preliminary study. Northeast Regional Yeast Meeting (July 27), Ithaca, NY, United States. 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: SD Alcaine. Fermentation 2.0  Novel Dairy Beverages. 24th Annual Dairy Ingredient Technical Symposium/ADPI (March 13-15). Santa Barbara, CA. 2023.


Progress 06/01/22 to 05/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:We presented work from this project, particular on fermentation conditions for ethanol production from dairy by-products, galactose powder production from dairy by-products, and novel beverages at multiple scientific and industry focused conferences and meeting, thereby reachingindustry and academic audiences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have published some of this work, presented at both academic and industry conferences/meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue work against the objectives of the project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Reducing waste of nutritionally valuable foods is critical for the future sustainability of our food systems and their ability to support projected population growth.In US, the equivalent of ~5 billion lbs. of dairy solids, rich in minerals, vitamins and lactose, were underutilized in 2018.The lack of market for these dairy by-products means that the theses solids remain as low-solid liquids, which are an environmental challenge due to high biological oxygen demand. A further challenge is that ~50 million Americans are lactose intolerant making utilization of these by-products in foods and ingredients problematic.Our aim is to develop and describe a novel biomanufacturing technology that utilizesBrettanomyces clausseniito convert lactose-containing by-products from the dairy supply chain into value-added food products and ingredients, like acetic acid, ethanol, or galactose, thereby improving the accessibility and sustainability US food production.Our specific objectives are and progress thus far are below: Obj 1. Evaluation of the impact of substrate type and fermentation conditions on acetic acid production byB. clausseniiunder aerobic conditions. Progress:In our previous work, we used an RSM approach to optimize the fermentation parameters of agitation (RPM), yeast inoculation level (log CFU/mL), initial pH, and time (Days) on the production of acetic acid and galactose byB. clausseniifrom lactose in media.We currently in the middle of projects applying this RSM approach to the specific dairy by-products: milk permeate and cheese whey permeate.Once completed, the models for each by-product will be validated and we will explore the production of value-added beverages. Obj 2. Evaluation of the impact of substrate type and fermentation conditions on ethanol and galactose production byB. clausseniiunder anaerobic conditions. Progress:In our previous work we applied response surface methodology to optimize cheese whey permeate fermentation byB. clausseniito maximize ethanol and galactose production in order to develop efficient processes that expands the applications of this dairy coproduct in the food industry. In this current work, we apply a similar RSM methodology to optimize the utilization of milk permeate byB. claussenii.The purpose of this study is two-fold: (i) optimize the partial anaerobic fermentation of milk permeate (MP) by B. claussenii to maximize the obtainment of galactose and ethanol and minimize residual glucose, and (ii) combine this optimized process with distillation and freeze-drying to characterize the product streams resulting from this approach. To achieve this, response surface methodology, via central composite design, was used to create the optimization models. Three fermentation parameters were chosen as input factors: temperature (25°C - 35°C), inoculation level (7.0 - 8.5 log cfu/mL), and time (4 - 40 days); and three fermentation metabolites, as responses: galactose, glucose, and ethanol. The results were used to generate three individual models that together allowed the combined optimization of all responses. The resulting optimal combination of parameters was temperature, 28°C; inoculation level, 7.6 log cfu/mL; and time, 33 days. Our results show that the fermentation of MP byB. clausseniican be optimized and used as the first step to develop lactose-free, low-in-glucose, galactose-rich bioproducts, that improve the value of this residue and broaden its applications in the food supply chain. Obj 3. Execution of distillation trials for the separation of galactose from ethanol, and drying trials for the production of galactose powder. Progress:In this objective, we explored the potential ofB. clausseniito produce a multiple value-added streams from milk permeate and cheese whey permeate.This value adds included, ethanol distillate, as well low-alcohol, galactose-rich liquids and galactose-rich food powders with applications in lactose-free, low glycemic index foods.Based on the optimized conditions identified in obj 2, we performed 18-L fermentations of both milk permeate and cheese whey permeate followed by distillation and freeze-drying. The scaled up fermentations did not differ significantly from their respective predictions from our RSM models in objective 2. The distillation of the fermented permeates generated two products: a whey-based spirit and a low-alcohol, galactose-rich drink base. After the two-stage distillation, the final distillates reached an average ethanol concentration of 44.6%v/v and 48.4%v/v from whey permeate and milk permeate respectively. The distillate had minimal acetic acid and undetectable lactic acid. It is also important to highlight the absence of methanol in the final distillate obtained. Regarding the bottoms, our we did see remaining ethanol of 1.2 % v/v. and 2.2% v/v for the whey and milk permeates respectively, indicating the need for further distillation to produce truly alcohol-free galactose-rich beverages.The bottoms were stilled used as the feed for galactose-rich powder production.Initial work was done using spray drying, but excessive clumping was observed.We transitioned to freeze-drying with a Harvest Right HR7000-L freeze dryer using 1.5 L batches. The process consisted of an initial freezing step at -30°C for 9 hours, followed by a conditioning stage at a vacuum pressure of 500 mTorr (66.7 kPa). After that point, the drying step was performed at 52°C, at a pressure ranging from 66.4 to 80.4 kPa over 46 hours, after which period, the product was held at room temperature (22°C) inside of the equipment until collected. The whey permeate derived powder had a moisture content of 0.97 % and water activity of 0.11. It was 55.5% total sugar, with 54.9% galactose and 0.6% lactose, and no detectable glucose. It had 5.2% protein, and 0.5% fat.Mineral content per 100 g was: 506 mg calcium, 163 mg magnesium, 1110 mg phosphorus, 4203 mg potassium, and 1380 mg sodium.Hygroscopicity at 75%RH (%) of the whey permeate powder was 22.5%.The milk permeate powder had an average moisture content of 0.67% and water activity of 0.13.It had 66.4% galactose, no other detectable sugars, 3.7% protein, and 0.6% fat.Mineral content per 100 g was: 773 mg calcium, 206 mg magnesium, 1260 mg phosphorus, 3090 mg potassium, and 705 mg sodium.Hygroscopicity at 75%RH (%) of the milk permeate powder was 16.5%. Obj 4. Development and consumer evaluation of prototype beverages made with combinations of the above ingredients. Progress:In our previous work, we explored the production of an acetic acid functional beverage was developed by fermenting acid whey with the yeastBrettanomyces claussenii.In our current work, we utilizing the galactose-rich powders developed in objective 3 in formulations to create hydration gummies for athletes since the powders are also rich in electrolytes and galactose is important for glycogen replenishment.We also have a project combining acid whey with grape pomace left from the wine industry to create a novel upcycled, lower alcohol wine.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Fan X, Rivera Flores VK, DeMarsh TA, Deriancho DL, Alcaine SD. Aerobic Cultivation of Mucor Species Enables the Deacidification of Yogurt Acid Whey and the Production of Fungal Oil. Foods. 2023 Apr 25;12(9):1784.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Rivera Flores, V, DeMarsh, T, Gibney, PA, Alcaine, SD. Acetic acid fermentation as an alternative for upcycling Greek-style yogurt whey. American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting (June 21-24). Kansas City, MO. 2022. (Poster)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: 6. Jencarelli, KG, Lawton, MR, Alcaine, SD. Establishment of optimized fermentation parameters to convert dairy waste streams into value-added products via aerobic fermentation by Brettanomyces claussenii. American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting (June 21-24). Kansas City, MO. 2022. (Talk)
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2022 Citation: Jencarelli, K. PROPOSED METHODS TO VALORIZE DAIRY EFFLUENTS VIA AEROBIC FERMENTATION WITH THE YEAST BRETTANOMYCES CLAUSSENII.


Progress 06/01/21 to 05/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience: We reached our target audience of dairy researchers and dairy product developers through presentation and posters at national dairy-focused conferences, like the American Dairy Science Association, as well as Cornell focused meetings, like the joint symposium "Towards a True Systems Approach to Reducing Food Loss and Waste from "Farm-to-Table"between The Foundation for Food & AgricultureResearchand the Cornell Department of Food Science, where participants from food companies, regulatory agencies, and other academic institutions were present. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This work has allowed two graduate students to continue to gain training in dairy microbiology and fermentation, andallowed them to develop professionally through giving presentations at scientific conferences. One of the students graduate this Spring and has attend a job in the food industry doing food microbiology and safety work. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This work has been present at scientific conference (American Dairy Science Museum) and at industry symposia. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We plan to continue to execute against the objective of the project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Obj 1. Evaluation of the impact of substrate type and fermentation conditions on acetic acid production byB. clausseniiunder aerobic conditions. Progress:We have worked to optimize the fermentation parameters for acetic acid production and sugar utilization byB. claussenii.Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimized levels of significant factors to maximize acetic acid production and galactose retention. Fermentations were conducted in a synthetic media modified to emulate dairy effluents. A lactase enzyme was added at the time of inoculation to cleave lactose into its monomers. The fermentation parameters evaluated for the response surface optimization were agitation (RPM), yeast inoculation level (log CFU/mL), initial pH, and time (Days).It was found that the optimized levels of fermentation parameters for maximizing acetic acid production and galactose retention were: 171.5. RPM, 13.25 days, 5 log inoculation level, and a pH of 6.5. At these optimized settings, the predicted acetic acid concentration was 9.25 g/L, 95% confidence interval (CI) [7.44, 11.05], and a residual galactose concentration of 30.37 g/L, 95% CI [24.44, 36.30]. Once the optimization model was created, a validation trial was conducted to see if acetic acid and galactose outputs fell within the 95% CI. When the optimized settings were tested, 4.686 ± 0.221 g/L acetic acid was produced, which falls below the predicted 95% CI. However, 31.337 ± 0.720 g/L of galactose was retained, which falls within the predicted 95% CI. Ethanol was produced in tandem with acetic acid, which could be responsible for the decreased levels of acetic acid production. Next steps will look understanding the difference observed and expand to more complex dairy substrates. Obj 2. Evaluation of the impact of substrate type and fermentation conditions on ethanol and galactose production byB. clausseniiunder anaerobic conditions. Progress:Theresponse surface methodology used to optimize cheese whey permeate fermentation by B. claussenii, is currently being applied to milk permeate to maximize ethanol and galactose production. Experiments are in process. Obj 3. Execution of distillation trials for the separation of galactose from ethanol, and drying trials for the production of galactose powder. Progress:Preliminary trials are currently underway. A 17 L samples of whey permeate was fermented byB. clausseniiunder the conditions of Obj 2 to produce ethanol from glucose and the leave residual galactose.The fermented product was distilled using a rotary evaporator producing a distillate that was 35% ABV.A 400 mL sample of the distillate bottom was taken and sprayed dried, yielding 35 grams of powder.Distillate, bottoms, and powder are out for analysis. Obj 4. Development and consumer evaluation of prototype beverages made with combinations of the above ingredients. Progress:An acetic acid functional beverage was developed by fermenting acid whey with the yeastBrettanomyces claussenii.Fifteen liters of acid whey were inoculated with a commercial yeast slurry ofB. claussenii,incubated at 25°C,and aerated at 300 L/hr.Samples were analyzed for pH, density, dissolved oxygen, and titratable acidity (TA), and plated for enumeration each day. The fermentation was deemed complete once the density remained consistent for three consecutive days. The density stabilized to 1.007 on days 8-10, and the final fermented acid whey had a pH of 4.44 and an acetic acid concentration of 7.672 g/L. The fermented acid whey was then carbon filtered to remove off aromas or flavors, split into three batches, and flavored with fruit purees for consumer acceptance testing.The mean scores for overall liking were 4.90, 4.84, 3.88, and 7.11 for blood orange ginger, pineapple, berry lime, and commercial kombucha, respectively.At the end of the study, it was revealed that three of the beverages were made sustainable by upcycling acid whey, while retaining vitamins and minerals. Informed purchase intent was reassessed, and panelists were asked which factors influenced their decision. Before knowing the product claims, 19% of panelists said they "probably" or "definitely" would buy the beverages. Once the claims were revealed, While the overall liking scores for the acid whey beverages were not as high as the commercial kombucha, adjusting the formulations based on panelist feedback and marketing to promote the sustainable and functional properties of these fermented beverages may provide a means for the valorization of acid whey.Future work will focus on optimize the taste profile of these beverages.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Establishment of optimized fermentation parameters to convert dairy waste streams into value-added products via aerobic fermentation by Brettanomyces claussenii. K. G. Jencarelli*, M. R. Lawton, and S. D. Alcaine. American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting (June 19-22). 2022. (Poster)


Progress 06/01/20 to 05/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:We reached target audience of dairy researchers and dairy product developers through presentation and posters at national dairy-focused conferences, like the American Dairy Science Association,as well as Cornell focused meetings,like the Cornell Institute for Food Systems eSummit on Dairy Sustainability, where participants from dairy companies, regulatory agencies, and other academic institutions were present and learnt about the start of this project to develop a new biomanufacturing process to improve dairy sustainability. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This work has not only allowed twograduate students to gain training in dairy microbiology and fermentation, but allowed them to develop professionally through giving presentations at scientific conferences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes, some of the work has been presented at conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue to execute against the objective of the project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Progress against Objective 1. Evaluation of the impact of substrate type and fermentation conditions on acetic acid production byB. clausseniiunder aerobic conditions. A30-day fermentation study was performedto better understandsugar utilization and time for acetic acid production duringaerobic fermentation by B. claussenii was performed in triplicate. Fermentations were monitored for lactose, glucose, galactose, acetic acid, and ethanol production. Rapid glucose utilization and delayed galactose utilization were observed, within 6 days, as well as acetic acid stabilization by day 6, which stayed stable over 30 days. Ethanol level peaked at day 2 and dropped below 0.5% ABV with 14 days. A26-1 fractional factorial design was run to determine significant fermentation parameters for acetic acid production and galactose retention. Parameters evaluated were temperature, agitation, yeast inoculation levels, lactose content, pH, and time. Results showed that oxygenation was important for acetic acid production, as was yeast levels, temperature, and lactose levels. For galactose retention, pH appeared to play a significant role. Progress against Objective 2. Evaluation of the impact of substrate type and fermentation conditions on ethanol and galactose production byB. clausseniiunder anaerobic conditions. The work conducted so far to applies response surface methodology to optimize cheese whey permeate fermentation byB. clausseniito maximize ethanol and galactose production in order to develop efficient processes that expands the applications of this dairy coproduct in the food industry. Two response variables were defined in this study for their maximization: ethanol concentration (% v/v) and galactose concentration (g/L), while five fermentation factors were considered as independent variables: temperature (°C), total solids (% TS), enzyme/substrate (E/S) ratio (IU/g lactose), inoculation level (log cfu/mL), and time (day). Overall results showed that all factors were significant in the synthesis of ethanol and galactose. Regarding ethanol, all the independent variables had significant linear effects that positively correlated with the response, except for temperature, for which a negative quadratic effect was observed. This model was able to explain 92% of the variability observed in the results (r-square 0.92), which is considered an indication of good predictive power. Regarding galactose, all factors resulted in significant linear effects. However, three out of the five factors showed negative estimates of such effects: inoculation level, temperature, and time. This model was able to explain 95% of the variability observed in the results (r-square 0.95).Maximizedconcentrations of 4.6 % v/v for ethanol, and 70.8 g/L for galactose, on average, would be expected by these models.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Fermentation of whey permeate using Brettanomyces claussenii: Creating opportunities to develop value-added products. V. K. Rivera Flores*, T. A. DeMarsh, and S. D. Alcaine, American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting (July 11-14). Online. 2021. (Poster)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Model fermentation of dairy effluents by Brettanomyces claussenii with lactose cleavage to create a value-added product. K. Jencarelli*, M. R. Lawton, and S. D. Alcaine, American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting (July 11-14). Online. 2021. (Poster)