New strains of probiotics; Beans for climate change; Zero waste plus new energy
CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY
Researchers led by Bart Smit at NIZO food research have successfully optimized and scaled up the production of a novel strict anaerobic bacterial strain with probiotic benefits. Selected from a healthy human gut, this successful cultivation of indigenous (human) anaerobes (also called Probiotics 2.0) was produced in the NIZO Processing Centre, delivering viable biomass for human clinical research. Probiotics 2.0 represent the next generation of probiotics aimed at reducing various diseases with impact on cardiovascular health, digestive health, etc.
Many of these bacteria are adapted to specialized niches with respect to nutrient use and oxygen sensitivity, making them very difficult to culture. Therefore, medium optimization and designing the strict anaerobic production process on an industrial scale was crucial for the feasibility of this development.
NIZO was approached by one of its customers for support in the cultivation of a novel strain. The food-grade production of the strain involved anaerobic fermentation, downstream processing, and formulation of the final product. After mutual cooperation on lab-scale developments, the growth medium was optimized, leading to a food-grade medium and to a 3-fold increase in production yield. Based on this medium and extensive safety assessment, live food-grade bacterial biomass was produced for clinical research.
The project successfully delivered the required amounts of food-grade bacteria with confirmed cell viability for the clinical trial. Members from the customer’s project team attended part of the production, supporting the knowledge transfer during the project and the learnings to be used in further development of the strain. The knowledge is applicable for multiple bacterial strains and applications.
Bean varieties for climate change
Beans contribute to the daily diet of more than 400 million people across the developing world. They are a highly nutritious food, providing an inexpensive source of protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, vitamins, and micronutrients.
In Africa and Latin America, the production of beans is highly vulnerable to climate change, which includes higher temperatures and more frequent drought. According to recent projections, the area suited for this crop in eastern and central Africa could shrink up to 50% by 2050. Across Latin America, the situation is also dire. Bean production in Nicaragua, Haiti, Brazil, and Honduras, as well as Guatemala and Mexico, could be heavily impacted.
In response to this concern, researchers from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) have recently identified about 30 elite lines that show strong tolerance to temperatures 4°C higher than the range that beans can normally tolerate. Many of these lines come from wide crosses between common and tepary beans, a species originating in the arid U.S. Southwest and northwestern Mexico.
Analysis indicates that heat-tolerant bean varieties would counter most (if not all) of the negative impacts of climate change. While currently cultivated bean varieties are projected to suffer a 20–50% loss in suitable growing area by 2050, heat-tolerant breeding lines are projected to suffer little (<5%) or no suitability loss by the same period.
“In some parts of Africa and Latin America, farmers adopting the heat beaters will actually be able to expand production on land where it’s normally too hot for beans,” said Andy Jarvis, a CGIAR climate change expert and director of CIAT’s Decision and Policy Analysis Research Area. “These lines represent a major breakthrough in buffering a vital protein source for the poor against the worst-case climate change scenario of a 4-degree temperature rise.”
Achieving zero waste plus new energy
A Nestlé confectionery plant in the UK is using an anaerobic digestion system to turn its chocolate and sugar confectionery waste and liquid waste into clean water and a biogas that is supplying 10% of the facility’s energy needs. As a result of the heat and power generated from the biogas, the factory’s greenhouse gas emissions are expected to fall by about 10%.
“The system allows us to add tougher residues like starch-based compounds to the process, along with reject product and other materials,” noted Inder Poonaji, Nestlé UK and Ireland’s head of sustainability. “As long as the material is biodegradable, the anaerobic conversion process can take place. The waste we are converting here would otherwise be disposed of externally.”
The system converts about four tons of solid waste and 200,000 liters of liquid waste a day, making the site one of Nestlé’s 72 factories globally that have now achieved zero waste for disposal status. In addition to generating cleaner energy, the anaerobic digester has also improved the quality of water discharged from the factory, an amount equivalent to 41 Olympic-size swimming pools annually. This water is now virtually clean on release from the site.
Costing about CHF 4.7 million, the anaerobic digestion system is expected to pay for itself in about 4 years due to its energy and waste disposal savings.
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