Fermentation project serves up hope for future food

On the Saclay plateau, south of Paris, bioreactors are already running at full capacity. Researchers and food manufacturers there have opened up the ‘black box’ of fermentation, an age-old but largely unknown process, designed to create the food of tomorrow.

According to the Executive Director of the Ferments du Futur innovation centre, fermentation can be used in a wide range of sectors, not just food but also agriculture, health, chemicals and energy. For example, fermentation could be used to produce the next generation of probiotics. Micro-organisms could also be produced to protect or fertilize plants, replacing chemical inputs.