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Content archived on 2024-05-30

Development of low-calorie beverages with prebiotic properties from cheap and abundant feedstocks

Objective

The demand for healthier and low-calorie foods is increasing worldwide. Galactooligosaccharides and fructooligosaccharides are considered to be naturally-occuring prebiotics because they can selectively stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria in the colon, and thus, improve host health. These oligosaccharides (OS) also have excellent technological properties regarding to viscosity, stability, solubility, and taste. A common weakness of the current OS production technologies is the incomplete bioconversion that results in a carbohydrate mixture consisting of a considerable amount of residual disaccharides and monosaccharides. Further purification of this mixture involves complex, high-cost and low-yield technologies that restricts the application of OS in low-calorie food formulations.

This 4-year research project is devoted to the development of a novel technology for manufacturing low-calorie, value-added beverages that have beneficial health effects. The proposed technology has two key steps. First, the sugars present in cheap and abundant feedstocks available within the EU, such as whey and molasses, are partially converted into valuable OS. Then, the obtained saccharide mixtures are further processed in a selective fermentation step using appropriate microorganisms that are capable of utilizing mono- and disaccharides but lack the power to hydrolyze OS to a higher extent. The utilized carbon source is not wasted but required for giving rise to odour and taste constituents. The resulting mildly sweet product has a prebiotic function due to the presence of remaining OS.

This highly multi-disciplinary research gathers new experimental data, involves 'state of the art' experimental and theoretical analysis on fundamental phenomena and their implications to real-life systems, and attempts to identify process designs, that have promising potential for industrial implementation, taking into account technical, economical and environmental impact tradeoffs.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)

Coordinator

BUDAPESTI CORVINUS EGYETEM
EU contribution
€ 100 000,00
Address
FOVAM TER 8
1093 Budapest
Hungary

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Region
Közép-Magyarország Budapest Budapest
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

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