Shaping Future Foods through Fermentation of Side Streams: Microbial, Chemical, and Physical Characteristics of Fermented Blends from Sunflower Seed Press Cake and Cheese Whey

The current food system suffers from the inefficient use of resources, including the generation of side streams of low economic value that still contain nutritional components. One potential approach to reach a more sustainable food system is to reintroduce such side streams into a circular value chain and valorise them in novel food products, preferably in an unrefined or minimally refined manner. Blending side streams from different industries might be a suitable way to improve the nutritional value of the final matrix. In this study, sunflower seed press cake and cheese whey were combined to obtain matrices containing valuable proteins, structuring polysaccharides, as well as lactose and minerals facilitating fermentation with three different co-cultures of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. Fermentation for 48 h at 26 ◦C decreased the pH from ~6.3 to ~4.7 and enhanced the storage stability of the blends with no effect on their rheological properties and microstructure. This research demonstrates the potential of fermentation as a mean to stabilise side stream blends while only minimally affecting their physical appearance.