MALTIBAC

The goal of the MALTIBAC project was to develop a drink with a significant nutritional content made using a non-alcoholic fermentation process with a malt substrate from the La Zaragozana company.

In 2020, CNTA continued the studies of the fermentation process using the substrate (wort + sucrose) and the fermentation bacteria determined in the previous project years (2018 and 2019). Studies of the fermentation conditions of the bioreactor at a two litre laboratory scale (temperature, pH, agitation, aeration, fermentation time, added sucrose…) were done in order to maximise fibre production without losing sight of the sensory characteristics of the fermented wort.

In addition, this year CNTA did a semi-industrial scaling of the fermenting process done in the first 60 litre bioreactor fermentation tests in order to replicate the fermenting conditions and results obtained at a laboratory scale.

As a result of the CNTA project:

1. The microorganism to use in the process was determined, in addition to the inoculation protocol and how it should be handled.
2. The fermentation conditions of the process were determined: raw material, buffer solution, temperature, agitating, oxygenation, fermentation time, sucrose additions…
3. Those results were shared (under a license contract for research purposes) with the backing company (La Zaragozana), who continued the studies of the fermentation process at an industrial scale.