Introducing PIMENTO COST Action: promoting the innovation of Fermented Foods
Microbes are important in human life and health in many ways, serving to ferment foods among other things. Fermented Foods (FF) have played a key role in human diets for millennia. Historically, the main role of the fermentative microorganisms was to counteract the action of spoilage or pathogenic microorganisms, thus improving shelf life in the absence of any cold chain.
All FF’s account for about one-third of globally consumed edible products. Cheese, bread, olives, yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tofu, or semi-dry fermented sausages are a few examples and ingrained as part of our daily diet. Fermented foods hold a strategic place due to the benefits they offer in terms of nutrition, wellness, sustainability, innovation, cultural heritage, and consumer interest.
The potential of FF for improving human health, but also driving food innovation for local production in the next decades, has become highly relevant.
Fermented food hold a great source of nutrients, biomolecules and/or live microorganisms which are an essential part of our everyday life. The need to explore microbial diversity in all aspects of our life has become increasingly recognised, including changing diet to emphasise FF that benefit our health.
As FF provide a large diversity of microorganisms and metabolites, the hypothesis that FF could be an important component of dietary strategies aiming at improving human health and preventing metabolic diseases has become highly relevant. However, scientific guidance for the evaluation of the health benefits and risks of FF are not harmonised, even lacking in some cases. The challenge is now to federate and structure the scientific community working on FF in order to collectively advance scientific evidence of their health benefits and risks.
To respond to this challenge, the scientific community needs to build a multi-stakeholder vision and a trans-disciplinary perspective in the field of fermented food and create a network that will adhere to this and create a common mission.
Introducing PIMENTO
To mark the International Day of Microorganism celebrated every year on the September 17th, COST Action Promoting Innovation of ferMENTed fOods (PIMENTO), offers an inspiring perspective, taking care of microbes producing one-third of the food we eat.
The idea is to collectively advance scientific evidence of the health benefits of FF, building a benefits/risk approach in order to promote multi-modal innovation and meet the expectations of European communities.
“The long-term goal of PIMENTO is to place Europe at the spearhead of innovation on microbial foods, promoting health, regional diversity, local production at different scales, contributing to economical and societal development as well as food sovereignty.”
PIMENTO Action Chair, Dr Christophe Chassard
PIMENTO COST Action will therefore build a multi-actor operational network and organise a trans-disciplinary research focusing on the diversity/role of Fermented Foods in the diet of the participating COST members.
PIMENTO will contribute to the European Green Deal strategy ‘Farm to Fork‘ by enhancing research and innovation into fermentation based solutions for food products and process improving nutritional, sensory and functional properties. Fermentation is also a low-input bio-process that contributes to answering the growing demand for simple (do it yourself), natural (zero additives, clean label) and healthier products at an affordable cost as part of a public health policy promoting health in any strata of our society, including those with low incomes.
This collaborative network of researchers that includes food scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs, microbiologists, biochemists, and nutritionists with varied expertise has a very large geographical coverage with currently 66 partners from 31 countries. This regional diversity will play an important role to consider a contrasted panel of FF in diets.
The challenge is, therefore, to federate all the key stakeholders working on fermented foods and beverages. SMEs & Industry to pave the way for responsible and sustainable productions. Public health and regulatory bodies, health professionals, consumers and food businesses need to be aware of the barriers to innovative dynamics in the field and of health benefits and risks of FF.
Further information
View the Action webpage
View the network website
Follow PIMENTO on LinkedIn