Researchers at Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, have joined forces with the University of Leeds in the UK to develop a new AI-powered tool to help repurpose global agrifood waste and improve food security.
In Australia alone, more than seven million tonnes of food are wasted each year —a third of all food produced.
The new project will use fermentation to transform agrifood waste into sustainable high-quality protein which can be used as ingredients in food production.
The project will look at three different areas of agrifood waste:
- Vegetable crops that have been damaged or not picked
- Grain byproducts such as canola or brewer's spent grain
- Byproducts from cheese making.
The team will develop an AI tool that calculates optimal fermentation conditions to produce microbial protein powder as a food ingredient for human or animal consumption.
The aim is to make upcycled protein at scale that is competitive with conventional protein alternatives.
CSIRO Project Lead Dr Kai Knoerzer said globally, billions of tonnes of nutrient-rich material are currently being lost each year.
"Working with our colleagues internationally, this project will combine AI, fermentation science and real case studies to support industry to turn that waste into sustainable protein at scale," Dr Knoerzer said.
Fermentation has been used for thousands of years, originally as a way to preserve food such as bread, cheese and wine.
Dr Knoerzer said in the 21st century it had the potential to play a much larger role in strengthening global food security.
"When fermented using yeast, for example, food waste can be transformed into valuable products within the framework of a circular bioeconomy," Dr Knoerzer said.
University of Leeds Professor of Artificial Intelligence in Food Dr Nicholas Watson said to truly impact global food security, upcycled protein couldn't just be a niche alternative — it had to compete on price with what is already on the supermarket shelf.
"We are excited to work with CSIRO and partners across the globe to bridge that gap, launching an AI platform to support the fermentation of agri-food waste," Dr Watson said.
Dr Amen Ra Mashariki, Director of AI and Data Strategies at the Bezos Earth Fund which has supported the project, said the project showed how AI, when developed responsibly and guided by science and local knowledge, could strengthen environmental action and ensure that its overall impact on the planet is positive.
The $3 million project will run over the next two years and is supported by the Bezos Earth Fund's AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, a $100 million initiative designed to harness the power of artificial intelligence to tackle the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
