Applying the science of food fermentation, with Prof. Raffaella Di Cagno
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This episode features Prof. Raffaella Di Cagno from Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and ICOFF (International Centre on Food Fermentations) (Italy), speaking about applying the science of food fermentation to help companies create new solutions for consumer health. As director of ICOFF, Prof. Di Cagno oversees a team of scientists and technicians that works on developing innovative fermented foods. One focus is using food byproducts as fermentation substrates. Prof. Di Cagno gave the example of a flour product with favorable sensory properties, created by fermenting apple byproducts. The fermentation changed the chemical structure of the apple’s phenolic compounds and improved the availability of dietary fibers. She emphasized the importance of characterizing and selecting microbial strains that are suited to the substrate and target. Another challenge that ICOFF addresses is creating nutritious, plant-based high-protein foods through fermentation and ensuring that their taste and texture is favorable. Prof. Di Cagno has worked extensively on sourdough bread and she underlined that, while fermentation can improve bread’s protein digestibility, it doesn’t normally eliminate all gluten.
Episode abbreviations and links:
- Paper on fermented apple byproducts used to fortify wheat bread: Lactic Acid Fermentation to Re-cycle Apple By-Products for Wheat Bread Fortification
- ICOFF website: https://icoff.noi.bz.it/en/icoff
- ICOFF helps organize the International Conference on Fermented Foods: https://icff.noi.bz.it/
About Prof. Raffaella Di Cagno:
Raffaella Di Cagno is a tenured Full Professor of Food Microbiology at the Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bolzano, where she directs the International Center on Food Fermentations. She earned her PhD at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, and serves on the international PhD programme “Food, Engineering and Biotechnology” and the University Evaluation Committee. Her research focuses on lactic acid bacteria in sourdough, cheese, fruit and vegetable fermentations; omics-based microbial adaptation; biogenic compounds; and the valorisation of food by-products as ingredients and supplements. She has authored 264 publications, with about 19,829 citations and an h-index of 80, and has been listed among Stanford/Elsevier World’s Top 2% Scientists, top Food Science authors, Top Italian Women Scientists, and the top 0.1% worldwide in Food Safety expertise. She has contributed to major European and national projects, including HealthFerm, OnFOODS, Smart Protein, PIMENTO, PROACTIVE, and FUNBREW, often as PI, Co-PI, coordinator or WP leader. She has served on scientific advisory and evaluation panels, including SFI VistaMilk, SIMTREA/FEMS and
Portuguese FCT panels, and as Associate Editor for leading food microbiology journals. Since 2017, she has led about 100 industry-funded projects and co-authored around 20 patents.
