Fermenting food is hot because the results are memorable, tasty, and healthy. But that’s not all. Fermentation specialist professor Jeroen Hugenholtz discusses how bacteria, yeasts and fungi can play a crucial role in the solution to the world’s food problem as well as to other issues having a major impact on the environment, such as finding natural alternatives to produce palm oil, cosmetics, and plastics.
Fermentation is the conversion or breakdown of a raw material product using bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. Heat and moisture cause micro-organisms to grow and make enzymes which change the acidity, taste, smell, appearance, digestibility, and shelf life of the product. For thousands of years, fermentation processes were discovered by accident all over the world. Consider how we make yogurt, beer, sauerkraut, wine, cheese, vinegar, tempeh, kimchi, and soy sauce. For centuries, people conserved their own foods, but with the introduction of the refrigerator, this craft disappeared from households. However, canning food, especially using fermentation, is on the rise again. Eating fermented foods can make you healthier, improve your gut flora, make you feel fitter, and prevent illness. But, it holds even greater promises. With fermentation, plant and animal nutrients could eventually be replaced by microbial ones. In addition, fermentation is increasingly being seen as a more sustainable alternative for palm oil production and for the chemical industry.
So, with the world's population growing to 10 billion by 2050 and a continuously growing demand for products, it may offer a real solution to the world’s food problem and other environmental issues.
Prof.dr. Jeroen Hugenholtz is a fermentation specialist who has been doing research on the process of fermentation since the start of his career as a PhD student. As a principal scientist at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, he focuses on the development of new biobased solutions, new (fine)chemicals, and materials from nature for the Chemical, Personal Care, Food & Feed Industry. In his work as a professor of Industrial Fermentation at the University of Amsterdam, he examines how fermentation can be used on an industrial level for sustainable and efficient solutions to the world’s food problem.
You can visit this program on campus or watch it online via a livestream in MS Teams.
On campus: ticket reservation required
This program will take place on campus for a limited group of visitors. The number of visitors that we can accommodate for this program is limited due to the Covid-19 measures. Making a reservation via the website (black "order" button) is therefore mandatory if you want to attend this program on campus.
Via livestream: do not reserve a ticket
This program will also be streamed live via MS Teams. You can attend by clicking on this LINK TO LIVESTREAM. Please do not book a ticket if you want to watch the livestream.
SG & USE registration
On campus:
Please register your participation on the spot when attending the program on campus, by scanning your student card before the start of the program at the venue.
Online via livestream:
- Do not make a reservation if you want to watch the program online via the livestream.
- You can only register for SG&USE if you watch the entire program live via MS Teams and are logged in with your TU/e student email account ( i.e., you can’t watch it at a later time) and if you complete an online SG&USE registration form within five minutes after the end of the program. Before the program starts, we will explain where and when you can find the link to the registration form. You will need to have your student ID number on hand because you'll need it to fill out the form. Please make sure your registration is done properly, otherwise we will not be able to verify that you were present.
- 300 online viewers can enter the MS teams environment to watch the livestream. First come, first serve, so make sure you are on time, also to qualify for the SG&USE registration!
More information about SG & USE can be found here.