Fusion of Innovation: ÄIO, Valio and VTT’s Visionary Partnership

Once again, visionary initiatives are paving the way for a sustainable future. One such stride is the innovative approach to combatting food waste through upcycling solutions and fermentation techniques. ÄIO’s collaboration with Finland’s foremost food exporter and largest milk processor, Valio, and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland emerges as a beacon of innovation in this field. In this pioneering pilot project, ÄIO repurposes Valio’s milk industry side-streams to create fats and oils for Valio’s plant-based meat alternatives, with VTT contributing essential research and development expertise for the production process.

“The collaboration with ÄIO and VTT is significant for us at Valio, and we are happy to put our side-streams into use and test out ÄIO’s lipids in our plant-based products. This also represents a shift towards finding new and innovative ways of improving sustainability in the food industry,” says Dilek Ercili-Cura, Senior Research Scientist at Valio.

Luisa Nora, Head of Strain Engineering at ÄIO, shares her enthusiasm about their project:  “ÄIO upcycles different side streams in the agri-food industry to produce premium fats and oils. It’s a thrilling journey, blending innovative science with practical applications – providing key ingredients back to food companies by valorising their side streams.”​​

By utilizing fermentation in the process, the collaboration is not just reducing food waste but also contributing to the development of unique flavors and textures. This dual-pronged approach is backed by VTT will further accelerate the pilot project by providing R&D expertise and fermentation premises. This collaboration showcases the potential of merging innovation with sustainability.

Read the full story from Food and Beyond.