A plant-based diet is widely recognised as both healthy and sustainable. The new Swiss food pyramid also promotes this approach. Until now, however, a fully plant-based diet has traditionally lacked in a natural source of B12, an essential nutrient. To address this, ZHAW researchers at the Institute of Food and Beverage Innovation have developed a solution: using microorganisms to enrich plant-based raw materials with vitamin B12. Their method of choice is fermentation, an ancient technique that was originally used chiefly to preserve food. Beyond preservation, however, fermentation generally serves to enhance food quality by enabling microorganisms to produce beneficial substances, such as vitamins, while also breaking down undesirable substances like FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols)

Raw legumes like yellow peas are rich in so-called FODMAPs, a group of carbohydrates and sugar alcohols that can cause mild digestive issues. For individuals with chronic inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome or function gastrointestinal issues, FODMAPs can intensify symptoms. The ZHAW researchers therefore also looked for microorganisms capable of breaking down these substances – and succeeded. “Our results with yellow peas were so promising that we now want to test this approach on other legumes as well,” says Miescher Schwenninger.

The ZHAW has a collection of more than 14,000 strains of natural microorganisms. For the project with the yellow peas, approximately 500 strains were tested with regard to their ability to produce vitamins and break down FODMAPs. The project was completed as a collaboration between three ZHAW research groups: Food Biotechnology, Food Chemistry and Food Technology. Additional partners included the ETH Laboratory of Biochemistry and the foodtech start-up Planted. The project was financed by Gebert Rüf Stiftung as part of the Microbials funding programme.