Affordable DHA Without Fish Oil or Algae?

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DHA is essential for maternal and child nutrition – but today’s sources are often too costly. acib is developing a circular fermentation platform that converts brewery side streams into a stable, protein-rich yeast ingredient enriched with DHA and other micronutrients. The goal: affordable, vegan, locally producible nutrition without relying on fish oil or algae supply chains.

Background

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is essential for early-life development, maternal health, normal brain function, vision, and plays an important role in several metabolic processes. Staple-based diets can be low in DHA, leaving a persistent nutrient gap. However, access to high-quality nutrient sources such as fish oil, algae-derived DHA or fortified products remains limited due to high costs. At the same time, breweries generate large volumes of nutrient-rich side streams that are often underused. acib combines these two prob-lems into one opportunity: locally available brewery residues become a fermentation feedstock for a stable, nutrient-dense yeast ingredient. The concept is designed for low CAPEX, use of existing fermentation infrastructure, and local technology transfer.

Technology

acib aims to develop a fermentation platform using the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, specially adapted to brewery-residue-based media. The process combines enzymatic pretreatment of brewery resi-dues, strain development, and fermentation optimization to generate a stable, whole-cell yeast ingredient enriched in DHA.

The concept includes engineering Y. lipolytica for DHA accumulation via a multi-enzyme pathway. Laboratory evolution and process optimi-zation are used to improve robustness on real brewery-derived media.

acib offers:

  • Yeast strain development for DHA production

  • Enzymatic pretreatment of brewery residues as fermentation media

  • Screening and adaptation to partner-specific side streams

  • Bench-scale fermentation and process optimization

  • Harvesting, cell disruption and drying toward a stable yeast powder

  • Analytics for DHA, quality and process KPIs

  • Technology-transfer for brewery and/or food-production partners

Offer

For companies facing pressure to reduce ingredient costs, secure al-ternative DHA supply chains and build credible circular nutrition prod-ucts, we offer to co-develop this technology as an affordable, vegan and sustainable single yeast-based ingredient, supporting cleaner and simpler ingredient declarations. IP generated can be fully transferred to company partners.

Experts:

Dr. Petra Heidinger

Development status:

Status of the project proposal – Technology Readiness Level 2
(technology concept formulated)

Keywords:

Affordable nutrition, DHA fermentation, Yarrowia lipolytica, Brewery side streams, Brewers’ spent grain, Circular food ingredients, Maternal and child nutrition, Functional foods, LMIC nutrition, Fermentation-based supplements, Technology transfer, Local production, Sustainable biomanufacturing

Picture: acib
Dr. Martin U. Trinker
Director Business Development & Fundraising
Krenngasse 37
8010 Graz
+43 316 873 9316