Domino’s research

The main objectives of DOMINO are:

• To determine how fermented food consumption shapes the gut microbiome and provides health benefits to consumers. 
  DOMINO is studying the health impacts of a fermented food-based diet both on a healthy population and on adults suffering from metabolic syndrome. In a longitudinal human nutritional trial with milk kefir, a traditional, widely consumed animal-based fermented food, researchers are studying health biomarkers to establish if consumption of milk kefir leads to changes in the gut microbiome and the improvement of clinical outcomes.

• To move toward environmentally sustainable food sources, while maintaining a healthy nutritional diet in the transition from animal to plant-based products.
  The project will demonstrate that innovative strategies to tackle sustainability and nutritional health can be developed through the reasoned design of new fermented food products. To this end, six food case studies, selected as representative of the wide diversity of plant-based fermented food prototypes, have been carried out (fermented table olives, fermented vegetables, fermented cereal-based foods, fermented legumes, apple pomace and plant-based kefir).

Learn more about the case studies. and European consumers’ perspectives on fermented foods.

• To engage relevant actors in the co-creation and validation of products, tools, methods and recommendations to ensure their relevance for society.
  Several living labs have been set up involving citizens and a targeted diversity of food system actors, from primary food production, processing, business, marketing, and consumption, to improve the uptake of project outputs and demonstrate that restoring trust in the food system is possible if relevant actors are actively engaged.

Learn more about the Living Labs.