Harnessing the microbial potential of fermented foods for healthy and sustainable food systems

European consumers are expressing a clear demand for healthier and more sustainable food. Fermented foods (FFs) have the potential to meet these expectations but there is a need to demonstrate their health impacts scientifically, while developing innovative strategies to tackle both sustainability and nutritional health. In this frame, DOMINO will investigate the health impacts of FF-based diet on a healthy population and a cohort suffering from metabolic syndrome to better focus on health biomarkers. We will provide tailor-made microbial solutions using an integrated ‘omics’ strategy and computational biology modelling to address the challenges associated with sustainable food production and healthy nutrition. In six food case studies, selected as representative of the wide diversity of plant-based FF prototypes, we will involve key stakeholders in a multi-actor approach. These objectives will lead to key results: the characterization of the health effect of milk kefir; the application of diagnosis tools based on healthy microbiome/human biomarkers to inform dietary recommendations based on FF for people with metabolic syndrome; the development of an open access database and new computational tools for profiling food microbiomes metabolic interaction during food fermentation and their overlap with the healthy gut microbiome; the delivery of a research and innovation workflow to facilitate the smart design of functional healthy FF, bio-waste valorisation, sustainable processes on plant-based food case studies using the leverage of food microbiomes’ biodiversity; all supported by a federation of key stakeholders and citizens through several living labs and a tailored dissemination strategy. Together we will develop and move towards a vision of the future of FFs in Europe while enhancing the trust of citizens in the food value chain through their involvement and genuine integration of their perspectives, paving the way for citizen-friendly innovation.