A Swedish brewery is teaming up with other key players in the food industry to reimagine how to utilize a beer byproduct — and the buzz is that it could come to our kitchen tables. 

As detailed by New Food magazine, Carlsberg Sverige has joined the Brewed & Renewed research project, which looks to transform brewers' spent grain, or beer dredge, into a tasty and nutrient-rich product for human consumption in products such as breads and cereals. 

Leading research institute RISE is spearheading the investigation with funds from Sweden's sustainability research council, Forma. Other partners include Axfood, Axfoundation, Bagerigruppen, Elajo, and Fazer. 

While supporting the growing global population's nutritional needs is essential, food production can exacerbate issues that threaten food security. As RISE explains, the industry accounts for nearly 35% of heat-trapping pollution and is the largest factor behind biodiversity loss. 

This is why many projects are exploring plant-based food alternatives, as the meat industry is highly polluting and requires a massive amount of land. Beyond that, eating more plant-based meals can help lower the risk of cancer, heart disease, and stroke. 

As for Sweden, its breweries produce around 80,000 tons of beer dredge each year, and that byproduct commonly goes toward animal feed, composting, and biogas. 

Brewed & Renewed believes this spent grain has larger-scale applications, as it is packed with protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and antioxidants, which, as Mayo Clinic explains, may help protect your cells against DNA-damaging free radicals. 

"There is great potential in both sustainability and health if you manage to take advantage of it," Carlsberg Sverige sustainability manager Anna Anderberg said, per New Food. 

However, this nutritional powerhouse isn't quite ready to make its way to a grocery store or restaurant near you. For one, beer dredge is soggy and spoils easily, so researchers must develop appropriate storage and transportation techniques. 

The team also has to figure out how to incorporate beer dredge into everyday food products without sacrificing quality, as the spent grains' high fiber content can affect texture and flavor.

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RISE's Brewed & Renewed initiative will run from this year to 2026 as it looks to revolutionize how food and beverage industries manage their beer waste. Carlsberg Sverige and the other partners hope to deliver a tasty, healthy, and sustainable kitchen staple. 

"By bringing together actors from the entire value chain, the challenges that exist along the entire value chain can be solved, while the step from research to practical application is reduced," RISE project leader Tim Nielsen said, per New Food.

"Utilizing residual products from beer brewing is an important part of a more circular economy," added Jonas Kudermann, production and logistics manager at Carlsberg Sverige. "By participating in Brewed & Renewed, we continue our commitment to minimizing our environmental footprint by recycling all residual products."

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