Characterization and Evaluation of Proteolysis Products during the Fermentation of Acid Whey and Fish Waste and Potential Applications

[Image: see text] Reduction of waste in the food industry is critical to sustainability. This work represents one strategy of valorizing waste streams from the dairy (acid whey) and fisheries industries (fish waste) using fermentation. The main approach was to characterize the peptides produced by this fermentation under three conditions: (1) fermentation without adding inoculum; (2) with the addition of a single lactic acid bacterial strain; and (3) the addition of a consortium of lactic acid bacteria. Previous results indicated that the rapid acidification of this fermentation was advantageous for its food safety and microbial activity. This work complements our previous results by defining the rate of peptide production due to protein digestion and using two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis and proteomic analysis to give a more detailed identification of the peptides produced from different waste streams. These results provide important information on this process for eventual applications in industrial fermentation and, ultimately, the efficient valorization of these waste streams.