microCOSMOS

Small artisanal bakeries (less than 50 employees) produce nearly 60% of the bread consumed in France. They also generate about 10% of surplus bread in relation to their bread production (ADEME, 2016) due to the difficult forecasting of the day's sales and the limited freshness of the bread, barely exceeding the day. In 2016, the majority of this surplus bread was destroyed (40-60%), with donation to food aid and reuse in animal feed accounting for the remainder (ADEME, 2016). This finding contrasts with the absolute priority given by French regulations (Garot law 2016) to recovery as food (including prevention, food aid and repeated food processing, in that order). The µCOSMOS project is positioned on the local valorization of surplus bread as food, on a small scale, on the site of the bakery (prevention) or by a third party company/start-up. We have identified two major scientific barriers to overcome: the organization of the recycling system locally, and the generation and processing of the stale bread powder. For an even more integrative approach between disciplines, the project also proposes to assess health risks, whether they come from neoformed chemical molecules or microbiological contaminations. Finally, the project is deeply rooted in the field, with the actors of the production chain and of the territory being involved at different levels in the research process (bakers or bakers' federation as producers of surplus bread; micro-valorizers of surplus bread as food; local or micro facilitators of this valorization, including equipment suppliers and millers; associations for territorial development and food aid; territorial decision-makers).