Solid-state fermentation for enhancing the nutraceutical content of agrifood by-products: Recent advances and its industrial feasibility

Abstract Solid-state fermentation (SSF) has become an attractive bioprocess with potential application at industrial scale. It can be applied in tandem with agrifood by-products to produce nutraceutical compounds. This review paper describes the current applications of SSF as part of a pre-treatment process for enhancing the nutraceutical content of foods and agro-industrial by-products. Likewise, its advantages and drawbacks as compared with similar processes like submerged fermentation are discussed. The technological challenges that must be solved for a proper scalability of SSF, are also presented herein. In this sense, SSF is highlighted as an innovative tool that could aid in the design of future industrial scale bioprocesses for the production of nutraceutical compounds, adding value to agrifood by-products.