Sustainable Valorization of Food Waste: Development of Microbial Growth Media From Organic By‐Products

ABSTRACT A vast amount of food (about 1.3 billion tons) is wasted every year. Food waste ends up in landfills and rots, producing methane, the most powerful greenhouse gas. This is the reason why several attempts were carried out to valorize food waste into new derived compounds. In this context, the present study aims to prepare microbial media from food waste samples, including potato peel, pumpkin peel, tomato residue, egg shells, chicken bones, bread, and wheat bran. Three different food waste‐based culture media were formulated to support the growth of mesophilic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and fungi. These media were compared to the commercial ones. Results demonstrate similar or better performance for microbial growth. Additionally, specialized tests, including antibiogram analysis, lipolytic and proteolytic activities assays, and bacterial interaction tests, confirmed the efficacy of the formulated media for advanced microbiological applications. Unlike previous studies that focused on single waste sources or microbial types, this work demonstrates the feasibility of developing multi‐purpose, low‐cost media from diverse household food wastes, validated across bacterial, fungal, and LAB cultures. Such transformation of food waste contributes to reducing environmental impact and advancing scientific research.