[FOOMA JAPAN 2026 Exhibition] Upcycling Unused Resources with Microbial Power

Fujiwara Techno-Art Co., Ltd., which holds approximately 80% of the domestic market share for mechanical koji-making capacity and specializes in the development, design, manufacturing, and plant engineering of brewing and food machinery, will exhibit at 'FOOMA JAPAN 2026', a food machinery and equipment exhibition to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from June 2 to 5, 2026. In recent years, interest in the 'bio-economy,' which does not rely on fossil resources, has been growing in response to sustainable economic growth and resource constraints. As a core technology, processes utilizing microorganisms are attracting attention as a means of creating new value in the food industry. Fujiwara Techno-Art has been conducting research and development in collaboration with industry, academia, and government for many years while designing, manufacturing, and plant-engineering brewing food machinery, focusing on solid-state fermentation technology utilizing Japan's unique microorganism, 'Koji mold.' Solid-state fermentation technology, represented by koji making, is used in initiatives to add high value to food materials, food by-products, and unused resources as new functional materials. Against this background, in the last few years, we have received inquiries utilizing microbial-related technology not only from food by-products and unused food resources but also from areas beyond the food sector, such as the energy field and chemical substitutes. We feel that the application area of microbial technology is expanding, and we hope you will see its potential through this exhibition. At the exhibition booth, under the theme 'Microorganisms change the future of the food industry - Value regeneration through fermentation technology,' we will introduce solid-state fermentation technology that draws out the power of microorganisms and adds high value to food materials and food by-products. We will also introduce our co-creation service, 'Microbial Industry Platform,' which provides consistent support from microbial selection to culture testing, condition optimization, scale-up, plant engineering, and commercialization, including upcycling examples using food by-products such as extracted coffee beans and wheat bran. In addition, we will exhibit the 'Small-scale Aerated Solid-state Fermentation Device,' a microbial culture test device optimal for test culture aimed at industrialization, and the 'SSF miniLab,' a small lab machine optimal for experiments. We hope that seeing the actual equipment will deepen your understanding of solid-state fermentation. The 'Small-scale Aerated Solid-state Fermentation Device' has been nominated for the 5th FOOMA Award 2026 Grand Prize. The FOOMA Award is one of the most authoritative awards in the industry, given to products and technologies evaluated for innovation, practicality, and contribution to society among food machinery and food-related technologies. Conventionally, large-scale industrial machines have been the mainstream for solid-state fermentation technology, but our small-scale aerated solid-state fermentation device makes it easier for research institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises to introduce it, and supports a rapid process from value verification of unused resources to commercialization, contributing to the realization of a circular economy. We believe this nomination is an expression that our efforts to create new value with the power of microorganisms are sought and expected by society. The announcement of the Grand Prize is scheduled for June 2 (Tue) at FOOMA JAPAN 2026. In the presentation seminar, we will introduce initiatives to add high value to food by-products and unused resources using microbial culture technology, centering on solid-state fermentation technology. Furthermore, we will introduce the concept of the 'Microbial Industry Platform' and specific upcycling examples. We will look at how microbial-related technology can contribute to the construction of a resource-autonomous economy and sustainable economic growth, along with the future image of the food industry. In the food tech session 'Possibilities of Food Tech as a National Strategy - Globalization of the Food Industry,' we will discuss the reconstruction of the food value chain and the creation of new industries and business opportunities as a keynote panel. We are promoting the social implementation of processes utilizing microorganisms, aiming to create new value in the food industry. We hope that this exhibition will be a place to think about the rediscovery and utilization of unused resources together with each company, and will be a trigger for new co-creation toward the realization of a sustainable society.