**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** OUR PROJECT AIMS TO ADDRESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES SURROUNDING FOOD WASTE BY CREATING A CIRCULAR ECONOMY. ACID WHEY, A BYPRODUCT OF GREEK YOGURT PRODUCTION, IS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO FOOD WASTE AND HAS A NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IF NOT PROPERLY MANAGED. WE PLAN TO UPCYCLE ACID WHEY BY DEVELOPING A NOVEL WHITENING AGENT TO REPLACE TITANIUM DIOXIDE. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO OPTIMIZE FORMULATIONS USING ACID WHEY AND MILLET MATRIX TO DEVELOP WHITE POWDERS, WHICH CAN BE SCALED UP AND EVALUATED USING RISK ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES. WE WILL CONDUCT VARIOUS EXPERIMENTS AND ANALYSES TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR NOVEL PRODUCT. WE PLAN TO DISSEMINATE OUR FINDINGS AND EDUCATE THE TARGET AUDIENCE, WHICH INCLUDES FOOD MANUFACTURERS, PRODUCERS, AND CONSUMERS, THROUGH PUBLICATIONS, AND CONFERENCE MEETINGS. THIS PROJECT WILL HAVE SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS TO THE FOOD INDUSTRY SEEKING ALTERNATIVES TO TITANIUM DIOXIDE. FIRSTLY, IT WILL PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE FOOD PROCESSING PRACTICES BY REDUCING FOOD WASTE. SECONDLY, IT WILL PROVIDE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES BY CREATING VALUE FROM FOOD WASTE PRODUCTS, PARTICULARLY IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. OVERALL, THIS PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO POSITIVELY IMPACT VARIOUS SECTORS OF THE FOOD INDUSTRY AND PROMOTE A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE FOOD SYSTEM.