Abstract: The subject of the invention is the use, for the production of formic acid and/or formate starting from a culture medium containing a fermentable sugar, of a bacterial strainhaving a deficiency in the transportation or the metabolism of at least one fermentable sugar,containing an active degradation pathway for the preceding sugar via pyruvate formate lyase,capable of converting the preceding sugar mainly into formic acid and/or formate, even in the presence of a non-limiting concentration of said sugar.It also relates to a fermentation process by culture of said strain with a view to the conversion of a fermentable sugar into formic acid or formate, as well as the culture media enriched with formic acid or formate thus obtained, as well as an extraction/purification process of the formic acid in the form of one of its volatile esters, preferably ethyl formate.