The new £1.36 million facility at the University of Adelaide’s Waite campus in South Australia, will expand the University of Nottingham’s International Flavour Research Centre (IFRC), and is supported by a major investment by v2food, a global leader in plant-based alternatives to meat.
The facility aims to bring together world-class scientists across flavour chemistry, food and agriculture under one roof to take on the challenge of getting more plant-based foods into people’s diet.
The research team will use ‘innovative technologies’ and flavour chemistry techniques to help food manufacturers develop new and sustainable products that consumers will enjoy.
Ian Fisk, Professor of Food Chemistry and academic lead for the International Flavour Research Centre, said: “Due to the globally interconnected nature of our food supply chain, we need to work together to identify sustainable alternatives in our diet to ensure a safe, reliable supply of high-quality nutritional foods that consumers enjoy.
“Sustainable healthy diets require a rethink of food ingredients and crops, new agricultural and food production processes and novel packaging systems and new routes to market. Ultimately this is how we go about a step change for diets and more sustainable eating habits.”
One of the ‘cutting-edge’ analytical tools that will be used in the research is the MS-Nose, which is a high end analytical technique that acts like an artificial nose, allowing real-time measurement of aromas while you are eating.
Nick Hazell, chief executive of v2food, added: “We’re delighted to be partnering with globally recognised researchers with a wealth of expertise to develop our next generation of sustainable and healthy plant protein products.
“Our leadership and development team are looking forward to working closely with the Centre to accelerate knowledge creation, new product development, and advance the quality of delicious, nutritious v2food.”
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