Food Material Science Initiative
Mission
To be a world class interdisciplinary group of scientists that use the concepts of food material science to control the quality attributes such as texture, flavor, structures, and shelf stability of new or existing food products
Themes
- Emphasis is on understanding the formation processes, structure, and functional properties of supramolecular systems (food matrices) that play an important role in food products.
- Provide the critical link in assisting in the development novel products and technologies that respond to consumer demand for safe, healthy good-tasting food
- Understanding of the molecular basis for food structure and functionality
- Macro and Micro Ingredient Interactions during processing of food materials
Activities
- R&D on the interactions between food macromolecules and how these interactions can be used to design specific food matrices
- Molecular mechanisms responsible for the functionality of food ingredients and how to manipulate these functional properties
- Understanding phase state behavior in foods to enhance quality and shelf-life
- The generation of specific flavors in foods and their release from different types of food matrices
- The use of nano-particles/nanotechnology to improve food functionality and shelf-life
- The study of how food interacts with the body (flavor release, texture perception, (controlled) release of bioactives)
Services
- Training of scientists.
- Responsive to emerging issues and opportunities.
- Address technical issues related to food ingredients, food functionality, food quality and processing
- Cover full spectrum of R&D from molecular structures/interactions of macromolecules to food product attributes.
- Access to research laboratories.
- Access to institutional research facilities
- Food applications and pilot processing labs at Babcock Hall
Opportunities
- Founding members.
- Center members.
- Industry Advisory Board.
- CENTER R&D program.
- Consortia.
- Contract research.
- Symposia.
- Annual meeting and activity reports.
- Member-Center Working groups
Contacts
- Steering Committee.
- Dean, CALS.
- Department Chair
