Markers of milk quality in commercially produced UHT milks and milk powders. Efficient production of safe, wholesome food relies on the application of the best available knowledge of the food material and the processing technologies involved. This project applies proteomics, the most advanced protein analysis technique, to determine the changes that occur in milk during high heat treatment and subsequent storage of the heat-processed milk product. Armed with such knowledge, the dairy processin ....Markers of milk quality in commercially produced UHT milks and milk powders. Efficient production of safe, wholesome food relies on the application of the best available knowledge of the food material and the processing technologies involved. This project applies proteomics, the most advanced protein analysis technique, to determine the changes that occur in milk during high heat treatment and subsequent storage of the heat-processed milk product. Armed with such knowledge, the dairy processing industry will be able to make informed decisions about processing and storage conditions to ensure the final products provided to the consumer are of the highest possible quality. Read moreRead less
Ultrasonic Processing of Dairy Ingredients to Control Protein Aggregation and Promote Heat Stability. This project is an emerging collaboration between the University of Melbourne, Food Science Australia and the Dairy Ingredients Group of Australia. We aim to use acoustically generated chemical and physical effects to modify dairy proteins. Transformation of the sulphur-containing proteins by this means should overcome many of the difficulties currently encountered in thermal processing of whole ....Ultrasonic Processing of Dairy Ingredients to Control Protein Aggregation and Promote Heat Stability. This project is an emerging collaboration between the University of Melbourne, Food Science Australia and the Dairy Ingredients Group of Australia. We aim to use acoustically generated chemical and physical effects to modify dairy proteins. Transformation of the sulphur-containing proteins by this means should overcome many of the difficulties currently encountered in thermal processing of whole milk and whey proteins. This work will place the Australian dairy industry in a pre-eminent position for the development of valuable, heat-stable and uniquely functional ingredients based on novel micro/nano structures. Existing world class expertise will be further developed in ultrasonic processing and sonochemistry as frontier technologies.Read moreRead less
The Molecular Mechanism of Protein Instability in Dairy Powder Systems. Dairy is the fourth largest rural industry sectors in Australia, directly involving more than 13,000 farms and a large number of dairy factories. Most of Australia's 10 billion litre milk flow is converted to powder form for exports, with an annual value exceeding $1billion. The anticipated improvements in the performance and shelf-life of the dried dairy powder systems to be investigated in this project have the potential ....The Molecular Mechanism of Protein Instability in Dairy Powder Systems. Dairy is the fourth largest rural industry sectors in Australia, directly involving more than 13,000 farms and a large number of dairy factories. Most of Australia's 10 billion litre milk flow is converted to powder form for exports, with an annual value exceeding $1billion. The anticipated improvements in the performance and shelf-life of the dried dairy powder systems to be investigated in this project have the potential to generate significant economic impacts in both the dairy production and processing sectors. This work will also benefit the wider scientific community in dairy- and food-related areas, particularly in relation to the novel multidisciplinary approach involving a combination of material science and protein chemistry.Read moreRead less
Development of mature and intense flavours in low-fat cheeses using micro-encapsulated enzyme technology. Obesity related diseases are escalating in Australia. Consumers, although encouraged to favour low-fat alternatives in their diet to combat obesity, find low-fat alternatives unpalatable and continue to select full-fat alternatives. There is a need to provide consumers with a full-fat flavoured low-fat cheese. The aim of this project is to develop low-fat cheese products with flavours compar ....Development of mature and intense flavours in low-fat cheeses using micro-encapsulated enzyme technology. Obesity related diseases are escalating in Australia. Consumers, although encouraged to favour low-fat alternatives in their diet to combat obesity, find low-fat alternatives unpalatable and continue to select full-fat alternatives. There is a need to provide consumers with a full-fat flavoured low-fat cheese. The aim of this project is to develop low-fat cheese products with flavours comparable to fully ripened, mature, full-fat cheeses using microencapsulation technology. The outcome will be a rise in demand for low-fat cheese products that will reduce dietary fat intake while maintaining the positive nutritional benefits associated with cheese.Read moreRead less
The effect of dietary fish peptides on biomarkers of human health - the influence of processing conditions and the environment. This project links together two diverse but important areas of national importance: declining fisheries and human health. Australia is a small producer and exporter of fish but has access to significant fisheries. The Geelong Food Co-product Cluster comprises a number of fish companies facing serious problems associated with declining catches compounded by the current f ....The effect of dietary fish peptides on biomarkers of human health - the influence of processing conditions and the environment. This project links together two diverse but important areas of national importance: declining fisheries and human health. Australia is a small producer and exporter of fish but has access to significant fisheries. The Geelong Food Co-product Cluster comprises a number of fish companies facing serious problems associated with declining catches compounded by the current financial crisis. Increasing use of by-catch species and developing novel processing technology for controlled release of bioactive peptides that may reduce appetite and the tendency for overweight and obesity in consumers could provide the Australian seafood industry with a world competitive innovative technology leading to improvements in human health.Read moreRead less
Tomato and vegetable oil synergies for healthier foods. Vegetable and fruit products are recognised for their content of health-promoting phytonutrients. This project will investigate the bioavailability and subsequent in-vivo antioxidant activity of tomatoes and vegetable oils alone or in combination. A second aim will be to isolate particular phytonutrients from tomates and selected vegetable oils, and then to combine them for determination of synergistic interactions affecting antioxidant ac ....Tomato and vegetable oil synergies for healthier foods. Vegetable and fruit products are recognised for their content of health-promoting phytonutrients. This project will investigate the bioavailability and subsequent in-vivo antioxidant activity of tomatoes and vegetable oils alone or in combination. A second aim will be to isolate particular phytonutrients from tomates and selected vegetable oils, and then to combine them for determination of synergistic interactions affecting antioxidant activity. Opportunities for the preparation of new phytonutrient-oil combination foods with increased antioxidant activity and the potential to enhance the health status of consumers will be developed. The research will provide food processors with expertise to develop novel plant-derived ingredients and food products for sale in the internationally growing functional foods market.Read moreRead less
Development of solvent extraction systems for improved sugar quality and yield. The recent collapse in the international sugar price and increased competition amongst producers have highlighted the vulnerability of Australian sugar mills and the regional communities reliant on sugar cane growing to variation in the price of this commodity. Hence, the development of new, more efficient means to produce raw sugar of high quality is of paramount importance to maintain Australia as a low cost produ ....Development of solvent extraction systems for improved sugar quality and yield. The recent collapse in the international sugar price and increased competition amongst producers have highlighted the vulnerability of Australian sugar mills and the regional communities reliant on sugar cane growing to variation in the price of this commodity. Hence, the development of new, more efficient means to produce raw sugar of high quality is of paramount importance to maintain Australia as a low cost producer. This project aims to investigate the use of unique solvent extraction methods to remove deleterious impurities from the raw cane juice in sugar mills with the consequent improvement in both sugar yield and quality.Read moreRead less
Maximising the value of Australia’s sheepmeat industry with smart photonics. This project aims to investigate new photonics technologies to measure meat quality in lamb and mutton. It expects to develop new knowledge in the areas of fibre optics and 3D printing for use by the red meat and livestock industries. Expected outcomes of this project include development of a new technology to rapidly identify premium meat during meat processing. This should provide significant benefits for Australia’s ....Maximising the value of Australia’s sheepmeat industry with smart photonics. This project aims to investigate new photonics technologies to measure meat quality in lamb and mutton. It expects to develop new knowledge in the areas of fibre optics and 3D printing for use by the red meat and livestock industries. Expected outcomes of this project include development of a new technology to rapidly identify premium meat during meat processing. This should provide significant benefits for Australia’s red meat industry, helping to establish Australia as a leading supplier of high-quality meat to domestic and international markets.Read moreRead less
Smarter fermentations through starter culture genomics. Australia makes over $1 billion dollars worth of cheese each year, however fermentation can be adversely affected by virus (phage) attack or sub-optimal strain mixtures. The latest genomics and molecular biology approaches will be used to characterise and optimise starter culture strains leading to improved flavour, quality and efficiency in cheese making.
A Novel Rheological and Chewing and Swallowing model for the Smart Design of Texture Modified Foods for Increased Aged Health. Difficulty in chewing and swallowing mean about 40% of elderly people require Texture Modified (TM) meals. Elders able to eat only very soft food textures have a 2.4 fold higher risk of mortality. However existing methods to assess the level of texture modification are poor; achieving a consistent level of TM meal is difficult; and TM meals have poor sensory properties ( ....A Novel Rheological and Chewing and Swallowing model for the Smart Design of Texture Modified Foods for Increased Aged Health. Difficulty in chewing and swallowing mean about 40% of elderly people require Texture Modified (TM) meals. Elders able to eat only very soft food textures have a 2.4 fold higher risk of mortality. However existing methods to assess the level of texture modification are poor; achieving a consistent level of TM meal is difficult; and TM meals have poor sensory properties (appearance, flavour, aroma). This work will use a novel chewing and swallowing model in conjunction with novel food flavour and property measurements to develop new texture modified foods with increased taste, ease of swallowing and nutritional value.Read moreRead less