Scientific Expertise at IFR

Independently ranked first in Europe and second in the world (Thompson & Reuters, 2009) for the impact of its Agricultural and Food Science Research over the last 10 years, IFR’s science is divided into four main areas of excellence: Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens, Food Structure and Health ,Plant Natural Products and Health, and Integrated Biology of the GI Tract.

Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens

Scares regarding food safety can harm companies financially due to the recall of contaminated products and be detrimental to a company’s reputation.

IFR can help companies improve the safety of their product by:

Determining shelf-life
Validating product formulation
Testing antimicrobial processes or compounds
Detecting and “mapping” contamination
Challenge testing
Food safety audits and consultancy
Applying predictive microbiology
Botulism risk management

Food Structure and Health

The quality of food is dependent on its structure; physical and chemical components. Changes in food composition, for example to make products with lower fat content, can change these factors and therefore the taste or texture of the product. Food quality can also change over time due the variation in stability of different food components such as foams and emulsions.

IFR can work with companies to understand how food structures are maintained and how to formulate good quality products which vary in their fat or protein content. We can also assess, and work to increase, the stability of products to extend shelf life and detect the presence of harmful chemicals and allergens that negate the safety of foods.

The Food Structure and Health programme has expertise in the fields of emulsions, protein chemistry, food structure and food materials science.

IFR can help companies develop and analyse food products:

Effect of food processing on quality, shelf-life and digestibility (in vitro model)
Analysis of allergens in food
Improving stability of foams and emulsions
Food texture and quality
Interpretation and understanding of complex food systems
Sort and grade food based on quality based on online techniques
Imaging services
Authenticity testing
Ingredient characterisation
Mass spectrometry to analyse proteins in food

Plant Natural Products and Health

As the relationship between diet and health becomes clearer new products with enhanced levels of beneficial compounds are being developed.

IFR can help develop plants with higher levels of beneficial compounds such as antioxidants and clinically assess the effectiveness of these compounds in combating chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and Alzheimers.

IFR can help companies by:

Developing new plant products with enhanced health benefits
Increasing levels of antioxidants in plants such as broccoli
Advising on folate fortification of foods
Improving levels of polyphenols in foods
Testing health benefits of novel foods
Conducting clinical trials of new food products
Exploiting plant products to tackle diseases
Fresh produce optimisation
Nutritional studies and advice

Integrated Biology of the GI Tract

To get the most out of food we need to digest it properly. Maintaining a healthy digestive system is dependent on a balance between the food we eat, the probiotic (friendly) bacteria that help digest it and our immune system.

At IFR we can help companies by: