Future food ideas shared at forum

Naturally functional foods that fight disease, environmentally friendly food packaging, new probiotic juices and natural antimicrobial treatments to keep food fresh for longer are some of the topics to be discussed when The University of Queensland presents the first of its Future Food Forums for industry on Tuesday 28 September at its St Lucia campus.

Food industry representatives are invited to find out what’s new in food technology, what it could mean for food products in the future and how UQ research can help their business.

Sharing expertise with the food industry about food trends, new products and new technologies, and how companies can access funding schemes to support their R&D projects is an initiative of UQ’s School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences and its main research commercialisation company, UniQuest.

Forum convenor Ranjan Sharma said the program offered a variety of topics at the cutting edge of food innovation.

“Industry guests will hear topics ranging from environmentally friendly food packaging and bio-plastics to using spice and herb extracts to keep foods fresher for longer,” Dr Sharma said.

“We’ll be talking about the ways we are meeting consumers’ increasing demand for fresh, natural, additive-free, full-flavoured, nutritious products with the latest alternatives to heat pasteurisation, like high-pressure processing.

“Another presenter will show how UQ scientists analyse food preferences of people of different ages and from different cultures.

"This service can help food companies to refine their product lines and marketing strategies for new products.”

UniQuest Managing Director David Henderson said connecting industry with science in this way offered positive impacts to the economy, the environment, and public health and wellbeing.

“The University of Queensland is a premier partner of various Australian and international food industry producers, suppliers and supporters," Henderson said.

"Industry engagement like this can lead to businesses developing a competitive edge, improving their food products and contributing to better health outcomes for the community.

"Supporting postgraduate students is another way the food industry can sustain its own development for the future.”

Registrations will be accepted until 24 September via an online forum set up by the University’s School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences: www.uq.edu.au/lcafs/futurefoodsforum.