Separation Science and Technology group

Adding value through functional foods

In recent years there has been increased interest in the production of value-added products in the food industry. These products are also classified as functional foods: food that targets functions in the body, beyond adequate nutrition, in a way that improves health and well being or reduces the risk of disease.

Examples of these products are proteins found in whey such as lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase, bioactive peptides and others such as carotenoids, for example β-carotene. Extensive studies on the additional health benefits that these products could bring have driven research into their development as food ingredients and medicines.

Due to their additional functionalities these molecules are more fragile than traditional food ingredients, therefore more complex downstream processing is required for their selective separation from fermentation broths or other renewable sources. In addition, a wide range of separation methods is needed for the recovery and purification of such diverse bioproducts.

Exchange of ideas
The aim of this meeting is for scientists from academia and industry to exchange their ideas and research findings in the separation of a number of value added products. It is an ideal forum for industrialists to present and discuss their current separation processes including their bottlenecks, as well as for scientists to present new ideas and propose novel separation methods that could find an application in these processes.

The programme will consist of a number of talks from experts in industry and academia on the recovery and separation of value added products in the food industry including:

• Proteins and bioactive peptides from whey and milk;
• Carotenoids and other compounds with antioxidant properties; and
• Polysaccharides, using a wide range of novel separation methods and technologies such as affinity membranes, novel chromatographic techniques and novel extraction and flotation methods.