How can more-sustainable ingredient sources and processes be used to manufacture attractive food products is the central question in Sustainable ingredients. The project is investigating the use of mildly-refined ingredients, and replacing animal proteins with plant proteins.

The benefits of minimally-processed foods are offset by the increased risk of food spoilage. This project is investigating heterogeneity in the resistance of fungal spores to preservation methods, providing new leads for milder intervention protocols.

‘Evolution’ often optimises one trait at the cost of another. This project will reveal how such trade-offs affect industrial fermentations, investigating the role of the enzymes involved in growth, acidification, and flavour and texture development in dairy production.

Relatively few people know that a healthy lifestyle is crucial to human performance, limiting overweight and cardiometabolic diseases. This project will establish (cause-effect) relationships between blood-glucose homeostasis, the underlying physiology and effects on mental and physical performance and well-being.

Does reduced exposure to sweetness induce a lower preference for sweet items, reduce sugar and energy intake and, perhaps, also body weight? Proving if this is true, or not, is the goal of the Sweet tooth project.

How do structural and textural food properties and food expectations affect oral processing behaviour, dynamic sensory perception and liking, in consumer groups with different ages, ethnicities and eating capabilities? This is the focus of the Smooth bite for all project.