RMIT Food Science
RMIT offers a magnitude of research and development services and benefits to the food manufacturing sector which can include:
- New product development
- Formulation
- Compliance with Government regulations
- Packaging
- Increased shelf life
- Retaining flavour, texture, colour and nutritional content
- Ensure food safety
- Enable transportation of food - Marketing and Promotion
- Production management
- Quality control and assurance
- Consumer research
RMIT has recently appointed a new Professor in Food Science, Professor Stefan Kasapis. Professor Kasapis is internationally recognised with appointments in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Oman and again in Australia.
Click here for Professor Stefan Kasapis’s RMIT profile
"In 2011 a new state of the art Pilot Plant is expected to be operating at the Bundoora campus which will offer exceptional services to local food manufacturers."
For more information on RMIT Food Science services contact:
Prof. Stefan Kasapis
Phone: +61 3 9925 7144
Email: stefan.kasapis@rmit.edu.au
Research Projects
Dietary Fibre
Intelligent use of dietary fibre in starch based food products (bakery, pasta and noodles) for improved taste and nutritional value.
Aims and Significance:
Though the Australian consumer needs are demanding healthy foods, our society is suffering from "diseases of choice" such as obesity that largely result from, or are amplified by, our lifestyle, where few seem inclined to change their nutritional habits. Furthermore, the Australian society demands foods that are affordable, readily available and can be prepared quickly. With shifting food consumption habits, the intake of dietary fibre (DF) and fibre-containing foods in the diet is now well-below recommended levels. However, growing consumer interest in good nutrition has focused the industry on the merits of nutraceutical ingredients such as DF in processed products.
The objective of this project is:
i) to address the issue of consumer acceptability of starch based products in relation to the replacement of chemical additives with natural ingredients, and
ii) the manipulation of the carbohydrate digestibility with DF or bioactive compounds from a natural source leading to products with a low glycemic index.
The broader impact of the work relates to an approach that should be utilized to answer questions of commercial product development in the various fields of processed foods and nutraceuticals, an area which complies with the National Research Priority of “developing new types of foods” and “promoting and maintaining good health”.
Download Technical Project Brief
Gelatin and Sugar Replacement
Gelatin and sugar replacement with low calorie ingredients for the formulation of confectionery products with improved nutritional value
Aims and Significance:
The objective of this project is the formulation of products with increased likelihood of acceptability and nutritional benefit to the consumer. The work falls within the National Research Priority 2: “Promoting and Maintaining Good Health”. It encompasses the priority goals of a “healthy start to life” and “preventive healthcare” by making available healthier choices and a balanced diet through the development of health-promoting products. Reduced sugar confectionery remains a niche category, which in 2006 comprised only 13 percent of the global confectionery market. With increasing health concerns in Australia and the developed countries, product innovation in the sugar-free confectionery market will intensify to achieve a bigger mainstream growth, and the current research project is ideally poised to take advantage and contribute directly to unlocking such potential for growth.
Gelatin, because of its firm, springy, resilient character, is used to make gelled products. The search to replace the protein has been prompted by growing demand for vegetarian and ethnic products, religious dietary restrictions (Kosher, Halal, etc.) and the need for efficient delivery of sensitive ingredients such as vitamins and nutraceuticals. In addition, gelatin-based confections tend to soften or melt under hot ambient conditions of warehouse storage, i.e. temperatures above or about 35°C. Gelatin replacing offers significant market advantages, since the worldwide production is currently about 300,000 tons per year (including non-food products). The findings could offer considerable advantages to ingredient suppliers and product manufacturers for new concepts and functionalities thus serving as a springboard for projects with industry.
Download Technical Project Brief
Functional Foods
Engineering functional foods and nutraceuticals by incorporating vitamins and antioxidants in traditional formulations
Aims and Significance:
It is understood that people are very reluctant to change their food habits in order to improve their health. Thus people expect to consume foods with positive health effects as conveniently and effective as possible without giving up the palatable mouthfeel of the traditional formulation. In terms of designing novel products with nutraceutical properties, such expectations can be met by adding value to traditional formulations via the incorporation of bioactive compounds. Compounds of that nature are vitamins (e.g., vitamin C that relates to sour taste and acts as an antioxidant), anthocyanins, which are natural antioxidants and colouring agents present in various grapes and berries, and catechins which are antioxidants extracted, for example, from green or black tea. Antioxidants are substances that can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body such as heart disease, muscular degeneration, diabetes and cancer.
The properties of bioactive compounds added to various foods in order to increase their functionality are poorly understood. Thus the overall aim of this project is to identify optimum conditions in processed products for preservation and bioavailability of these compounds. The opportunity to sustain or improve the health of individuals would depend on the performance of the nutraceutical products, which is affected by processing and storage conditions (shear, temperature, light, oxygen) and type of packaging. The textural properties of materials will also be examined since they will determine the delivery of bioactive compounds during consumption. The project is going to introduce bioactive compounds to a range of products currently of a low nutritional value including confections, the unfrozen phase of ice cream, dried fruit leathers and non-alcoholic beverages. It is expected that a range of nutraceutical formulations will be engineered with proven stability and successful delivery of the bioactive compounds in real-world food preparations.
Download Technical Project Brief
Fat Replacement
Fat replacement with dietary fibre in order to engineer dairy products with acceptable mouthfeel and nutrition
Aims and Significance:
Over the last 30 years or so, the link between a high-calorie, low fibre diet and the high incidence of “disease of affluence” in societies has become increasingly clear. In the case of dairy products, consumer-awareness of the health implication of a high-calorie diet, and in particular of excess consumption of trans fat, has generated a high demand for low-fat or zero-fat substitutes for traditional “yellow fat spreads” (butter and margarine). The reason is that trans fats raise blood levels of the so-called bad cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol), which is a risk factor for heart disease. Trans fats also lower blood levels of the good cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol), which protects against heart disease. However, saturated and trans fatty acids play a major role in producing the textures and flavours that make spreadable dairy fat so tasty.
The project will utilise sound technological understanding of the properties of food ingredients to replace fat in processed dairy products. Creation of textures similar to those of fat-based food products such as butter, margarine and soft cheese will be attempted using dietary fibre in mixtures with proteins and various carbohydrates. The technology of microparticulation will also be explored to create textures that are comparable to the size of fat crystals in traditional formulations. Such an undertaking will reproduce the melt-in-the-mouth property of fat thus controlling flavour release during mastication for optimum sensory profile. In our view, fundamental understanding of the properties and interactions of selected food ingredients, as advocated in this project, will be critical in the formulation of low-fat products with increased likelihood of acceptability by the consumer.