UCC has a long and proud tradition of education and research in food
science and technology, and a major forthcoming international event
co-ordinated jointly by UCC and Queen's University, Belfast, in
association with the Institute of Food Technologists and the European
Federation of Food Science and Technology, will focus on new
developments in processing and preservation technology which are
relevant to the food industry, and also have applications for
biotechnology. The Workshop runs from 11-13 September.
Today, the most common means of preserving food, and making it safe for
consumers, is the application of high temperatures, in processes such
as canning and pasteurisation. However, heat can sometimes change
the quality of food, or destroy some nutritional factors that may be
naturally present. This, along with consumers' demand for
high-quality, safe, wholesome, fresh-like food products, have resulted
in intense research over the last 20 years or so, leading to a wave of
new technologies involving subjecting food to unimaginably high
pressures, applying pulses of electricity or using beams of incredibly
intense light, killing unwanted microbes but leaving vitamins and
flavour molecules untouched. Some of these processes, such as
high-pressure processing, have reached commercial practice for products
like oysters and fruit juices in the US, Spain and other countries,
while others are at advanced developmental stages.
Over 150 delegates from all over the world will come to Cork to discuss
the latest research in this field in a unique and exciting scientific
forum. As well as internationally-recognised scientists, the Workshop
will be attended by representatives of the Irish and international food
and biotechnology industries, as this is one area of science where the
fundamental studies in the laboratory have a real and vital link to the
activities of companies and the way they produce their products.
The Workshop, which has received significant financial support from
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), is being jointly organised by UCC's
Department of Food & Nutritional Sciences, under Dr Alan Kelly, and
Queen's University Belfast, under Dr Margaret Patterson.
For queries or information, please contact Dr Alan Kelly at a.kelly@ucc.ie or visit www.ucc.ie/nonthermalfood2006
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