2008 Press Releases
UCC Academic heads new National Functional Foods Research Centre (NFFRC)
24.07.2008
UCC's Professor Gerald Fitzgerald is to head the newly-established National Functional Foods Research Centre (NFFRC) which will pioneer research into "special ingredients" of milk.
24.07.2008
UCC's Professor Gerald Fitzgerald is to head the newly-established National Functional Foods Research Centre (NFFRC) which will pioneer research into "special ingredients" of milk.
The Centre will receive funding in excess of €20 million from Enterprise Ireland in conjunction with members of the Irish Dairy Industry, over the next five years.
The new Centre which will be headquartered in UCC will employ up to 40 scientists and postgraduate students working on the development of a new generation of Functional Foods. The Centre's research will focus on the isolation, identification, characterization, formulation and validation of bioactives derived from milk. "A functional food is a food that contains some functional ingredient that serves a purpose beyond supplying nutrients," explains Interim Chief Executive Officer, Professor Gerald Fitzgerald, who is also Professor of Food Microbiology, Deputy Director of the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre and Director of the BioTransfer Unit at UCC.
The NFFRC is located across four collaborating Public Research Organisations: University College Cork, University of Limerick, Teagasc's Moorepark Dairy Products Research Centre and University College, Dublin. Each one of participating organisations has internationally recognised research activities in Food Science and Food and Health.
NFFRC researchers will 'mine' milk to identify components that have functional attributes with regard to improving health of the consumer or reducing risk of disease. The research teams will use state of the art scientific technologies and expertise to identify components within milk that can target conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, and infection. The Centre will also generate ingredients that will boost immunity and enhance early infant development.
The industry partners are Carbery, Dairygold, Glanbia and the Kerry Group who are major suppliers of food ingredients on the world market.
800MMcS
The new Centre which will be headquartered in UCC will employ up to 40 scientists and postgraduate students working on the development of a new generation of Functional Foods. The Centre's research will focus on the isolation, identification, characterization, formulation and validation of bioactives derived from milk. "A functional food is a food that contains some functional ingredient that serves a purpose beyond supplying nutrients," explains Interim Chief Executive Officer, Professor Gerald Fitzgerald, who is also Professor of Food Microbiology, Deputy Director of the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre and Director of the BioTransfer Unit at UCC.
The NFFRC is located across four collaborating Public Research Organisations: University College Cork, University of Limerick, Teagasc's Moorepark Dairy Products Research Centre and University College, Dublin. Each one of participating organisations has internationally recognised research activities in Food Science and Food and Health.
NFFRC researchers will 'mine' milk to identify components that have functional attributes with regard to improving health of the consumer or reducing risk of disease. The research teams will use state of the art scientific technologies and expertise to identify components within milk that can target conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, and infection. The Centre will also generate ingredients that will boost immunity and enhance early infant development.
The industry partners are Carbery, Dairygold, Glanbia and the Kerry Group who are major suppliers of food ingredients on the world market.
800MMcS