UCC lies at the heart of Ireland’s ‘food capital’ and is a well-established hot-spot for food-related research, bringing together experts from several disciplines ranging from food science to food business. Nowadays, food for health is big business, with global sales of healthy food products continuously increasing.

UCC is at the forefront of research into food and nutrition, including optimisation of food production, ingredient development and the role diet has in nourishing the body and mind. 

Food innovation is a key national priority and UCC recognises the importance of the agri-food sector to the local and national economy. With a unique food research ecosystem across four colleges, the university adopts an interdisciplinary approach to food, health and wellbeing, and has an impressive track-record in key areas such as ingredients technology, food/mood related studies, consumer behaviour and market-oriented research.

UCC also has strong academic collaborative partnerships (including the UCC-Teagasc Strategic Alliance) and engages with various companies in the food and beverages sector, striving to address many of the global challenges and opportunities associated with food and nutrition. 

“Ireland has many competitive advantages as a producer of foods from a natural and sustainable platform which supports the guarantees of food quality, functionality and reliability that consumers demand on world markets. The new Food Institute at UCC is an exciting development which will make a strategic contribution to regional and national food industry development, innovation and success.”

Jim Corbett, Director of The Food Institute