RMIT Food Innovation Hub to help advance food processing technology

RMIT has launched its Food Innovation Hub at its Bundoora campus, to strengthen future food research, education and workforce development in Melbourne’s north and across Australia.

The hub is part of RMIT’s broader investment in health capabilities at Bundoora, which is being developed as a precinct for vocational and higher education, research and industry partnerships. It will bring together the university’s capabilities in food technology and nutrition to help industry address challenges across the food system, support sustainable innovation and contribute to healthier people and communities.

Food Innovation Hub Director Professor Mirjana Prica said working closely with industry will allow the Hub to understand real-world challenges and create knowledge, build future workforce skills and translate research and technology for greater impact.

“We’re excited to progress critical industry-relevant research through this Hub and invite industry to partner with us on this journey,” Prica said.

“Translation is a huge gap in Australian food research. We want to address that by working closely with industry to identify opportunities, co-create solutions and deliver research with practical applications and industry-ready workforce to unlock value across the food system.

“One area where we see strong potential is value-added food production, transforming raw materials, mostly commodities, into high-value functional ingredients and foods using advanced engineering, processing and packaging technologies.”

From left: Professor Jayani Chandrapala, Professor Mark Osborn, Professor Mirjana Prica, Hon Andrew Giles MP, Distinguished Professor Calum Drummond AO, Distinguished Professor Sujeeva Setunge. Image credit: Ellen Duffy Photography.

STEM College Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, Distinguished Professor Sujeeva Setunge said the Food Innovation Hub reflected RMIT’s strategy to deliver research with real-world impact.

“The Food Innovation Hub will help researchers and students bridge the gap between scientific discovery and product development, translating research from the lab to the real world to benefit industry, people and communities.”

Hub users will work from RMIT’s Food Research and Innovation Centre, a multimillion-dollar facility where researchers, students and industry partners can test ideas and develop new approaches to food processing, nutrition and product development.

The launch follows RMIT research into extracting protein from discarded cauliflower leaves using ultrasound, pointing to potential new uses for vegetable scraps in food manufacturing and waste reduction.

Top image credit: RMIT