Aston University and Mondelēz International collaborate to advance food engineering innovations

Aston University and Mondelēz International are collaborating on developing filtration-based technologies to enhance food flavours, minerals, and smells.

The cooperation brings together membrane science professionals from the Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence (AIME) and the worldwide confectionery and snacks manufacturer's Bournville-based R&D team.

This will be the first time AIME's expertise in biological and industrial membranes has been employed in the food industry. The team will investigate a variety of applications for next-generation filtration systems to enable novel approaches in food engineering. These were first created at Aston University for water and waste processing as part of the BIOMEM and MEMetic programs.

AIME researchers will use Mondelēz-supported PhD and research programs to explore taste receptor proteins on the tongue. These will be utilised to create experimental approaches for capturing and filtering certain molecules found in food, such as those responsible for flavour or scent.

Once developed, the technology has several possible applications. These include capturing and amplifying highly desirable food scents, as well as eliminating unwanted chemicals during manufacture, such as those that cause bitterness, allowing high-cocoa chocolate to be made without the addition of sugar.

Aston University and Mondelēz, the owner of Cadbury, have partnered to foster food enterprise in the West Midlands, where Cadbury's legacy originated. The study's goal is to advance food chemistry and engineering in order to transform the way food and snacks are made with individual flavour profiles.

AIME was founded as a one-of-a-kind institute with one of the UK's largest groups of protein membrane experts. It works to expand the science behind membrane technology and create new industrial applications.

Professor Alan Goddard, the AIME training and industry head at Aston University, stated:

"AIME's extensive experience and technical expertise in extracting, stabilising, and designing membrane proteins into new industrial technologies serve as the foundation for a collaboration that has the potential to radically alter how food attributes are developed. This collaboration is the first to use Aston University's achievements in membrane science to develop commercially viable food manufacturing systems."

Leesha Edwards, R&D senior process engineer at Mondelēz International, stated:

"As a worldwide firm dedicated to pushing revolutionary process technologies in the food sector, we understand the need of collaborating with local centres of scientific expertise and talent. We will study technology breakthroughs that benefit both our goods and consumers, as well as the local community in the West Midlands, by bringing together the world's largest chocolate R&D centre in Bournville with adjacent Aston University expertise. We are excited to work together to produce new flavours that appeal to a wide range of tastes.

Source: Aston University