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Project

Pectin structure modifications for targeted emulsifying and emulsion stabilizing properties

One of the major trends in transforming fruit and vegetable raw materials into food products is to minimize the production of waste streams and/or to valorize such waste streams into high added value ingredients for use in foods. Large volume waste streams are available from e.g. the juice industry, and more recently from manufacturing natural food colorants (a fast growing part of the ingredient industry). The current project aims at optimal valorization of the cell wall material, in particular pectin that is present in fruit and vegetable raw matrices by converting specific parts into multifunctional ingredients (e.9. gelling agents, water binding agents, emulsifiers). The main focus will be on the process (extraction, thermal treatments, mechanical treatments, enzyme treatments etc.) structure (obtained through chemical and physico-chemical characterization) function (gelling, emulsifying, chelating) relation of the fractions obtained. Given the diversity in cell wall composition and structure of different fruit and vegetable raw materials and waste streams therefore the processes will be adapted to specific matrices. The main objective of the present project is the valorization of side streams of fruit and vegetable based foods, into a pectin-based dry multifunctional ingredient according to a bio-refining approach. The bio-refining approach consists in the fractionation of complex side streams into its different components. The latter are subsequently converted into value-added food ingredients. ln this context, starting from specific side streams, a targeted split stream isolation approach will be carried out to obtain pectin fractions having specific nanostructure and thus functionality.

Date:25 Sep 2017 →  29 Nov 2021
Keywords:Pectin, Functionality
Disciplines:Food sciences and (bio)technology, Biomaterials engineering, Biological system engineering, Biomechanical engineering, Other (bio)medical engineering, Environmental engineering and biotechnology, Industrial biotechnology, Other biotechnology, bio-engineering and biosystem engineering, Other chemical sciences, Nutrition and dietetics, Agricultural animal production, Microbiology, Systems biology, Laboratory medicine
Project type:PhD project