Food Innovation Technologies Research Group specializes in the axis of "Food Processing and Preservation Technologies" and "Functional and Supplementary Foods". Research areas of the group are food processing in the "farm-to-table" food value chain, application of new technologies to foods, development of new food products and production technologies, development of functional foods and their formulations, characterization of food compositions and bioactives/phytochemicals.
Especially;
- Improvement/development of food processing technologies,
- Alternative processing technologies (ohmic heating, electrolyzed water, uv systems, cold plasma),
- Alternative proteins,
- Development of new high value-added products and production technologies,
- Pilot scale production applications,
- Mathematical modeling and process optimization,
- Production, management and use of food composition data,
- Characterization of phytochemical and bioactive compounds in foods,
- Biochemical analysis and clinical research,
- Food fortification and formulation development,
- Development of functional foods for special purposes and evaluation of them in terms of healthy nutrition,
- Prebiotics and probiotics,
- Development of fermented products/fermentation production technologies,
- Development of domestic starter culture for fermented products,
- Determination of processing, packaging, transportation and storage conditions of food in the cold chain system and development of new applications,
- Improvement of quality, development of preservation and packaging technologies for low-processed, ready-to-consume and easily prepared foods,
- Development of new generation packaging materials (active and smart packaging) and application in foods,
are among the fields in which studies and project-based activities are conducted.
Turkish Food Innovation Platform - TÜGIP (www.tugip.org.tr) established under the leadership of Food Innovation Technologies Research Group acts as a catalyst for all stakeholders in the food value chain, and conducts activities to systematically compile problems and identify solutions and roadmaps. Food Innovation Center was also established within the scope of the IPA-INNOFOOD project, which stands out as the largest R&D project supported by EU funds and carried out by our research group. There are 9 pilot-scale production lines and research laboratories under the umbrella of the Food Innovation Center, and infrastructure use, consultancy, training and analysis services are also provided in line with the needs of the food industry.
Food Innovation Technologies Research Group operates as a team of researchers and technicians of 25 people, 56% of whom have doctorate and the remaining with master's degrees. TR Ministry of Industry and Technology, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, various private sector organizations, non-governmental organizations, universities and research centers abroad within the scope of the EU Framework Program are included in the cooperation network of the research group.