ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ

Research areas

Transforming food for a sustainable future: Innovating for quality, safety, and climate action

Our dedicated team of faculty are committed to finding solutions to the global food crisis related to food quality, safety, and production of green gases due to food manufacturing, affecting climate change. 

Our research helps to develop green technologies and circular economy to minimize food waste and optimize food quality, intelligent packaging materials, and new food products that are safe to consume. We are also hard at work on new analytical platforms like lab-on-a-chip, analytical methodologies using state-of-the-art technologies like High Resolution Mass spectrometers, genomics and large-data processing software and the development of algorithms for their analysis.

Flavours and Food Product Development

When heated, food undergoes complex processes that create flavours, colours, and sometimes harmful chemicals. Our researchers study these processes at the molecular level to enhance the aroma while reducing the creation of toxic substances. They're examining how different ingredients interact to improve the taste and overall appeal of food, with the goal of creating better recipes and food products.

Food Processing, Engineering and Packaging

Research in this field focuses on how different methods of processing food—both heat-based and other techniques—affect food safety and quality. It also looks at how to develop, test, and improve these processes, as well as finding alternatives to plastic packaging that can't be broken down. The goal is to improve food quality and create more sustainable packaging solutions.

Food Chemistry and Biochemistry

New insights into chemical and physical changes during processing are now possible through the exploration of food systems by spectroscopic, mass spectrometric, and hyperspectral imaging techniques. New methods are developed based on these innovative methodologies for food authentication and quality assessment.

Sustainable Agri-Food Systems

Studies under this theme are aimed at developing sustainable alternatives for current agricultural practices to address local and global challenges. Specifically, our researchers are working on reducing the problems caused by rising antibiotic resistance and the use of harmful chemicals in agriculture by developing more environmentally friendly solutions that use biological methods.

Food Biotechnologies

Food biotechnology research focuses on using biological processes to create functional ingredients and health-promoting products, called nutraceuticals, for the food industry. This research helps improve the way we produce food and supports better health for people. It also encourages using natural resources more sustainably by turning waste materials (biomass) into valuable ingredients, moving from a "take, make, dispose" approach to a more sustainable, circular use of resources.

Food Microbiology and Safety

Research in this field expands our understanding of the basic biology of food borne pathogens, produces improved technologies for detecting them in food and creates novel management practices to prevent contamination.

Food lab facilities used in ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ teaching and research

Consortium RITA: Supporting Agri-food Industry Innovation

ÎÛÎÛ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ's consortium for Research, Innovation and Transformation of Agri-food (RITA) partners with Québec companies along the entire food processing value chain to facilitate and support projects that accelerate innovation, technology transfer and the development of a thriving and sustainable sector.

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