Wednesday, 10/25/2017
The
project results from a partnership between the Centre of Biological Engineering
(CEB) of the School of Engineering of the University of Minho (EEUM) and the
International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL).
The GeLife project, developed by
researchers from CEB of the EEUM, will help combat food-related epidemics of
the 21st century. This project – which allows fat replacement and
produce healthier foods – was granted the Food & Nutrition Awards in the
Innovation and Development category. GeLife, whose ultimate aim is to fight
against some of the diseases currently affecting more and more people, counts
on the participation of Artur Martins and António Vicente, both researchers
from CEB of the EEUM, and also Miguel Cerqueira and Lorenzo Pastrana,
researchers from INL.
Researchers are creating oleogels – through
the use of healthy fats – that can be incorporated into various foods,
resulting in healthier products that maintain the same texture, colour and
flavour. The produced compounds can be used in meats and delicatessen products,
cheeses, ice creams, margarines, among other applications.
The results obtained in GeLiFE will
allow the replacement of saturated and trans fats by healthier ones, as well as
the incorporation of bioactive compounds in food. Therefore, these innovative
solutions will guarantee greater stability to the products, as well as improve
their nutritional characteristics and expand their shelf life.
This is already the second time a Food
Nutrition Award is granted to a CEB project. In 2015, the Nutricap project was granted
the first place in the same category. The Food & Nutrition Awards are an
initiative that brings together several entities linked to the agrofood sector
and aim to be a mobilising agent as far as food innovation is concerned.
Annualy, they grant awards to projects in four areas linked to food: food
education, research and development, food sustainability and product
innovation.
The CEB is a research unit that
combines exact, natural and environmental sciences with health and life
sciences and engineering sciences for a wide range of applications in biotechnology
and bioengineering in order to obtain value added products and processes in the
agri-food, environment and energy, sea, biotechnology, fine and industrial
chemicals, and biomedicine and health sectors.
+ info: http://foodandnutritionawards.pt/candidaturas/vencedores-17/; https://www.ceb.uminho.pt/
