GrupoCIA

Agri-Food Research Group (CIA)

Strategic research group from U. Vigo

Linked to Ourense Science Faculty

Index

• Scope• Research areas• Strategic Guidelines• Facilities• Infraestructure• Just a few numbers

CIA has founded on 2009 with one objective

“efficient valorization of by-products”

…but nowdays its scope is global.

Global Vision“from Field to Plate”

CIA focus its research activity solving these issues:

1. Sustainable food production2. Consumers may require safety foods, healthy foods, tasty

foods and ready to eat.3. Food industry may valorize food wastes and by-products

CIA is aligned to European Research guidelines

Environmental impacts and total food chainTransparency along the food value chain

Food processingSustainable food and feed processing

Food quality and safetyCombined exposure to pesticidesProspects for novel foods

Horizon 2020

CIA Group is aligned to Horizon 2020

Smart specialisation strategy

“We strengthen our capabilities on key issues.”

We are focussed on generating excellent science on “food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and marititime research, and the bio-economy”

Horizon 2020

Cia Group is aligned to Horizon 2020

Networks

“We must reinforce our international networks”This is our top priority on the next years..

Agri-Food Research Group (CIA)

Research areas:

•Bromatology•Food Biotechnology•Food physical chemistry•Environmental agrobiology: soil and plantquality

Focus areas:

Bromatology

• Determination and characterization of aromas in food matrixes,analytical chemistry related to food security

• Transport of pollutants in the air-soil-water-crop systems linked towater pollution resources and the quality and safety of foodproducts.

• Effect of postharvest treatments on antioxidant polyphenoliccompounds of horticultural products.

• Determination of POPs in agri environment schemes

Focus areas:

Food Biotechnology

• Microbiological and biochemical characterization of the ripeningprocess from dairy and meat traditional products to improve thedevelopment of technology and to increase the quality andhomogeneous of the final products.

• Developing new technologies and biotechnological processes inorder to obtain food additives and biosurfactants bacteriocins.Develop new products for the food industry. Recovery foodadditives (xylitol, lactic acid) from fermented media. Production andapplication of enzymes byproducts for the food industry.

• Production and application of probiotics lactic acid bacteria andbacteriocins

• Exploitation and valorisation of waste materials and byproducts offood industry

Focus areas:

Food physical chemistry

• Physical properties of foods: thermal stability and viscoelasticproperties (experimental methods in rheology and differentialscanning calorimetry)

Focus areas:

Environmental agrobiology: soil and plant quality

• Allelopathy: interaction between plant species. Searchesbioherbicides and plant protection.

• Plant Ecophysiology: physiology in adverse conditions. Effects onphotosynthesis and stress markers.

• Plant-microorganisms: relationship between plants andmicroorganisms in the soil and wood. Search selective fungicides.

e.g. crop waste

No foodstuffs

Bioaccumulation

Soil qualityAgricultural productivity

First objective of CIAImprovement crop waste and byproducts

Two different lines

Research oriented to Research oriented to

Novel food

Focus on

Functional ingredients from byproductsExtend shelf life

Focus on

e.g. low quality foodstuffs

foodstuffs

Nowadays, the focus is on developing safety, healthy andfunctional foods, with high sensory characteristics.

To reach this goal, we work on different strategies

with the aim transferring innovation to the

companies.

(In 2012 we add a economic assessment of our R&D)

Vertical Research Horizontal Research

Economic and sustainable assessment

of R&D guidelines

Vertical Research

Horizontal ResearchSince 2012

Horizontal Research

Sustainable foodproduction

Novel foods

Food quality and safety

Strategic Guidelines

Sustainable food production

(Supervised by vegetal production and soil science staff)

• Enhance waste and by-products from food to agronomic purpose.

• Modelling pollutants, water and nutrient dynamics in soil-crop systems

• Monitoring water quality in forest watershed• Enhance crop yields in volume and qualitiy

New Challenges 2012-2015

Sustainable food production

• Studing POPs (Persistent organic pollutants) under PublicHealth point of view.

Strategic Guidelines

New food products(Supervised by specialized biochemisty staff)

• Exploring emerging technologies to process food

• Modeling, design, optimization, validation andapplication of innovative processes of transformation,and conservation systems packing

• Application of biotechnology to select, characterizeand preparation of food

Strategic Guidelines

New food products

• Enhancement waste and by-products of food like source ofraw material for the production of natural food additives

• New functional and healthy foodstuff from by-productsfishery

Strategic Guidelines

New Challenges 2012-2015 New food products

• Use of enzyme technology to enhance the functionality offood, especially lipases for the synthesis of molecules withbiological activity.

• In the field of white biotechnology, use microorganismscapable to increase selectivity and efficiency production ofnatural food nutraceutical additives.

• Assessment gel rheology to develop novel foods, withfunctionality ingredients.

• Develop food texture taylor made

Strategic Guidelines

Food Safety and Quality(Supervised by chemistry, nutrition and bromatology staff)

• Improvement tools and techniques to trace the supplychain and raw materials determining origin and authenticity

• Improve production systems, handling and feeding toincrease quality, productivity, stability, nutritional andfunctional characteristic on foodstuffs, aquaculture andlivestock.

Strategic Guidelines

Food Safety and Quality

• Rapid method for the analysis of chemical, physical, biologicalcontaminants from foodstuff

• Effects of human activities on food production

• Functional foods rich in antioxidants, improved flavor quality

Strategic Guidelines

New Challenges 2012-2015 Food Safety and Quality

• Understanding absorption and metabolism of flavonoidsand phenolic acids and their biological effects.

• Understanding the interactions between food componentsaffect the bioavailability and bioactivity, especiallyflavonoids and vitamin C

• Improving processing techniques to increase thebioavailability of flavonoids and phenolic acids in food andthus develop novel foods.

• Review scientific evidence about polyphenol DRI (dietaryreference intakes) in order to asses healh claims

Facilities

Chromatography systems: •GC-MS, •HPLC-DAD/Fluorescence•HPLC-MS/MS

Spectrophotometry:•Spectrophotometer FTIR/UV-Vis/Fluorescence•Atomic Absortion-emission

Facilities

Molecular biology: •PCR•DGGE

Proteomics:•MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS•HPLC-MS/MS •FPLC •CE

Infraestructure

Pilot Plant: •SFE (Supercritical Fluid Extraction)•Biomolecule purification systems•high pressure food preservation system•bioreactors•high pressure reactors

Greenhouse

Hydrological station

Just a few numbers.

0 4 8 12

2009

2010

2011

Sustainable food production

Food Quality and safety

New food products

Thesis

Just a few numbers.

Sci/Ssci publications

0

20

40

60

80

2009 2010 2011

New food products

Food Quality and safety

Sustainable food production

Just a few numbers.

0 €

400,000 €

800,000 €

1,200,000 €

20092010

2011

Reports& external sevice

Private Projects

R&D Projects

Funding framework