Professor Peter Lillford has been awarded a Visiting Fellowship with the Food Futures Flagship to design healthier and tastier foods.
The fellowship enables scientists to join Australian-based researchers to undertake collaborative projects under the auspices of the National Research Flagships program, encouraging innovation and development in Australia’s food industry.
As Visiting Professor for the Public Awareness of Science at the University of York in the UK, Professor Lillford’s work with the Food Futures Flagship will focus on understanding the structure and properties of foods and how to design foods with specific health benefits.
“The challenge is to understand how popular foods deliver their taste and health benefits, and how these can be maintained while modifying the nutrients,” Professor Lillford said.
“Using new formulations and processes, we can redesign high energy foods, such as bakery, meat and dairy products, to have a lower calorie content yet the same consumer appeal and the desired textures, tastes and flavours.”
The development of food formulations and processes for controlling the calorie release of foods provides Australia’s food manufacturing industry with opportunities to make a positive contribution to public health, while remaining competitive in providing the convenience and pleasure of eating.