2020 Food Waste Innovation seed grants awarded
Congratulations to the three recipient projects of the food waste innovation research theme’s research seed grants for 2020. The successful applicants and their projects are listed below:
Professor Hugh Campbell
Project: Food Waste and Climate Change
Hugh’s project will develop information resources for students linking food waste outcomes with climate change. The research will be in collaboration with the climate change activist organisation Generation Zero (GenZero). The project will be based at the Sustainability Office and supervised by mentoring from Professor Hugh Campbell, Ray O'Brien, Associate Professor Miranda Mirosa. GenZero Dunedin executives contributing to the project are Lydia Le Gros and Finn Campbell.
Dr Dominic Agyei
Project: Ultraviolet light-induced generation of Vitamin D in mushroom by-products
Dominic’s Project, in collaboration with Meadow Mushrooms Ltd., will study the UV-induced production of Vitamin D in mushroom stalks. Specifically, the effects that i) UVB exposure time on the type of Vitamin D, ii) processing (i.e. steaming, boiling, toasting, frying, etc.), and iii) particle sizing (shredding, slicing, etc.) have on the levels and types of Vitamin D (D2 or D3, D4) produced will be studied. The stability of the UV-generated Vitamin D, as well as its bioaccessibility during simulated gastric digestion, will also be studied.
Fiona Nyhof
Project: Product category managers’ influence over consumer availability of ‘upcycled food’ in supermarkets
Fiona’s project seeks to understand retail product category managers’ perceptions about ranging ‘upcycled food’ and the associated decision making processes that influence whether or not these products are ranged. The research will provide recommendations to ‘upcycled food’ manufacturers and suppliers that will help improve marketing materials and communication with retail product category managers. This in turn will hopefully increase the uptake of ‘upcycled food’ by retailers, thus supporting food waste reduction initiatives. The project will be in collaboration with Foodstuffs Waste Minimisation Manager, Francesca Goodman-Smith which will be conducted by one of the research theme’s associate investigators Margaret Thorsen.
Thank you to all those that applied. Watch this space for progress on these exciting research projects.