The University of Queensland (UQ) has acquired custom-made, state-of-the-art bioreactors to develop novel food products in partnership with the Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA).
FaBA Innovative Ingredients Program Lead Professor Esteban Marcellin said the initiative would revolutionise the production of food ingredients.
“The arrival of these bioreactors marks a significant milestone in our commitment to pioneering food solutions that are potentially more sustainable and healthy,” said Professor Marcellin. “These bioreactors represent an innovation in themselves, which I believe will catalyse further breakthroughs across the food and beverage industry.”
Bioreactors enable the precise control of growth conditions – such as temperature, pH and oxygen levels – which are crucial for the optimal development and productivity of microorganisms.
Marcellin said that the bioreactors – which were designed and built at UQ by a team of researchers, engineers and skilled glass blowers – represented a particularly huge technological leap for F&B manufacturing companies and researchers in precision fermentation.
Precision fermentation refers to a process combining traditional fermentation with the latest biotechnology to efficiently produce novel food materials such as dairy proteins or fats.
The bioreactors were planned and designed over five years through a partnership with Biostream International and the NCRIS SynBio facility, IDEA Bio. FaBA said developing the bioreactors was an extensive process that included refining the bioreactor design to custom-made reactors that met specific needs.
FaBA added that several bioreactors have already been commissioned, with many more to come for FaBA Industry Participants that want to undertake projects through the Innovative Ingredients Program.
Beyond the UT partnership, FaBA recently announced a $3.9 million joint investment with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in the building of a facility to enhance production of novel food ingredients.
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