Food Technology – Food companies fund research at ETH Zurich – News
- ETH Zurich will increase its research in the field of food technology – and will receive support from the food industry.
- The companies Nestlé, Givaudan and Bühler will provide start-up financing of five million Swiss francs over the next six years, as will ETH Zurich.
- One of the research goals is to develop new technologies for long durability.
In order to feed the world’s ever-growing population, tasty and nutritious food that can be safely stored and transported is of central importance.
Traditional methods such as cooking, drying and fermentation as well as modern processes such as pasteurization, printing processing or the use of enzymes are therefore to be expanded at ETH. The start-up funding of five million Swiss francs is to fly into a new professorship and strengthen research and development.
With its research, ETH Zurich has set itself the goal of making a contribution to food security and public health, both in industrialized and developing countries. An example of the technological processing of food is the production of milk powder for baby food.
The food company Nestlé pays ETH Zurich money so that it can one day benefit from the research results itself. “The scientific discoveries will improve production systems and at the same time minimize nutrient losses and waste along the value chain,” said Nestlé Chief Technology Officer Stefan Palzer.
“New approaches and technologies are needed to feed the growing population safely, healthily and sustainably,” said Calvin Grieder, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bühler Group and Givaudan. Givaudan is the world’s largest producer of flavors and fragrances. Among other things, Bühler manufactures technologies for food production, such as machines for manufacturing meat substitutes.