Food Sciences

The Department of Food Sciences consists of 10 research groups that include microbiologists, chemists, ecologists and toxicologists. The existence of diverse research disciplines and research groups in the department enables fruitful interdisciplinary cooperative studies between the various teams aimed at achieving common objectives, such as improving microbial food safety, and minimizing losses of fresh produce, stored and dry food.

The research groups in the department focus on food security issues and maintaining its quality, health and safety.

The main research objectives include:

• • Improving the microbial safety of agricultural produce from animals and plants
  • Reducing food spoilage from bacterial contamination
  • Development of novel effective strategies of pest management in the control of storage insects
  • Prevention of infections in agricultural produce and food caused by filamentous fungi and mycotoxins
  • Introducing nanotechnology and new material science approaches in the field and postharvest
  • Developing superhydrophobic coatings and chemical sensors for food safety and quality
  • Development of novel cells and media for the efficient production of safe alternative protein products using computational biology and microbiology
  • Researching the medical potential of plant extracts and phytochemicals as a basis for the development of functional food, nutritional supplements and medicines
  • Microbial ecology of spoilage processes in postharvest aquaculture products
  • Integration of advanced analytical methods and machine learning to ensure food safety and quality
  • Precision agriculture for medicinal plants utilizing artificial intelligence and environmental toxicology