The “ARC training centre for the Australian food processing industry in the 21st Century” (ARCFPTC) was officially opened last week at the University of Sydney and is set to assist Australian food manufacturing companies to stay globally competitive.
The Centre will be focused on developing cost effective processes and produce high value products with health benefits for the prevention and treatment of chronic and acute diseases.
The ARCFPTC will also focus on new food technology, boosting the manufacturing capacity and developing more advanced manufacturing techniques in order to reduce costs and increase energy efficiency, all the while providing a multidisciplinary research environment.
ARCFPTC was awarded $3 million over three years from the Australian Research Council through its Industrial Transformation Research Program.
According to the news release by The University of Sydney, the Partners in the Centre include Agricure, Lang Technologies, AB Mauri Technology and Development, Peanut Company of Australia, Ecopha, Marine Biotechnology Australia, Batlow Premium Juices, PharmaCare Laboratories, Perfection Fresh Australia and Stahmann Farms Enterprises.
“The new centre aims to boost the Australian industry’s capacity to compete in a global market, particularly in the production of nutraceuticals for pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, or food ingredients. The centre will design cost-effective and sustainable processes for producing these types of products with a view to minimising waste while enhancing efficiency and reducing energy consumption,” said Professor Fariba Dehghani, from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and co-director of the new centre ARCFPTC.
“This particular ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre has an important focus and it covers a key research sector identified in the Australian Government’s recent Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda-food and agribusiness. This centre will educate a new generation of engineers and scientists and foster the capacity of Australian Food industries to further develop advanced technologies in manufacturing and product improvement,” said Professor Aidan Byrne, ARC CEO.
