Published:
A £1m funding award has been made to Heriot-Watt and to University spin-out company Nandi Proteins will mean healthier food choices for consumers.
Heriot-Watt has a strong tradition of working at the industry-academia interface and carrying out research of practical relevance to UK industry.
The grant, from Innovate UK, comes under its 'Optimising Food Composition: Fat, Sugar, Salt and Fibre' competition, designed to promote collaboration between individuals, companies and partner organisations to drive the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy. It will enable the development of new processes and products that lead to the availability of healthier food choices and open up new market opportunities for industry.
This work is based on an innovative process developed by Nandi, which has been shown to impart fat-mimicking properties to proteins. Working with Nandi, Heriot-Watt will undertake the characterisation of the novel fat replacers as well as the formulation and sensory evaluation of healthier food products.
Professor Stephen Euston, Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, said, "Heriot-Watt has a strong tradition of working at the industry-academia interface and carrying out research of practical relevance to UK industry. We are pleased that the strong links we have built with the UK food industry, and in particular with Nandi, will be strengthened by this new collaboration."
Neil Crabb, Chairman, Nandi Proteins Limited, said, "Nandi is delighted to be contributing to this innovative, industry-led research, based on Nandi's technology. Our technology enables food companies to improve the nutritional profile of their products and potentially offers a solution to such an urgent requirement for our partners."