Food Additives Research Group

Food additives are useful and practical compounds that are utilized to improve some features such as quality, enhance nutritional value, and eliminate technological difficulties in food production. They include natural and artificial food colors, flavors, antioxidants, antimicrobial compounds and so on. Regarding the increasing importance of these compounds and the high consumption of additives in the countrys food industry, this group started its research activities in 2004 (1383) with the aim of optimizing the use of food additives and promoting the exploitation of natural and native resources.

* Extracting and identifying active substances from natural sources and utilizing them as additives;

* Investigating and improving the use of food additives;

* Examining the interactions of food additives with food ingredients;

* Optimizing food formulations using additives;

* Synthesizing food additives used in the food industry.

Research orientation:

The disadvantages of the use of synthetic additives are now well known, based on which their roles in causing various cancers and diseases have been proven. Therefore, finding the natural additives and replacing them with the synthetic compounds is considered as a top research priority in the food industry. Our country has one of the richest plant resources in the world in terms of quantity and variety, which is a very good potential for the production of natural food additives. Food colorings are one of the most important natural additives. With regard to the multitude of production centers and their subsidiaries, the lack of natural food coloring production units in the country, the high price of imported natural food colorings and consequently the outflow of foreign currency, as well as the restrictions imposed by the Food and Drug Administration regarding the use of artificial colors in the food industry, the production of food colorings of natural origin has been the main subject of this groups medium-term research activities.

 

 

Capabilities and activities performed:

* Successful experience in extracting and producing natural food colorings and utilizing them in various food products;

* Micro-coating of natural additives using various techniques;

* Increasing the shelf life of food products using authorized food additives;

* Producing effective dietary foods using various food additives;

* Optimizing food formulations;

* Providing consultation and specialized services to the industry in the field of natural food additives;

* Holding training courses and specialized workshops on extraction, identification and application of natural food additives;

* Registering five inventions

* Investigating the possibility of producing low-fat meat products (dietary) using fat substitutes;

* Producing industrial sour dough using biotech

* Producing frying oil with high thermal stability

* Producing healthy dietary bread through flour from other agricultural products;

* Producing curcumin lipid nanocarriers and examining their physicochemical properties;

* Assessing the stability of micro-coated crocin of saffron and utilizing it in saffron candy production;

* Optimizing the formulation of aloe vera products (beverage, compote, syrup and jam) through the food additives and process modification

Address: Food Science and Technology Research Institute, Khorasan- Razavi ACECR Central Organization, Ferdowsi University Campus, Azadi Square, Mashhad

Phone Number: 051-31997415