Food scientists in Australia and Korea are working
together to develop innovative processing techniques that alter the properties
of allergenic proteins in milk and food products.
Food scientists in
Australia and South Korea are minimizing the adverse health effects of
allergens in milk and other food products by developing innovative processing
techniques that alter the properties of allergenic proteins.
A new memorandum of
understanding signed today between the University of New South Wales (UNSW)
School of Chemical Engineering and Korea’s National Institute of Animal Science
(NIAS) will explore the potential benefits of this and other innovative food
safety technologies.
The food allergy research
group at UNSW, led by Dr. Alice Lee, aims to develop nano-sensors that can
better detect allergens such as those found in animal milk, which can cross a spectrum
and in severe cases can result in potentially life threatening anaphylaxis.
They are also working to
understand how these allergens change after harvest and during food processing,
and how this affects the resulting human reaction.
“Food allergy has been an
emerging food safety concern especially in developed countries,” said Lee. “The
current collaborative research project we have with the National Institute of
Animal Science is focused on reducing the health risks of milk allergens by a
means of high pressure processing.”
Under the new agreement,
a researcher from the NIAS has been seconded to UNSW to work in the Food
Science and Technology group, which is also looking at microbiological risks
such as E. coli and salmonella, and chemical risks posed by
traces of antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides.
Antibiotics are often
administered to livestock in very low doses to fend off bacteria growth, but
leftover residues can sometimes be present in meat, says Lee, resulting in
negative health impacts when humans are exposed.
Korea’s Rural Development
Administration Department is comparable to Australia’s Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, says Lee, so it has a broad research
focus, with a range of possibilities for future research collaborations in the
areas of food safety.
“Korea and Australia
share a common interest in food security, global food availability, and food
safety – especially around livestock hygiene,” said Professor Rob Burford, head
of the School of Chemical Engineering. “This is an exciting partnership for
UNSW.”
Source: UNSW.
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