New Research Centre Aims to Tackle Food Insecurity
The concept of food security was one of the main reasons Dr. Anubhav Pratap-Singh became a scientist. “There was a crucial and well-known United Nations declaration that said every individual should have the right to safe and nutritious food,” says the LFS Associate Professor, whose research focuses on technological innovations in food processing.
“And from a very early stage, that was what motivated me in my education and career.”
That original inspiration is about to come to full fruition in Dr. Pratap-Singh’s latest role as Director of UBC’s highly anticipated new Food and Beverage Innovation Centre (FBIC). Scheduled to open later in 2024, the centre—a unique collaboration between LFS, industry, government and other leading institutions—will tackle pressing and complex food security challenges in a dynamic and pioneering research program.
Food insecurity, says Dr. Pratap-Singh, can affect all levels of society. In undeveloped regions, war or political instability might
disrupt agricultural operations or supply systems. While in richer nations, rising grocery prices or local crop failures due to climate
change can compromise general access and availability. The right to safe and healthy food, he adds, can never be taken for granted—but innovation can provide some vital tools to help safeguard it.
Those tools, says Dr. Pratap-Singh, need to be as multifaceted as the problems and that’s where the FBIC comes in. While the
majority of food producers might struggle on their own with the economics of developing new products and approaches, the centre aims to step in and become their innovation partner. “Our main purpose is to provide a platform for farmers and producers to access and try out innovative technologies, creating new solutions to a wide range of food security challenges.”
The centre, he adds, will be fully equipped with top-notch facilities—from a 1,000-litre fermenter to high-pressure food processing
equipment—enabling it to pinpoint, investigate and tackle the kind of problems and solutions producers are keen to address. The resulting practical innovations could range from products with longer shelf lives to reducing food waste in production systems or from increasing food security in vegan diets to upcycling processing byproducts back into the food system.
“Necessity is the mother of invention, and right now we need more innovation in our food systems than ever before. That’s the most exciting thing about the new Food and Beverage Innovation Centre, but it’s also perhaps its biggest challenge in terms of food security: to work with and help the maximum number of companies, producers and farmers as we can.”
Tagged with: 2024, Food and Beverage Innovation Centre, Food Science
