FOODTECH

AT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN SETS

TECHNION RESEARCHERS ARE CHANGING WHAT THE WORLD WILL EAT

FOOD LAB

As global researchers join hands to address the looming threat of hunger, amid a growing global population and dwindling natural resources, Israel has positioned itself as a powerhouse in food technology with the Technion at the center of this remarkable success.

Increasing the global food supply while protecting the environment is one of the world’s most pressing challenges. Technion is heavily invested in meeting this challenge, perpetuating Israel’s dominant position in the FoodTech revolution.

“Eradicating world hunger and improving food security are among the main challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, as defined by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” notes Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan. “The Technion has the only faculty in Israel for research in food engineering, a faculty that leads the Israeli FoodTech industry.”

The Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion is also one of the few in the world that combines bioengineering, technology, food sciences, and life sciences. Its researchers and educators are among global pioneers that are developing cutting-edge food technologies to help provide the planet with food that is nutritious, environmentally friendly, and economical.

Prof. Marcelle Machluf
Prof. Marcelle Machluf of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering

A RANGE OF ACTIVITIES ON CAMPUS
The Technion’s leadership in developing sustainable food products stems from the variety of activities it has on campus, including an accelerator program, symposiums, and the partnerships it has forged with international and local innovation and industry partners. This leadership is set to get an added boost from the construction of the new Carasso FoodTech Innovation Center, which will serve as a multidisciplinary hub for researchers from 11 Technion faculties and other institutions.

The Center, now under construction, will include an R&D facility for industrial production, a packaging laboratory, an industrial kitchen, and spaces for teaching and research, as well as a visitors’ area to expose high school students to the world of FoodTech. The Center has been made possible by the generosity of the Carasso Family and Carasso Motors.

Since 2016, the Technion has partnered with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which is supported by the EU, to encourage project-based learning in FoodTech among students while helping meet challenges raised by the food industry. Through the one-year EIT Food Solutions project, teams of students from the Technion and other European universities develop innovative food products that address a specific challenge while gaining entrepreneurial skills, from ideation to solution pitch.

Technion students won both the gold and silver medals in the 2022 EIT Food Solutions competition, with the gold going to a team of graduate students for their OmeleTofu, an instant vegan omelet produced using a freeze-drying process. In previous years, Technion teams have won prizes for innovations such as soy-based yoghurt, low-sugar chocolate cake, and spirulina-enriched falafel.

FOOD LAB TEAM
Members of the OmeleTofu team with their mentors

Under the auspices of EIT, the Technion’s Food Accelerator Network fosters young entrepreneurs from Israel and around the world, giving them the skills needed to nurture their enterprises. Several promising startups have emerged from this accelerator, including Redefine Meat, a maker of 3D printed plant-based meat, which last year raised $135 million to fund global expansion plans.

The Technion has partnered with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)… to encourage project-based learning

Last November, the Technion also hosted the Taste of the Future symposium, attended by global FoodTech leaders.

FOOD LAB TEAM
Technion’s president, Prof. Uri Sivan, with attendees of the Taste of the Future conference from academia and industry

To stay abreast of developments on the ground, the Technion has always prioritized forging ties with partners in the industry. To this end, researchers at the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering collaborate with both Israeli and multinational food companies, and other key industry players. A collaborative framework recently finalized with Tnuva, one of Israel’s largest food producers, will further facilitate sponsored research at the Technion.

CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH
Technion researchers are already changing what the world will eat in the future. Their research projects are part of an extensive list of inventions set to help shape the future of the global food industry. Recent high-potential breakthroughs include:

Personalized nutrition
Using simulated digestive systems, Prof. Uri Lesmes and his team have identified differences in the way men and women digest food that could help tailor healthier food solutions by gender.

Cultivated meat
Prof. Marcelle Machluf, a world-renowned FoodTech innovator, is at the forefront of the global race to produce high-quality cultivated meat. Her team has already created cultured minced meat and sausages based on scalable cellular building blocks. The startup Meatafora, which was set up based on this novel technology, has reportedly raised some $5 million from investors.

Alternative protein from plant sources
In the Lab of Biopolymers for Food and Health, Prof. Yoav D. Livney and his team are developing alternative, sustainable proteins from new sources. They have successfully extracted proteins from microalgae and are producing alternative proteins from the parts of plants that are usually discarded.

Next-generation prebiotics
Most probiotic bacteria that are added to food currently don’t survive the digestive process. Prof. Yoav D. Livney has developed a promising prebiotic delivery system selectively targeting probiotic bacteria that has led to the establishment of the startup Preebio.

Healthier edible oils
Prof. Maya Davidovich-Pinhas has developed new assemblies that mimic the natural behavior and texture of fat in various animal-derived food products and has succeeded in reducing total oil and fat content, including unsaturated fats. This yields products that are healthier and – importantly – with a texture that is not compromised.

Bioplastic material from renewable sources
Prof. Maya Davidovich-Pinhas recently submitted a patent for a unique bioplastic material made from cellulose. This holds immense potential for meeting the demand for food packaging made from bioplastic materials.