Our Lab at a Glance

Our young and dynamic team strives to gain basic insight into the properties of cereal biopolymers in order to not only fundamentally understand, but also to fully unlock their value in cereal processing and nanotechnology applications.

The Grain Lab is located in the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph, embedded in an environment that enables and promotes inter-disciplinary, team-based approaches to problem solving and advancing innovation covering the entire wheat value chain. The lab has now been expanded to include pseudocereal research.

Research

With consumer demand for gluten free bakery products increasing due to concerns about adverse health effects of gluten, the Grain Lab is researching gluten structures and interactions in baked products to understand and be able to mimic the unique gluten structure to develop better gluten free breads. The Grain Lab also focuses on the development of nanoscale structures using cereal biopolymers. These systems are of interest as encapsulation vehicles to stabilize water soluble vitamins and colourants in complex food matrices and during processing, and to create customizable food structures and properties. The design and characterization of biopolymer-based nano- and microstructures can revolutionize the food sector with regard to making more nutritious food and improving overall food quality and safety.

Teaching

Teaching is crucial to train the next generation to not only gain better insights into the technological aspects of food processing and to better understand the chemistry and physics of food systems but also to inform/educate a wider public as experts in the field. Food products, by their very nature, are highly complex systems that are built of a variety of different biopolymers (like proteins and carbohydrates), water and lipids. These molecules all interact in their unique way and as such build food structure. At the Department of Food Science, a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses are offered that highlight the complexity of different food products.

Outreach

Outreach to the community is a crucial aspect of the daily activities at the Grain Lab in Guelph. Our outreach activities vary from on-site activities for high school students, over development of a Cereal Educational Box and the organization of an annual Cereal Outreach Event to the creation of short courses tailored towards our Industry partners.