Food Engineering
Research Team (FERST)
National Technical University of Athens
School of Chemical Engineering
Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology
Prof. Petros Taoukis Research Team
9 Heroon Polytechniou str., 157 72
Zografos Campus, Athens, GREECE
tel. +30 210 772-3118, 3119, 3171
e-mail: taoukis@chemeng.ntua.gr
Research Projects
Active participation in European research and training projects and management of National/EU supported multipartner projects.
Extensive collaboration with the food industry on applied research and development.
European Funded Research Projects
Digital transformation of project-based learning guidance in agri-food Higher Education Institutions
Duration: 01 April 2021 – 31 March 2023
Funding scheme: Erasmus+ | Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of food practices | Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness
Short Description: The COVID-19 crisis has unexpectedly shaken the agri-food sector and the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the first semester of 2020. While the first had to devote all resources available to provide safe, quality and affordable food and drink products to the population; the latter had to rethink education and learning to adapt to the new circumstances, experiencing a forced acceleration of the digital transformation. Project-based learning approaches, and practical classes, that require more guidance and support from teachers and pedagogical staff were particularly affected by this transition. In agri-food related HEIs European-wide, the effects of the pandemic were notably felt by the participants of ECOTROPHELIA competitions – a food innovation competition for higher education students for the development of eco-innovative food products. Since 2000, ECOTROPHELIA has been fostering creativity and entrepreneurship European-wide by promoting the national and European competitions that bring together HEIs and the agri-food sector to rethink the future of food. This initiative has led HEIs to adapt their curriculum to include new product development projects (from raw materials to market launch) promoting the application of the acquired scientific and technical competences, and the development of soft skills and project management. In 2020, the national and European competitions had to reinvent themselves to continue to provide students and HEIs a platform to showcase their talents. While the students participating were motivated and coached to develop their eco-innovative food products, the educators who guided their project-based learning were faced with new challenges to do so virtually. In this context, DigiFoodEdu aims to foster the development of digital skills and exchange of good pedagogical practices in the digital era directed at the guidance of project-based learning approaches. This project intends to study the practices put in place during the pandemic, collect and analyse the experiences from different partners European-wide and come up with a best practices guide for education improvement in the digital era. Ultimately, the project will aim for the modernisation of the pedagogical practices used for coaching and supporting students during supporting students during their project-based learning activities. DigiFoodEdu will involve three countries (France, Greece and Slovenia) and will bring together three HEIs and national food federations to tackle digital education readiness. It targets four groups of participants: 1) teachers/pedagogical staff, notably the ones that provide guidance to ECOTROPHELIA projects; 2) agri-food higher education students, but also students from other courses involved in these multidisciplinary projects; 3) HEIs that will benefit from the evolution of pedagogical practices; and 4) agri-food sector representatives and experts.
With the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union
Food refrigeration innovations for safety, consumers’ benefit, environmental impact and energy optimisation along the cold chain in Europe
Duration: 01 September 2010 – 31 August 2014
Funding scheme: Collaborative research project, funded under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission
Short Description: The FRISBEE project was devoted to Refrigeration Innovation on the Food Cold Chain. The 4-year project (2010-2014) funded mainly through the EU’s 7th Framework Programme, allowed the 26 partners; 13 of which are companies, 11 research institutes or universities, and 2 NGOs. Food safety and quality, energy consumption and environmental impact are of major importance when it comes to food cold chain. FRISBEE team (www.frisbee-project.eu) provided to food manufacturers and other industrial sector related to cold chain new tools, concepts and solutions for improving refrigeration technologies and innovating technologies along the European food cold chain. Among the tasks within the project, new innovative mathematical modelling tools were developed that combine food quality and safety together with energy, environmental and economic aspects, to predict and control food quality and safety in the cold chain. The FRISBEE team has developed a comprehensive database of the cold chain in Europe, identify refrigeration needs and available current technologies in the food industry, and investigate consume needs and expectations in the respect to the food cold chain.
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 245288.
Developing novel intelligent labels for chilled and frozen food products and promoting the influence of smart labels application on waste reduction, food quality and safety in the European supply chains
Duration: 01 August 2010 – 31 January 2014
Funding scheme: Research for SME Associations funded under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission
Short Description: IQ-FRESHLABEL is a research project, partly funded by the European Commission in the 7th Framework programme. The project runs over three and a half years and has 17 partners from 9 different countries working on:
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Promoting implementation of novel smart labels through investigation of consumer, retailer and industry expectations
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Informing consumers, retailers and industry about advantages the novel smart labels can offer
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Developing a novel smart label to monitor temperature abuse of frozen foods
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Developing a novel smart label to monitor oxygen content in modified atmosphere packaged products
Development and application of a TTI based Safety Monitoring and Assurance System for Chilled Meat Products
Duration: 01 January 2003-31 December 2005
Funding scheme: EC FIFTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME - Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources - Project QLK1-2002-02545
Short Description: The main tangible goal of the SMAS project was to develop a reliable and practical decision and management tool for an optimized handling of meat products in terms of both safety and quality. The aim of this research project was to study reliable and practical Time Temperature Integrator (TTI) systems. TTIs were applied as quality and safety monitors of meat products from manufacture to consumption.
Modelling and model validation for growth of pathogenic bacteria incident to meat was systematically carried out with a series of experiments on meat products. These included pork, beef and lamb products. Based on an expanded version of Combase, the wide microbial data base that is worked out by a Participant of the project, new models were developed for the effects of temperature and CO2 on the specific growth rate of major meat pathogens. All the aspects of building a risk assessment algorithm for meat products were studied and significant sources of uncertainty were resolved by use of the appropriate input data, accurate predictive models and effective statistical tools. The established Meat Microbial Risk Assessment Site, that was established and is constantly updated, serves as a practical tool for the scientific community, meat industry, regulators, inspection authorities but also non-specialist laboratories, SME’s and consumers.
The applicability and effectiveness of SMAS was validated in real and simulated chill chain field studies in different European countries. The obtained benefit from the SMAS intervention in the management of the products in the chill chain was clearly demonstrated. Both the spoilage profile and the risk distribution at the time of final use was significantly improved in comparison to the non SMAS conventional FIFO approach. Also SMAS was communicated and feedback was received from potential end users of SMAS (food industry, retailers) in different European markets in the form of a comprehensive questionnaire on TTI labeling and SMAS and their potential use. The aim of the questionnaire was to inform the industry and food retailers about chill chain management using TTI and evaluate the users’ attitude. High scores were reported on the advantages from the potential TTI use. The information given about the TTI cost, reliability, applicability, liability and consumer acceptance from the SMAS project alleviated the reservations of a majority of the respondents.
Project funded by the European Commision under the ‘Quality of life and management of living resources
Sustainable intervention technologies for controlling food safety and stability
Duration: 01 September 2017 – 31 August 2020
Funding scheme: Erasmus+ | Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of food practices | Strategic partnerships for higher education
Short Description: The overall aim of this strategic partnership is to introduce, teach and train early stage researchers in the area of sustainable Intervention technologies for controlling food safety and stability through a multilateral trans-European cooperation, which fosters both institutional collaboration and innovative problem based learning initiatives. Therefore, innovation and creativity will be supported through the proposed partnership. This will strengthen the role of higher education as new educational practices, curricula, knowledge transfer strategies will be developed. The priorities are horizontal as transversal competences of the participating teachers will be provided to develop autonomous initiatives in problem based studies of complex food processes including the quantitative analysis of the microbial and enzymatic activity following the application of these technologies. This will results in training the new generation of students with high quality skills and competences and consequently increasing their employability potential.
The project will include teaching activities, virtual learning, student placements and dissemination activities. Webinars will also be developed in which the students will demonstrate all the step developed from the experimental approaches up to the final process optimization.
With the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union
Sustainable production of high quality aquaculture fish using innovative tools and production strategies and integrating controlled slaughter and novel processing methods and cold chain management
Duration: 01 February 2016 – 31 January 2019
Funding scheme: COFASP (Cooperation in Fisheries, Aquaculture and Seafood Processing) ERA-net
Short Description: Aquaculture production has a lower carbon footprint/kg meat compared to terrestrial production systems, there are clear health benefits of consuming fish and aquaculture removes dependence on wild fish and contributes to protect ecosystems and biodiversity. The greatest gains in efficiency of aquaculture production can be obtained by management of animal production and by allying this to improved postharvest storage and processing. Modifications in production regimes to improve growth and yield will impact on flesh quality and shelf life and an integrated approach focused on these complementary aspects has the potential to amplify the benefits that can accrue. This proposal is intersectorial and focuses on two essential parts of the value chain, aquaculture production and postharvest processing and resource utilization. It has 5 consortium members from 4 countries with complementary expertise in aquaculture and postharvest processing. The workplan will target the most important aquaculture species in Southern Europe (eg. sea bass and sea bream). Strategies will be directed at shortening the production cycle and improving growth by manipulating sex ratios in favour of the faster growing sex, using egg/larval imprinting strategies to improve growth and muscle quality and by monitoring and reducing chronic stress. The impact on product quality of manipulating production cycles will be linked to strategies to optimize cold chain management and development of innovative processing technologies. Pre-slaughter conditioning to optimize production regimes and stress control prior to slaughter will interface with tasks directed at optimizing product quality by establishing its impact on post-harvest quality and new processing strategies. New technologies (e.g. superchilling and HP) of fish products will be tested together with Time Temperature Integrators for monitoring spoilage enriched with novel data from "omics" analysis. The project will build on the existing knowledge base and innovate to increase aquaculture sustainability. The impact of the project on the aquaculture sector will be assured by the involvement of aquaculture companies, through industry based training workshops, pilot studies, implementation and validation of standard operating procedures and dissemination activities.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 321553
Development of a software tool for prediction of ready-to-eat food product shelf life, quality and safety
Duration: 01 February 2012 – 31 January 2015
Funding scheme: Collaborative research project, funded under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission
Short Description: The SOPHY project focused in developing a web-based software tool for prediction of product safety, quality and shelf life of ready-to-eat products. Fresh cut salads and deli salads were chosen as model food system with the goal to enable food producers to optimise their raw material selection, product formulation and processing steps virtually. The software was designed to estimate the effect of each production step on the safety (growth or survival of relevant pathogens) and shelf-life (growth of specific spoilage organisms and/or formation of undesirable by-products) while considering quality (organoleptic characteristics and other quality parameters). The predictive and probabilistic models were based on existing data sets of bacterial growth and quality changes under various conditions generated during previous studies as well as data generated during the project. Users have the possibility to insert own data, e.g. initial bacterial contamination. The web-based software can be continuously expanded – even after project end - by inserting new data sets (e.g. other food products, different environmental conditions, etc.).
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 289053.
Integrated approach to enable traceability of the cold chain of fresh, chilled meat and fish products by means of tailor-made
Duration: 15 September 2005 - 14 September 2008
Funding scheme: Collective Research funded by the EU under the 6th Framework Programme (FP6) Horizontal research activities involving SMEs, Project No.: COLL-CT-2005-012371
Short Description: The aim of this project was the development of tailor-made Time-Temperature systems for the joint application within the European food industries meat and fish. The project objectives were reached via four main actions:
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Elaboration of an information package compiling and analysing all the available information on the technical requirements for the TTIs from the major applications in the two main European food industries meat and fish and additional interrogations of big supermarket chains
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To develop and optimise TTIs according to the specified requirements of characteristic products of the European meat and fish industry
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Organisation of training courses, seminars and a permanent service with the aim of disseminating the application of the TTIs developed during the project, and providing information to the SME end users on how to comply with them in each particular case. This training courses and other dissemination materials will be based on material developed during the project and tested with the SME end users participating in the consortium.
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Establishment of permanent contacts between the members of the consortium with the aim of maintaining a continuous update of the information materials developed during the project
National Funded Research Projects
SMARTFISH
Implementing smart and active packaging in fresh fish products and development of an innovative quality management and assurance system
Duration: 01 April 2019 – 30 March 2022
Short Description:
The project entitled "Implementing smart and active packaging in fresh fish products and development of an innovative quality management and assurance system" under the acronym "SMARTFISH" is aspiring to tackle one of the major challenges that Greek aquaculture sector is asked to address, that is the assurance of high quality standards and commercial shelf life extension of packaged fresh fish products. Extended shelf life of fish products could serve as an effective tool to address supply chain sustainability and increase exports all around the globe. The overall challenge will be addressed through the following aspects/concepts:
Design and implementation of new low cost active packaging technologies to achieve extended shelf life in fish products (whole, gutted and fillets fish)
Development and implementation of a quality assurance system based on cold chain temperature control from production to consumption
DEMMONFOQUS
Development, mathematical modeling and optimal design of non-thermal technologies for processing, packaging, distribution and storage of safe high quality food products
Duration: 01 July 2012 – 30 November 2015
Short Description: The objective of the project is the study of novel technologies and the development of mathematical tools for their effective application, along the various stages of the food chain, including processing, packaging, distribution and storage. The safety and quality kinetics of selected food products processed through novel non-thermal technologies such as High Pressure (HP), Osmotic Dehydration (OD) and Microbial Decontamination by Marination (MDM) will be determined and mathematically modeled. Implementation of Active Packaging (AP) and Antimicrobial Edible Films or Coatings (AC) will be studied. Appropriate active packaging materials for moisture control, oxygen scavenging, carbon dioxide emission, and edible antimicrobial films or coatings for improving safety and controlling quality deterioration will be developed. Smart packaging tags, such as Time Temperature Integrators (TTI) will be studied as a cost-efficient way to monitor the time-temperature history of food products and assess their safety and quality throughout the cold chain. Nonlinear mathematical models (differential equations, artificial neural networks, polynomial and constrained polynomial equations) will be employed for optimal design and implementation of the novel technologies studied (on processing, packaging, distribution and storage) on selected foods products. Quality and safety of these products will be validated by challenging them in field tests under various distribution and storage conditions. The obtained results will be used to build process engineering prediction tools for evaluating the effects of proposed processing, packaging, distribution and storage practices on the safety and the quality of the food products in the form of user-friendly computer software. This software will be applicable in designing (including scaling up) and control of the studied food processes. It will contribute to the transfer of available knowledge between the scientific community and the food processing, transport and retail industry in an efficient and easy way.
The project is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund - ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program “Education and Lifelong Learning” of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program: THALES: Reinforcement of the interdisciplinary and/or interinstitutional research and innovation.
GRECHINOLIV
Development and adaptation of traditional Greek olive based products to chinese dietary and culinary preferences
Duration: 01 October 2012 – 30 November 2015
Short Description: The objective of the project is the development and adaptation of traditional Greek olive based products to Chinese dietary habits. The project is focused on two olive based products (a) table olives and (b) olive paste. The main goals are to produce low-salt olive based products and at the same time products with functional additives (antioxidant extracts) and superior sensory characteristics with the use of essential oils. In order to meet these requirements the project will optimize and apply new technologies within the conventional processes of table olives and olive paste. In order to lower the salt content of table olives a dehydration pretreatment of olives prior to fermentation will be investigated. Furthermore, the partial substitution of salt within the brine solution at the fermentation process will be also studied. In order to develop new olive paste products with high added nutritional and sensory characteristics the addition of antioxidant extracts and essential oils will be investigated, respectively. The extracts and essential oils will be received from common Greek and Chinese edible herbs.
The project is co-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund–ERDF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program.
INNOVATION
Natural compounds obtained from traditional Greek and Chinese plants using advanced technologies: Probing their anti-ageing activity for applications to the nutraceutical and cosmeceutical industry"
Duration: 01 October 2012 – 30 November 2015
Short Description: The central concept of the INNOVATION project is to promote the fruitful collaboration between Greek and Chinese industries aiming to the elaboration of innovative research activities and ultimately to the advancement of their competences leading to growth and development. Greek and Chinese research organizations will also support this venture. The main idea is to combine the deep traditional knowledge of both countries with contemporary findings along with emerging technologies that could assist in the increase of the productivity and competiveness of the industries guiding them to a prosperous future. To this end, the project will focus on research and technology activities applied at the evolving sectors of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, based on the exploitation of natural products. More specifically, INNOVATION concept involves the production of natural extracts from traditional Greek and Chinese plants by means of state-of-the-art technologies. The procedures will aim to the finding of the optimum conditions for the production of high added value extracts elaborating advanced drying and extraction technologies and their optimization. The latest developments in the analytical methodologies will be applied, ensuring a sustainable raw material, the elucidation of their chemical profile and the preservation of their quality traits. In parallel, a wide panel of robust biological assays for establishing their pharmacological profile, specifically their antioxidant and anti-ageing activities will be performed. Formulation and stability testing will provide the optimized form of the final products. The outcome of INNOVATION will be the improvement of the scientific and commercial relationships of the two countries through the formation of a common high added value productive chain that will lead to innovative nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals.
The project is co-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund–ERDF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program.
NOVISH
Application of High Pressure and Cold Atmospheric Plasma Technologies for the Production of High Quality and Extended Shelf-Life Fish Fillets
Duration: 01 April 2019 – 30 March 2022
Project Objectives:
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Characterization, Stability analysis and Production of Cold Atmospheric Plasma Activated Water for its use as an Antimicrobial
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Study of the Effect of Cold Atmospheric Plasma Activated Water on fish fillets Agent
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Study of the Effect of High Pressure Processing on Fish Fillets
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Mathematical modeling of the application of Cold Plasma technology through activated water and High Pressure treatment on sea bream and sea bass fillets quality indices- Process modeling
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Optimal design for the application of Cold Plasma activated water and High Pressure on a semi-industrial scale for the production of extended shelf life fish fillets – Results validation and process evaluation
HIPEFO
Study of high pressure, pulsed electric fields and ozonation novel processes and applicability to improve quality and productivity of Greek fruit and vegetable industrial products
Duration: 01 July 2012 – 30 November 2015
Short Description: In this Supporting Research Project, novel technologies and their applicability to increase productivity and quality of fruit and vegetable industrial products of Greek interest were systematically researched and evaluated. The processes of High Pressure (HP), Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) and Ozonation were studied. The effect of process conditions on yield increase, on pathogenic, spoilage microorganisms and endogenous enzymes inactivation and on quality indices alteration were studied and modeled. Published and mathematical models developed within the project describing microbial, enzymatic and chemical kinetics were assessed and validated with regards their predictive reliability and applicability on the generated data under static and dynamic experimental conditions. The shelf-life of the processed products was estimated. The results were validated for products stored at isothermal and variable conditions. Products included fruit preparations, tomato products and olive oil. The appropriate technology and process conditions were selected for each studied product, based on the criteria of pathogen elimination, maximum inactivation of spoilage microorganisms at time zero and decreased growth rate post-processing, inactivation of the quality affecting endogenous enzymes, and minimal effect on nutritional, sensory and quality parameters, allowing for the production of safe products of superior quality with the minimum process cost. The expertise of the NTUA Research team on food processing including HP, with regards safety related and spoilage microorganisms and enzymes and on modeling of quality and safety parameters of foods and shelf-life determination and the collaboration with researchers from the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL) experts on non-thermal food processing including HP and PEF supported the effective accomplishment of this project, aiming to industrial application of the achievements.
INNOYOG
Implementation of innovative technologies in the production of yogurt with enhanced bio-functional properties
Duration: 18 September 2013 – 30 October 2015
Short Description:
The main idea of this project is related to the importance of small ruminants as milk-producing animals in the Greek economy, and the need for applied research in dairy products produced from that milk. The objectives of the project were a) development of a bio-functional dairy food using raw materials produced in Greece, i.e. milk (mainly ovine) and whey, with the latter being a by-product related to environmental issues, and b) implementation of various technologies, which can result in the development and production of a new yoghurt-type product with enhanced concentration of ACE-inhibitory (anti-hypertensive) and immunomodulatory peptides. As a result, the utilization through innovative ways of raw material produced in Greece could lead to the introduction of a novel “healthy” dairy product, which is made exclusively with dairy ingredients.
The main goals of this project were achieved via the below activities;
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investigation of bio-functionality, in terms of ACE-inhibitory and immunomodulatory properties of commercial yoghurt obtained from the Greek market,
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technological treatments that comprise a) the use of bacterial strains with bio-functional potential, isolated from traditional dairy food products, b) supplementation with WPCs or WPCs hydrolysates, c) high-pressure (HP) and transglutaminase (TGase) treatments of milk, and
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pilot-scale experiments with the most effective combinations of the studied treatments for the production of products with optimal technological and sensorial characteristics, and bio-functionality.
This research has received funding from the European Union and the National Corporate Program OPC II – Competiveness and Entrepreneurship (NSRF 2007-2013) within the framework of the scientific project 11SYN_2_1265
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