Prof. M. S. Roopesh, Ph.D

Sustainable Process Engineering Research to Improve Safety, Quality, & Utilization of Food and Biomaterials

Food safety is a global concern and directly linked to the overall sustainability of food systems worldwide. According to the World Health Organisation, there are around 1.5 billion cases of foodborne illnesses around the world annually. Recent food safety issues involving low water activity and fresh foods, packaging and industrial surfaces have resulted in hundreds of product recalls, thousands of illnesses and billions of dollar losses to food industry. Currently, advanced food processing technologies are garnering considerable interest in the food industry as they show promise in improving food safety and quality. The Food Safety & Sustainability Engineering (FSSE) Research Program at the University of Alberta focuses on sustainable process engineering research. We are working towards developing advanced, green, sustainable technologies (e.g., atmospheric non-thermal plasma, high intensity light pulses emitted from LEDs, 3D printing/additive manufacturing of food) to improve food safety and overall sustainability of food systems. Despite widespread research, engineering challenges associated with processing protocol development and implementation of these technologies are not yet adequately addressed. Following are the key research areas:

• Cold Plasma Applications in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Processing
  • Pathogen and mycotoxin reduction 
  • Biofilms in processing environment 
  • Plant protein functionality improvement
  • Seed surface sterilization
  • Germination improvement 
  • Plasma activated water as a plant growth medium 
• Integrated Process Development 
  • Processes with multiple benefits 
• Treatments Using High Intensity Light Pulses Emitted from LEDs 
• Wastewater Treatment
• 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing of Food