- Federal
four-year grant awarded to Ohio State University to fund research program
with PBIO
- Goal
is development of manufacturing process to keep foods fresh without costly
refrigerated transport/storage and safe without chemical additives
- PBIO’s
Ultra-Shear Technology (“UST”) allows food manufacturers to manufacture
healthier beverages and other foods that retain flavor and preserve
product’s wholesome ingredients, potentially affecting future food
processing around the world
- Dairy
alternative beverage market, which grew 18 percent from 2009 to 2014 to
reach $18.9 billion, fueled by consumers seeking tasty, nutrient-dense,
convenient options for on-the-go lifestyles
- Consumers
increasingly value “clean-label” foods, with 73 percent stating that they
would pay more for food or drink products made safely with recognizable
ingredients
- Global
dairy market projected at $442 billion by 2019 with a CAGR of six percent
Imagine food, such as milk, that doesn’t go bad, tastes like
the fresh product, is free of chemical preservatives and doesn’t need expensive
refrigerated transport or storage. Now, think of how many bottom lines of
companies around the world such a technology could affect.
Global life sciences company Pressure BioSciences Inc. (OTCQB:
PBIO) and its patented Ultra Shear Technology (“UST”) will be used to develop
an innovative manufacturing technology in a new, federally-funded research
program focused on food preservation and safety at Ohio State University’s
College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (“CFAES”). PBIO is a
Massachusetts-based company that manufactures high-pressure-based equipment and
laboratory instrumentation for the life science industry. CFAES is a worldwide
leading food safety college.
PBIO’s Ultra Sheer Technology produces highly stable, clean
and cost-effective nanoemulsions that facilitate the production of food
products with enhanced shelf lives and without the need for chemicals or
preservatives, as the company notes in a recent article (
http://ibn.fm/V4Vja). The UST
technology, which aligns with consumer demand for chemical- and
preservative-free products, can be applied across many industries, including
pharmaceutical, food, nutraceutical, industrial lubricant, paint and cosmetic
sectors.
Researchers at Ohio State and their PBIO collaborators
announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and
Agriculture four-year $891,000 grant in a recent news release (
http://ibn.fm/LEBPF). PBIO’s UST
technology will be the basis upon which a new manufacturing technology will be
developed to preserve food and beverages by reducing thermal exposure through
the combined application of elevated pressure, shear, controlled times and
temperatures.
A growing need to optimize processing technologies to
preserve the freshness of foods while extending the shelf life without using
preservatives is a key factor for researchers in this demanding, developing
global market. Statista reports that, for example, the dairy market worldwide,
valued at $336 billion in 2014, is projected to grow by six percent to reach a
staggering $442 billion in 2019 (
http://ibn.fm/RjYQx). For dairy-alternative consumers, the
market is just as intriguing, with a strong demand that reached $18.9 billion
by the end of 2014 as dairy-based sports nutrition drinks gained in
popularity (
http://ibn.fm/SmXH1).
V.M. Dr. “Bala” Balasubramaniam, a CFAES professor of food
engineering, is leading the development project, which is designed as a
collaborative team effort with scientists and engineers at PBIO.
Balasubramaniam believes that UST also holds the potential to be utilized by
food manufacturers to ensure a healthier processing of sauces, condiments and
other foods.
“Development of cost-effective, next-generation, gentler
industrial food manufacturing technologies for the preservation of healthy
beverages has now become a critical need,” Balasubramaniam stated in the
university’s news release.
Edmund Ting, a senior vice president at PBIO, will lead the
development of the laboratory scale and pilot plant equipment that CFAES and
the company’s researchers will use in the project. The UST equipment developed
under the project will be used to demonstrate the UST-based processing method
to the beverage and food processing industry through pilot plant demonstrations
and testing at the university’s advanced technology pilot plant on campus.
“It has been rewarding to see the significant growth of
high-pressure food and beverage processing over the last 25 years,” Ting stated
in the news release. “I believe UST has equal if not greater applications than
high-pressure processing, both within and outside the food and beverage
industries.”
The high-pressure processing equipment market is projected
to reach $500.3 million by 2022 at a CAGR of 11.26 percent from 2016, according
to a report from MarketsAndMarkets (
http://ibn.fm/9fZM9). North America and European regions
dominated this market in 2015 and are expected to continue leading as early
adopters of new food processing technologies, the report states.
Consumers are increasingly looking for foods and beverage
products that they believe are genuine and free of preservatives, with 73 percent
stating that they would pay more for a product they trust, a Food Insider
Journal article states (
http://ibn.fm/R67ID).
These “clean label” products brought in global sales of $165 billion in 2015
and are expected to reach $180 billion by 2020. The UST-based processing method
being developed by Ohio State and PBIO will be a new alternative to existing
options, one that will not use high heat and will consequently offer the
potential for better taste, nutritional value and safety.
“We are pleased to collaborate with experts at Ohio State to
advance the commercialization of the UST platform for the food and beverage
market,” Ting added, noting that the UST equipment developed with the grant
will eventually be shared with the food and beverage industry through pilot
plant demonstrations and testing, webinars, short courses and food processor
fact sheets.
“The UST technology is expected to be particularly
beneficial for medium- and small-scale food processors and entrepreneurs who
otherwise have limited technical resources to evaluate such novel food
manufacturing processes,” Balasubramaniam said. “The ultimate goal is for
consumers to benefit from the increased availability of wholesome, healthy
beverage and food options.”
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