Delegates of the Marine Functional Food Consortium gather in the dry lab of the Marine Institutes RV Celtic Explorer with Mary Coughlan (Minister of Agriculture Food & Fisheries) Peter Heffernan (CEO) and Kevin Bonner (Chairman) of the Marine Institute to mark the launch of the Marine Functional Food Research Initiative. Photo: Andrew Downes Photography
The Marine Functional Food Research Initiative (MFFRI), recently announced by Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan TD, has received funding of €5.2 million in the form of a multidisciplinary research consortium involving researchers from the UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine.
The MFFRI comprises researchers from UCD, UCC, NUI Galway, University of Limerick, University of Ulster Coleraine and Teagasc. The consortium will identify novel marine food ingredients and products, allowing Ireland to become a key player in the €50 billion worldwide market for functional foods.
The MFFRI will concentrate on three main areas: the use of fish processing waste, the sustainable exploitation of under-utilised species of fish and seaweed, and the development of value-added products from aquaculture—both for finfish and shellfish. UCD’s team of researchers will be engaged in the extraction of bioactives with potential health benefits from a variety of marine sources. Initial studies led by Professor John O’Doherty, will focus on seaweed harvested off the coast of Ireland.
“The research will involve the discovery, characterisation and the food application of high value added functional ingredients from this underutilised natural Irish resource. The team already conducts a high level of interdisciplinary research activity in the extraction of bioactives from natural sources and the generation of functional foods and food ingredients”, said Professor Dolores O’Riordan of the UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine.
A postdoctoral researcher and PhD will be assigned to each institution, and a Professor of Marine Natural Product Chemistry will be recruited internationally and located at the UCD-Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre, which is the axis of the consortium. A similar internationally ranked Professor of Marine Functional Foods Biochemistry will be recruited at the Moorpark Research Centre near UCC.
“This new initiative allows us to apply our expertise to the marine area and contribute to Ireland’s reputation in marine functional foods. Ultimately the research will increase Ireland’s competitiveness in the rapidly expanding market for marine functional foods”, said Professor O’Riordan.
