The Agri-Food Research Group (CIA) is a strategic research group affiliated with the University of Vigo that focuses on efficient valorization of food by-products. CIA conducts research in sustainable food production, food quality and safety, and developing new food products. It aims to solve issues related to sustainable food production, meeting consumer demands, and food industry waste valorization. CIA is aligned with European research guidelines on environmental and food chain impacts. It has facilities for chromatography, spectrophotometry, molecular biology, and a pilot plant. CIA publishes research in key areas and its funding has increased year-over-year from external projects and R&D programs.

1. Agri-Food Research Group (CIA)
Strategic research group from U. Vigo
Linked to Ourense Science Faculty

2. Index
• Scope
• Research areas
• Strategic Guidelines
• Facilities
• Infraestructure
• Just a few numbers

3. CIA has founded on 2009 with one objective
“efficient valorization of by-products”
…but nowdays its scope is global.

4. Global Vision
“from Field to Plate”
CIA focus its research activity solving these issues:
1. Sustainable food production
2. Consumers may require safety foods, healthy foods, tasty
foods and ready to eat.
3. Food industry may valorize food wastes and by-products

5. CIA is aligned to European Research guidelines
Environmental impacts and total food chain
Transparency along the food value chain
Food processing
Sustainable food and feed processing
Food quality and safety
Combined exposure to pesticides
Prospects for novel foods

6. Horizon 2020
CIA Group is aligned to Horizon 2020
Smart specialisation strategy
“We strengthen our capabilities on key issues.”
We are focussed on generating excellent science on “food security,
sustainable agriculture, marine and marititime research, and the bio-
economy”

7. Horizon 2020
Cia Group is aligned to Horizon 2020
Networks
“We must reinforce our international networks”
This is our top priority on the next years..

8. Agri-Food Research Group (CIA)
Research areas:
•Bromatology
•Food Biotechnology
•Food physical chemistry
•Environmental agrobiology: soil and plant
quality

9. Focus areas:
Bromatology
• Determination and characterization of aromas in food matrixes,
analytical chemistry related to food security
• Transport of pollutants in the air-soil-water-crop systems linked to
water pollution resources and the quality and safety of food
products.
• Effect of postharvest treatments on antioxidant polyphenolic
compounds of horticultural products.
• Determination of POPs in agri environment schemes

10. Focus areas:
Food Biotechnology
• Microbiological and biochemical characterization of the ripening
process from dairy and meat traditional products to improve the
development of technology and to increase the quality and
homogeneous of the final products.
• Developing new technologies and biotechnological processes in
order to obtain food additives and biosurfactants bacteriocins.
Develop new products for the food industry. Recovery food
additives (xylitol, lactic acid) from fermented media. Production and
application of enzymes byproducts for the food industry.
• Production and application of probiotics lactic acid bacteria and
bacteriocins
• Exploitation and valorisation of waste materials and byproducts of
food industry

11. Focus areas:
Food physical chemistry
• Physical properties of foods: thermal stability and viscoelastic
properties (experimental methods in rheology and differential
scanning calorimetry)

12. Focus areas:
Environmental agrobiology: soil and plant quality
• Allelopathy: interaction between plant species. Searches
bioherbicides and plant protection.
• Plant Ecophysiology: physiology in adverse conditions. Effects on
photosynthesis and stress markers.
• Plant-microorganisms: relationship between plants and
microorganisms in the soil and wood. Search selective fungicides.

13. First objective of CIA
Improvement crop waste and byproducts
Two different lines
No foodstuffs foodstuffs
e.g. crop waste e.g. low quality foodstuffs
Research oriented to Research oriented to
Bioaccumulation Novel food
Focus on Focus on
Soil quality Functional ingredients from byproducts
Agricultural productivity Extend shelf life

14. Nowadays, the focus is on developing safety, healthy and
functional foods, with high sensory characteristics.
To reach this goal, we work on different strategies
with the aim transferring innovation to the
companies.
(In 2012 we add a economic assessment of our R&D)
Vertical Research Horizontal Research

15. Vertical Research
Sustainable food
Novel foods
production
Food quality and safety Horizontal Research
Economic and sustainable
assessment Horizontal Research
of R&D guidelines Since 2012

16. Strategic Guidelines
Sustainable food production
(Supervised by vegetal production and soil science staff)
• Enhance waste and by-products from food to
agronomic purpose.
• Modelling pollutants, water and nutrient dynamics in
soil-crop systems
• Monitoring water quality in forest watershed
• Enhance crop yields in volume and qualitiy

17. Strategic Guidelines
New Challenges 2012-2015
Sustainable food production
• Studing POPs (Persistent organic pollutants) under Public
Health point of view.

18. Strategic Guidelines
New food products
(Supervised by specialized biochemisty staff)
• Exploring emerging technologies to process food
• Modeling, design, optimization, validation and
application of innovative processes of transformation,
and conservation systems packing
• Application of biotechnology to select, characterize
and preparation of food

19. Strategic Guidelines
New food products
• Enhancement waste and by-products of food like source of
raw material for the production of natural food additives
• New functional and healthy foodstuff from by-products
fishery

20. Strategic Guidelines
New Challenges 2012-2015
New food products
• Use of enzyme technology to enhance the functionality of
food, especially lipases for the synthesis of molecules with
biological activity.
• In the field of white biotechnology, use microorganisms
capable to increase selectivity and efficiency production of
natural food nutraceutical additives.
• Assessment gel rheology to develop novel foods, with
functionality ingredients.
• Develop food texture taylor made

21. Strategic Guidelines
Food Safety and Quality
(Supervised by chemistry, nutrition and bromatology staff)
• Improvement tools and techniques to trace the supply
chain and raw materials determining origin and authenticity
• Improve production systems, handling and feeding to
increase quality, productivity, stability, nutritional and
functional characteristic on foodstuffs, aquaculture and
livestock.

22. Strategic Guidelines
Food Safety and Quality
• Rapid method for the analysis of chemical, physical, biological
contaminants from foodstuff
• Effects of human activities on food production
• Functional foods rich in antioxidants, improved flavor quality

23. New Challenges 2012-2015
Food Safety and Quality
• Understanding absorption and metabolism of flavonoids
and phenolic acids and their biological effects.
• Understanding the interactions between food components
affect the bioavailability and bioactivity, especially
flavonoids and vitamin C
• Improving processing techniques to increase the
bioavailability of flavonoids and phenolic acids in food and
thus develop novel foods.
• Review scientific evidence about polyphenol DRI (dietary
reference intakes) in order to asses healh claims

24. Facilities
Chromatography systems:
•GC-MS,
•HPLC-DAD/Fluorescence
•HPLC-MS/MS
Spectrophotometry:
•Spectrophotometer FTIR/UV-
Vis/Fluorescence
•Atomic Absortion-emission

25. Facilities
Molecular biology:
•PCR
•DGGE
Proteomics:
•MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS
•HPLC-MS/MS
•FPLC
•CE

26. Infraestructure
Pilot Plant:
•SFE (Supercritical Fluid Extraction)
•Biomolecule purification systems
•high pressure food preservation system
•bioreactors
•high pressure reactors
Greenhouse
Hydrological station

27. Just a few numbers.
Thesis
2011
Sustainable food production
2010
Food Quality and safety
New food products
2009
0 4 8 12

28. Just a few numbers.
Sci/Ssci publications
80
60
New food products
40 Food Quality and safety
Sustainable food production
20
0
2009 2010 2011

29. Just a few numbers.
Funding framework
1,200,000 €
800,000 €
Reports& external sevice
Private Projects
400,000 € R&D Projects
0€
2009
2010
2011