START Fund Winners 2021

Ryegrass hybrid breeding service

Susanne Barth, Sergei Kushnir & Ewen Mullins

Location: Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin

Perennial ryegrass is the key forage species in temperate grasslands as it is the basis for meat and milk production and is the major forage seed sold for permanent pastures.   95% of all forage grass seed sold in Ireland is perennial ryegrass.

Bespoke Fermented Foods (BFFs)

Paul Cotter & John Leech

Location: Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy

The project is exploring the provision of fermented foods rich in tailor-made microbial communities with optimised, targeted health and wellness benefits. Teagasc’s international reputation in this field will allow the team to build an entire science-based, market-driven brand around these foods.

VisioBot

Norah O’Shea

Location: Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy

The bespoke collaborative robotic and vision system platform technology provides a robust and consistent quality control methodology for evaluating reconstitution properties of powdered nutritional products.