Divya Aggarwal

Project title: Innovative approaches to valorise oats processing side streams

Overview: Divya is a master's graduate in food technology from CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru, Karnataka, a highly renowned and prestigious food research institute in India. Furthermore, she has over 2 years of an industrial experience in confectionery manufacturing, specializing in instrumentation (DSC, Rancimat), fat blend optimization and troubleshooting, dairy ingredients assessment, and leading sensory evaluation.

Her keen interest in sustainable food innovations drives her to work on valorizing oats processing side streams. Oats are well-suited for organic production since they have a low carbon footprint and hence, encouraged to contribute towards sustainable biodiversity and achieving a circular economy. This tends to be the first project to close the loop in the oat food chain from farm to health. Divya aims to valorize oat milling waste to generate new value streams utilizing novel and sustainable extraction technologies such as ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), enzyme-assisted and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). The integration of the techniques will allow optimization providing high yields within a short processing duration.

During this project, Divya will be able to use her skills and knowledge, based on past research experiences, and contribute to the development of sustainable innovations in the food processing sector.

Programme area:  Food Programme

Supervisors: Prof. Brijesh Tiwari and Dr. Shikha Ojha

Location: Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown

Funding source: DAFM