Wageningen Food & Biobased Research develops insights and technologies that support companies, governments and other research institutes in the development of healthy and tasty foods, truly-sustainable food chains and chemicals and materials that use biomass instead of fossil resources.
Wageningen Food & Biobased Research is one of the Contract Research Organizations of Wageningen University & Research, with the aim to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. With approximately 30 locations, 5,000 members of staff and 10,000 students, Wageningen University & Research is a world leader in its domain. An integral way of working, and cooperation between the exact sciences and the technological and social disciplines are key to its approach.
‘Healthy and sustainable choices: now and in the future’
The world around us is changing rapidly. Raw materials are becoming scarce, greenhouse gases affect our climate and health problems occur due to overweight and malnutrition. Prosperity does bring progress, but it also brings new issues that need new solutions. Finding these solutions means combining in-depth knowledge, game-changing innovation and scientific expertise translated to practical applications.
Researchers at Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research tackle these complex issues supported by a firm understanding of the working practice. We develop insights and technologies that support industries, governments and consumers to make the right choices and to innovate responsibly and effectively. Our in-depth knowledge of the entire chain, from raw materials through processing to end product, drives our approach. We partner in the creation and production of healthy and tasty foods, of truly-sustainable food chains, and in developing chemicals and materials that use biomass instead of fossil resources.
Driven by a perceptive, knowledge-based curiosity, our multidisciplinary researchers, from diverse yet complementary backgrounds, approach problems with scientific rigor and creativity. Working closely together, we solve complex questions through a combination of intelligent analysis and pragmatic invention. Grounded in science and business, our researchers bring a no-nonsense attitude to their work.
Fresh, healthy and delicious
We see opportunities for improvement throughout the entire food chain, from raw material to end product and from producer to consumer. The better we can control the quality and shelf life of fresh food, for example, the less waste there will be. That is why our clients engage us to help them produce, transport and preserve fresh food products in more efficient and smarter ways. Getting fresher foods to the consumer is just one of our focus areas. For example, we also research the health effects of nutrition; developing protein-rich meals that help prevent malnutrition in the elderly. We improve foods, making them healthier without compromising the features that make them so appealing to the consumer: delicious soups with reduced salt levels and tasty, attractive goat’s cheese with reduced fat content.
Greener economy
Together with our customers, we develop production processes and biobased materials that will transform the current economy into a sustainable, Biobased Economy. With our innovative technologies, we turn side streams and residues from the food industry, agriculture and natural infrastructure into marketable products: foods, feed, chemicals, materials, fuels and energy. Our research helps clients to launch competitive, innovative products made from renewable raw materials. Using our understanding of the application of chemistry and biotechnological processes to the conversion of biobased resources, we produce new chemicals and develop innovative materials that are strong, sustainable and marketable. Materials such as resins and coatings but also composites and bioplastics for the packaging, automotive and electronics industries.
Smart connections
Wageningen University & Research centre’s mission – to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life – gives meaning and direction to the activities of Food & Biobased Research. Our researchers have direct access to the latest scientific findings and have a firm grasp of what modern technology offers.
Making smart connections between various disciplines, we investigate and develop at all stages: upscaling from lab to pilot and from initial idea to the production processes that deliver real products for our customers. To fulfill our promise, we ensure that the solutions we create are applicable in daily practice. Every day, we work with national and global companies, governments and other research institutes to create innovative solutions for a healthier, more sustainable and prosperous world; now and in the future.
