Food Product Development Group

The University of Adelaide’s Food Product Development team provides expertise and facilities to support innovation, product development, and testing for the food industry. 

Food testing equipment with a range of grains and breads

We support academic food science research. We aim to increase returns for Australian farmers and the Australian food industry by helping to address important issues such as sustainability and nutritional value in addition to keeping pace with consumer trends and technological advances.

Our expertise

We have broad food R&D capabilities and can support companies and projects with ingredient development, product development, sensory testing, quality testing, claims support, and shelf-life testing. In collaboration with Adelaide Analytical, we conduct a wide range of chemical, physical and nutritional analyses critical to food and beverage products, including flavour and aroma analysis. 

We have expertise in many food categories, such as baking, snacking, confectionery, beverages, frozen desserts, dips and condiments, pasta, and fresh produce. Building on past successes with bread wheat, durum wheat, barley, and oats, we are actively working on product categories using innovative ingredients like pulses, soybeans, hemp, psyllium, oilseeds, agave, almonds, edible insects and many more. We also leverage resources to help with market research, ideation and brainstorming, business development, project management, and commercialisation. 

Research capabilities and facilities 

Our food research capabilities are vast, including: food and ingredient preparation, food physical analysis, and food chemical and nutritional analysis. We develop food products through food and ingredient preparation, food chemical and nutritional analysis, fat profiling and sugar analysis – to name a few. 

Find out more

Engage with us

If you are involved in the food industry and are looking for food research and development support, have an idea for an innovative food product or research project, or you want to discuss food research at the University of Adelaide, please get into contact with the Food Product Development team.

We would be happy to collaborate with you through contract research, grants, tenders, licensing or intellectual property development.

Contact us

Lead researchers

Dr James Cowley

Dr James Cowley

E: james.cowley@adelaide.edu.au
P: +61 8313 7181

View researcher profile

Mr Bill Hirt

Mr Bill Hirt

E: bill.hirt@adelaide.edu.au
P: +61 8313 7181

View researcher profile