food sits at the very core of human life — a necessity, but also a catalyst for a global cycle of supply and demand. and as greenhouse gas emissions intensify and consumption habits shift, the systems that drive this cycle present urgent challenges and powerful opportunities. it is these mounting pressures on global food systems which maria dimopoulou seeks to better understand.

dimopoulou received her ph.d. in food and chemical engineering in greece at the aristotle university of thessaloniki. she now operates as a senior lecturer in teesside university’s health and life sciences department, as well as a researcher for the institution’s £16 million [$21 million] net zero industry innovation centre.

in this interview, dimopoulou discusses managing climate issues in the food sector, including one of her research endeavors with uk plant-based food company, myco foods. the organization, founded in 2020, has worked with dimopoulou and her team to innovate its mushroom meat replacement, hooba, through research into natural binding agents, which are used to give products structure and texture.

from challenges to the success of cross-industry collaboration and future projects, she reflects on the evolving role of research in sustainable product development.

jey draper: according to our world in data, 26% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the food sector. food insecurity is also rising. as a result, how can addressing challenges within the food sector help mitigate climate change? 

maria dimopoulou: most people, when we are talking about climate change, think it is only about transportation and about energy, but the food system also plays a huge role and actually the whole food supply chain. so, that means farming production, growing crops, processing in different manufacturer sites, distributing all these food products, and also the food we are wasting every day are responsible for all these emissions. 

that does mean there is good news. there are lots of opportunities in the food sector. if we can find strategies and solutions to reduce the waste, use resources more efficiently, and find value in the byproducts, they can not only cut emissions, but create a food system which is more resilient. and because food insecurity is rising, resilience actually really matters. 

the most important thing is: how can we find all these solutions? how can we find those strategies? how can we transfer that knowledge? and that needs a collaboration and integration between several sectors — not only the farming sector, also the manufacturers and government as well.  

jd: you have worked with myco foods, a key player in the plant-based industry, helping innovate their meat replacement, hooba. would you mind telling me more about this? 

md: yes. it is a clever product because it is entirely based on mushrooms, which is a plant-based product. it has the base, mushroom, but also some other ingredients: the spices, the water to give it texture, and some form of oil substitute. in order to be combined and give it a final structure and texture, it needs a binding agent.

in the very initial product, they were using the most common binding agent, which is called methylcellulose. this is semi-synthetic, so it is not entirely natural because it is being produced. so what we were trying to do is find other binding agents which are totally natural, in order to make the product a clean label.

we managed to provide three different recipes. we also had the opportunity to do a sensory evaluation, so we invited people to try those recipes, including the initial one. we can see if they like it, if we need to make some adjustments, what was their opinion, and to check consumer acceptability and preference.

that was a successful collaboration, and it is a great example of how academia and industry can work together.

jd: did you get a chance to try the myco product yourself, and what did you think? 

md: yes! first of all, i needed to test it because we need to check if the texture and the structure was similar to their initial hooba product. and actually, i really loved it, because it is always nice and rewarding when you are working with a product to taste it and to check if what you did in the lab really worked or not. 

i think that is one of the fascinating things in all my research. you can, apart from doing sustainable things, involve new product development and tasting. 

jd: you previously mentioned that the project was successful. how so? 

md: actually, they are thinking to go with one of these recipes [we provided], but at the moment we are also trying to find some other research funds for other ideas that they have in mind. one of those ideas is how fermentation technology can be included in their mushrooms and waste from mushrooms. 

basically, it uses some microorganisms, some fungi, bacteria, yeast, and some enzymes to convert raw materials into food. it can be used as a sustainable alternative to traditional manufacturing. 

jd: what were some of the biggest challenges which faced the delivery of this research? 

md: for that specific project, one of the challenges was, because there are many different natural binding agents, which is the most appropriate one? and what kind of concentration do you use?  

there are also some restrictions on how much you can use of each binding agent. so the main challenge is, okay, you have found the natural binding agent you need, you have also found the concentrations you are going to use, but is that final product going to have a similar texture and structure to the initial product? it also needs to taste nice, it needs to mimic mince burgers, because you are creating plant-based burgers or sausages. 

another challenge is sometimes the ideas work at a small scale, in the lab, but when you need to transfer and translate them to larger scales, it’s not always the same. 

basically, again, you need a collaboration with the industry. let’s say something doesn’t work, okay, is there a possibility to change something? but then the costs are counting as well, right? because companies need to earn profits at the same time. 

jd: looking ahead, where do you see your expertise fitting into the broader climate challenge over the next five years? 

md: what i would love to do is actually try to unlock the possibilities and opportunities in the food waste system. my research background is on food waste, and looks at how all these compounds that are being wasted have value. how can all this be used in real applications? how can all this be used in sustainable packaging, or [turned] into healthy products? 

as i mentioned earlier, i know that companies need to make profit, but they also need to be more sustainable. they need to create a healthy and nutritious product for most people, not only good for the consumer, but it is also important for the planet. they can create a more sustainable food system that can tackle climate change globally. 

for sustainability purposes, the food that is being wasted, of course, emits co2 because sometimes it is being used as a fertilizer or it goes to landfill. so again, that contributes to climate change at the same time. and also, imagine the food that is being wasted; how much land, how much energy, how much water is being wasted at the same time?