The four-year partnership will see about 30 researchers and students from NTU and F&N working together to translate food technology innovations into industry applications for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). Research projects range from enhancing food products and processes to developing biodegradable packaging solutions for the food and beverage (F&B) industry.

Singapore’s Minister for Education, Mr Ong Ye Kung, opened the F&N-NTU F&B Innovation Labthis afternoon, together with NTU President Professor Subra Suresh and Mr Lee Meng Tat, CEO, Non-Alcoholic Beverages of F&N.

Professor Suresh said, “NTU’s partnership with F&N will lead to unique opportunities to develop innovative products to benefit consumers. This collaboration will foster research that will result in better food products, greener packaging, and conversion of waste produced from food processing into valuable resources. This project further strengthens our passionate commitment to eco-friendly initiatives whereby our sustainability research benefits society and industry.”

This is F&N’s first long-term joint research partnership with an academic institution.

“We are delighted to partner NTU in its Food Science and Technology programme. This partnership offers us the opportunity to tap NTU’s strengths in research excellence as well as its cutting-edge facilities to enhance innovation. We are excited to bring these innovations to fruition in the commercial world,” said Mr Lee. “In line with our commitment to deliver sustainable business practices, our collaboration with NTU will see the furthering of our green efforts as well as catering to the health and nutritional needs of our consumers,” he added.

Located at NTU’s School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, the F&N-NTU F&B Innovation Lab is spearheaded by NTU’s Food Science and Technology (FST) Programme and F&N’s Research & Development (R&D) department.

Professor William Chen, Director of NTU’s FST Programme, and Dr Yap Peng Kang, Head of Corporate R&D of F&N serve as co-directors of this lab.

To date, the partnership has identified several joint research projects. Besides developing new beverages with additional health benefits, other research projects will also look into maintaining the freshness of products as well as developing new solutions for environmentally friendly packaging.

About Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and Graduate colleges. It also has a medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, set up jointly with Imperial College London.

NTU is also home to world-class autonomous institutes – the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering – and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N).

Ranked 12th in the world, NTU has also been placed the world’s top young university for the past five years. The University’s main campus is frequently listed among the Top 15 most beautiful university campuses in the world and it has 57 Green Mark-certified (equivalent to LEED-certified) building projects comprising more than 230 buildings, of which 95% are certified Green Mark Platinum. Apart from its main campus, NTU also has a campus in Singapore’s healthcare district.

For more information, visit www.ntu.edu.sg

About Fraser and Neave, Limited 

Established in 1883, Fraser and Neave, Limited (“F&N”) is a leading Southeast Asia Consumer Group with expertise and prominent standing in the Food & Beverage and Publishing & Printing industries.

Leveraging its strengths in marketing and distribution; research and development; brands and financial management; as well as years of acquisition experience, F&N provides key resources and sets strategic directions for its subsidiary companies across both industries.

Listed on the Singapore stock exchange, F&N ranks as one of the most established and successful companies in the region with an impressive array of renowned brands that enjoy strong market leadership. F&N is present in 11 countries spanning Asia Pacific, Europe and the USA, and employs over 7,700 people worldwide.

For more information on F&N, please visit www.fraserandneave.com

SOURCE: NTU Singapore