Aarhus University has received a total of 79.5 million Danish kroner from Innovation Fund Denmark for new research into agrifood projects. Five grants totalling 76.8 million kroner were granted out of a total of 177 million kroner available, and two of the in all 11 successful projects went to new industrial postdocs.

Dean Niels Chr. Nielsen at the Faculty of Science and Technology is very pleased with the new grants.

- It’s really pleasing that we get off to a good start with successful projects in 2015. It’s well done and shows the high quality of the science and the researchers we have here at the faculty, he says.

Director Niels Halberg, DCA - Centre for Food and Agriculture at Aarhus University, is equally delighted.

- It's great to see that the projects have gone to a wide range of the expert areas that the DCA and affiliated departments cover. It shows that Aarhus University and DCA manage to integrate research throughout the value chain from the eco-friendly farming stage to the production of healthy foods for the benefit of farmers, food manufacturers, consumers and the environment, he said.

The successful projects are:

Milk proteins to become a source of vitamin D, Senior Researcher Hanne Christine Bertram, Department of Food Science

Pigs help to fight obesity, Professor Knud Erik Bach Knudsen, Department of Animal Science

New cereal varieties need less pesticide, Professor Mogens Støvring Hovmøller, Department of Agroecology

Enough nitrogen for organic farming, Assistant Professor Stig Uggerhøj Andersen, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics

Developing natural food colouring, Associate Professor Henrik Brinch-Pedersen, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics

Read more about the projects on the website of Innovation Fund Denmark.

Innovation Fund invests in a number of new industrial postdoc projects. Out of the 11 projects in food and agricultural research that received funding, a total of 2.7 million kroner were allocated to two postdoc projects at Aarhus University.

The successful industrial postdoc projects are:

Health benefits of fibre and bacteria in food, Industrial Postdoc Christian Clement Yde, Department of Food Science

New leaf for the salad bowl, Industrial Postdoc Marie Grønbæk, Department of Food Science

Read more about industrial postdoc projects on Innovation Fund Denmark’s website here.

Additional Information:

Director Niels Halberg, DCA - Danish Centre for Food and Agriculture, email: Niels.Halberg@icrofs.org, telephone: +45 8715 8037, mobile: +45 2963 0093