UMR_A 408 SQPOV - Safety and Quality of Plant Products

Activities

UMR 408 SQPOV brings together chemists, microbiologists and biochemists with the same objective: the valorisation and transformation of plant matter, in particular fruit and vegetables and their derivatives.

UMR 408 is organised into three teams:

• The team QuAlim The Quality & Processes and MicroNut teams have merged to form a new team with a wealth of knowledge on the impact of production (growing system, variety) on the quality of different fruits and vegetables at harvest and in relation to processing, and on the impact of the level of processing on the bioaccessibility of microconstituents and the metabolisation of polyphenols, walls and polyphenol/wall complexes and their health effects.
  Moderators: Carine Le Bourvellec and Valérie Tomao
• The team SporAlim - Spore-forming bacteria in the food chain Identify the relevant microbiological risks and acquire the knowledge needed to model and control the risks associated with transformation processes.
  The team is interested in spore-producing bacteria. These bacteria are very common in the environment and frequently contaminate foodstuffs, particularly plant products. Particularly resistant to physical and chemical aggression and to thermal processing, they also have a wide range of adaptations to their environment in the food chain.
  Presenters: Véronique Broussolle and Alice Château
• The team GREEN - Eco-extraction of natural products Developing extraction techniques that respect molecules and the environment. It focuses on the eco-extraction of natural products, which consists of isolating compounds of interest from natural resources (plants, flowers, seeds, roots, micro-algae, yeast, bacteria, ....), for use in a variety of fields such as food processing, cosmetics, perfumery and even fragrances, using innovative processes and solvents that are more respectful of the environment.
  Host: Maryline Vian

On the Internet https://www6.paca.inrae.fr/sqpov

ORGANISATION

Trustees of the UMR

• Avignon University (AU)
• INRAE PACA

Direction
Isabelle Souchon (INRAE)

Deputy management
Sylvie Bureau (INRAE)
Anne-Sylvie Tixier (AU)

Courses offered

• Master's degree in Agrosciences, with a focus on Food Consumer Products.

Research activities

• Better understanding of the determinants of the quality and safety of fruit and vegetables with a focus on micronutrients (quality issue) and on reducing microbiological risk (safety issue).
• Sustainability of fruit and vegetable processing and plant material extraction. 

Partnerships

Examples of public/private collaboration

• Unité Mixte de Technologie" (Joint Technology Unit) Qualiveg2 "with the CTCPA
• Natarôme +" IEF
• CIFRE theses
• LabCom ORTESA, Green team - Naturex
• Institute Carnot Qualiment
• Hosting of R&D cells Claranor and Fruit Workshop
• Mars-Wrigley Confectionary

Further information

Competencies

• Analytical and synthetic chemistry, physical chemistry, modelling, extraction.
• Microbiology of spore-forming bacteria, aerobic and anaerobic bacterial physiologies, microbial genetics, omics and single-cell approaches.
• F&V analysis, fresh and in-process. Sampling, management of sample variability.
• Rapid analysis methods (near and medium infrared), chemometrics.

Know-How

• Characterisation of F&V: physical properties and composition, colour.
• Antioxidant properties of micronutrients (polyphenols, carotenoids), lipid oxidation.
• Mechanisms of natural colour expression
• Modelling of gastrointestinal digestion (static and dynamic in vitro models).
• Diversity, metabolism and adaptation mechanisms of spore-forming bacteria.
• Food processing and impact on vitamins and other micronutrients.
• Plant matrix - micronutrient interactions.
• Predictive microbiology.
• Innovative extraction processes, bio-sourced solvents.