Centre for Advanced Food Engineerin – University of Sydney

Date: 25 February 202 2
Time: 12.00 – 1.00pm (Sydney time)
Venue: Online via Zoom
https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/ 85713455307

Role of Underutilized Food Crops in Developing Sustainable and Diverse Diets – Professor Yasmina Sultanbawa

Abstract

Currently of the 6 000 plant species that have been cultivated for food 9 account for 66 of total crop production Underutilized plant species can play a key role in dealing with problems of poverty, food and nutritional security, income generation and planetary health There is a clear relationship between the reliance on a few staple crops or low dietary diversity and malnutrition Dietary diversity is increased when consumption of cereals is accompanied by a high intake of fruits, vegetables and pulses The occurrence of antioxidants and important dietary phytochemicals in these underutilised food crops further enhances their value as dietary interventions to promote health and wellbeing Australian native plant foods are rich sources of micro nutrients Therefore, there is a need to develop strategies to include these food crops in nutrition intervention programmes and promote them as healthy food choices to be incorporated into the diets The introduction of underutilized plant foods among nutritionally vulnerable communities where undernutrition, hidden hunger and chronic diseases have been reported will help alleviate these health problems.

Bio
Professor Yasmina Sultanbawa is the Director of
the Industrial Transformation Training Centre for
Uniquely Australian Foods and a Principal Research
Fellow at Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and
Food Innovation ( the University of
Queensland, Australia Her research is focused within
the agribusiness development framework, specifically
in the areas of food processing, preservation, food
safety and nutrition Her current research includes the
minimization of post harvest losses through value
addition and the search for natural preservatives to
replace current synthetic chemicals In addition, her
research area also includes the challenge of food and
nutrition security, micronutrient deficiency (hidden
hunger), lack of diet diversity, and nutritional losses in
the food supply chain, which are addressed by her
work with underutilized Australian plant species
including native plants and potential new crops She is
w orking with First Nations communities to develop
nutritious and sustainable value added products from
native plants for use in the food, feed, cosmetics, and
health care industries is a key strategy