The way we consume food is changing with advances in modern technology, food availability, the changing home environment, increased travel and exposure to new cultures. We are seeing an increased interest from the general public to improve their health and well-being through changes in their diets without compromising on taste, quality, food safety or cost. Within this changing environment, we are facing complex issues; food manufacturers need to come up with nutritious and healthy food that is tasty and innovative while regulators need to ensure that new food designs and behaviours are safe.

The vision of the Intelligent Food Design, Engineering and Monitoring research programme is to deliver solutions to these issues by combining molecular, medicine, engineering, business and economic approaches. Physicists, Chemists and Engineers are trying to better understand the microstructure of food to create a better understanding of how food is digested and to model future work so that nutritional composition can be improved or to enhance flavour, texture and mouth feel. Design engineering research is utilising the latest developments in science, technology, business, economics, policy and society to create and design new food and packaging solutions that can encourage and promote healthier eating behaviours, improving the health and wellbeing of the nation. Smart monitoring devices and personalised nutrition will be available in the not so distant future which may give a better understanding of the body’s response to food and allow for the use of truly personalised nutrition.

Guided by Imperial’s principles of collaboration and research excellence we will harness expertise across different disciplines within the College and seek for real-life challenges through collaboration with industry and policy makers. Our ultimate goal is to include “Imperial designed food” in the urban dictionary as a synonym of healthy and innovative food solutions. We aim to deliver a positive impact to society by delivering innovative food solutions that promote healthier nutrition while enhancing the food experience.

Key Imperial infrastructure: Institute of Chemical Biology, , Synthetic Biology Hub, MRC-NIHR BRC National Phenome Centre, Soft solids, Tribology group, Engineering design, Body Sensor Network, Wearable technologies lab, Brain and behaviour lab