How do particle material properties (insoluble and partially soluble) affect sensory perception of fat-based products?

One full scholarship funded by the BBSRC-funded Mondelez International CTP in partnership with the University of Leeds, UK is available at the School of Food Science and Nutrition in 2024. This scholarship is open to UK/ international applicants and cover fees plus £20,162 maintenance grant per year for 4 years.

This fully funded PhD place provides an exciting opportunity to pursue postgraduate research in an industrially relevant food science project with Mondelez to understand how particle material properties may affect sensory perception in fat based products such as chocolate.

Mondelez is one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world with sales of approximately $9 billion. It is Mondelez’s vision to become the global leader in this category by 2030. To achieve this, it is key for Mondelez to continue growing in spaces such as health, well-being and sustainability while maintaining competitive advantages in delivering consumers the right chocolate experiences. To explore these growth opportunities, often it involves reformulation and evaluation of alternative ingredients. However, without knowing fundamentally what the key ingredient properties are and how they may impact chocolate transformation and perception in the mouth, the R&D process can be inefficient in cost and time. Therefore it is important to improve our understanding and knowledge in this area.

Among chocolate ingredients, insoluble particles (e.g. non-fat cocoa solids, and other cellulose rich fibres) as well as particles that are partially dissolved, or hydrated, within oral processing times (e.g. dairy powders) are very important in affecting the perception in mouth. However, the mechanisms by which these particles affect the transformation and alter the perception and the critical material properties of the particles are not presently understood. Without this information, it is very difficult to know what the success criteria is when evaluating new ingredients or flexing recipes to deliver the right consumer experience. 

This fully funded PhD project aims to bridge this knowledge gap in material science by building mechanistic understanding, exploring the research questions below:

• a) What are the key material properties of insoluble/partially soluble particles in the context of oral processing time?
• b) Which mechanisms affect the transformation and perception of fat-based products in the mouth?
• c) How do the levels/changes of these properties modulate the product perception in the mouth?

This PhD research is relevant to the BBSRC’s strategy on ‘World-class underpinning bioscience’ by increasing the knowledge of understanding how food components interact with the oral environment. In addition, understanding the impact of food component-oral interactions on sensory perception will add to our capability to reformulate healthier foods, thus supporting the nutrition and health priority of the BBSRC.

Industrial Placement

The PhD student would take full advantage of the collaboration with Mondelez by taking up a placement during their studentship. During their visit in Mondelez, they can participate in relevant project activities such as characterising physio-chemical properties of the modelled systems using in-house state of art instruments, or application of concepts into selected food products.

For more information on how to apply, please see the project page on the University of Leeds website.