Concentration Area and Research Lines
Concentration Area
Gastronomy, Innovation, and Sustainability
The Gastronomy, Innovation, and Sustainability concentration area aims to apply studies on the wide variety of food raw materials available in the country, both traditional and non-traditional, as well as to develop different applications for these ingredients. Thus, it will conduct investigations into the universe of traditional technology while simultaneously proposing new methods and techniques for gastronomic preparation, with the goal of improving the quality of food offerings and promoting the knowledge and documentation of local, regional, and national gastronomic culture.
In this regard, regional development will be fostered through collaboration between academia and society, enabling the construction and real appropriation of multi-referential knowledge. Within this context, studies will be conducted according to the following research lines:
- Social Gastronomy and Sustainability
- Gastronomic Technology and Innovation
- Gastronomy, Nutrition, and Health
Research Lines
Line 1: Social Gastronomy and Sustainability
This research line, based on multidisciplinary studies, focuses on strategies for promoting social development and investigating its impacts. It seeks to scientifically translate and disseminate local, regional, and national food culture production, including:
- Documentation of tangible and intangible aspects of gastronomic culture;
- Gastronomic practices in relation to sustainability and food sovereignty;
- The inclusion of gastronomy perspectives in public food policies, considering its social function;
- Preservation and documentation of traditional knowledge;
- The study and implementation of Food and Nutritional Education principles;
- Analysis of culinary practices and representations of food and beverages as cultural symbols;
- Discussions on the scope of practice and theoretical-practical training of food professionals;
- The mobilization of entrepreneurship to develop solutions for social issues through gastronomic knowledge.
Line 2: Gastronomic Technology and Innovation
This research line, grounded in multidisciplinary studies, seeks to understand gastronomy in its technical and scientific dimensions, with a research focus on:
- Local, regional, and national raw materials;
- Traditional and non-traditional foods, as well as local and regional agricultural production;
- Culinary methods and techniques that minimize nutrient loss, aiming for higher food quality;
- The development of new techniques and gastronomic products, with a focus on their nutritional, chemical, functional, sensory, and cultural aspects, while respecting food sovereignty.
Line 3: Gastronomy, Nutrition, and Health
This research line, based on a multidisciplinary approach, encompasses various fields of knowledge, including food, nutrition, health, anthropology, education, technology, market trends, and sustainability, all within the scope of gastronomy and its relation to dietary and nutritional challenges. Areas of investigation include:
- Clinical nutrition and gastronomy, with an emphasis on hospital gastronomy and combating chronic diseases;
- Dietary restrictions and mental health;
- Nutrition and gastronomy across different life stages and physiological conditions;
- Health benefits of bioactive compounds and functional foods, particularly those from Brazilian biodiversity;
- Gastronomy in food and nutritional education;
- Food security and sovereignty;
- Safe food practices and best hygiene practices;
- Vegetarian menu development;
- Sustainability and planetary health;
- Ethno-nutrition, cultural variables, and their nutritional outcomes.
