A dialogue with Dr Wong Ka-hing, Director of the Research Institute for Future Food

From FSTRC to RiFood: building on achievements towards excellence in food research

The Food Safety and Technology Research Centre (FSTRC) was established in August 2011 and has achieved impressive technological breakthroughs. Would you please share with us some of the Centre’s major achievements? What has driven the establishment of the brand-new RiFood?

A number of large-scale food safety incidents about 15 years ago drove PolyU to establish the Food Safety and Technology Research Centre (FSTRC) in the year 2011. During its 10-year tenure, FSTRC secured over HK$160M in support from the industry and government of Hong Kong and Mainland China; published over 350 top journal articles; filed 30 Chinese and US patents; and received 20 national/international research awards.

Building on the Centre’s success, the University invested HK$30M to set up the Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood) in May 2021. RiFood is the first and only institute dedicated to food-related research among the universities in Hong Kong. At present, our research team consists of more than 50 academic staff members from 15 departments in 6 faculties and schools, bringing a wide spectrum of expertise to RiFood research. Since the Institute’s first year of operation, we have received HK$20M in funding support, published 29 journal articles and filed one patent. Our vision is to be a world-leading research institute that advances and transfers knowledge by research, public education and professional service to address the key challenges in food science and human health, for the benefit of humankind. At RiFood, interdisciplinary research, partnership and collaborations between experts from different disciplines will enable even more synergies.

Expanded research to address foodhuman-environment complex

What are the research foci of RiFood? Would you please tell us more about some of the rigorous research currently underway?

The research scope of RiFood has expanded to address bigger global challenges related to food quality and quantity. In brief, RiFood has three main research directions: (1) Food Sustainability, (2) Smart Technology and Functional Food Development and (3) Nutrition and Human Health. These research directions address the interactions among the environment, food and humans.

First of all, “Food Sustainability” refers to food production which satisfies the food security needs of human society and preserves the environment for future generations. In this direction, we have been studying ways to improve food production systems–with the ultimate goal of developing efficient production methods for safe and high-quality food. For example, our project on precision hydroponics (a technique for growing plants in mineral nutrient solutions without using soil as a medium) seeks to provide nutrients (e.g. calcium, iron, iodine) that are lacking in the local diet. Aside from that, we also work on food waste upcycling and the detection and modelling of emerging food contaminants and animal diseases, as well as policies for the food supply chain. 

Second, “Smart Technology and Functional Food Development” refers to the development of new food technologies and products. Research activities under this direction revolve around (a) new analytical/ metabolomics platforms for food authentication and understanding of traditional tonic food; (b) novel active ingredients for the development of functional food/ nutraceuticals; and (c) advanced technologies for future food industry such as nanotechnology, 3D printing and artificial intelligence etc. We have an investigative project on the conversion of agri-food waste into new sustainable materials (filaments) which would be used for 3D printing. We are also collaborating with the Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things (RIAIoT) on the use of AI and highresolution images for the classification of food freshness and quality. 

Lastly, “Nutrition and Human Health” seeks to understand the effects of diet on human health. These include (a) nutrition for healthy ageing and early life; (b) the protective role of micronutrients against diseases, including COVID; and (c) the role and function of gut microbiota for human health. We are now initiating a number of longitudinal cohort studies under this research direction. 

Interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral and cross-border partnerships towards a better food system

As a research institute dedicated to interdisciplinary solutions to food-related issues, would you please share with us some of RiFood’s interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral and cross-border collaborations for attaining these solutions? 

Food research is interdisciplinary in nature, and RiFood actively pursues collaboration and strategic partnerships with universities, industry, and the government. In terms of academic partnership, we have been collaborating extensively with local academic institutions, such as The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, and The Education University of Hong Kong; as well as international institutions, such as Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the University of Bologna, and Krida Wacana Christian University.  

In terms of industrial partnership, we can look back on two landmarks in the year 2021. The first of these is the “PolyU-Yakult Joint Research Laboratory for Probiotics and Prebiotics in Human Health”—a new laboratory formed jointly by RiFood and Hong Kong Yakult Co Ltd. The Laboratory is dedicated to cutting-edge (pre-)clinical research in probiotics and prebiotics for the prevention and/or treatment of gut and brain diseases and eczema. We received a HK$2M donation from Hong Kong Yakult Co Ltd as a starting research fund. Supported by Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition (Hong Kong) Ltd, the second landmark is a recent collaborative research study, “Hong Kong Microbiome and Nutritional Pathway”, which looks at the associations between early life nutrition and gut microbiome development among Caesarean-born Chinese babies. 

In terms of public-academic partnership, locally, RiFood is collaborating with the Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department in Hong Kong to provide a mariculture training programme to interested parties and to conduct research at the first open water mariculture facility, located at Tung Long Island. We have trained 63 participants in the first year of the programme. 

RiFood’s impact also goes beyond Hong Kong. Contributing to the development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), we joined hands with the Guangdong Academy of Sciences and University of Macau to establish the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Lab on Microbiota and Fish Health. This laboratory aims to identify and house 1,000 beneficial bacteria species, which will be used for further product development—with the goal of enhanced aquaculture productivity.

You may have seen our members addressing food-related topics in the press and on different media platforms. Our members have been actively contributing to government advisory committees on local and regional levels. These include the Advisory Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries in Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), HKSAR; the Expert Committee on Food Safety at the Centre for Food Safety (CFS), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), HKSAR; the Hong Kong Council for Testing and Certification (HKCTC); and the Expert Committee on GBA Food Quality and Standard in the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation in supporting the establishment of food safety standards.

RiFood as a central food research incubator

We are excited to learn about some special equipment and facilities at RiFood that have made the Institute’s advanced research possible. Would you please share with us in this regard?

We possess a number of research platforms to facilitate our research. The Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME®) is an instrument that carries out long-term experiments on human gut microbiota for identification of beneficial and harmful foods and probiotics. Our Sensory Evaluation Laboratory enables us to do objective testing of human preferences in regard to the appearance, fragrance and taste of foods. The Suga Research Laboratory for Sustainable Urban Green Agriculture was designed for experiments related to hydroponics and other types of indoor farming techniques. Finally, our laboratory for Infant and Child Nutrition, located in the Hong Kong Science Park, contains advanced equipment for analysis of breast milk and food items.

We also provide opportunities for research students in RiFood. We welcome undergraduates to get in touch with us and join our team and projects to learn what food research is like.

Nanotechnology for healthy ageing and cancer treatment

Your research has been recognised by a number of regional and international awards. Would you please tell us more about your efforts as well as their significance and scale of impact?

Over the years, I have published over 100 top journal papers, conference abstracts/proceedings, and book chapters; generated 9 China/US patents; and received over HK$50 million in funding support from government and the food industry in both Hong Kong and Mainland China. My current interest is the preparation of novel selenium nanosystems with different mushroom polysaccharide-protein (PSP) complexes for health promotion and biomedical applications (e.g. anti-osteoporosis, anti-cancer, and immunomodulation). Selenium is an essential trace mineral for human health with a recommended daily allowance of 55 μg/day. There is substantial evidence that selenium deficiency is detrimental to bone microarchitecture and associated with osteoporosis—suggesting its role in bone metabolism.

In our research programme, we have successfully prepared novel selenium nanoparticles, “Cs4-SeNPs”, using mushrooms. Our recent study involving oral administration of Cs4-SeNPs in mouse models has demonstrated the nanoparticles’ effectiveness in promoting bone formation, attenuating bone resorption, and improving bone microarchitecture. This patented nanotechnology has gained wide recognition with a number of national and international awards, such as the Second-Class Award in Technological Innovation at the Ministry of Education’s Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) 2020, and has been licensed to the local health food industry for commercialisation.

Selenium nanoparticles have also been found to possess remarkable anti-tumor efficacy. Our study discovered that SeNPs functionalised with mushroom PSP have an anti-proliferation effect on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)—a subtype of breast cancer which accounts for 10–15% of all breast cancers. Our long-term goal is to develop a safe and evidence-based cancer-targeted nanodrug for human TNBC treatment, thereby improving the quality of life for TNBC patients in Hong Kong.