We are a distinctive and cohesive team dedicated to providing high quality, practice based, and research informed education designed for diverse and innovative learners in food science, industrial biotechnology, environmental health and safety management. In our teaching and research, we focus on external and internal collaboration, and the interconnectedness of food, environment and health for socioeconomic sustainability and circular bioeconomy.

The School has many qualities which attracts a high calibre of diverse students, such as being the unique provider of Honours degrees in Environmental Health which is nationally recognised by the Environmental Health Association of Ireland and the Health Service Executive.

The school also offers expertise in Environmental Health and Safety with Human Factors and Ergonomics at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

We are leaders in Food Science and Food Safety with programmes in Food Innovation with Brewing and Distilling, Neutraceuticals for Health and Nutrition, Food Safety Management and Food Science and Management. These programmes are underpinned by the core sciences.

The School has the Pharmaceutical Healthcare degree and Pharmacy Technician programme. Both programmes have industry embedded in their delivery.

See also the section of our website on Study.

The School of Food Science and Environmental Health currently has 600 undergraduate students and 60 MSc students, and 60 postgraduate research students.

Typical class groups are about 32 students. Each class group has a Year Tutor and each course has a Programme Chair. All classes have a student class representative.

The School has a large footprint in the Central Quad building of the Grangegorman campus. The School has food chemistry labs, food microbiology labs, food sensory lab, food processing hall, clean room facility, fermentation lab, instrumentation lab and project labs.

The School maintains a sustainable active and vibrant research community.

Of the 31 academic staff in the School 22 are currently research active, making us one of the most successful and research active Schools in the University.

The School research strategy aligns with the University research strategy and addresses national and international challenges.

The School has a large footprint in the use of the University research Institutes such as the Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute (ESHI) and the FOCAS Research Institutes.

The School has state of the art equipment and laboratories to carry out research.

The School has successfully secured EU funding, SFI funding and other national funding through EI, DAFM, IRC and Walsh Fellows with Teagasc.

The School outputs are published in high impact journals and academic staff are highly cited internationally.

The academic staff from the School offer expertise to the food and beverage industry through The Food Innovation Lab and is a member of national industry-facing research platforms including Meat Technology Ireland.

See also the section of our website on Research.

CQ109 Food Processing Hall

• Sensory Analysis Suites 
• Compusense sensory software 
• La Minerva vacuum packer 
• Colourflex colour analyser 
• Gas mixer and associated gas cy 
• MAP test Gas analyser 
• Blast chiller 
• AquaLab Water Activity Meter 
• Cheese vat 
• IKA ROTAVISC Viscometer 
• Silverson L5T mixer manual 
• Wonder Mill Manual 
• Ovens, hobs, microwave and airfryer. 
• Buffalo Dehydrator 
• Fridge, freezer and cold room 
• pH meters 
• Handheld refractometers 
• Consistometer 
• Bag sealer 
• Water bath 
• Mixers and blenders 
• Milk analyser 
• Ice cream maker 
• Soda stream
• Shaking incubator 
• Assortment of kitchen utensils  

Instrumentation Suite (CQ112)

• Biowave 3+ UV-Vis Spectrophotometer
• Texture Analyser (TA.XTPlusC)
• Shimadzu RF-6000 Flourophotometer
• Elementec Diode Array UV
• Water HPLC Alliance 2690
• Acquity HPLC Alliance 2695
• Acquity UPLC
• LIBS System
• Graphite Tube Atomiser Atomic Absorption Spectrometer
• Partec CyFlowmeter
• Spectra 50AA Spectrometer
• Buchi C-850 Flash Prep System with UV and ELSD Detector
• Varian CP-3000 GC
• Scion GC
• Thermo Scientific FTIR
• Fumehood

   

Analytical Laboratory (CQ113)

Fully equipped teaching lab with

• Solvent Rotatory Evaporator
• Oven
• Brewing and Distillation Equipment
• DO Meter
• pH meter
• Hach Spectrometer for water analysis
• Fumehoods
• Balances

 

Analytical Laboratory (CQ114)

• Fully equipped teaching lab with
• Polarimeter
• Solvent Rotary Evaporator
• Kjedhal Instrument
• UV spectrophotometers
• Oven
• Water Baths
• Fumehoods
• Balances
• UV viewing cabinet

 

Nutraceutical and Analytical Research Laboratory (CQ115)

• Freeze Dryer
• 4 fumehoods
• Microwave Digestion
• Solvent Rotary Evaporator
• Ice machine
• Refrigerated centrifuge
• Loss on drying balance
• FTIR Press
• Oven
• Incubator Shaker
• Buchi Evaporator
• -20oC Freezer
• Refrigerators
• Deionised water supply
• Shaker Waterbath
• Hydrogenator
• Soxhlet Extraction
• Titration Equipment
• TLC

 

Undergraduate Research Laboratory (CQ226 )

• Colony Counters
• Purified Water
• Plate Readers
• UV Cabinet
• 3D Printer
• Solvent Evaporator
• Refrigerated Centrifuge
• Water Baths
• Incubator
• Incubator Shakers
• Oven
• Balances
• pH meters
• Sample Grinder
• Stomacher
• pH meters
• Gel Scanner
• Microscope with camera
• Light microscope
• Biological Safety Cabinet (Level 2)
• 2 Fumehoods
• Refrigerator
• Freezer
• Heat Sealer
• Air monitoring pump and accessories
• Autoclave

 

Bioeconomy Lab (CQ336)

• Laboratory Bead Mill (600ml capacity
• BIOFLO 415 fermentor
• -80oC Freezer
• Injection moulding unit
• Fermentation tank (Solaris Jupiter 2.0 Pressure Control Vessel)
• Microfiltration unit

 

 

Food/Environmental Microbiology Lab (CQ-333)

Fully equipped microbiology teaching lab with:

• Microscopes
• Incubators
• Cold Rooms
• Stomachers
• Water baths
• Autoclaves
• Idexx Colilert Water Testing System
• Biotrace Cleantrace Rapid Hygiene Testing
• Oxoid Air sampler
• Class 2 Biosafety Cabinet
• Densimat
• Multichannel pipettes

 

CQ-332 Clean Room

ISO 14644-4 Class 7 Clean Room equipped with:

• Glove box
• Laminar Airflow Hood
• Handheld Clean Room Particle Counter

 

CQ334 – Research Instrumentation Room

• Plate Readers with PC
• Centrifuge
• Balances
• Refrigerator/Freezer
• Solvent Cabinets
• Incubator

 

CQ111 –Post Harvest, Brewing and Distilling Technology

• Rotanta 460K Centrifuge with bench on castors
• Hand held Rheometer
• Spectronic genesys 5 spectrometer
• Bohlin C-VOR Rheometer
• Freeze Dryer
• Fumehood
• Buchi Distillation Unit B-324
• Colour Quest XE
• Incubator
• Ultra Tuirax T25
• Buchi Waterbath
• Silverston L5T
• Heidolph RZR
• Anton Paar Alcolyzer
• Colorimeter
• Freeze dryer

A comprehensive range of Brewing & Distilling equipment including the following:

• Micro distillery
• Brewster Beacon 40L x 6
• Brewster Beacon 70L x 2
• Grainfather Conical Fermenter Pro with Wifi x 4

 

Support Areas (Shared Spaces)

• Autoclave

 

Cell Culture Suite

• Biological Safety Cabinets
• CO2 Incubator
• Centrifuges
• Walk in cold room

 

CQ – 335 Pharma & Biotechnology

Fully equipped teaching lab with:

• Nanodrop (Implen)
• Nanodrop (Biochrom)
• Real Time PCR (MIC)
• PCR (Eppendorf)
• Spectrophotometer (Shizmatsu)
• BioRad EZ Gel image System
• Bio Rad Chemiluminescence Image System (Gels/ Blotting etc)
• Gel Electrophoretic Boxes
• Blotting Apparatus (Western/Southern etc)  
• Various Centrifuges
• Microscope Camera
• Digital Camera (SLR)
• Grant Data logger (various probes)
• Sound Meter (Hi Spec)