General objectives of PPGCTA’s extension actions

Provide students, technicians and faculty to experience the agroindustrial sector, particularly businesses working on the research areas of PPGCTA: grains, fruit and vegetables, agroindustrial microbiology, and bioprocesses. Support collective and individual actions, towards investments in agroindustrial activities, in order to add value, insert jobs and reduce the technological and economical dependency of the region. Interact with other institutions in joint actions optimizing resources. Provide, test, validate and publicize technologies developed by the institution and partners. Promote knowledge exchange, originated from research or popular. Support and advise agroindustrial projects, regarding physical structure, environmental and sanitary regulations and registrations, product and process development, certification and differentiation of products and processes.

Agroindustrialization and regional development

Maintain permanent interaction between the research activities of PPGCTA and the agorindustrial sector both regionally and nationally with the objective of prioritizing technological research goals, facilitating knowledge gain in terms of generating dividends, jobs, reduction of the technological dependency, and strengthening of the economy of the region and/or country. Agroindustrial segments associated with grains, fruit, meat and milk are the ones that PPGCTA has been more intensively involved. Marked competencies of PPGCTA include the development of new products, the optimization of processes, and the implementation of safe food production systems associated with quality differential, and certifications.

Postharvest, Industrialization and Grain Quality

Grain postharvest, industrialization and quality lab (Labgrãos), developed more than 60% of the research projects in drying, storage, quality control and industrialization of rice grain presented at congresses and meetings in southern Brazil in the last 15 years. Official technical recommendations of rice research for the Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states are based on research developed at UFPel, and the same applies for other grains, which have allowed for considerable advances of the region.

Evaluation methods for consumption preferences, cooking performance, and sensory characteristics of rice, developed by Labgrão, are adopted by rice agroindustries and by breeding programs of EMBRAPA, EPAGRI-SC, IRGA and other private companies.

The operational protocol for grain drying developed at Labgrãos allowed for technology development that is utilized by most producers and irrigated rice agroindustries of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Goiás and Tocantins states, leading to a 6% yield increment of intact grains (Type I).

A technological evaluation method for mixed flours of rice, wheat, and soybean utilized for soup thickenings and bakery products which add value to grains broken during industrial processing was also developed at Labgrãos.