KSU signs five-year baking research pact with PMAN
The pact between KSU’s Department of Grain and Food Science and PMAN connects the company’s research and laboratory capabilities in Brazil with KSU faculty, students and facilities.
USA – Kansas State University (KSU) has signed a five-year agreement with Brazilian baking ingredients company PMAN to strengthen research, education and technological innovation in the baking industry, linking the university’s grain and food science expertise with the company’s laboratory facilities in Brazil.
The partnership will give KSU’s Department of Grain and Food Science access to PMAN’s LABTERMO microbiology laboratory in Campinas, Brazil.
The agreement also establishes the foundation for a Brazil-US baking innovation network connecting researchers, industry professionals and technical experts from the two major baking markets.
The collaboration aims to connect academic research with practical challenges facing commercial bakeries, ingredient manufacturers and food processors.
Through the partnership, students and faculty will have opportunities to investigate industry problems, develop new food technologies and strengthen links between scientific research and industrial applications.
Joseph M. Awika, head of KSU’s Department of Grain and Food Science and director of the International Grains Program Institute and Food Science Institute, said the agreement would help connect research, education and industry engagement to deliver practical benefits for food systems.
The partnership is also expected to explore additional collaborative activities, including faculty and student exchanges, industry-supported graduate research programmes and joint technical presentations.
The two organizations may also consider establishing a PMAN presence on the university’s campus to deepen cooperation.
KSU and PMAN plan to identify their first joint projects in the coming months, with individual initiatives to be developed through mutual agreement.
Separately, PMAN has been expanding its technological infrastructure in Campinas, where it established an Innovation, Application and Training Centre to support the development of baking solutions.
The facility includes an experimental industrial bakery for product development, testing areas for preservatives and formulations, and expanded microbiological analysis capabilities through LABTERMO.
The Brazilian company focuses on technological solutions for industrial baking, including preservatives, food safety and measures to reduce losses across the wheat and bakery value chain.
Its collaboration with KSU is intended to strengthen applied research and professional training while supporting the development of more efficient baking processes.
For the milling and baking industries, the partnership highlights the growing importance of cooperation between universities and ingredient suppliers in addressing production challenges.
Research into ingredient performance, microbiological safety, product shelf life and waste reduction could help bakeries improve product consistency, extend freshness and reduce losses during manufacturing and distribution.
By combining KSU’s academic expertise with PMAN’s laboratory and industrial capabilities, the agreement is expected to create new opportunities for baking innovation and technical knowledge exchange between the United States and Brazil.
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