Anna Michalska-Ciechanowska is Professor at Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences (UPWr), Poland. Her research focuses on the impact of food processing on food quality and bioactive compounds, with particular emphasis on drying technologies, plant-based products, plant powders, and circularity in food systems.
She has extensive international research experience, including a SCIEX-funded postdoctoral fellowship at HES-SO Valais-Wallis in Switzerland and research stays at Miguel Hernández University and CSIC in Spain, NTNU in Norway, Hacettepe University in Türkiye, and Stanford University in the USA as part of the TOP 500 Innovators programme.
She has received several prestigious fellowships and awards, including the Foundation for Polish Science START scholarship, the Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists, and the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science fellowship.
She currently leads Polish research teams in Horizon Europe project (FlavourFerm) and coordinates SWEETReclaim (NCBR), a Polish-Swiss project developing high-value food ingredients from food-industry side streams for microbiome-validated snack applications.
Summary
Processing Plant Materials and Side Streams: From Nutritional Challenges to Functional Food Applications
The growing interest in plant-based foods and side-stream valorisation creates new opportunities for developing products with enhanced potential nutritional and functional value. Plant-derived residues, among others, pomaces are valuable sources of fibre, polyphenols and other bioactives, but their effective use strongly depends on processing. The role of drying and formulation strategies in shaping the stability, nutritional quality and functionality of plant materials and side streams will be discussed. Drying can convert them into practical, stable and easy-to-use powders with broad potential for food applications. Yet, making such ingredients easy to use is technologically challenging and requires an appropriate balance between process conditions, stability and functionality. Particular attention will be given to how drying affects bioactive compounds, process contaminants and the application potential of powders, as well as to matrix-carrier interactions and chemometric tools for quality assessment. Within the SWEETReclaim (SPPW, NCBR) project, these aspects will support the development of next-generation snacks, complemented by sensory studies, focus groups and design thinking as key tools for creating products that combine nutritional value, sustainability and market relevance.
The project SWEETReclaim (SPPW/SWEETReclaim/0094/2025-00) is supported by the Swiss Contribution aimed at reducing economic and social disparities within the European Union and co-financed by the Polish state budget through the National Centre for Research and Development.