ATN Profile - Agnes Mukurumbira

According to the United Nations, one-third of all food produced globally each year is wasted during the post-harvest, pre-retail, and consumption phases.

In Australia alone, that equates to 7.6 million tonnes of food lost yearly, an amount which would fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground nine times over.

Spoilage is one of the main causes of the waste, with supermarkets, stores, and households throwing out good food, gone bad. But what is the best approach to prevent food from spoiling?

That is a core issue which Deakin University’s PhD student Agnes Mukurumbira has been investigating, and the innovation, sustainable solution she is working on could help extend the shelf life of products. ATN Universities caught up with her to talk about her research, her international student experience, and the importance of how you communicate science which led her to win an international 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

Agnes’ initial interest in food science came from her experiences growing up in Zimbabwe and South Africa, recounting how ailments such as diarrhoea, from consuming contaminated food, was an all-too-common occurrence. “I could not fathom how food meant to nourish us could also cause illness or death,” she told us. “So, I decided to study food science to help address some of these challenges.” During her studies she realised the problem was recurrent not only in Africa, but across the entire world, and that multi-stakeholder engagement would be needed to help solve it.

Now a PhD Candidate at Deakin University in Melbourne, Agnes is focusing on developing a sustainable antimicrobial food packaging prototype which can kill fungi and bacteria that grow on food, through the use of native Australian essential oils. The first step was identifying lemon myrtle and Tasmanian mountain pepper as suitable antimicrobials, and later developing a biodegradable packaging with an ‘encapsulation’ technique that worked to control their strong odours and chemical instabilities, as well as control their release. With the access and help of state-of-the-art research facilities, she said tests have been positive in helping extend the shelf life of products and to answer a global need for sustainable and natural ways in which to store food. “The university afforded me the opportunity to intern at CSIRO where I had access to some of the greatest minds in my field as well as specialised equipment and this certainly enhanced my research.”

Agnes describes the international student experience as both great and daunting. “It took time to understand the social nuances and make friendships,” she said. “But Australia is a really friendly country that has offered me enriching cultural experiences, exposure to diverse perspectives, and the chance to make global connections.” She in particular enjoys social interactions on campus with her friends and colleagues after having gone part of her academic career restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic and encourages other students to take advantage of the holistic student experience Deakin offers. “They don’t only focus on academic success but consider overall well-being.”

Recently Agnes won the 3MT Asia-Pacific international competition, a first in Deakin University’s history.

She credits her supervisor Dr Snehal Jadhav for encouraging her to participate again after having missed out in last year’s competition and emphasised the importance of honing her science communication skills. “Public perception and ultimate acceptance of science heavily depend on science communication,” she added. Agnes now wants to disseminate her research through other channels, especially the practical and commercial applicability of her work, which she considers is a most important factor in accessing funding in what can be a highly competitive academic research market.

Her ultimate goal is to have a tangible, lasting impact on the industry by coming up with a much-needed real-world solution.

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