#Japan #Osaka #Neutron Breeding #QFF #Food Microbiology

QFF Exhibits at the 47th Japanese Society of Food Microbiology Conference

Quantum Flowers & Foods (QFF), a pioneering quantum biotechnology firm based in Mito, Ibaraki, is set to participate in the upcoming 47th Japanese Society of Food Microbiology Conference. The event will take place from September 9-10, 2026, at the Osaka International Conference Center, also known as Grand Cube Osaka. With a focus on leveraging the potential of food microbiology for enhanced product value, QFF aims to present its unique technology and innovative collaborative models.

Innovative Technology
QFF operates on a foundation of neutron radiation technology, branded as Neutron Radiation Speedy Breeding®. This methodology supports the improvement of plant and microbial strains by fostering genetic diversity using neutron beams. The integration of this technical capability allows enterprises, academic institutions, and research bodies to develop new strains and microbial variants tailored to specific functionalities.

In line with the conference theme, “The Potential of Food Microbes: Towards New Product Values,” QFF will showcase enhancements in productivity, functionality, flavor, and environmental stress resistance of various microorganisms, including lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi. The booth will provide insights into collaborative development models and opportunities for industry partnerships.

About the Conference

The Japanese Society of Food Microbiology is an academic entity that brings together researchers, food industry representatives, inspection agencies, and government officials dedicated to improving food safety and functionality through microbial testing and research. The 47th Conference will feature a total of 123 presentations, including 59 oral and 64 poster presentations, along with workshops covering topics such as foodborne illnesses, next-generation sequencing technologies, and case studies on health hazards induced by products containing red yeast rice. This conference serves as a critical platform for discussing the latest in food microbiology research and industrial applications.

QFF’s Contributions to Food Microbiology

In the realm of developing fermentation products, beverages, health foods, and food materials, QFF recognizes the need to improve not only microorganism productivity and functionality but also various other attributes such as flavor, growth rate, fermentation stability, and resistance to preservation and production environments. These attributes often involve multiple genes and metabolic pathways, complicating efforts to obtain specific strains without fully understanding the responsible genes and regulatory mechanisms.

To address these challenges, QFF's neutron radiation technology produces diverse microbial populations with a wealth of mutations, facilitating the identification of promising strains with desirable traits and the exploration of relevant genes and mutations. Notably, neutron radiation breeding is designed to complement existing methodologies, broadening the range of target mutations and candidate genes involved in microbial strain development.

Key Features of QFF's Exhibit

At the conference, QFF will highlight several key aspects of its technology and research:

• - Overview of neutron radiation breeding technology and its mutation induction characteristics.
• - The potential for improving productivity, functionality, flavor, and environmental stress resilience in lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi.
• - Opportunities for collaboration with food, beverage, brewing, fermentation, health food, and food material companies, as well as universities and public research institutions.

Collaborative Research Themes

QFF aims to collaborate with researchers and companies in the field of food microbiology on various themes, including:

• - Enhancing the productivity of lactic acids, amino acids, vitamins, enzymes, and functional components.
• - Improving aroma, taste, and fermentation characteristics of microbes used in alcoholic beverages, fermented foods, and seasonings.
• - Increasing resistance to acids, salts, sugars, ethanol, temperature variations, drying, and freezing.
• - Enhancing growth rates and fermentation speeds, and improving production stability during manufacturing processes.
• - Creating new phenotypes and exploring associated genes and metabolic pathways.

Overview of the 47th Conference

• - Event Name: 47th Japanese Society of Food Microbiology Conference
• - Date: September 9-10, 2026
• - Venue: Osaka International Conference Center (Grand Cube Osaka)
• - Location: 5-3-51 Nakanoshima, Kita Ward, Osaka City, Osaka, 530-0005
• - Hosted by: Japanese Society of Food Microbiology
• - Conference Chair: Takao Kawai (Osaka Health Safety Base Institute)
• - Official Website: Official Conference Site

Participation Details

Registration is open for both members and non-members. While pre-registration has ended, on-site registration will be available at the event. For details on participation fees and registration methods, please refer to the official conference website.

QFF's Vision

As a platform company aiming to accelerate plant and microbial breeding, QFF seeks to address societal challenges in agriculture, food, fermentation, health, biotechnology, and environmental sectors. Through participation in this academic conference, QFF plans to expand collaborations with researchers and companies specializing in food microbiology, fermentation, food safety, strain analysis, and microbial testing. By merging its mutation creation technology with the evaluation techniques and insights possessed by various researchers and firms, QFF hopes to transition the research outcomes on food microbiology into new strains, products, and fresh food values.

A Message from QFF’s CEO & CTO, Takaaki Kikuchi

“Microorganisms play a crucial role in supporting our food culture and industry, particularly in fermented foods, beverages, health products, and food materials. However, for the successful social implementation of microorganisms in the food sector, it is essential to conduct comprehensive evaluations, including productivity, functionality, stability, and safety. By combining our neutron radiation breeding technology and the cultivation, analysis, evaluation, and production insights of food industry partners and researchers, we aim to unlock the new potential within food microbiology. We look forward to forging partnerships with colleagues in collaborative research to bring our findings to society as new strains and products.”

Company Overview

• - Company Name: Quantum Flowers & Foods, Inc. (QFF)
• - Location: 2563-77 Mikawa-cho, Mito City, Ibaraki
• - Tokyo Office: 14F, 3-7-14 Nihonbashi Ningyocho, Chuo City, Tokyo
• - CEO: Takaaki Kikuchi
• - Business Activities: Providing neutron radiation breeding services and conducting research and development in quantum biotechnology.
• - Established: July 2018
• - Website: QFF Website