Role
Dr Blessing Nwokocha is the a Lecturer in Food Technology and Sustainability.
Career overview
Dr Nwokocha joined NTU in May 2022 as a lecturer in Food Technology and Sustainability, having previously worked with the food industry on cassava flour production from farm to fork and the processing of spicy meat snacks. Prior to joining NTU, she has also lectured and co-supervised research projects in Food Science and Technology.
Research areas
Dr Nwokocha's main research interest is on the processing of value-added food products mainly from underutilised raw materials to reduce food loss.
Interested in sustainable food production with emphasis on integrating sustainable practices throughout the lifecycle of food products, her previous research includes processing of value-added products from underutilised oil seeds, with focus on the production and chemical characterisation of protein isolates from oil seeds of African origin; and the use of whey in the encapsulation of bioactive ingredients from grape pomace, as a means of waste valorisation.
She is experienced in a number of analytical techniques such as supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), ultrasound technology, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and fluorescence spectroscopy.
Publications
Blessing C. Nwokocha, I.L. Princewill-Ogbonna, Reginald Akujuobi (2016) Microbial safety and quality evaluation of soybean powder sold in Umuahia, Abia state, Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology (IOSR-JESTFT). Vol 10 (10), pp 1-8.
Press expertise
Dr Nwokocha has published an article on the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) British Section website after participating in the IFT18 Global Challenge. In the article, she narrates her experience at the conference and the workshop, stating the benefits and the knowledge gained as well as encouraging other students to participate.
She has also been interviewed by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) as the overall best candidate of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Foreign Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme, where she spoke of the scholarship that was awarded and its benefits.
Course(s) I teach on
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Professional / Short course | Short course | 2023https://www.ntu.ac.uk/course/animal-rural-and-environmental-sciences/short-courses/sustainability-for-food-businesses