Starch, no matter how ordinary the food raw material, in the eyes of the public, a few yuan a pound is the normal value of starch, and a ton of raw materials is only a few thousand yuan. However, in the view of Academician Jin Zhengyu, who has studied starch deep processing for nearly 40 years, the value of starch is not defined by the word "mediocre". Innovating and developing high value-added starch derivatives processing technology and transforming traditional industries to give starch a "new life" is the cause that Academician Jin Zhengyu has studied and struggled for half a lifetime. With the announcement of the results of the co-optation of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2023, Jin Zhengyu, a doctoral supervisor of the School of Food Science and Technology of Jiangnan University, has become a "new star" on the list of academicians in Wuxi. 
Unlock the value of technology.
Sell a ton of starch products for millions of yuan.
Starch can replace plastic and be made into environmentally friendly materials for packaged food; It can be made into a healthy staple food, so that diabetics are not easy to raise blood sugar after eating; It is possible to develop the best value of by-products, and sell a ton of products to hundreds of thousands of yuan or even millions of yuan. "The starch in the eyes of Academician Jin Zhengyu has infinite possibilities. 
In order to explore the various possibilities of starch, Academician Jin Zhengyu took the lead in setting up a team for the development and utilization of carbohydrate resources in the School of Food Science and Technology of Jiangnan University, relying on the relevant high-level research platform of the college, leading a team of more than 100 people to systematically study the intensive processing of starch and other carbohydrate resources, put forward new theories and methods for the regulation of starch crystallization function and dextrinization utilization, created new technologies for the processing of high value-added starch derivatives, and developed new green and environmentally friendly starch-based products to give starch a "new life". By innovating the new theory of dextrin cyclization of three-dimensional structure, the team proposed the new concept of "spring dextrin", as well as its flexible structure and regulation method for the first time in the world. "'Spring dextrin' is the product of starch degradation that we have researched, which can regulate the delivery of some components in starch, reduce the loss rate of bread baking, make the color of bread core whiter and brighter, delay the aging of bread during storage, and so on. Academician Jin Zhengyu told reporters that more than 10 years ago, when the new concept named by their team was first proposed, no one knew about it in the world, but now there are many places that are studying and using it, which shows the value of "spring dextrin". More than 50 national projects such as the National Natural Science Program, the National 863 Program, the National Science and Technology Support Program, the National Key R&D Program, and more than 500 high-level scientific research projectsThe infinite possibilities of mining starch with science and technology have brought fruitful academic results to the team. At the end of November last year, the Chinese Academy of Engineering announced the list of new academicians in 2023, and among the 15 candidates in the Department of Environmental and Textile Engineering, Jin Zhengyu was the only one who was finally elected as an academician, and also became the only academician produced in Wuxi in 2023. Empower enterprises to innovate in technology.
Technology empowerment, not far from mountains and seas.
Good news! Congratulations! The day after the list of new academicians was announced, Longjun Environmental Protection sent congratulations to Academician Jin Zhengyu. This Changzhou company has been working closely with Academician Jin Zhengyu's team in the field of bio-based food packaging materials for more than ten years, and has produced nearly ten technological achievements in the process of key technology research and development and industrialization, and has won the scientific and technological innovation award issued by the China Food Science and Technology Society, China Light Industry Federation and other competent departments and industry associations, injecting inexhaustible impetus into the high-quality development of the enterprise and promoting the entire industry to make great strides forward. Jin Zhengyu's team has cooperated with the company to develop a new key technology for the processing of starchy degradable food packaging materials, which can replace 70% of plastics, and has now established 7 production lines in China, with an annual output of 200,000 tons. 
The election of academicians is only a recognition of past work achievements, and in the future, it will serve the industry on a larger platform. Academician Jin Zhengyu said. For a long time, the team of academician Jin Zhengyu is willing to carry out knowledge sharing and technological innovation with enterprises, and after being elected as an academician, Jin Zhengyu's footsteps have become busier. Recently, the first professional research institute in the field of special medical food in China - Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (Yangtze River Delta National Technology Innovation Center) Special Medical Food Research Institute was formally established and settled in Taizhou, which will rely on the School of Food Science of Jiangnan University to accumulate a series of core patented technologies from the creation of special medical food products, clinical evaluation to industrial demonstration production, and strive to accelerate the cultivation of a number of high-tech enterprises in the domestic special medical food industry. Just last week, Academician Jin Zhengyu's team signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Xiaogang Village, Fengyang County, Anhui Province to jointly build Xiaogang Health Food Research Institute, adopt the mode of integration of production, education and research to implement enterprise operation, with Jiangnan University Scientific Research Center as the main body for basic research, and Xiaogang Health Food Research Institute as the main body to carry out industrial scientific and technological innovation and technology transformation, and promote the development of the local health food industry in the direction of deep processing. Technology empowerment, not far from mountains and seas. From the local biological additive enterprises in Wuxi to the large companies in the Yangtze River Delta such as Yurun Group in the province and Want Want Group in Shanghai, and then to the starch production enterprise with the largest output in the world in Shandong, the enterprises joined by Academician Jin Zhengyu's team are all over the country. Last year, "Jiangnan University Xing'an League Food Concept Practice Innovation Base" was unveiled in Arshan City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 11 scientific and technological cooperation projects were signed, Academician Jin Zhengyu issued an initiative on behalf of the alliance, the alliance will work with local enterprises and institutions to use modern science and technology to tap the value potential of "native products" and broaden the channels for farmers to increase their income and get rich. Looking to the future of food technology.
Let the "old industry" glow with "new vitality".
In the eyes of Academician Jin Zhengyu, there is actually no "old industry", only technologies and products that cannot keep up with the times. "China now has 1With 400 million diabetic patients, people's health awareness is gradually increasing, and there is a new demand for carbohydrate intake. Academician Jin Zhengyu believes that in response to aging, we should better explore key technologies from the port of science and technology, and give full play to the huge role of nutrition in healthy aging. "Carbohydrates are the most important energy in the human body**, and they are also the most basic substances for human survival. In recent years, new breakthroughs have been made in the fields of structural analysis, artificial synthesis, and nutritional regulation of carbohydrates. Academician Jin Zhengyu said. 
For the research of functional carbohydrates, the team of Academician Jin Zhengyu is doing basic research work in the development and utilization of new carbohydrate resources, safety evaluation, and cross-integration and innovation of synthetic biology, molecular biology and computational chemistry, and exploring various important means to realize the development and efficient production of new functional carbohydrates in the future. In addition to the functions of low calorie, low glycemic index (low GI), immune regulation, and promoting intestinal health, the team is also exploring the development of some special medical functions of functional carbohydrates, hoping to help the implementation of China's "Healthy China 2030" strategy. In the view of Academician Jin Zhengyu, the establishment of the Yangtze River Delta National Technology Innovation Center Special Medical Food Research Institute is timely, as an important part of the national nutrition plan, the future growth space of the special medical food industry is broad, and we should study the "whole path" of basic research, application research and development, achievement transformation and business incubation of special medical food. Academician Jin Zhengyu's team has done some research on special medical foods and found that it is not that many special medical foods are ineffective, but that people are unwilling to eat things with a very sweet taste. The team is working to make low-GI starch into staple foods with comprehensive functions such as noodles and biscuits, so as to truly solve the dietary problems of diabetic patients. The application of 3D printing technology in the field of food has also attracted the attention of the team, and Academician Jin Zhengyu is very optimistic about the application prospects of 3D printed food in personalized diet and special medical needs. This technology has high requirements for the characteristics of raw materials, and requires 3D printing technology to accurately control the distribution and shape of food ingredients to achieve innovative food production methods. "In addition to 3D printing food, there are more advanced additive manufacturing technologies such as 4D and even 5D and 6D that can be applied to food development in the future. Academician Jin Zhengyu said that the development trend of food in the future is infinitely exciting, waiting for food scientists to achieve and make breakthroughs.