INFORM November/December 2025

6 • inform November/December 2025, Vol. 36 (10)

Industrial Oil Products Division

Congratulations to the 2025 Industrial Oil Prod ucts Division professional award winners: Nazanin Vafaei and Thomas H. Epps III!

INFORM: What has been the most rewarding experience or achievement in your career so far? And why? Vafaei: One of the most rewarding moments in my career was presenting my research on developing a methodology to extract more than 90 percent of canola oil using a combination of supercritical CO₂ and expeller pressing. This process not only achieves high oil recovery but also produces food-grade canola meal that is suitable to be incorportated into plant-based pro tein products for the food industry. Equally rewarding has been receiving the 2025 Early Career Grant of the IOP Division of AOCS. This recognition was deeply meaningful because it acknowledged the novelty and impact of my research while reinforcing the importance of advancing sustainable processing technologies in today’s food industry. Finally, mentoring students and postdoctoral peers has been an ongoing highlight. I find great satisfaction in support ing the growth of the next generation of scientists—watching their curiosity evolve into tangible results and celebrating their successes alongside mine. INFORM: What initially drew you to work with canola, and what excites you most about its potential in the food and oil industry? Vafaei: My journey with canola began when I recognized how underutilized and undervalued canola meal remains, despite being produced in large volumes in Canada. Canola is one of the most important crops globally, and its oil is already well known as one of the healthiest vegetable oils—naturally low in saturated fat and rich in unsaturated fatty acids—despite the myths and rumours that circulate online. At the same time, canola oil processing has tradition ally relied on hexane extraction, which is very effective for oil recovery. However, if we want to unlock the protein poten tial of the meal for food and feed applications, we need alternative approaches that operate at lower temperatures, preserve protein quality, avoid solvent residues, and are envi ronmentally friendly. What excites me most is the opportunity to transform canola co-products and oils into high-value ingredients—such as functional proteins and sustainable, high–melting point dia cylglycerol-enriched oils that can partially replace palm oil in food formulations. This approach not only enhances the over all value of canola but also supports global priorities: strength ening food security, reducing waste, diversifying plant-based protein sources, and advancing eco-friendly processing meth

Nazanin Vafaei

EARLY CAREER GRANT RECIPIENT Nazanin Vafaei is a postdoctoral researcher at the Richardson Centre for Food Technology and Research at the University of Manitoba, Canada. INFORM: What does this recognition mean to you, and how has it supported your professional development? Vafaei: Receiving the 2025 Early Career Grant from the IOP Division of AOCS is both a tremendous honor and a source of motivation. It validates my contributions to sustainable oilseed processing and highlights the importance of advancing green technologies in food science. The recognition has opened new doors for collaboration, expanded my professional network, and provided the opportunity to present my work to inter national audiences. Most importantly, it has encouraged me to think more boldly about the translational impact of my research—how discoveries in the lab can ultimately reach the marketplace and address global challenges such as food secu rity and sustainability.