Kansas State University's Department of Grain and Food Science has signed a five-year agreement with PMAN, a Brazilian baking ingredients company, to pair university research and education with industry product development and international market experience.grains.k-state+1
The department announced the partnership, which links PMAN's research and laboratory capabilities in Brazil, including its Labtermo microbiology laboratory in Campinas, with K-State faculty, students and facilities in Manhattan, Kansas. The agreement is also meant to build a Brazil–U.S. baking innovation network that connects researchers, industry professionals and technical experts in what the department called two of the Western Hemisphere's largest baking markets.
Joseph M. Awika, head of the department and director of the International Grains Program Institute and the Food Science Institute, framed the deal as part of the university's land-grant mission.
"This partnership reflects what it means to be a next-generation land-grant university," Awika said. "The collaboration will provide opportunities for students and faculty to address industry challenges, advance food innovation and strengthen global connections that benefit communities and food systems both in Kansas and around the world."
The lab piece matters for commercial bakers. Labtermo, founded in 1982, focuses on microbiological testing, thermal process validation, shelf-life control and preservative challenge testing, according to the laboratory. PMAN announced its acquisition of Labtermo ahead of the FIPAN baking expo in São Paulo in July, saying the lab would give the baking industry technical support against spoilage microorganisms. PMAN's product lines include sourdough starters, liquid preservatives, encapsulated ingredients, enzyme blends and pan release agents.
The two sides have worked together before. Awika and Elisa Karkle, an assistant professor who manages K-State's Analytical Baking Laboratory, attended FIPAN in July 2025 as guests of PMAN, according to a department newsletter. PMAN has also promoted an intensive technical training program for Brazilian industry leaders taught in Portuguese at K-State.
The new agreement sets a foundation for more. Options under discussion include faculty and student exchanges, industry-supported graduate research, joint technical presentations and a possible PMAN presence on campus. That last item fits the design of K-State's new Western Star Global Grain and Food Center, which includes space and labs set aside for industry partners.
No specific projects have been named yet. PMAN and K-State expect to identify their first collaborative projects in the coming months, with individual activities developed by mutual agreement and in line with the university's research, education and institutional policies.
