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30 June 2010 | By Daniel Donhowe, Expert Engineer, Nestlé PTC Marysville
Freeze drying is considered the benchmark in quality for many dehydrated food products. But is it worth the higher cost compared to cheaper air drying technologies such as spray or fluid bed drying? Freeze drying is a process that usually provides several benefits over competing technologies, such as improved flavour…
30 June 2010 | By Huug de Vries, Project Coordinator, NovelQ
New Food editor Helen Difford spoke with NovelQ Project Coordinator Huug de Vries about the EU-funded integrated project. After five years, the project is drawing to a close and our October issue of New Food will incorporate the NovelQ project findings and what it means for the industry.
30 June 2010 | By Toyota Material Handling
The harsh working environment of Norway’s fish production industry means that forklift trucks must be built to the highest order to survive and thrive. Enter Toyota Material Handling Norway. Strictly speaking, Fjordlaks Aqua AS (Fjordlaks means ‘Fjord Salmon’ in Norwegian) should not really be called Fjordlaks at all. It neither…
1 June 2010 | By Christian James, Research Fellow, Food Refrigeration and Process Engineering Research Centre (FRPERC) and Stephen J. James, Director, Food Refrigeration and Process Engineering Research Centre (FRPERC)
The drive to maximise the storage and display lives of perishable foods has led to increasing interest in holding foods in the region between their freezing point and -12°C. This is a grey area in terms of much international legislation, since food is not usually considered fully ‘frozen' until it…
1 June 2010 | By Dr Peter de Jong, Arjan van Asselt, Dr Martijn Fox & Dr Coen Akkerman, NIZO Food Research
In the food industry, it is possible to use new breakthrough technologies to create a more sustainable production process combined with a substantial decrease of production costs. However, the development of these technologies requires a significant investment of time and money. The latter, in particular, is difficult to secure these…
12 May 2010 | By Christian H. Grün & Hans-Gerd Janssen, Unilever Research and Development, Advanced Measurement & Data Modelling
The human body is designed for effectively extracting nutrients from the food we eat. The nutrients provide the body with energy, but in addition, they also provide the building blocks for cell growth. More recently, it has also been realised that specific food ingredients can be associated with a direct…
12 May 2010 | By François Bourdichon, Food Safety Centre, Danone Corporate
Probiotics are used to bring health benefits to consumers through foods and are defined as "live micro-organisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host[Ref 18]." Commercialised all around the world since the early 1920's, mostly focused on Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus genera, in the last…
12 May 2010 | By Dr. Mike Edwards, Microscopy Section, Campden BRI
Consumer complaints regarding foreign bodies are a constant problem for virtually all food companies, and so their prevention and control should be high on the list for all Quality and Technical Managers. The effective management of prevention and control of foreign bodies requires attention to many parts of the business,…
12 May 2010 | By Joe Stout, Consultant (formerly Director of Product Protection & Hygienic Design, Kraft Foods)
In the media recently, we have heard a barrage of information that is most certainly bad news. We hear about earthquakes, national debt, war, real estate foreclosures and unfortunately, it seems that there is always some news about food safety recalls associated with allergens or pathogens which have sickened or…
12 May 2010 | By Dr. Ian Roberts, Director of the Chocolate Centre of Excellence, Nestlé
Cocoa has always held a special status in society. It has evolved from being used to make a beverage featuring at sacrificial ceremonies, travelled via the conquest of the indigenous cultures of Meso-America to the Spanish Royal Court and through high society in France and Italy to find a more…
12 May 2010 | By Nina Veflen Olsen (Nofima Mat) and Anne-Mette Sonne (MAPP)
New products and processing techniques are continuously being developed within the food industry. While food scientists may focus on the technical novelty and applaud the progress of science, consumers are often more conservative and sceptical about changes. From earlier experiences with gene modification and irradiation, we have learnt that advantages…
12 May 2010 | By Renate Thieme and Steve Ladbrook, MICRO-PLUS GmbH
The digestarom poultry concept has been proven worldwide to advantageously influence the performance parameters and, therefore, the profitability of chicken meat production. Small scale institute evaluations have demonstrated improvements to carcass composition and this information is available. It was this latter finding that led to professional taste panel studies on…
12 May 2010 | By Johanneke Busch, Gerda Feunekes, Beatrijs Hauer and Wilma den Hoed, Unilever R&D Vlaardingen
In recent years, scientific studies have shown that salt intake can cause high blood pressure and associated heart diseases. Conversely, there is clear evidence that significant reductions of salt intake lead to large reductions in blood pressure, heart diseases and strokes1. Other important risk factors for these cardiovascular diseases are…
12 May 2010 | By Kathryn Anne-Marie Donnelly, Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research - Nofima
Traceability is gaining importance in order to satisfy legal, consumer and supply chain demands. Traceability of seafood is now recognised as being of particular importance due to the harvesting of wild fish. The Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (Nofima) covers all food sectors and links in the…
12 May 2010 | By Martijn Fox, Coen Akkerman, Han Straatsma and Peter de Jong, NIZO food research
Most of the powder products available on the market are produced using a spray drying process. Drying processes are known to be the most energy consuming processes used in the food industry. For example, the Dutch dairy industry required 1.4 PJ for drying its whey and milk powder in 2007.…
