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Use of molecular techniques in the food industry

1 June 2009 | By Mieke Uyttendaele and Andreja Rajkovic, Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Ghent University

Microbial analysis in foods is an integrated part of management of microbial safety in the food chain. Both competent authorities and individual food business operators use microbial analysis for monitoring of the actual situation and trend analysis in order to detect emerging risks. For compliance testing to defined microbiological criteria…

An excellent track record

1 June 2009 | By An interview with Ian Davidson of Exxon Mobil Lubricants & Petroleum Specialities

In the first of a two part series interview, Helen Difford, New Food, speaks with Ian Davidson of Exxon Mobil Lubricants & Petroleum Specialities about the company’s current role in the food industry.

New developments in low field NMR for the characterisation of food microstructure

1 June 2009 | By Matthieu Adam-Berret and François Mariette, Cemagref & Université européenne de Bretagne

Fats are present in most food products and they have a significant importance for fat-containing products such as chocolate and butter. The physical properties of fats depend on the polymorphic behaviour and inter-solubility of their major triacylglycerol components and the phase behaviour of these mixtures is of paramount importance for…

Membrane emulsification: how to get from basics to business

1 June 2009 | By Jeroen Willemsen, Manager Business Development, Food Technology Centre, Wageningen UR and Verena Eisner Researcher Separation Technology, Food Technology Centre, Wageningen UR

Consumer expectations of product quality for food emulsions drive the industry to continuously invest in new production methods. Membrane emulsification (ME) has been known for many years and its potential is emphasised in numerous scientific publications. ME is said to ensure highly controlled production of particulates and be a more…

Pasta processing and final product characteristics

1 June 2009 | By Antonio Nespoli, Semolina Pasta Industrialisation Responsible, Barilla G e R. Fratelli SpA

Pasta is apparently a very simple food, with one ingredient: semolina of durum wheat and one reactant: water. In its native state, the ingredient has two main constituents, which are proteins and starch. The reactant, together with mechanical and thermal energy, is necessary to modify their structure to obtain the…

The ISO 22000 series – global standards for safe food supply chains

1 June 2009 | By Jacob Færgemand, Sales and Technical Director Food, Bureau Veritas Certification

The launch in September 2005 of the ISO 22000 series, developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 34, Food products, signalled the arrival of a truly global option for ensuring safe food supply chains. This article gives a technical overview of the different standards in the series and how they can…

ISO 21469: is it really necessary?

1 June 2009 | By Sid Stone, Managing Director, InS Services

Some of you may have read details of the standard ISO 21469 which covers ‘Safety of Machinery - Lubricants with Incidental Product Contact - Hygiene requirements,' and may wonder why the food industry or the lubricants industry need yet another standard to which they should adhere.

Product innovation by high pressure processing

1 June 2009 | By Dr. Volker Heinz, Dr. Achim Knoch & Thomas Lickert, German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL)

Application of thermal heat in today's industrial scale food production and preservation is still the most commonly used processing technique, yet thermal treatment of foods affects their physical and chemical properties severely, which is often not intended but inevitable in order for sufficient preservation. Usually, sensorial appearance (colour, flavour, structure)…

Sustainability in process technology

1 June 2009 | By Jasper Peters, Mars Nederland BV

The process technology landscape in the chocolate industry has changed markedly over the last decade. Following the key business trends, research and development in most organisations has incorporated all the key ‘buzzwords', with focus given to terms such as efficiency, speed, low cost, flexibility, trade secrets, patentability, open innovation and…

To what extent do microbial enzymes affect the shelf life of food of animal origin?

1 June 2009 | By Dr Peggy Braun, Institute of Food Hygiene, Veterinary Faculty, University of Leipzig

Increasing interest by consumers, producers and retailers in food safety, supported by several regulations of the European Commission (e.g. EC-regulation 178/2002; EC-2073/2005 amended by EC-regulation 1441/2007), gives accurate shelf-life determination of products a new consequence. Although there is rapid progress in food processing and new concepts such as predictive microbiology…

Surface energy analysis of food moulding and demoulding

1 June 2009 | By Jianshe Chen, Senior Lecturer, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds

Moulding and demoulding is a processing operation commonly used in the manufacturing of candy and confectionary products for two main purposes: setting and shaping/forming. During moulding, a food material in the form of either flowable fluid (such as a melted sugar solution, a melted gel, etc) or semi-solid (such as…

Higher standards for hygiene

20 February 2009 | By Sarah Krol, Business Unit Manager, NSF

Consumers today make well-informed choices about the food products they purchase. Savvy shoppers have access to a wealth of information and select their products based on brand recognition, nutritional labelling and differentiating attributes such as Certified organic, allergen-free and fair-trade. The food processing industry must continually evolve to keep pace…

NIR approaches to food provenance determination and confirmation

20 February 2009 | By Gerard Downey, Principal Research Officer, Teagasc, Ashtown Food Research Centre

Globalisation has been a significant factor behind the financial meltdown in which we all find ourselves now, but it has also led to significant changes in the variety and origin of the foodstuffs which line our supermarket shelves. In previous articles, I have discussed some analytical responses to the concerns…

Assessing the safety of genetically modified crops used for food and feed purposes

20 February 2009 | By Gijs A. Kleter, RIKILT – Institute of Food Safety, Wageningen University and Research Center

In the mid-nineties, genetically modified crops (GM) that had been obtained through recombinant DNA technology were grown commercially at a large scale for the first time. The agricultural area that is covered with these crops has since then grown steadily, reaching 114 million hectares globally in 20072. GM crops and…