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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…

High-pressure – meat processing and milk gels

20 February 2009 | By Professor Vibeke Orlien, Associate Professor Food Chemistry, University of Copenhagen

Consumers prefer food products, convenience products and ready-to-eat meals to have the taste of being freshly made. Moreover, it must be nutritious, safe, of high quality and originate from sustainable production. High-pressure (HP) technology can be utilised to its full potential as a minimal processing method to address consumers preferences…

Light waves and food products in display cabinets

20 February 2009 | By Hanne Larsen & Annette Veberg Dahl, Research Scientists, Nofima Mat AS

The consumers want to see the product they are purchasing. The shops use special lighting in order to sell more, at the same time as prolonging the opening hours. The price the consumer pays for the combination of increased light exposure and the desire to see food products is that…

Challenges to processing non-traditional pastas

20 February 2009 | By Frank A. Manthey, Associate Professor, Durum Wheat Quality/Pasta Processing Laboratory, North Dakota State University and Gurleen K. Sandhu, Graduate Research Assistant, Durum Wheat Quality/Pasta Processing Laboratory, North Dakota State University

Traditional pasta is made from semolina and water. Its simplicity in composition has made it an inexpensive meal that is familiar to many people worldwide. The milling of durum wheat into semolina removes the bran and germ which are rich in dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals. To offset the loss…

LC-MS/MS based quantitative methods for multiple mycotoxins in food

20 February 2009 | By Michael Sulyok, Rainer Schuhmacher & Rudolf Krska, Centre for Analytical Chemistry, Department for Agrobiotechnology, IFA Tulln, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna

Since the introduction of atmospheric pressure ionisation liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (API-LC-MS) in the early 1990s, there was a continuous effort to further improve the performance of the LC-MS instruments concerning sensitivity and robustness. One result of this development is the trend towards methods that are designed to simultaneously analyse a…

Training, education and capacity building in food and water safety and in nutrition

20 February 2009 | By Leon Gorris, Senior Scientist Risk Assessment, Unilever and Yasmine Motarjemi, Corporate Food Safety Manager, Nestlé

This paper argues the case for increased awareness of the importance of training and competence in management of food and water safety, prevention of food-borne and waterborne illnesses and improvement of health and nutritional status. The challenge is huge as almost everyone needs to receive education commensurate with his or…

Quick scan of hygienic processing brings understanding and improvements

20 February 2009 | By Erik Hoornstra & Jacques Kastelein, TNO Quality of Life

Hygiene is a key focal area among food industry companies. At a time when producers are beset by a whole range of issues, this area demands investment. Ideally, the required level of hygiene should be adjusted in respect to the other requirements in the area of product quality and preservation.…

Proteins: a source of clean label ingredients

20 February 2009 | By Fred van de Velde & Arno Alting, Project Managers Ingredient Technology, NIZO food research

Consumer awareness of additives drives the industry to launch natural and/or clean label products. Products without added flavours and colourings or with only natural flavours and colours are well known in the market. However, further cleaning of the product label is thorough as it focuses on functional additives and texturising…

Non-target multicomponent analytical surveillance of food contact materials

20 February 2009 | By William D. van Dongen, Leon Coulier, Leo van Stee & Sander Koster, Analytical Research Department, TNO Quality of Life

Small organic molecules migrating from packaging or other food contact materials (FCM) may result in unwanted changes of the composition of the food. These molecules can be the ‘usual suspects', i.e. starting materials (non-reacted monomers) and additives but also by-products, reaction products, impurities, degradation products of additives and conjugation products,…