List view / Grid view
3 December 2008 | By David Pendlington, Sustainable Agriculture Programme Coordinator, Unilever
Sustainability has become increasingly important to Unilever, especially our food business – which includes brands such as Knorr, Lipton and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. It is a core element in our Vitality Framework, which sets out how the company plans to achieve our mission of adding vitality to life…
3 December 2008 | By Kathy Groves, Principal Microscopist, Leatherhead Food International
Nanotechnology is an emerging science. Its implementation in the food and drink industry is predicted to grow rapidly due to the benefits it can bring for both industry and the consumer in terms of structure and texture control, health benefits, and safety and quality.
3 December 2008 | By NF
Applications of nanotechnology in the food industry mean different things to different people and this influences the perception of benefits and risks of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is not a discrete area, but rather a broad spectrum of applications concerned with the rational modification of food structures at the molecular or macromolecular…
3 December 2008 | By A. Le-Bail and R. Zuniga, ENITIAA – GEPEA; T. Lucas, Cemagref; M. Sikora, University of Agriculture Balicka; C. M. Rosell, IATA-CSIC; D. Curic, University of Zagreb; T. Park, TTZ-EIBT; V. Kiseleva, Russian Academy of Science, IBCP RAS; M. Pitroff, MIWE; I. Van Haesendonck, PURACOR; M. Bonnand-Ducasse, BIOFOURNIL; M. Koczwara, BEZGLUTEN; V. Cerne, SCHAER R&D
The European bread industry is using refrigeration more and more to extend the shelf life of bakery products. The associated technologies, called bake-off-technology, allows the retail of freshly baked breads made from industrial frozen (and non frozen) products. Energy used for bread making, nutrition facts and quality of the final…
3 December 2008 | By Kath Veal, Business Manager Regulatory Services, Leatherhead Food International
Global regulatory food advice is one of the core areas of expertise at consultancy and research firm Leatherhead Food International. The regulatory advisors work within three teams specialising in United Kingdom, European (EU) or International regimes. Working with not only generic EU controls, but the detail of individual member states…
3 December 2008 | By TNO, Food and Biotechnology Innovations
Consumers demand healthy, tasty foods with a fresh appearance and a long shelf life. To meet these expectations, the food industry has to be innovative in product and process optimisation. TNO has developed a unique microbial genomics toolbox that enables food manufacturers to quickly predict shelf life and design new…
3 December 2008 | By Johanna Björkroth, Professor of Food Hygiene, Helsinki University
As a Professor of Food Hygiene, I have been teaching my students to understand the limitations associated with the determination of total aerobic bacterium levels when used for predicting food shelf life or as quality indicators. It is almost touching to notice how difficult it is to understand that the…
18 August 2008 | By Klaus Zimmermann, Head of Product Technology Centres and R&D Centres, Nestec S.A. and Hilary Green, Head of R&D Communications, Nestlé S.A.
Nestlé Chocolate Processing Research and Development has a long 100 year history, and is an important part of Nestlé’s rich innovation heritage. The ‘grandfathers’ of Nestlé’s chocolate history were François-Louis Cailler, Charles-Amédée Kohler and Daniel Peter. The history of Swiss innovation in chocolate started in the 19th century with Daniel…
18 August 2008 | By Maarten Schutyser, Maykel Verschueren, Han Straatsma, Hadiyanto, Coen Akkerman, Peter de Jong, NIZO food research
Drying processes in the food industry often operate at a suboptimal level. The most important reason for this is that to obtain optimal drying, a complex balance must be found among variables such as energy costs, product quality, dryer design and safety. Therefore, there is a need for a systematic…
18 August 2008 | By Dr Hanne Christine Bertram. Senior Project Scientist, University of Aarhus
Water is a major constituent in many foods. For example, in several of our basic food items such as muscle-based foods and vegetables, water is the dominating component and is in many ways of primary importance for the quality of these products. Low-field proton NMR relaxometry is an excellent technique…
18 August 2008 | By S.J. Millar, M.B. Whitworth, A. Chau, Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association and J.R. Gilchrist, Gilden Photonics Ltd
Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is widely used in the global agri-food industry for the non-destructive assessment of both the compositional and physical characteristics of a wide range of raw materials and finished products. This is particularly so in the cereals and related industries where, following the commercial development of suitable…
18 August 2008 | By Giuseppe Mensitieri, University of Naples Federico II and Giovanna Giuliana Buonocore, Institute for Composite and Biomedical Materials – National Research Council
In this contribution, the topic of Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is reviewed by describing the actual status of this technology and its possible developments, which are mainly related to the combination of MAP with other preservation technologies. Among them, particular attention is devoted to active packaging with antimicrobial properties.
18 August 2008 | By Greg Jones, Senior Research Officer for the Preservation, Processing and Spoilage Group, Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association
Foodborne botulism is a severe illness that is caused by the consumption of foods containing a neurotoxin produced by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. Very little of this toxin is required to cause illness; for example, in 2002, a 35 year old man put a piece of baked potato in…
18 August 2008 | By Martin Lowe, Managing Director, CenFRA Ltd
Figures suggest that since the start of the 21st century, there has been a three-fold increase in the use of automation and robots in the global food sector. However, many food and beverage producers in the UK appear reluctant to adopt this technological advance.
18 August 2008 | By Joy Wilkinson, Mark Berry, Peter McClure and Susie Turan, Unilever Plc
Key driving forces for new foods are naturalness and nutrition. Consumers also expect pleasurable eating experiences. Unilever have recently launched “Frusi” , a completely new concept in ice cream that addresses the ‘enjoyment versus health’ paradox – the idea that something that tastes good cannot be healthy and vice versa.…
