Ghent University - Articles and news items

Industry’s approaches to reduce acrylamide formation in French fries

Issue 3 2011 / 7 July 2011 / Raquel Medeiros Vinci, Frédéric Mestdagh & Bruno De Meulenaer. NutriFOODchem Unit, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University

In 2002, The Swedish National Food Administration reported relevant amounts of acrylamide in several carbohydrate rich foods when baked at high temperatures (> 120°C) upon frying, baking and roasting. Toxicological studies demonstrated the carcinogenicity of acrylamide in animals and thus indicated potential health risks for humans. Consequently, in 1994, the IARC evaluated acrylamide as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A)1 (IARC, 1994). Even though the risks associated with the carcinogenicity of acrylamide intake in humans still present some uncertainties2, this contaminant is present at quite high levels in many food products consumed daily. Because of this, it is essential to evaluate the ‘margin of exposure’ (MOE) for acrylamide, which represents the ratio between a particular point on the dose–response curve leading to tumours in experimental animals and the human intake. (more…)

Fat bloom and cracking of filled chocolates: issues for the European manufacturer?

Issue 3 2009 / 10 September 2009 / Frédéric Depypere, Claudia Delbaere, Nathalie De Clercq & Koen Dewettinck, Laboratory of Food Technology and Engineering, Ghent University

The European chocolate manufacturing market, comprising over 2,000 companies and employing more than 200,000 people, has an annual turnover of approximately EUR 43 billion and exports chocolate for a value of more than three billion Euros. Specific for the European market is the large proportion (over 90 per cent) of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which compete against multinationals by producing exclusive and niche oriented products like filled chocolates.

Compared to plain chocolate bars, filled chocolates are more prone to quality problems due to the characteristics of the fillings and the possible incompatibility with the surrounding chocolate shell. Chocolate fat bloom, known as the loss of surface gloss, giving rise to a grey-whitish aspect, can be considered as the number one quality problem in this industry, leading to consumer rejection and a hampering chocolate export. In Figure 1, the occurrence of chocolate fat bloom is illustrated. Another reported quality problem is crack formation and crack propagation. This interruption of the chocolate shell may lead to the undesired spreading out of filling at the surface or even leakage. (more…)

Use of molecular techniques in the food industry

Issue 2 2009 / 1 June 2009 / 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 or assessment of the performance of management strategies based upon HACCP, microbial analysis is also a valuable tool. Molecular techniques, especially the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are one of the most important rapid methods for the sensitive and specific detection of pathogenic micro-organisms.

The PCR technique, first described by Kary Mullis in the mid-1980s is a three-step cyclic in vitro procedure based on the ability of the DNA polymerase to copy a strand of DNA. When two primers bind to complementary strands of target DNA, the sequence in between is amplified exponentially with each cycle making the technique a very sensitive tool. The presence of even one copy of the template within the reaction mixture can be detected within a couple of hours as approximately a million-fold of copies are created. The results of PCR are traditionally (conventional PCR) detected by agarose gel electrophoreses and staining and specificity of the bands may be further identified by sequencing. In the early 1990’s, the ‘second’ generation of PCR technologies was introduced by the use of fluorescent double stranded DNA dyes e.g. SYBR@ Green or DNA probes e.g. Molecular beacons® or TaqMan® probes. Real-time PCR enables both the on-line detection (Figure 1) and quantification of the amplification product signal by continuously measuring a fluorescent reporter during the PCR reaction. The potential application of PCR also in routine labs was boosted not only the fact that PCR is no longer a black box reaction but also the fact that real-time PCR consists of a closed-tube format, reducing the risk of contamination potentially leading to false-positive results. (more…)

A farm to fork approach to lower acrylamide in food

Issue 2 2008, Past issues / 13 June 2008 / Frédéric Mestdagh and Bruno De Meulenaer, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium

In 2002, Swedish researchers discovered that within certain foods, significant levels of acrylamide, a probable human carcinogen formed during heating processes such as frying, roasting or baking. Free asparagine and reducing sugars were indicated as the most important precursors. Over the past few years, significant progress has been made to reduce acrylamide formation.

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Molecularly imprinted polymers for selective extraction of mycotoxins in food

Issue 1 2008, Past issues / 28 February 2008 / D. De Smet, S. De Saeger and C. Van Peteghem, Ghent University, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Laboratory of Food Analysis, Belgium

This article highlights the possibility of using molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the selective extraction of mycotoxins in food, instead of immunoaffinity columns which are based on the binding of an analyte, to the corresponding antibody. An overview of MIPs, developed for mycotoxin analysis, will be presented.

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Mycotoxin determination in foodstuffs

Issue 1 2007, Past issues / 7 March 2007 / S. Monbaliu, S. De Saeger and C. Van Peteghem, Ghent University, Laboratory of Food Analysis

This article focuses on the main principle of the liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) determination of mycotoxins in foodstuffs. It also provides an overview of recent developments in mycotoxin analysis.

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Reinforcing innovation clusters in the European food industr­y

Issue 4 2006, Past issues / 6 November 2006 / Bert Vermeire, Xavier Gellynck, Ghent University and Joep Koene, Development Agency East Netherlands NV

Until recently, the food industry was considered to be a traditional industrial sector with a low capacity for innovation, mainly due to the ‘basic’ character of food products. However, the globalisation of the food market in addition to changing consumer preferences profoundly affects the food sector. Nowadays, innovation is put forward as the main instrument to generate added value and to stay competitive within the fast evolving global food market. Innovation also plays a central role in European policy, put forward in the Lisbon Agenda (2000) setting the objective of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, with innovation as the key instrument.

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