List view / Grid view
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.…
22 February 2010 | By Adrian J. Charlton, Food and Environment Research Agency, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
For many years, NMR spectroscopy was largely overlooked by the food industry. Maybe this was understandable. The instruments were expensive, the skills required to operate them could at best be described as specialist and there wasn't a broad understanding of the way in which the technology could be applied within…
22 February 2010 | By Sarah Krol, General Manager, Nonfood Compounds Registration Program, NSF International
The use of food-grade lubricants has revolutionised the food manufacturing process, making it possible to increase productivity, improve food safety and protect metal surfaces from corrosion and wear. They withstand extreme temperatures and can be designed for specialised applications. So what does the future hold for these Titans of the…
22 February 2010 | By Arthur Reeves, External Affairs Director, Dairy Crest
Three years ago, Dairy Crest, the UK's leading dairy company, stepped up its commitment to innovation and adopted new strategies aimed at bringing products to market quicker. The start of a new decade is a good time to evaluate whether this increased focus and change of emphasis has been successful.…
22 February 2010 | By Rene van Gerwen, Global Lead Engineer Refrigeration & HVAC, Engineering Excellence Team (EET), Unilever Global Supply Chain and Jan Krieg, Expertise Team Leader Systems & Process Engineering, Unilever R&D
Unilever is one of the world's largest FMCG companies, branding, selling and producing food, personal care, cleaning and washing products. The company has a global turnover of more than 40 billion Euros per year (divided equally between the three major regions: Western Europe, the Americas and Africa/Asia/Central-Eastern Europe). Unilever sells…
22 February 2010 | By Debra Smith, Research Manager, Food Hygiene Department, Campden BRI
The importance of hand hygiene in the transmission of infection in the medical field has been recognised since Semmelweis's observations in 1847 that the implementation of hand washing brought about a reduction in the deaths of women from puerperal fever1. In the food industry, links between food workers and the…
22 February 2010 | By Luca Cocolin, Paola Dolci & Kalliopi Rantsiou, DIVAPRA, Agricultural Microbiology and Food Technology Sector, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Turin
The presence of pathogens is a serious problem that industries producing foodstuffs have to face on a daily base. Foodborne pathogens can survive during processing or they can come in contact with the product due to recontamination or cross-contamination. Food products that contain pathogens represent a risk for human health…
22 February 2010 | By Jürgen Fischer, Member of the Executive Board, Bühler Barth AG
Agronomic foods are often naturally contaminated with harmless and pathogenic microorganisms. In most cases, agronomic goods are freshly processed, or appropriately processed to preserve and increase shelf stability. Common preservation techniques include heat pasteurisation or sterilisation, irradiation, disinfestations with gaseous substances etc. In particular, the two latter techniques are rarely…
