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Strategic considerations in choosing a rapid method

28 February 2008 | By Dr. John D. Marugg, Nestlé Research Centre, Quality and Safety Department, Microbiological Safety Group, Switzerland

Food manufacturers face challenges in optimising speed and efficiency, reducing product inventory, simultaneously responding to microbiological and chemical contaminants and entering the production process, via ingredients or the environment. Currently, most official or reference methods for pathogen or contaminant detection are laborious, costly, and often take a long time (3-7…

Uncontrolled migration from lid gaskets into oily foods

28 February 2008 | By Konrad Grob, Official Food Control Authority of the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland

In 2004, the systematic non-compliance of lids for glass jars packed with oily foods was detected and compelled authorities to factually lift existing rules. This shows that not all industry performs satisfactory self control. It was a regulatory disaster and might, 4 years later, end in another regulatory disaster, if…

Advanced colloid technologies

28 February 2008 | By Dr. Krassimir P. Velikov, Dr. Alois K. Popp, Leonard Flendrig and Dr. Eddie Pelan, Food Structural Design, Unilever Food and Health Research Institute, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands

Appearance is an important factor, determining the perceived product quality. Consumers usually develop strong associations through appearance and often, base their pre-purchase judgements on the appearance of the product. Colloids, because of their ability to interact strongly with light, either in simple form or organised in more complex structures, offer…

Refrigerants and legislation in the UK

28 February 2008 | By Miriam Rodway, Secretary, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Board

You most probably rely on it for the operation of your food processing and storage systems – but how much do you know about your refrigerating equipment and the environmental obligations you have for the refrigerant they contain under UK law?

Whole room disinfection: A new concept in food industry sanitation

28 February 2008 | By Dr. Karen Middleton, Technical Contracts Manager, Food Hygiene Department, Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association, UK

During manufacture, food can be exposed to microbiological cross-contamination from surfaces and air which may give rise to food spoilage and safety issues. The traditional approach to controlling such contamination has been to target specific sites within the manufacturing environment with cleaning and disinfection regimes.

Biocentrum at the Technical University of Denmark

16 November 2007 | By Thomas Ostenfeld Larsen, Lars I. Hellgren and Peter Ruhdal Jensen, BioCentrum DTU

BioCentrum (BiC) is an Institute at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and represents the largest concentration of biotechnological research at university level in Denmark. BiC has a long tradition of food research and teaching and has for many years been involved in different MSc programmes in Food Science and…

New sanitation solution from Intralox increases conveyor hygiene

16 November 2007 | By Crystal Krummel, LID Group

Intralox, L.L.C. has announced the release of its new Series 1650 SeamFree™ Minimum Hinge Flat Top belt, the latest addition to the EZ Clean family of products. The Series 1650 SeamFree™ Minimum Hinge Flat Top belt was designed to meet the ever-increasing hygiene and sanitation requirements in food industries. With…

Use of predictive microbiology in the food industry

16 November 2007 | By Jeanne-Marie Membré, Unilever

The goal of predictive microbiology is to provide useful predictions about the microbial behaviour in food systems. Predictive microbiology combines “the disciplines of food microbiology, engineering and statistics” (Schaffner and Labuza, 1997).

Using ultrasound to evaluate dough properties

16 November 2007 | By Martin G Scanlon, John H Page, M Nabil Bassim, Harry D Sapirstein,Guillermo G Bellido, Hussein M Elmehdi, Yuanzhong Fan, Valentin Leroy, Keyur L Mehta, G Moses Owolabi, Food Science, Physics & Astronomy, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering - University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Bread, and the dough from which it is made from, can be viewed as a two-phase system of gas cells and matrix[1]. Both phases ordain the properties of the dough or the bread crumb, and both phases change considerably during the various operations that comprise the breadmaking process. In the…

Detection of irradiated foods

16 November 2007 | By Eric Marchioni, Univerité Louis Pasteur

Food irradiation is gaining interest in light of the increasing incidence of foodborne diseases in the last few decades. It efficiently reduces the populations of pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, E. coli 0157:H7, and also of parasites and insects[1-2]. The process has been endorsed by the World Health Organization…

Will cocoa ever dissolve in water?

16 November 2007 | By Dr I.Bodnár, Dr H.Rollema, M.Laats, H.Bernaert, Barry Callebaut, NIZO food research

Chocolate, in its various forms, is the ultimate pleasure food for many customers. New chocolate flavoured products are constantly being developed such as drinks, dairy, ice-cream, and desserts with greater taste and greater convenience.

Structured approach reduces production costs

16 November 2007 | By Susanne de Haar, TNO

Food production processes are continuously adapted under the pressure of marketing demands, the availability of new technologies, and to reduce production costs. However, poor awareness about critical aspects of new products and processes may lead to disappointing results. For example, spoiled or overprocessed products. “A structured process validation prevents such…

UV protection for packaged foods

16 November 2007 | By Wolfgang Danzl and Gottfried Ziegleder, Fraunhofer IVV

Transparent plastic packaging is increasingly replacing traditional food packaging made of glass and metal. The advantages of transparent plastic packaging are; its low weight, low cost, design flexibility and the opportunity to present products in an attractive way. However, compared to traditional packaging made of glass, metal, aluminum-laminated films or…

Surveillance of foodborne disease in the United Kingdom

16 November 2007 | By Sarah J O’Brien, Professor of Health Sciences and Epidemiology, University of Manchester

“Infectious intestinal disease occurs in one in five people each year, of whom one in six presents to a general practitioner.” So wrote Wheeler and colleagues in 1999 (Wheeler et al, 1999). This translated into 9.4 million people suffering from infectious intestinal disease (IID) annually, with around 1.5 million people…

Freezing of food and new equipment developments

16 November 2007 | By Lars Reinholdt, Danish Technological Institute

Freezing and chilling are the most widespread conservation methods in the food production chain. Refrigeration is generally gentle but it can often influence the quality of food products. The International Institute of Refrigeration estimates that out of the total worldwide agricultural production (incl. fish and seafood) of 5,500 million tonnes…