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Managing allergens 
Preventing cross-contamination of foods with allergens has become an essential part of food safety assurance for companies that handle allergenic ingredients. A member-funded project is helping industry to address this. In one strand of work, the value of off-the-shelf allergen detection kits for validating cleaning regimes was explored. This work showed that whilst the kits can be used to test for the presence of allergen residues on surfaces, the tests can be affected by cleaning fluid residues. This demonstrates that companies using the tests on samples such as rinse waters need to allow for the potential effects of cleaning fluid. A second strand addressed the concern that overalls worn by food production operatives in areas where allergens are handled could, via the laundry, contaminate overalls used in allergen-free areas. In the scenarios studied the laundry is unlikely to be a route for cross-contamination, though again companies are advised to undertake validations appropriate for their own practices. Future work will generate further data with which to support risk assessments and look in more detail at issues of particular concern to the food service sector. Contact: Helen Arrowsmith Bakery technology - training the world 
CCFRA bakery training courses have gained an international reputation and, increasingly, we are being asked to deliver them overseas to meet the needs of non-UK companies. Customised training at the client's site is an option for companies that want a confidential, tailored course where delegates can openly discuss specific business-critical issues in confidence, close to the production environment. We have run such courses in the UK, Denmark, Mauritius, Egypt, Hungary, Saudi Arabia and China. We also provide open courses outside the UK to meet local demand. For example, the magnificent training bakery at Anchor Yeast in Johannesburg has enabled us to run private courses for a bakery group, seven open courses (covering practical biscuit technology, bread technology and cake technology) and two seminars (covering fibre in bakery products and 'flour power'). In Dublin, a bakery ingredient course hosted at Odlums had to be repeated as it was over-subscribed, and led to company-specific courses, with more planned for 2007. Local training saves delegates time while the companies providing facilities benefit from association with CCFRA's world class training and technology. Please contact us if you would like to host a CCFRA bakery training event or are interested in private customised training. Contact: Paul Catterall Mould investigation 
Quick and effective solutions to mould related problems can save food and drinks companies significant time and money, and help reduce product loss. We have upgraded our services for tackling mould-related issues in the food and production environments to provide a more effective and flexible response including:-
Contact: Suzanne Jordan Food for Life The UK agri-food industry has a major opportunity to influence important aspects of a major research and training initiative - the European Technology Platform 'Food for Life'. Your active involvement in an industry-led consultation at the Cavendish Conference Centre, London, on 16 January 2007, will ensure that industrial needs are properly represented. Challenges to be debated range from food choice and diet and health, through safety assurance and managing the supply chain to achieving sustainable food production. Contact: Steven Walker ISO 22000 - IRCA approval With the new international standard ISO 22000 'Food safety management systems - requirements for any organization in the food chain' issued in 2005, we have worked with LRQA (a world-leading auditing body) to develop a Lead Auditor course based on the standard. This has been audited by IRCA (International Register of Certificated Auditors) and recommended for IRCA approval, something that very few organisations world-wide have achieved. Contact: Pat Eycott Panel update The Drinks panel meeting planned for 25th January will now take place on 1st February, when the Drinks and Food Science Panels will hold a joint meeting. A full list of Panel meeting dates can be found here Contact: Tim Hutton Assessing food texture Objectively determining the texture of food and food ingredients is an important part of product development and quality assessment. It draws upon a wide range of methods, each appropriate to particular foods, ingredients or situations. These methods can be used to understand (measure) the behaviour of liquid, semi-solid and solid food systems. 
With so many variables, expert input is often essential as Sarab Sahi of CCFRA's Bakery and Cereal Processing Department explains: “Rheological testing can be a cost-effective way of controlling product consistency and can help to speed up product development. Texture testing is a very versatile technique and can be used to assess properties of foods ranging from dairy products, desserts, fruit and meat, to cakes, biscuits and bread. We work with clients to make sure that the chosen tests address the questions that matter to them, and we often get asked to test the physical properties of non-food materials - such as the brittleness of plastic packaging. To offer a 'one-stop shop' we also call on other experts at CCFRA who can, for example, contribute specialist knowledge of raw materials, product formulation and processing.” Contact: Sarab Sahi New member-funded research for 2007 Industry is heavily involved in formulating the ideas for our member funded research (particularly through the Technical Advisory Panels) and in selecting the projects of greatest relevance, through the formal voting system. This ensures that the Member-Subscription Funded Research Programme is highly relevant to industry's needs - and enables us to maintain and develop the skills and knowledge to solve industry's problems and anticipate future technical needs. Members have selected the following 13 new projects for 2007, across the six strategic themes:- Raw materials and ingredients
Manufacturing and supply
Product quality and innovation
Food and the consumer
Food and drink safety
Knowledge management
Contact: Leighton Jones Introducing food microbiology 
The latest in CCFRA's series of short books, Key Topics in Food Science and Technology, has been published. Food microbiology: an introduction provides a general overview of food microbiology including foodborne pathogens, spoilage organisms and 'beneficial' organisms, and covers their characteristics, growth requirements and effects on the food (or those consuming it). The main methods of reducing or eliminating unwanted organisms and preventing food contamination are outlined as are the principal techniques for detecting, identifying and enumerating food microorganisms. With a strong industrial slant, the book sets out to explain food microbiology to those who are not expert in the field. It is priced at £30 per copy with discounts for multiple copies. A list of all the titles in the series is available on request or can be found here Contact: Carol Newman Developments in Milling and Baking 
The latest technical developments of relevance to the flour milling and baking sector are highlighted in Developments in Milling and Baking, which draws together information from the scientific, technical and trade press as well as from patents. Delivered to your desk and your computer six times a year, it covers:
The annual subscription is priced at £380 (members) and £450 (non-members). Technical Editor: Tim Hutton Welcome to New members CCFRA is delighted to welcome the following new members who joined in October 2006:
Contact: Bertrand Emond Please notify the Membership Department of any name oraddress changes with respect to our mailing list. |