Spray crystallisation for rapid cooling An innovative rapid cooling technique - spray crystallisation - may result in ingredients with reduced freezing-induced damage and consequently enhanced functional properties, compared with those frozen by other techniques. The technique involves atomising a liquid product and contacting it with a spray of liquid nitrogen. This results in the formation of small, frozen droplets that will mix easily with other foods and defrost rapidly. The technique has already been shown to be beneficial for bakery fats. Recent work, done in collaboration with BOC, investigated the effects of spray crystallisation on the functional properties of liquid egg and the water-in-oil emulsion of tomato soup. Thawed, spray crystallised egg behaved in a similar manner to both fresh egg and a refrigerated control sample, in a foaming test to assess the ability of the egg to retain air. Choux pastry baking trials showed that the functional properties of the egg were retained. With the tomato soup, spray crystallisation resulted in a product that was more viscous at room temperature than a control sample, although microscopy tests showed no obvious differences in particle size or distribution. The increased viscosity may possibly be due to differences in sizes and growth rate of starch crystals. Robin Thorn Manufacturing Advisory Service - West Midlands The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) is a service set up by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in England and Wales to help small and medium-sized companies gain access to expertise on manufacturing issues. Under the initiative, these companies have access to a free helpdesk and up to three days consultancy from expert associate organisations. CCFRA is an associate organisation for MAS West Midlands, which is jointly funded by the DTI and Advantage West Midlands. We have already carried out several pieces of contract consultancy for smaller organisations in the area, funded by MAS-WM. Contact Alan Campbell Extra events for the autumn CCFRA´s events calendar has been augmented with the following conferences: 24 September - Meeting the Challenge - risk and insurance briefing for the food industry 7-8 October - New Horizons in Chilling and Freezing Technology 30 November - Managing the Food Security Risk 30 November - Water Re-cycling and Re-Use For more details on these please contact: Daphne Llewellyn Davies
Improving safety of ready-to-eat produce Better understanding of the interaction of pathogens prior to harvest and in post-process harvest operations, such as chopping, washing and storage, will provide industry with improved assurance of safety of ready-to-eat produce. CCFRA is carrying out research with seven other organisations* aimed at minimising the chances of harmful bacteria being present at the time of consumption. The investigations will gain detailed information about the natural microbial flora on fresh produce and its interaction with any pathogens, and the effects of novel washing processes using biofilm disruption to make washing more efficient. *University of Nottingham, Northern Foods plc, Marks & Spencer plc, Vitacress Salads Ltd, G´s Marketing Ltd, Waterwise Technology Ltd, Clearwater Technology Ltd. Sponsored by Defra LINK Contact: David Dawson New EU food quality and safety project CCFRA is co-ordinating an EU project, Development of strategies to improve quality and safety and reduce costs along the food supply chain, which is part of an Integrated Project called ´QualityLowInputFood´ that aims to improve quality, ensure safety and improve productivity in organic food supply chains in Europe. Under the thematic priority ´Food Quality and Safety´ of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), research will be carried out across the food chain, for protected crops (tomato), field vegetables (lettuce, onion, potato, carrot, cabbage), fruit (apple), cereal (wheat), pork, dairy and poultry products. The project will measure consumer attitudes and expectations, and develop new technologies to improve the nutritional, microbiological and toxicological quality and safety of organic foods. More details on the overall project are available at a dedicated website: www.qlif.org. Information about CCFRA´s role is available from: Chris Knight Tel: +44(0) 1386 842012 Sponsorship and collaboration opportunities Following collaboration with and sponsorship by major analytical companies, extremely successful seminars have been held recently focussing on a range of application areas relevant to applied research and the modern food and environmental laboratory. Over the years, CCFRA has built a reputation for offering up-to-the minute information via their conferences and seminars. Many have been sponsored by member companies, and sponsors have found the collaboration extremely beneficial. For advice on the budget necessary and help with the planning and administration, please contact Daphne Llewellyn Davies Tel: +44 (0)1386 842040 Nutritional content surveys CCFRA has been conducting a series of mini-surveys of the nutritional composition of foods for the Food Standards Agency, as part of the Agency´s aim of "improving the health of the UK population through encouraging and facilitating the adoption by the population of a healthy balanced diet". For each food type studied, a range of samples are being purchased, representative of those available to the consumer. For some products, the nutrition labelling information is being analysed, while other products are being prepared according to manufacturers´ instructions, using typical domestic cooking techniques, and analysed. This will provide up-to-date and reliable information on nutritional composition, particularly levels of sodium (salt), fat and sugar, in processed foods, comparing for example the nutritional composition of different brands and formulations (e.g. low-fat and low-salt). The findings will help to raise consumers´ awareness of these factors and improve the composition of processed foods to enable people to choose a healthy balanced diet. So far, surveys have been completed on sausages, pizzas, baked beans and canned pasta. Work on canned, chilled and dried soups is currently being undertaken. Contact Mike Edwards LC-MS/MS services at CCFRA 
Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is a powerful new analytical technique that can be used to identify and quantify a range of chemical components within food and drink products. In collaboration with the manufacturers of the system, Applied Biosystems, CCFRA is developing and validating a series of analytical methods using the system. Nick Byrd, of CCFRA´s Chemistry Department, explains: "The beauty of LC-MS/MS is that contaminants and other chemicals of concern, that previously required a range of different techniques for their analysis, can now all be determined using essentially the same method. The new technique is also significantly more sensitive than conventional methods, meaning that very low levels of contaminants can be detected and quantified. This is useful, for example, for the analysis of pesticide residues in baby foods. The selectivity of the system is also of importance, and means that different chemicals that behave similarly in other systems can be much more easily differentiated and identified." The range of analytes for which the system is currently being developed includes antibiotics such as chloramphenicol and nitrofurans, the toxic sudan colours, which have recently been found to have been illegally added to some spices, and mycotoxins. Screening techniques for mycotoxins are being developed, which will allow mixtures of these contaminants to be accurately determined. Screens are also being developed for sudan colour; similar screens for vitamins will allow levels in foodstuffs to be determined and labelling claims verified. Contact: Nick Byrd Thermal processing specialists - developing the role in Europe Our Process Development Team, who were the recipients of the Marks and Spencer Millennium Team Prize at Campden Day 2003, have used the prize to develop better links between Europe and the Institute for Thermal Processing Specialists (IFTPS), an American based professional body. IFTPS is an independent organisation for workers in the thermal processing field, whose objective is to promote study and research in thermal processing and act as a central organisation for communication and education of its members. As there is currently no European equivalent, the team was keen to look at developing the role of IFTPS within Europe. Two members of the team, Craig Leadley and Geoff Shaw, travelled to America for the Twenty Third Annual Conference. This event attracts IFTPS members from throughout the world and enabled the team to promote its proposal and the expertise at CCFRA through scientific presentations and running a stand at the trade exhibition during the conference. Craig Leadley says, "We received an excellent response. IFTPS is very keen to collaborate with CCFRA to promote best practice in Europe. The IFTPS website and newsletter will begin to better reflect the needs of its European members and CCFRA will play a key role in this." The collaboration between CCFRA and IFTPS is to be formally announced at the Third International Conference on Thermal Processing at CCFRA on 23 - 25 June 2004. Initial plans have been made for an IFTPS Conference to be held in Europe during September 2005. Contact: Geoff Shaw New publications from SIK The following English-language SIK reports are available to CCFRA members at SIK member rates.
Contact SIK +46 31 35 5600 New members Campden & Chorleywood is delighted to welcome the following new members who joined in April 2004
Contact: Bertrand Emond or Sally Easton Please notify the Membership Department of any name or address changes with respect to our mailing list. |