Efficiency in the design of heat exchangers
The recovery and re-use of heat during food processing provides significant advantages to food companies, both in terms of direct cost savings and also in meeting the legislatively driven targets for reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Improved design of heat exchangers will extend the range of products from which heat can be recovered and in doing so help achieve these aims. Tubular heat exchangers have been employed for many years in a heat recovery mode for low viscosity products such as milk and fruit juices, with the cold (unprocessed) product in the shell being heated by hot (processed) product in the tubes. To adapt this approach for foods of a higher viscosity, it is necessary to redesign the tubular heat exchanger. In this Defra LINK-funded project, experimental transparent rigs have been used for visualisation trials to obtain a full understanding of the restrictions of the current tubular heat exchanger design. Tube support and manifold design along with variation of tube diameter and spacing have all been considered. Where a problem was highlighted, novel designs were proposed and additional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations showed a close correlation with experimental data, indicating potential design improvements for tubular heat exchangers. Geoff Shaw Cereals mycotoxins - conference 'Managing Fusarium - a supply chain approach' has been organised by CCFRA in collaboration with nabim and HGCA and is sponsored by Bayer CropScience. The conference will be held at the East of England Showground, Peterborough, on 10th May. Daphne Llewellyn Davies Microbiological Methods Forum 
The CCFRA Microbiological Methods Forum provides regular updates on new and developing methods through meetings and newsletters, and stimulates the development, acceptance and use of new methods. Recently invited speakers contributed information on detection of the emergent pathogen Enterobacter sakazakii; evaluation of a test for the detection of Listeria species in foods; Real time PCR technology for food; ISO methods for food microbiology; and rapid methods for water microbiology. International contributions to the newsletter have included topics on a Nordic system for validation of alternative microbiological methods; rapid tests for spoilage bacteria in fish; new detection technologies; and new opportunities for Salmonella detection and control. For information on membership of the Forum please contact: Charmaine Mitchell New project Microbiological specifications The safety of food is a top priority for food manufacturers. Management systems such as HACCP and GMP have been implemented across industry and have an important and well-established role in both safety and quality assurance. The reliance on 'end product testing' for microbiological safety is now moving towards the use of pre-set microbiological criteria as important tools to verify that HACCP and GMP are working. A CCFRA member-funded project started in January to assess microbiological specifications for short shelf life foods. A working party of members will be steering the production of Guidelines advising on:
This project is very topical since the European Commission is in the process of adopting a Regulation which stipulates microbiological criteria for many foods. The Regulation has caused a good deal of heated debate but is expected to be adopted shortly, with a 6 months period of grace before being enforced from 1st January 2006. Phil Voysey Services for the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) CCFRA has renewed a contract with the RPA for the supply of analytical and technical services and technical advice with respect to food exports from the UK. Brian McLean, head of Chemistry and Biochemistry, comments: 'This is a significant contract; we have had a good working relationship with the RPA, and are very pleased that this will continue. We have a wider remit than before, with extension of the service to include cereals and crops'. Brian McLean Sudan 1 Hundreds of queries, and analysis of hundreds of samples, have been dealt with by CCFRA analysts as a result of the recent recall of foods due to the possible presence of the illegal dye Sudan I. Nick Byrd, senior analytical chemist, stated 'Our team has been working all hours as many of our Members needed urgent advice. They also needed to get product tested quickly and we frequently managed to produce same-day results. The small number of products that were shown to be contaminated had extremely low levels of Sudan: this was an enormous analytical challenge, even with the very sophisticated equipment we use at CCFRA*. *LC/MS/MS liquid chromatographic mass spectrometer Nick Byrd C L A S Campden Laboratory Accreditation Scheme 
CLAS fulfils the requirement for food and drink laboratories to demonstrate competence through recog-nised accreditation. Independent laboratory accreditation that demonstrates consistent, reliable results is increasingly essential as a means of strengthening due diligence regimes and satisfying customer demands for an assurance of the validity of test results. CLAS was developed by CCFRA specifically for use by the food, drink and related sectors, and is now one of the largest service providers in the UK. It is recognised as a scheme that is achievable for both small and large laboratories in the UK and overseas. The main policy of CLAS is to promote the use of valid methods supported by appropriate QC checks and good laboratory practices. Christina Oscroft, scheme manager, says 'Quality assurance and confidence in results are key words. All our assessors are qualified specialists with practical working experience in the type of laboratories and areas they assess. They are able to appraise the technical aspects of the work, and can translate the broad requirements of international standards to be meaningful to the work undertaken in individual laboratories. CLAS has been successfully implemented in a wide range of laboratories undertaking microbiological, chemical, physical and sensory testing over diverse sectors including the food, drink, milling, personal care, household product and allied industries. The scheme can be applied from raw materials and environmental samples to finished product, and since it can incorporate customer-specific requirements it makes a useful contribution to fulfilling business obligations'. CLAS addresses the principles and requirements in ISO/IEC 17025 and the assessment procedure is based on European laboratory quality standards EN45002 and EN45003. The scheme is fully recognised by UK retailers who require testing to be done by supplier or contract laboratories and meets the requirements for testing laboratories defined in the British Retail Consortium Technical Standard. Christina Oscroft Food service sector CCFRA offers the fast developing Food Service industry with technical and scientific support needed to provide safe and nutritious meals to its growing number of customers. In addition, we have a well-established and active Food Service Panel with a broad membership base, bringing together contract caterers, restaurant, pub and hotel chains, public sector organisations, vending organisations, equipment manufacturers and food service suppliers. It is widely recognised as an important forum for discussion of common issues and challenges, such as allergens, hygiene, traceability, nutrition, and innovative catering systems. Invited speakers contribute new information, and, as with all CCFRA Technical Panels, there is discussion on the commercial impact of developing legislation and the opportunities and implications of CCFRA research. CCFRA at AVEX (stand K16) AVEX 2005, the international vending exhibition, will be held at Earls Court 2 in London on 10-12 May. The Health Education Trust (who provided the research for the FSA's Vending Healthy Drinks report) will be delivering its message to the vending sector. CCFRA representatives will be at the exhibition highlighting the full range of our services, and will also be reviewing the 'healthy' options for vending machines identified from the new products purchased as part of our New Product Alert service. Bertrand Emond Novel DNA and protein test - special benefits for Members CCFRA is very successful in developing and applying new technology for food ingredient testing. The key to this success is our understanding of food production issues, coupled with good working relationships with manufacturers who provide state-of-the-art equipment and support novel application development. One such company, Agilent Technologies, has worked closely with us for the past four years in the development of novel DNA and protein tests on its 2100 bioanalyzer. This system has enabled us to develop improved species detection, profiling and cereal variety analysis. Through this work, research institutes, companies and government agencies have recognised the advantages of using the bioanalyzer for food quality and authenticity testing. Other lab-on-a-chip applications have been reported in CCFRA Research Summary Sheets and in application notes on the Agilent website www.agilent.co.uk Agilent Technologies is offering a 25% discount to CCFRA member companies on the purchase price of the bioanalyzer. Steve Garrett Specific examples of CCFRA developments include:
Publication orders Ordering publications from CCFRA is now even easier following development of an improved 'shopping basket' on the CCFRA website. www.campden.co.uk/publ/product.htm Enquiries are also still welcome via the more traditional routes of post, fax (+44(0)1386 842100), telephone (+44(0)1386 842048) and e-mail (pubs@campden.co.uk) New members Campden & Chorleywood is delighted to welcome the following new members who joined in February 2005:
Bertrand Emond or Sally Easton Please notify the Membership Department of any name or address changes with respect to our mailing list. |