NIZO food research

Increase your fermentation yield

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Metabolic navigator: a new tool for product innovations in fermentation

The time has come for the food and fermentation industry to harvest the fruits of the genomics revolution in biological sciences. Sequencing entire genomes of production bugs and starter cultures is no longer an academic exercise but has become a routine type of analysis.(see also press release)

NIZO food research is acting at the frontline to translate these developments into concrete applications for our customers in the food and fermentation industry. One of the recent innovations is a navigator for bioconversions, an instrument which facilitates the development of biological ingredients and helps to improve industrial and food related fermentation processes.

What drives your fermenting microbe?
Food grade bacteria are being used in the food and fermentation industry for preservation, to add flavour and texture, and for biofortification with health ingredients. Almost all these functionalities are directly linked to the metabolic activities of the fermenting microbes. Metabolic functions of microbes of interest can be extracted from the genome sequence using state-of-the-art computer software programs (bioinformatics tools). The newly developed metabolic navigator integrates all knowledge of these microbial metabolic functions into easily accessible metabolic roadmaps.

Improve your fermentation
These customized roadmaps can be applied for (i) improving biomass and ingredient yield, (ii) quality control of the production medium and (iii) discovery and exploitation of new functionalities of starter cultures.

It can work for you too...
Recently NIZO food research researchers elegantly demonstrated the use of a genome scale metabolic model of Lactobacillus plantarum for a simple but highly effective improvement of aerobic fermentation conditions

Long-lasting fresh taste

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Product development
A market-leading Japanese food and beverage company asked NIZO food research for support in the further improvement of their creation of an unprecedented new alcoholic beverage. This lemon alcoholic beverage was produced in a unique manner guaranteeing an optimal, fresh natural lemon flavour extracted directly from the fresh fruit. To guarantee the same fresh flavour quality at the end of the product’s shelf life NIZO carried out a research project simultaneously with the new product development in Japan.

Fast testing
In this project sensory and analytical determination of the key aroma compounds (SOIR) was used to get insight into the chemical changes during ageing. To speed up the shelf life tests a predictive “forced” ageing method was developed for the SOIR analysis.

Increase shelf-life
Interpretation of all the data by our flavour experts resulted in solutions to increase the shelf life of the new product without compromising its fresh lemon flavour. The product had a successful market launch in Japan, also thanks to this fruitful cooperation.

Purac, Givaudan and NIZO: Healthy and tasty soy drinks

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Soy based foods have proven to be products that can meet current health requirements in a society with increasing over-eating and unhealthy diets. That is why a consortium of ingredient companies and research organizations embarked on a 3-year project for the development of healthy and tasty soy-based drinks.

Creating new beverages
Milk is a traditional source of calcium but is no longer consumed so much, while soft drinks simply contain too much sugar. The consortium, with Purac (acidifiers, calcium-fortifiers), Givaudan (flavours adapted for soy, sweet enhancers), NIZO (taste-texture and processing) and Utrecht University (physics and kinetics of protein aggregates), therefore focuses on developing the technology for production of soy beverages that are high in calcium and low in sugar. The creation of new textures in beverages that will fully exploit the taste-texture interactions is envisioned.

Prototype production
The first products have been developed by the consortium and produced in NIZO’s Application Centre at an industrially relevant scale. The prototype, called Constable, meets the taste, texture and shelf life properties needed for market testing. It is based on direct acidification and simple, continuous processing. Other characteristics are calcium enrichment with soluble calcium salts to the same level as milk and stability during the 6 month shelf life without protein sedimentation.

Product development
In the remaining time of the project other novel soy-based product concepts will be developed for instance soy and fruit juice combinations or soy–soy fibre beverages.

Constant product quality

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Many food companies use external companies to outsource part of the production of their products. This has advantages in flexibility of processing and equipment requirements. On the other hand, consumers should not notice variations in product quality caused by the different production locations.

Consistant Quality
This was the reason that a coffee company approached NIZO food research. The coffee products that were produced by different tolling companies had different qualities and related sensorial experiences by consumers.

High quality
Based on data provided by the customer, NIZO’s scientists developed a model that predicted the quality of coffee products produced by different tolling companies. The next step was to dictate the setting of the heating equipment at the tolling companies such that they all produced a high quality product.

Predicting taste and texture

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Yoghurts, especially those with flavours, fruits or specific health-related ingredients, are increasing in popularity. Taste and texture are the most important triggers for product acceptation and preference. Thus, good insight into the control of these attributes is required.

Consortium
In a 4-year research project, a dairy company, a flavour house and NIZO food research jointly studied the effect of variations in flavour composition and other yoghurt ingredients on the flavour and texture perception of strawberry-flavoured yoghurt.

Complex matrix
The flavour house already had a good understanding and could predict the effect of variation in type and concentration of flavour components on the perception of the flavour in watery solutions. However, this knowledge could not be directly translated to a much more complex system such as yoghurt. From daily experience, the dairy company already knew that yoghurt composition affects the perception of the yoghurt taste and texture. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms was required to facilitate new product development.

Tasty yoghurt
Fred van de Velde, project leader of the consortium, is proud of the results. “By applying a systematic approach and good communication within the team we were able to develop a predictive model which quantitatively relates variation in the ingredients to consumer perception of taste and texture. This tool will help the dairy company and flavour house in selecting ingredients for new product formulations.”

Peter de Jong: decrease processing costs by 50%

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Friesland Foods Domo developed a new ingredient, Vivinal Alpha, for the infant food industry, and wanted to optimize its production process.
They asked NIZO food research for help, to work together with their own processing experts.

Fouling problems
Vivinal Alpha is a whey protein concentrate rich in alpha-lactalbumin. When processing this ingredient, heat induced fouling occurred. The fouling lead to a decrease in the cycle time and consequently a cost inefficient process. Together with Frieslandcampina’s technologists, NIZO’s scientists approached this problem by applying dedicated computer models to the data provided.

Working together to a solution
In NIZO’s food grade pilot facilities, not only the model was validated, but also test productions were performed, giving representative sample material for subsequent testing. “We could increase the cycle time of the process by 50%,” Peter de Jong, Head of the Processing group at NIZO remarks, “and by using special techniques we could also improve the flavour characteristics of Vivinal Alpha. This resulted in a cost effective process and a product with excellent sensory quality!”

Clean label ingredients

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

There is a consumer trend in food towards healthy and “natural” ingredients. This means that food companies are constantly looking for new healthy ingredients and ways to replace chemically produced ingredients by natural ones. Bacteria are able to produce a lot of these natural “clean label” ingredients, simply by fermentation.

Fermentation route
“It’s amazing what microorganisms can do,” explains Eddy Smid, project manager at NIZO food research, “but you have to discover it!” NIZO’s scientists have therefore developed a number of fast ways to discover the potential of microorganisms. “We are able to screen the functionality of microorganisms within a food matrix at micro-scale, and we have developed a metabolic model of microorganisms (Sympheny) that enables us to predict yields of metabolites that can be used as ingredients, under different fermentation conditions.”

“Green” ingredients
"These screening tools have already resulted in the identification of bacteria that produce “green” ingredients like folic acid and vitamin B12 during yoghurt fermentation, bacteria that are able to produce sweeteners to replace sugar and bacteria that possess highly desired flavour profiles” Eddy Smid continues, “You get what you screen for, and in this case it is bacteria that produce “green” and “clean label” ingredients!”

Coen Akkerman: more profit from cheese

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

The cheese market is highly competitive, and cheese manufacturers are constantly focusing on maximizing the output of the cheese making process. Based on NIZO food research’s expertise in optimizing cheese productions, a new customer requested to optimize their cheese production line.

All processes more profitable
NIZO food research’s scientists not only improved the process parameters of the actual cheese production line (like increasing the capacity of the heating equipment by dedicated computer models), but they investigated and improved the entire process chain. They optimized the pretreatment of the milk (storage, heating) in such a way that protein inclusion in the cheese matrix was maximized, and they were able to find the right balance in the concentration of the cheese ingredients with respect to coagulation time. In this way, the cheese yield increased up to 10%, and a cheese of constant quality could be produced from different production lines.

Not only cheese manufacturing
“It was especially NIZO’s extensive knowledge about how processing conditions affect the quality of the product that helped us tremendously,” a representative of the cheese company comments. NIZO Scientist Coen Akkerman adds: “this was a very successful project, aiming at the improvement of cheese production – but the same principles that we used to optimize this process also apply to many other processes in the food industry. Most foods basically consist of protein, fat and carbohydrates, just like cheese!”

Danone and NIZO: cost reduction of 40%

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

The best way to give your baby a good start is by giving it mother’s milk. This is the reason why companies that produce infant food want their products to resemble mother’s milk as much as possible. “At Danone,” Gert Hols, R&D Director Immunity & Allergy at Danone Research, remarks, “we take mother’s milk as the starting point, the gold standard devised by Mother Nature”. In the processing of infant food, food safety and nutritional value are key issues. Numico, which is currently part of Danone, had fouling problems with the processing of one of their infant foods, and requested the help of NIZO food research.

40% increase in production
Baby nutrition contains a lot of whey proteins which are sensitive to denaturing when heated. At Danone, this resulted in fouling in the heating equipment during processing, which in turn had a negative effect on the cycle times of the process. Based on the production data available from Danone, NIZO’s experts helped with their advanced models (Premia) and with subsequent validation of the models in NIZO’s food grade pilot facilities to optimize the heating process to prevent fouling. “We were able to increase the cycle time by a factor of 6,” states Peter de Jong, Head of the processing group at NIZO food research, “and thanks to this joint project, the production capacity of this product increased by 40%!”

Profitable collaboration
“For this kind of research, NIZO has one of the finest pilot facilities in the world, very flexible and equipped with a variety of technologies,” says Hols, “and NIZO food research is particularly strong in the modeling of various processes. In short, these are the ingredients for a ‘healthy’ research collaboration.”

Food meets pharma

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

More and more bacteria are becoming resistant to common antibiotics, and they are an increasing danger for hospitalized patients. A bacterium that is well known for its ability to acquire resistance to antibiotics is the (food) pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. The US based company Biosynexus Incorporated identified an enzyme, lysostaphin, that could be used as an agent against Staphylococcus aureus.

Fermentation
Biosynexus approached NIZO food research to develop a process for the production and purification of the enzyme. NIZO’s scientists were not only able to ferment lysostaphin using their proprietary technology (NICE), but they could also isolate the enzyme using their in-house homogenization, microfiltration and pilot scale chromatography knowledge and technology.

Product for clinical testing
“The unique in-house combination of knowledge in fermentation and downstream processing enabled us to literally ‘put the result on the table’ for the customer”, says Igor Mierau, project leader at NIZO. “We supplied Biosynexus with several grams of 95% pure lysostaphin, which they used for successful clinical phase 1 and 2 trials.”

Whey from Orkney Cheese Company

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

The Orkney Cheese Company Ltd is a premium Cheddar cheese producer. The whey released during cheese production is currently discharged as a waste stream. Since this whey is of premium quality, NIZO food research was requested to perform a valorization scan to determine the most promising approach to utilization of this waste stream.

Together with Orkney Cheese
The valorization scan at the creamery identified several concept processing routes, and each of them was evaluated for its economic feasibility. Coen Akkermans, project manager at NIZO food research, pointed out additional problems that had to be overcome: “Because of the unique location of the creamery on the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland, transportation and scale issues had to be taken into account to provide a feasible solution to the customer. ”

Make money from whey
The scan performed by NIZO indicated that application of the whey in the food market would potentially generate the highest gross value. The results provided the Orkney Cheese Company with opportunities to minimize their waste disposal and to make money from their waste stream at the same time.

NIZO food research offers cost effective by-stream valorization scans for a wide range of products and offers a quick insight into the valorization potential for feed and food applications.

Safety first in spray dryers

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

For drying of foods like milk, coffee and cocoa, enormous amounts of heat are required. The combination of heat, air and the fine partition of the powder introduce a serious risk in the processing of these products: about 80% of the recorded fires in industrial dryers are the result of spontaneous combustion of powders (smouldering).

Prevent fire and explosions!
NIZO food research scientists have helped several food producing companies to determine the critical process parameters to prevent smouldering. They have also developed an early detection system based on one of the reaction products of smouldering powders. A detection method for smouldering is highly desirable [OR a key requirement?], as experience and alertness of operators has proven to be inadequate for early detection in production facilities.

Turning bad into good
NIZO’s scientists discovered that carbon monoxide gas could serve as an early indicator to prevent self-ignition of powders. Based on this information, they developed an on-line system (NICOSYS) that gives an alarm if the start of smouldering is detected. NICOSYS is installed worldwide (via Hobré Instruments) and has already proven its value many times!

Science to business
“This is a good example in which NIZO proved to be able to convert science into a concrete product,” Martijn Fox, project leader at NIZO says. “We are able to do this because we not only have extended networks in the scientific world, but we also have close contacts with machine manufacturers, and obviously, with a lot of food producing companies.”

Sisi Fruitmania and NIZO

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Sisi Fruitmania is a successful product of Vrumona. It’s fresh, mild and smooth because it is a beverage full of fruit, with a touch of dairy. It was the addition of dairy, in this case a yoghurt compound, which resulted in a short run time of the process due to increased fouling in the processing line.

Reduced fouling
Vrumona asked NIZO food research not only to identify and evaluate the possibilities to reduce fouling in their process, but also to provide insight into the mechanism of yoghurt stabilization in their product, in relation to fouling.

No disturbance of production
“The key factors of the fouling, in relation to the yoghurt compound, could be identified by evaluating the production runs of Sisi Fruitmania,” project manager Marja Kanning explains. “These key factors were optimized in the NIZO application centre, which had the advantage that the production of Fruitmania could continue in the production plant of Vrumona.”

Working together with Vrumona
“Optimizing these factors resulted in a good understanding of the mechanism of fouling in Fruitmania, and a strong decrease in the fouling during the processing of the product,” Marja continues. “And because we did this project in close collaboration with Vrumona, the results could directly be extrapolated and implemented at the customer’s plant.”

Fight the flu with fibre

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Influenza
Every year, many people become infected with the influenza virus. One way to gain better protection against influenza is to consume functional ingredients, as indicated in a recent in-vivo study conducted by NIZO food research.

Prebiotics
In this study we tested fermentable fibres, which are known to have a growth-promoting effect on healthy bifidobacteria in the gut. “In our in-vivo model, we observed that not was only the immune reactivity enhanced, but also fewer influenza particles were detected in the lungs,” says Dr. Hans Snel. Thus, fight the flu with fermentable fiber!

Calcium for gut health

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Gut health
The impact of gut infections is high and even in affluent societies the annual incidence is about 10% of the population. Because of the growing resistance of bacterial pathogens to antibiotics, the focus is shifting from treatment to primary prevention. “That is why we tested the effect of various food ingredients in our gut challenge models (ETEC, Helicobacter, Listeria, Salmonella),” says Dr. Ingeborg Bovee.

Milk calcium
In our research models, dietary calcium significantly inhibited the survival of Salmonella in the gut. Moreover, in a human intervention trial, we have shown that dietary calcium protected against a modified E. coli vaccine by decreasing infection-induced diarrhoea. Building on these results, a 6 month calcium intervention is now being performed in large cohorts of Indonesian children suffering from frequent intestinal infections. “From in vitro to in vivo studies, we are getting very promising results proving that calcium protects against gut infections,” concludes Bovee.

Milk fat benefits

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Health benefits of dairy
Products offering health claims are more attractive to consumers and can translate into higher sales volume and premium price sales. By combining our unique knowledge on composition of milk, bioactivity of ingredients, and gut health and immune defence, we are searching for the health benefits of dairy.

Milk fat benefits
In NIZO’s in-vivo challenge models, milk fat improved gut health by increasing the resistance to pathogens (Listeria). Milk fat has a unique pattern of fatty acids that showed bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity in our in-vitro assays. “In addition, milk fat is a source of sphingolipids that possess bactericidal activity during digestion,” says Dr. Corinne Sprong. “Thus, our in-vitro and in-vivo models showed that milk fat benefits the resistance to these intestinal pathogens.”

Improve gut health with chlorophyll

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Gut health
Promoting human health by optimising intestinal epithelial integrity and function is without a doubt within the reach of food industries. Using our gut integrity models and our nutrition physiology expertise, we have been able to elucidate the role of nutrition in gut health.

Vegetables versus meat
Our experiments have shown that consumption of haem (the red pigment in meat) may result in damage to the inner layer of the gut. However, the dietary component chlorophyll (the green pigment in vegetables) can protect against the epithelial damage, as caused by haem. Thus, our models show that chlorophyll can aid in maintaining gut integrity.

Feeling full with prebiotics

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Enhancing satiety
With around one in three people in the EU now classed as overweight or obese, Europe's weight problem is impacting health care budgets. Consumption of satiety-enhancing food components could help to control the imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure.

Prebiotics
In a collaborative in vivo study with FrieslandCampina’s Domo led by Dr. Joost Overduin, dietary prebiotics (galacto-oligosaccharides) decreased energy intake and increased gene expression as well as blood levels of satiety hormones. Thus, these prebiotics are potent satiety inducers.

Milk proteins benefit gut integrity

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Gut integrity
Promoting human health by optimising intestinal epithelial integrity and function is without a doubt within the reach of food industries.

Milk ingredients work
During gut inflammation the availability of threonine and cysteine for the production of the protective mucus layer in the gut is limiting. Commissioned by the Dutch Dairy Association we therefore tested whether specific milk ingredients could strengthen the protective mucus layer and thereby protect against gut inflammation. Dr Corinne Sprong and her colleagues showed with our in-vivo models that some milk ingredients reduced diarrhoea and decreased gene expression of inflammation markers.

Polyphenols protect against gut infections

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Antioxidants
Total dietary intake of polyphenols is much higher than that of all other classes of phytochemicals and known dietary antioxidants. However, despite their wide distribution in plants, the health effects of dietary polyphenols have come to the attention of nutritionists only rather recently. We tested the potential of dietary polyphenols in our gut health and integrity models.

Polyphenols
We have shown that consumption of dietary polyphenols prevented Salmonella-infection related symptoms. They decreased infection-induced intestinal permeability, diarrhoea and inflammation of the gut. “These results indicate that polyphenols could be of benefit in increasing resistance to intestinal pathogens,” says project manager Dr. Ingeborg Bovee.

Fortify food with folate

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Food fortification
NIZO food research has introduced a new approach to food fortification which is based on fermentation. Food grade bacteria can be used for production of vitamins in food products. The good thing is that it is a natural food fortification, which may fit with many companies’ strategy.

High-throughput screening
High-throughput screening allows the selection of specific combinations of starter and adjunct cultures to produce fermented food products that are naturally enriched with B vitamins. NIZO uses non-GMO techniques, such as natural selection procedures and optimum fermentation conditions, to improve the vitamin production capacity of specific strains of bacteria.
Recently, Professor Jeroen Hugenholtz and his group demonstrated that a non-folate-producing lactic acid bacterium providing specific functionalities could be turned into a folate-producing strain.

Potent probiotics

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Functional foods
Probiotics will continue to dominate the functional foods category since their true potential is still to be unlocked. “Molecular mechanisms of probiotics are largely unknown and can aid in the search for potent probiotics,” says Hans Snel.

Affecting the gut
For the first time, scientific evidence has been obtained on how probiotics affect the activity of our genes in the gut wall. In a study led by Professor Michiel Kleerebezem of NIZO, healthy volunteers ingested either live probiotic cells (Lactobacillus plantarum), inactivated cells of the same probiotic, or a placebo. Gene expression analysis of biopsies from the duodenum has clearly shown the effect of the live probiotic on cellular processes. These processes activate the immune system, enabling it to play its protective role (the immune response). [link to press release kleerebezem]

Control of mycotoxins in the dairy chain

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Mycotoxins
Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites formed by contaminant moulds. Introduction of mycotoxins in the production chain can occur at different levels, for example via contaminated feed consumed by dairy cattle or growth of contaminant moulds during cheese ripening and storage. Dairy companies require risk assessments of mycotoxins and effective control measures.

Risk assessment and surveys
“Commissioned by the Dutch Dairy Association (NZO), we analysed the entire dairy production chain in the Netherlands with respect to mycotoxin risks,” says Dr. Frank Driehuis. Animal feed proved to be the main source of mycotoxins in the dairy chain. The study included comprehensive surveys of feeds used at individual dairy farms and evaluation of carry-over from feed to milk and toxicological data. Analytical methods capable of measuring more than 20 mycotoxins in a single analysis run were used. NIZO assists dairy companies in making risk assessments and implementation of control measures, both from the perspective of safety of dairy products to consumers and from the perspective of the effects on animal health and productivity.

Boost your senses to feel less hungry

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Enhancing satiation
Apart from meal frequency, portion size is also an important parameter affecting weight management. To control the latter, sensory triggers (smell, taste, texture) already operating at early stages in the food intake cycle are immediately noticeable, which is an important consumer benefit. By using our state of the art flavour tools (olfactometer, MS Nose) we are aiming to get the most out of your product’s sensory impact on consumer perception and behaviour.

Aroma perception
In recent studies we investigated the role of aroma in satiation. The results are very exciting says Dr. Rianne Ruijschop. “For the first time, we were able to prove that extended aroma release increases the feeling of satiation during food consumption. And additional valuable results regarding actual food intake are on their way!” By applying our multidisciplinary expertise on flavour and health we are able to create a new health benefit to the flavour of your product.

Boost your health with bioactive peptides

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Bioactive peptides
In daily life people are continuously exposed to many stress factors, like environmental stress and chemicals, medicines and indulgence foods (e.g. alcoholic beverages). NIZO has expertise in a broad range of methods from in vitro tests to in vivo trials. These tests are used to assess the functionality of, for example, bioactive peptides.

Cysteine Peptide in fighting oxygen free radicals
Due to stress conditions, it could be you have a low glutathione level. This antioxidant is a cysteine-containing tripeptide that helps to keep you healthy by detoxifying free oxygen radicals and other toxicants such as pollutants, explains Dr. Corinne Sprong. DMV International commissioned NIZO food research to carry out the first functionality tests on Cysteine Peptide. “These were done using a paracetamol model’, explains Dr Sprong. The results underpinned the boosting effect of Cysteine Peptide on liver glutathione and thus in turn its protection against toxicants.”

Marigot and NIZO: healthy products

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Ingredients from seaweeds in dairy
Aquamin™ is a unique seaweed-derived multi-mineral source, rich in calcium, magnesium and over 70 other important trace minerals, produced by Marigot Ltd.
To successfully market this new ingredient in dairy products, Marigot Ltd. not only wanted to test its application abilities, but also needed background knowledge of dairy products to be able to give customized assistance to end-users.

Cooperation between NIZO and Marigot
Marigot Ltd. asked NIZO food research to assist in the production of mineral-fortified dairy products and simultaneously give a course on dairy products and characteristics. NIZO therefore performed the production side-by-side with employees of Marigot Ltd., and provided knowledge to ensure their full understanding of the production process and product characteristics.

Aquamin addition in dairy products
Two Aquamin grades were added to ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk, which was fortified with 25 percent calcium, and to long-life yoghurt drinks and stirred yoghurt products, fortified with 40 percent calcium. These products were successfully produced in the Processing Centre of NIZO food research.

Sensory tests
By use of independent sensory tests at NIZO food research, it was shown that Aquamin™ calcified mineral source could be used to boost the calcium content in a range of dairy applications, without impacting the taste or texture of final products.
The products were evaluated on visual, sensory and microbial aspects –key factors were maintaining freshness and stability. Viscosity of the UHT milk was improved, the enhanced strawberry flavour and increased freshness were noted by the study participants and all products were visually stable.

Application tests with your ingredient
While testing side-by-side with NIZO experts in the Food Application Centre, results can be directly translated to industrial scale. By working together with our clients we assist in defining and developing new applications for their ingredients and generating more business.

Willem Postma: flexible capacity

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Clients come to the food grade pilot plant when they need additional production capacity. This can be to avoid small batches in their own production or when the required process equipment is not (yet) available.

Whey protein concentrates

In one of our projects, special liquid whey was processed into a valuable food grade whey protein concentrate (WPC) powder. Our customer used these products to explore the market and find out if this was a commercially attractive product. With the process overview and knowledge of NIZO experts, the customer could process their whey structurally into this valuable product.

Soy products
NIZO food research has been contract manufacturer for spray drying of Soylife for Frutarom since 2000. Based on a liquid concentrate, this health ingredient is spray dried and packaged for delivery to the customers of Frutarom.

The Processing Centre of NIZO food research has experience in processing liquid streams into different products ranging from special protein isolates, oligosaccharides, caseinates and special peptides.
By use of separation and drying equipment in our food grade Processing Center, we are capable of producing for marketing purposes or for commercial distribution. Batch sizes of 100 kg -10 000 kg per week are produced.

For additional flexible production capacity: please contact Willem Postma.

Food products for clinical studies

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

To successfully perform human studies, the availability of specific formulated products or ingredients acceptable for human consumption is essential.

Satiety studies
For satiety studies, it is a prerequisite that the products have the appearance of a representative consumer product. NIZO recently produced chocolate and dessert-style products for satiety studies at TI Food & Nutrition. Consumers highly appreciated these products. NIZO also succeeded in giving the reference products and the test products the same flavour and mouthfeel, although they were made by using totally different ingredients. This is essential for blind testing.

High- and low-protein products
In one study, high- and low-protein products were formulated with a wide variety of protein sources (alpha-lactalbumin, gelatin, casein, soy and whey) but the same texture and number of calories. Flavour was applied in a way that made it impossible to recognize the protein source in the product. When tested in subjects, it was shown that the satiety-inducing effect of alpha-lactalbumin and gelatin resulted in a 20% reduction of energy intake and that the test products were evaluated very positively.

Patient studies
Another example is the production of 13C-enriched lactose for the University of Groningen, to study various aspects of lactose malabsorption in the bowel: they administer their patients 13C-enriched lactose and measure the resulting blood values.

Products for your clinical study
NIZO food research assists universities, institutes and companies in the development of specific food products or ingredients to enable the study of for instance satiety or clinical effects in human trials. The NIZO Processing Centre offers a food-grade environment and the possibility to apply specific process lines to produce custom-made products, as each study has its own demands.
So if you need products for a consumer study, contact Willem Postma.

CSK and NIZO: new flavours in cheese

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Cheese starter cultures
The selection of starter cultures for cheese is one of the key activities for influencing the flavour formation in cheese production. CSK, a major dairy ingredient supplier including production of starter cultures, consulted NIZO to get a better insight into the effect of individual strains and mixed-strain starters on cheese flavour formation.

MicroCheese
The MicroCheese model developed at NIZO as part of the research programme of the Kluyver Center for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation was applied for the analysis of 15 mesophilic starter lactic acid bacteria of CSK.

Flavour formation
NIZO produced Gouda-type micro cheeses (0.2 g each) with these starters, and six different conditions, regarding salt concentration, ripening temperature and lysis after acidification, were applied. After 13 weeks of ripening, analysis of volatile flavour compounds was successfully performed and cluster data analysis tools were applied for efficient evaluation of the results. This provided insight into the effect of the different starters and process conditions on the formation of flavour compounds and their level in the cheese.

Improve your culture selection
This study shows the applicability of the MicroCheese system for screening and comparing many cultures and conditions in the cheese environment simultaneously. The model enables targeted selection by CSK of strains with desired properties.

Fresh fruit juices

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

‘Fresh fruit juice’ is a recently launched new product range of Fruitmasters Juice B.V. This new fresh fruit juice range is a result of a new processing line of Fruitmasters Juice, using a special heat exchanger named the ‘Fresheur’, which was developed together with the NIZO Application Centre and an equipment manufacturer.

New processing technique developed
Fruitmasters Juice asked NIZO food research to assist in the development of the new processing technique, aiming at maintaining the freshness of the fruit juices during a shelf-life of three weeks. The key factors were taste and keeping the healthy ingredients during the shelf-life. The drinks were based on a variety of fruits (apples, oranges, pears, pineapple, raspberries and/or strawberries) which had their own taste and nutritional characteristics.
Together with the customer, fresh fruit juices have been produced in several production runs. The drinks have been evaluated using NIZO’s experience of visual, sensory, chemical and microbiological aspects. The key factors have been optimized using various processing and/or fruit combinations.

Proceed with development while your production plant is built
Testing in the NIZO Application Centre and Processing Centre has the advantage that the development of your product and/or production line can proceed, while your own production plant is being built. Results from the test runs at NIZO can be directly implemented in the design and the test products can be used for marketing and successful product presentations.

Stacy Pyett: innovative vegetables

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Consumption of fruits and vegetables is well below the recommended daily levels. The food industry can address this issue by providing consumers with vegetable containing products with excellent taste and texture, which are easy to eat and fit into the natural consumption moments of the day.

The NIZO Food Application Centre provides food grade facilities for interactive innovation. Together with scientists with expertise in nutrition, texture and flavour, our creative chef brainstormed novel ways to make vegetables easy and fun to eat.

Spinach “Bitterballen”
Research performed in NIZO’s health department has shown that the negative health effect of haem in red meat is lessened when the meat is combined with green vegetables. Based on this work, an idea was born to develop traditional fried meat snacks which incorporated green vegetables. In a creative session the chef worked with application specialists to develop crispy spinach-rich “bitterballen” to provide a healthier alternative to the traditional Dutch bar snacks.

Avocado-containing custard
Especially for children, the taste of vegetables can prevent them from consuming the recommended amount. Our application specialists took up the challenge to develop a commercially ready dessert with hidden vegetables. It was found that up to 8% by weight of avocado could be added to chocolate custard without compromising the sensorial qualities. The avocado taste was efficiently masked by the chocolate flavour of the custard, and the result was a creamy, healthy dessert.

Develop a new product
To get an idea of what you can do with your ingredients or products, we can arrange a collaborative brainstorm session. Benefit from the practical advice of our scientists and from the creativity of our chef, to interactively test and taste your ideas in our kitchen and product development lab. Naturally, your recipes can also be tested on a larger scale directly in our fully food-grade pilot facility.

Sauce for consumer testing

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

NIZO produces sauces and dressings at small scale (100-500 liter) in the food grade Processing Centre.

Sauces for consumer studies
For one of our customers, we produced a variety of specific sauces with our Limitech batch mixer and cooker.
Each batch contained about 150 litres of emulsion, to which small vegetable pieces were added and mixed to obtain a homogeneous mixture. During mixing, the products were heat treated and finally filled hygienically into 200 ml bottles. Various analyses on microbial quality and other properties were performed during and after processing.
The products obtained were tested by a consumer panel to decide if which of these sauces would be produced on a larger scale.

French fries with mayonnaise
To serve a special lunch with French fries for the employees of NIZO food research, the Processing Centre produced a batch of mayonnaise.
In the mayonnaise preparation, the wet weighed ingredients were gently mixed with salt and sugar, to obtain a homogeneous mixture. After addition of oil, high shear mixing resulted in a stable emulsion. The mayonnaise was cooled down while stirring, and filled hygienically into 500 ml plastic beakers.

Production Process
Sauces are prepared on pilot scale, using a complete process chain consisting of heat treatment, fermentation, homogenization, downstream processing, drum or spray drying and blending. Sauces like mayonnaise can also be prepared using the Limitech batch mixer and cooker, where different process steps are performed within one apparatus.

You need mayonnaise or another sauce?
In our food grade Processing Center we can make any sauce you like. With these sauces you can do ingredient testing, consumer tests, shelf life tests, benchmarking or you can test the equipment for possible use at your own plant. Just contact us!

Better tasting Vivinal Alpha

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Process optimisation
Friesland Foods Domo successfully introduced Vivinal Alpha, a whey protein concentrate rich in alpha-lactalbumin for the infant food industry. During the development phase NIZO food research assisted BDI in optimising the processing procedures. By applying the systematic and successful NIZO-SOIR methodology to determine its key aroma components, the flavour characteristics of Vivinal Alpha could be improved.

Sensory quality
In close co-operation with the customer technologists, the critical processing steps could be identified and processing procedures were optimised. This resulted in a product with excellent sensory quality.

Improve the taste of your ingredient
Subsequently, a shelf-life study for Vivinal Alpha under various storage conditions was started at NIZO food research comprising sensory evaluation and sophisticated analysis for typical flavour components. The results showed that Vivinal Alpha behaved similar to other whey protein concentrates, which demonstrates its applicability in various products.

DSM and NIZO: quick time to market

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

DSM Food Specialties has developed several new products based on a new enzyme for the food industry. DSM decided to outsource the isolation and purification of their new products to NIZO food research. In this way they could test the market before investing in their own production line. Furthermore, they could gain experience with production and fine tune it technically, analytically and bacteriologically, allowing them to target their investment in an optimal way.

Purified result
In total 20 batches of raw material were purified, resulting in 27 tonnes of end product at NIZO in 2 years. DSM and NIZO have worked together with a consistent quality and safety system to meet the high product standards. The end products have been delivered to the clients of DSM.

Food grade processing
“The Processing Centre of NIZO is fully equipped for productions for human consumption,” explains Willem Postma, manager of the Processing Centre. “We have installed DSM’s chromatography column inside our infrastructure, which is designed to include equipment in a safe and hygienic way. This process step was linked to our concentration and filtration equipment. To meet the required product quantities, we have been producing full-time with an operator as back-up at distance (24/7).” This enabled DSM to have a quick time to market, while delaying the investment in their facility. During the production at NIZO, the process has been further developed, which made a smooth transfer to DSM possible.

Bring new products to the market
When you want a quick time to market while at the same time fine-tuning your process, come to the Processing Center of NIZO food research.

Encapsulated flavour

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Protect your flavour
Consumers expect 'fresh' products. During processing, distribution and storage however, some flavours need protection to retain the required sensorical quality. For this reason companies look for ways to preserve the flavour of their products. Flavour encapsulation is one of the options. It requires a delicate balance between delivery performance (flavour release) and protection.

Release in mouth
In a NIZO research project banana oil was encapsulated by spray-chilling in two types of lipids and subsequently, the encapsulates were applied in yoghurt. Using the well-developed and versatile technique of in vivo flavour release (MS-Nose measurement), the release properties of the two selected lipid types were demonstrated.

Encapsulate selection
Release is evidently related to the in-mouth temperature conditions of humans. The right encapsulate could be selected based on anticipating consumer relevance and the in-depth understanding of in vivo measurements.

Starter cultures replace old-young smearing

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Starter culture development
NIZO food research has coordinated the successful collaborative EU-funded demonstration project “Safesmear” in which development of defined surface starters for smear cheeses was studied. The project, performed with six partners from industry and international research institutes, has shown that it is possible to efficiently construct tailor-made smear starter cultures for surface-ripened cheeses and that the technology is commercially viable.

Flavour control
Surface-ripened red smear cheeses, such as Tilsit, Danbo, Munster and Kernhem, are important varieties in Europe. They are characterised by a distinctive flavour and surface colour due to a complex mixture of micro-organisms on the surface. Traditionally, the smear micro-organisms are transferred from the surface of mature cheeses to a smearing solution for treating young cheeses. This process of “old-young” smearing, though effective, actually involves the transfer of a complex, undefined and variable micro-flora. A significant improvement in production and – as important – control of smear cheeses was achieved by defining and selecting tailor-made surface starters.

Construct new starters
The approach designed and applied in the Safesmear project for constructing such defined starter cultures also has excellent potential for the development of smear cheeses with novel flavour properties. In addition, the technology can be used for rational construction of new (adjunct) starters for any cheese variety in which diversification of flavour and other sensory characteristics is desired.

Co-creation by scientists and chef

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

In our Food Application Centre, there is the possibility to make some products on kitchen-scale and try different recipes. Mostly, these kinds of trials will be done after a brainstorm session, as was the case in the next project.

From concept to recipe
Experts from Sime Darby/Unimills and NIZO cooperated in a brainstorm session. Potential new products were demonstrated interactively in the Food Application Centre that same day. In a creative session scientists enthusiastically worked together with culinary experts to translate their ideas into recipes and applications.

What to do with your ingredients/products
To get an idea of what you can do with your ingredients or products, we can arrange a brainstorm session. With scientists and a professional cook, recipes and applications can be considered and even directly tried out on kitchen-scale.

Aroma perception alters taste

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

‘Smell’ sweetness
Smelling of an aroma creates a flavour image that relates to the flavour and taste of the product the aroma is associated with. For example, although sweetness cannot be smelled, the smell of vanillin is perceived as sweet as it commonly occurs in sweet products such as confectionery. This aroma-taste association is powerful to enhance sweetness perception.

Aromas in the nose
Most studies on aroma-altered taste perception have measured in case the aroma was part of the solution and swallowed with the tastant (retronasal aroma delivery). In collaboration with Pepsi-Cola, we measured sweetness intensity enhancement when the aroma was not swallowed but given in orthonasal fashion via the nose. This was achieved by an olfactometer that allows the controlled delivery of aromas into the nose. Solutions were perceived as significantly sweeter if a sweet smelling odorant was delivered orthonasally compared to solutions without the aroma.

Optimize your products
Understanding the impact of aroma perception on the overall flavour of a product is of great help in product optimization, e.g. in low sugar products.

Better-digestible ingredients

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0200

In developing ingredients for nutrition applications (like infant foods), digestibility is an important parameter. That is why Kerry Ingredients commissioned NIZO to independently determine the digestibility of Kerry’s Ultranor Beta™ (beta-casein enriched) product versus a commercial alpha-casein and a commercial sodium caseinate.

Fast and easy simulation of digestion
Intrinsic differences between casein proteins include accessibility to gastrointestinal proteases under gastrointestinal conditions, and therefore the kinetics of the protein digestion may differ.

Digestions of the milk protein samples with the gastric protease pepsin were carried out using part of the NIZO infant SIMPHYD procedure, developed by Tim lambers. “In close consultation with Kerry, we investigated the rate of casein breakdown during simulated digestion.”

The SIMPHYD procedure supported that the beta-casein fraction was more susceptible than the alphaS1-casein fraction to pepsin digestion in all samples studied. Overall, Ultranor Beta™ was more susceptible to pepsin digestion than the commercial alpha-casein and commercial sodium caseinate samples.
Therefore, Ultranor Beta™ is ideally suited to nutrition applications where a better-digestible protein source is wanted.

Sofralab and NIZO: wine yeast

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Starter selection
Sofralab, a French wine ingredients supplier, wants to characterize its wine yeast culture collection in more detail in order to fulfill the needs of its customers. The use of selected wine yeast starters for alcoholic fermentation is a common practice in France.

Microscale fermentation
However, traditional screening and selection methods are time consuming and laborious. Therefore NIZO food research developed a microscale alcoholic fermentation platform for fast and semi-automated screening of wine yeasts.

Flavour optimisation
Via this approach strains are clustered with respect to their growth and flavour formation characteristics. Moreover, NIZO is currently developing sensitive methods for the detection of specific fermentative flavour compounds essential for quality description of different wine varieties.

Unimills and NIZO: Healthy fat in ice cream

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

The food science expertise and facilities of NIZO food research were an essential element in the successful development of good-tasting low saturated fatty acid (SAFA) fat formulations for ice cream.
The project was commissioned by Unimills, supplier of tailor-made vegetable oil based ingredients.

The combination of the sensory, texture and ice cream application expertise of NIZO and the oil processing and fat physics expertise of Unimills led to new patented technology.

Healthy icecream
Today, consumers are in search of food products reducing cardiovascular risks without making concessions regarding sensory perception. To fulfill these needs, ice cream manufacturers are shifting their product portfolios from pure indulgence to healthier alternatives.

Changing melting profile
In the NIZO pilot plant ice creams were made with the new fat formulations. These were evaluated by state-of-the-art techniques such as MS-Nose and confocal laser scanning microscopy. We found that by adjusting the ice cream melting profile, the off-flavour perception changed as well. This was translated into new approaches for healthier ice cream oil formulations.

Unimills
Dr. Gerhard de Ruiter, R&D and Marketing Manager of Unimills: “The knowledge generated in this project allowed Unimills to develop and launch new healthy fat formulations (Cremex®) with saturated fatty acids levels of as low as 40-50% and a sensory perception that equals traditional ice creams as tested by 100 consumers.”

B-vitamin production

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Food fermentation
NIZO food research has introduced a new approach to food-fortification based on fermentation. Many food grade bacteria used in food fermentation have the capacity to synthesize important B-vitamins like B2 (riboflavin), B11 (folate) and B12 (cobalamin).

B-vitamin deficiency
The number of elderly individuals is growing rapidly in our society and degenerative diseases constitute an increasing problem in terms of both public health and cost. Intensive research during the last decade on ageing shows that B-vitamin insufficiency is a key risk factor in the development of vascular and neurological diseases and cancers.
Data from epidemiological studies indicate that subclinical deficiency in most water-soluble B vitamins may occur gradually during ageing, possibly due to environmental, metabolic, genetic, nutritional and pathological determinants, as well as to lifestyle, gender and drug consumption. In addition, older individuals have distinct absorption, cell transport and metabolism characteristics that may alter B vitamin bioavailability.

Natural enrichment
Using high throughput screening and selection procedures, food grade fermentative bacteria can be obtained which have a high natural capacity to produce B-vitamins. This allows the selection of specific combinations of starter – and adjunct cultures to produce fermented food products which are enriched with B-vitamins in a natural way. Given specific strains with the correct technical properties for a fermentation process, NIZO can apply non-GMO techniques to improve the vitamin production capacity of such a strain.

Baby dry

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

The process of spray drying is widely used in the food industry for the production of various powders such as milk powder or soy powder. NIZO food research has over 50 years of experience in developing solutions to optimize the spray drying and particle agglomeration process. It was exactly for this reason that a Ukraine based infant food company contacted NIZO to help them with their residence time and fouling problems and to assess the risk of explosion in their facilities.

Better tasting product with lower production costs!
NIZO’s scientists visited the production site of the company, and with the data they obtained there, they modeled the dryer with advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Using the model, NIZO’s scientists advised a change to the basic outline of the dryer. This resulted in a different flow pattern, and an improved residence time of the powder particles in the dryer. The outlet temperature of the dryer could also be decreased, which resulted in a product with better properties with respect to taste and nutritional value, but also with respect to fouling, which was entirely solved!

Working together at the production site
“This project not only took us to an interesting part of the world,” Coen Akkerman, project leader at NIZO remarks, “but it was again a nice example of NIZO’s expertise in combining knowledge of processing with functionality and quality of the product.”

Grading rim air in cheese

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Rim air is considered a defect that diminishes the commercial value of cheese. In view of the many different methods that are used in the field to judge and grade rim air intensity, there is a need for an objective description.

Grading cheeses
NIZO has developed such an objective and universal grading system of ten grades of rim air, ranging from none at all (1) to very bad (10). This new grading system is accompanied by a description in quantitative, physical terms. The basis for setting up this grading system was a questionnaire addressed to cheese experts. In the questionnaire, Hans Tromp and his team consulted company experts to describe the grading criteria used in their daily practice, and to grade, according to their own criteria, a series of photographs of cheeses exhibiting different degrees of rim air.

Constant quality cheese
We developed a dedicated computer tool which uses the new grading system to produce an objective grade from the analysis of a photograph of the cross-section of a cheese. This tool is a source of objective information for judging the commercial value of a cheese. Hans Tromp is convinced: “Its use will result in a more constant quality of cheese for the consumer.”

Software available
The tool features a user-friendly interface. It is optimized to handle a wide range of photographic conditions. The software and support are available from NIZO.

Would you like to know about the tool and how it works? Please contact Hans Tromp (Hans.Tromp@NIZO.NL, telephone +31 318 659 691)

Tasty low-fat cheese

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

The sensory properties of low-fat cheeses often don’t match those of their full-fat counterparts.
Fat, taste and texture defects are perceived, especially when fat content is decreased below 20%.
Until recently the multiple functions of fat in cheese were poorly understood.

Consortium
NIZO set up a consortium to fill this gap. Together with Bel Leerdammer, CONO Kaasmakers, CZ Rouveen and DOC Kaas we are working towards zero-fat cheeses with excellent consumer acceptance.

Functions of fat
Eva Dusterhoft and her colleagues compared texture, flavour and microstructure of full- and low-fat cheeses, not only as such, but also as a function of oral processing. “We manipulated the key functions of fat in a systematic way in order to identify steering parameters for improvement.”

Creamy perception
“We found for instance that fat coalescence is highly important for the creamy perception and mouth feel.” Promising lab-scale approaches based on such findings are directly tested in cheese trials in the plants of the partners. “This is important,” concludes Dusterhoft, “The close cooperation with the consortium partners, testing concepts in their plants and sharing industrial experience, guarantee that by the end of 2009, we'll have delivered solutions ready to be implemented.”

When oxygen kills your healthy ingredient

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Protection by encapsulation

Ingredients like orange oil, fish oil, or micro-organisms can be degraded in the presence of oxygen, leading to either a bad off-taste or the loss of the health benefit.

NIZO food research develops encapsulation solutions specifically for your ingredient to ensure that its functionality is retained and that it released at the right place and time.

Examples

Encapsulation of orange oil: spray-drying technology was used with a matrix developed at NIZO which led to a great improvement of the shelf life!

Encapsulationof hydrolysable lipid: the sophisticated complex coacervation technology practised at NIZO food research enabled a 3-fold reduction in hydrolysis after 12 weeks!

Encapsulation of probiotics: encapsulated in a multi-layer system, an oxygen-sensitive strain showed a significantly increased stability after 3 weeks!

Hot Chocolate

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Attractive, but not easy
Chocolate in various forms is pleasure food number one for many consumers. New chocolate flavoured products are being developed, but the bottleneck in innovations is the unpredictable rheology and solubility of cocoa powder, causing serious trouble in production and unstable products.

A concerted effort
Barry Callebaut, leading manufacturer of high quality cocoa, chocolates and confectionery products, and NIZO food research worked together in a three year project, with financial support from the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, to improve the fundamental understanding of the physico-chemical behaviour of cocoa powders in water. Cargill, ADM and Dutch Cocoa participated in the advisory committee for the project. “Communication is crucial in consortia,” explains project leader Igor Bodnár. “The regular progress meetings with Barry Callebaut really helped to tune our research to the requirements of the cocoa industry.”

More than meets the eye
“Until now, processing of cocoa powder has been mostly steered on colour, taste and fat content,” continues Bodnár. “In this project product characteristics such as solubility, rheology and thickening were coupled with processing parameters of the powder production and the dissolving conditions.” In short, design rules for the processing of cocoa powder were set up, towards applications in aqueous environments.

Not just any cocoa
The achievements show that the release of polysaccharides from the cocoa matrix is a key parameter for the behaviour of cocoa powders in water and affects viscosity. The role of these components depends on the processing of the powder as well as on the dissolution time and temperature. Especially for use in milk based systems this is crucial for the processability of cocoa powders towards e.g. instant hot chocolate.

Predicting the functionality of carrageenans

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

They are everywhere…nearly
Carrageenans are one of the major gelling, thickening and stabilizing agent in foods. They are obtained by extraction from certain species of red seaweeds and the composition differs from batch to batch.

Even small variations can have an enormous influence on their functional properties. For instance carrageenans containing irregularities (around 3%) give much better gelling properties in dessert applications. Therefore, both ingredient suppliers and food industries set great store by the qualitative and quantitative analysis of carrageenan batches.

At NIZO, even carrageenans can be improved
By choosing the right composition, product quality can be improved while costs are reduced. Key is the characterization of the molecular structure, allowing interpretation of the texturing properties. With NMR spectroscopy, NIZO food research offers a fast and accurate method to determine carrageenan quality for both ingredient suppliers and food industries.

Keeping the crust crisp

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Freeze–thaw-stable fish fingers

Nippon Suisan, a large producer of fresh and frozen seafood products including fish, fish oil and feeds, has opened a European R&D centre in Food Valley.

During transportation the temperature of frozen fish fingers often fluctuates, causing water migration to the crust and resulting in less crispness. NIZO food research was approached by Nippon Suisan Europe to find a solution to this problem. Together they succeeded in developing a technique based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) for monitoring the freeze–thaw stability of fish fingers on a molecular level.

NMR can be used to determine water and oil mobility in products. The novelty of this method is the ability to quantify water mobility at temperatures below 0 °C. It turned out that exposure of the initially deep-frozen product (–18 °C) to a temperature of –5 °C resulted in increased water mobility, which persisted when the fish fingers were cooled back to –18 °C.

Project leader Hans Tromp is very exited because his findings give a handle to product developers to optimise ingredients and technology which suppress this undesirable water mobility.

Starch based creaminess enhancer

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Fat is the main determinant for the creaminess perception in many dairy products.
Replacement of fat in food products is a major consumer driver for food and ingredient companies.

The combination of AVEBE’s starch knowledge and DSM’s enzyme expertise has resulted in the development of ETENIA™, a natural, highly functional, clean label ingredient derived from potato starch designed for creaminess enhancement and fat replacement.

They chose NIZO to support the development process with independent evaluations.
Piet Buwalda, head AVEBE R&D: “In their processing centre they produced products with ETENIA inside for testing. In their labs they revealed the structure-function relationship and in their application centre they performed application research on yoghurt and ice-cream products and took care of thorough testing with their taste panels.”

According to Arno Alting, project leader at NIZO it was fun to work on a project like this. “We worked in close collaboration with AVEBE to achieve their goals and secretly I feel a bit proud to see products with this ingredient already on the market.”

Food applications for potato protein isolates

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Potatoes – not only for starch
When Solanic, part of the Avebe group, wanted to introduce its new potato protein isolate to the market, they needed unique food applications for their ingredient to help convincing their customers.

Solanic therefore asked NIZO food research to assist them with developing these applications for the new ingredient. The unique emulsifying, foaming and gelling properties of their native potato protein make it an ideal ingredient for different food applications.

In the NIZO facilities sport drinks and ice cream were made on pilot scale for demonstration products in the market.

Potatoes in drinks and in ice-cream
According to Janny van Gijssel, who worked together with Solanic, the challenge in developing the sport drinks is to get the right concentration of potato proteins, to prevent gelling and to keep the liquid clear. For ice cream the focus of the application development was to get a high-quality and 100% vegetable product.

At NIZO’s food application lab and processing centre the expertise and facilities are present to develop the right procedure and ingredient composition to include such a new ingredient in various applications. This project resulted in clear sport drinks and 100% vegetable ice cream products that were both good tasting.

Heat-resistant spores

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0200

Inactivation while retaining optimal product characteristics

Heat-resistant spores are ubiquitous and thus can also be present in foods and ingredients. Adequate inactivation of spores in food is required to ensure food safety and to achieve the required product shelf life.

Consortium
NIZO has developed a screening tool to accurately determine the heat inactivation of spores in a continuous-flow system (Micro-heater system), thereby mimicking industrial UHT heating processes. In a consortium with Nestlé and Friesland Foods, this tool has been used to assess the inactivation of problem spores in practice.

Tailoring heating
This allowed optimisation of the heating process to ensure adequate inactivation in relation to required product characteristics. Heating regimes can not only be tailored to inactivation of spores, but can at the same time be tailored to minimise detrimental effects on other product characteristics (e.g. colour, taste, protein denaturation), resulting in better product quality and less downtime due to shorter cleaning procedures.