Teagasc Novel Food Technologies Showcased in Ireland

25 Nov 2016 --- The national body providing integrated research, advisory and training services to agriculture and the food industry, Teagasc, recently showcased food innovation to highlight exciting opportunities to the Irish industry. 

The theme of the event, held earlier this week in Dublin, was Novel Technology for a Competitive Food Industry, and showcased current novel processing technologies, capabilities, services and expertise as well as providing a forum for face-to-face interaction between key researchers and leading food industry representatives.

“The potential of novel food processing technologies has gained increased industrial interest as the food sector seeks to become more environmentally and economically sustainable. Teagasc has significant expertise in technologies such as high pressure processing, ultrasound processing, novel thermal processing and separation technology. These technologies can be used to manufacture innovative, safe, sustainable food products, of the highest-quality, shaping the future of the food sector in Ireland,” says director of food technology in Teagasc, Declan Troy. 

Some of the exhibits included:

Ultrasonication of powders; Generally, non-agglomerated spray dried milk powders reconstitute readily with the aid of mechanical stirring. However, new generation dairy ingredients such as milk protein concentrates (MPCs) with very high protein concentrations (>80%) are proving to be much more difficult to reconstitute compared to commodity dairy powders. Detailed studies at Moorepark are providing some insights into the mechanism of MPC rehydration using both physical (ultrasonication, cavitation) and chemical (citrate salt) means. 

Novel extraction technologies; Teagasc offers expertise and facilities in novel extraction methods to generate functional and valuable ingredients from its state-of-the-art laboratories.Novel extraction technologies include power ultrasound, microwave and supercritical extraction. It can facilitate the development of environmentally-friendly and efficient extraction technologies for the recovery of valuable and functional ingredients such as polyphenols, polysaccharides and proteins from plant and animal sources.

BioTransformation using Fermentation Technology; The potential to exploit microbial fermentation to add functionality and value to foods and food ingredients is well recognized and Teagasc’s significant and long standing expertise is available in the identification and exploitation of starter cultures associated with dairy based fermentations. More recently this expertise has been expanded into the areas of fermentation directed towards the development of high added value bio-functional ingredients.

Packed Bed Reactor System: Research at Teagasc has examined the potential of bovine milk fat, which when combined with vegetable oils can be modified enzymatically to produce human milk fat mimetics. Work to date has characterized a range of candidate enzymes and seeks to develop continuous, packed-bed reactor systems that will allow scalable, commercially viable production of human milk fat substitutes. Exploiting the potential of bovine milk fat for use in infant milk formula represents an important, alternative market stream for milk fat within the Irish dairy industry. 

Power Ultrasound for Meat Curing: Several studies by Teagasc demonstrate the usefulness of power ultrasound for the accelerated processing of cured meat products. The application of power ultrasound to meat processing is novel and has several advantages compared to traditional curing and modern injection techniques. Traditional curing methods are slow and labor intensive, while modern injection techniques can result in quality issues.

In total there were 17 Teagasc gateways with 17 exhibits.