The latest issue of IFR News (3:00) is now available, giving details of some of the latest developments at the Institute of Food Research.

Two new industrial partnerships are announced:

• A new MAFF LINK project will develop ultrasonic instrumentation and control software for processing colloidal food and agricultural products. The food target is chocolate, which has very specific process control requirements in order to produce the characteristic mouthfeel, gloss, snap, etc. The control systems will also be applicable to other food and agrochemical processing systems. IFR is working with six industrial partners and the University of Nottingham.
• SATCO Ltd (Specialist Analysis and technology Consultancy Services) is planning a new industry club in conjunction with IFR. This will provide industry with access to advanced mathematical methods for dealing with production process data that can offer commercial advantage.

Our latest scientific papers include:

• A source of flavonoids. Sue DuPont and colleagues at IFR have analysed varieties of lettuce and endive to assess content and composition of flavonoid glycosides in the fresh produce, after cooled storage, and with the 'cutting and bagging' processing currently popular for mixed salads in supermarkets. The profile of flavonoid composition (based on quercetin derivatives) was similar in all lettuce samples, but levels differed widely and there were considerable processing and storage losses in some varieties. Endive flavonoid profiles are based on kaempferol derivatives - again there were losses on processing and storage. Work on lettuce and endive is just one part of the research at IFR to examine composition, structural properties and biological activity of phytochemicals to offer possible health benefits in the future.
• Inactivating E. coli O157:H7. In a review of published data on the measured thermal inactivation of E. coli O157:H7 we show that there is no strong evidence that a heat treatment of 70°C for 2 minutes (or equivalent) fails to deliver a 6-decimal reduction in cell numbers. In most studies thermal inactivation was described by first-order reaction kinetics and D-values. This is a simplification of the true process, and an important step forward would be to develop a mathematical function to describe thermal death based on understanding the process at a cellular level. A more accurate description would benefit industry, regulators and consumers because it would allow a tighter control of safety margins.
• Potential biocontrol agent. Yeasts and moulds can have both positive and negative effects on fermented products consumed by people and animals. Some yeasts produce mycocin or killer yeast toxin which acts against other yeasts. In joint work with the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research in Aberystwyth, we expressed mycocin genes in the food-acceptable organism Aspergillus niger  found that spoilage was delayed in treated silage and in yoghurt. The use of mycocins to control unwanted yeasts could be expanded beyond applications in food and feeds; they could be used as prophylactics for the treatment of fungal diseases and a much-needed alternative treatment for pathogenic yeast infections.
• Ripening mangoes. Mango fruit is the second largest tropical crop in terms of production and popularity but trade has been limited by significant post-harvest wastage due to the highly perishable nature of the fruit. In order to reduce wastage, we need comprehensive knowledge of chemical composition and biochemical changes during ripening and rotting. Invasive chemical methods interfere with fruit biochemistry, and in collaborative work between IFR, the University of Aveiro, Portugal and Bruker Analytiche Messtechnik GmbH, Germany liquid-state NMR spectroscopy was used to follow the compositional changes in mango juice during ripening, and Magic Angle Spinning and High Resolution-MAS enabled resolved ¹³C and ¹H NMR spectra of mango pulps to be recorded. The work shows that NMR spectroscopy enables the direct characterisation of intact mango pulps, thus allowing the study of the overall biochemistry in the whole fruit.
• Do iron-fortified formulas increase pro-oxidant stress for older infants and toddlers? No, conclude Atul Singhal (Medical Research Council Childhood Nutrition Centre, Institute of Child Health, London) and colleagues including IFR's Susan Fairweather-Tait. In the largest randomised double-blind trial comparing an iron-fortified formula with an identical formula with low iron concentration, they were unable to identify adverse health effects in older infants and toddlers consuming a high iron-containing formula, even when used in populations with a low incidence of iron deficiency.

• The mission of the Institute of Food Research is to carry out independent basic, and strategic research on food safety, quality, nutrition and health. It is a company limited by guarantee, with charitable status, grant aided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The Institute is based on the Norwich Research Park.
• The Institute is based on the Norwich Research Park.
• ISDN Audio available.
• More details: www.ifr.ac.uk/science/ScienceBriefs/ScienceBriefs.html 

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