The social impact of food safety; genetic control of bacterial virulence; fish oils, cells and suicide; understanding food texture for improved functionality and enjoyment; these are some of the areas covered in Institute of Food Research’s annual report, published today.

Highlights from the past year and plans for the future are detailed in the 38 page document, which includes some stunning false-colour images.

Food safety is a major concern for regulators, producers, processors, retailers and consumers alike. Understanding how issues surrounding food safety are perceived by the consumer is vital in effectively communicating risk issues. Research for the Food Standards Agency into public perception of food-related risk has demonstrated that the public does understand the concept of uncertainty of risk assessments, contrary to the opinions of many scientists and policy makers. The research also showed that consumers want access to the information that would allow them to make fully informed choices about food risks.

Identification of which bacterial genes are active at different stages at the life cycle will allow us to develop effective procedures for controlling the bacteria in food hosts and treating infection when it does occur. IFR has produced the first image of cell-type-specific gene expression in Salmonella during infection. The approach uses green fluorescent protein as a marker, and allows us to investigate how genes work in single bacterial cells.

Our bodies fight cancer in a number of ways, and understanding how these processes are affected by the food we eat is important in developing sound public health nutrition policies. Work at IFR has shown that an n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid found in fish oil (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA) may assist tumour prevention in the gut by slowing the rate of cell production and increasing programmed cell death.

New methods of visualising and measuring food structure have been developed at IFR in our continuing drive to improve nutritional quality, food safety and storage performance. Infrared microscopy is being used to determine how foods react to applied stress, simulating the actions of processing, eating and even digestion. Atomic force microscopy allows us to directly visualise how cells stick together or separate during cooking.

• IFR in 2001 is available at www.ifr.ac.uk/publications (pdf) from 1 June.

• 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.
• ISDN Audio available.
• Pics available