New methods for food analysis

The Research Center for Bio-Macromolecules the University of Bayreuth and the ALNuMed GmbH, a spin-off of this research center, presented new methods of food analysis at Analytica in Munich 2014. At the joint stand of Bayern Innovativ they showed how the nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) is a highly efficient manner to enlighten ingredients and origins of food.

The University of Bayreuth operates one of the world's largest centers for NMR spectroscopy and applies this technology especially in the field of food and health sciences. With new NMR-based methods can meat, honey and herbal products - such as spices, vegetables or tea - are analyzed in just a few minutes reliable. Ingredients can be identified as well as quantified, without having to be disconnected consuming. In development are rapid test platforms for comprehensive ingredient profiles (iMetabonomics), methods for the detection of piracy and procedures for the protection of designations of origin and production method ( "molecular tag").

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Landmark judgment strengthens information rights of consumers

The publication officially identified test results for printing chemicals in food by authorities is lawful. At this landmark ruling, the Oberverwaltungsgericht Nordrhein-Westfalen comes from 1. April 2014 (Az .: 8 654 A / 12). Several food companies have appealed against the charge of Food and Agriculture Ministry after this the German Environmental Aid e. V. (DUH) wanted to convey findings on pressure chemical pollution in their products. The Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia dismissed the appeal of the food company Dr. Oetker on the grounds that investigation results to pressroom chemicals in foodstuffs do not constitute trade or business secrets of the company.

According to the results of the food authorities certain substances in printing inks which are applied inter alia on packaging and household goods, transferred to foods so that they are incorporated during consumption. Whether this was the case with the products of the company Dr. Oetker, the evaluation of the released after the ruling of the administrative court documents will turn out.

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Who will guarantee that expensive oil has not been forged or adulterated? An invisible label, developed by ETH researchers could fulfill this task. The label consists of tiny magnetic particles DNA which are packaged in a silicone shell and mixed with the oil.

A few grams of newly developed substance would be enough to highlight the entire oil production of Italy. On suspicion of forgery which added at origin particles could be fished out again from the oil and analyzed. So a unique identification of the producers would be possible. "The method is similar to a label that you can not replace," explains Robert Grass, lecturer at the Department of Chemistry and Life Sciences at ETH Zurich.

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Fungal toxins in food can seriously damage human and animal health and even cause cancer. Until now, the detection of these metabolic products from molds (mycotoxins) has been complex and time-consuming. Scientists and practitioners from the food industry are now working on a rapid test: Using infrared laser spectroscopy, they want to detect fungal toxins in food - and if possible on site in the field or in the supermarket. The European Commission is funding research to better diagnose fungal infestation for an initial two years.

The recently presented MYCOSPEC project group includes Professor Boris Mizaikoff, head of the Institute for Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (IABC) at the University of Ulm, as well as scientists from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and the research company IRIS (Castelldefels, Spain). There are also several small and medium-sized companies in the food industry and in the laser technology sector.

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The current aho interview with Thomas Pröller:

The German pig production and meat industry control inevitably lead to an exit from the surgical castration of piglets in 2019. Countries such as Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands have announced earlier dates. Aho goes into a conversation with the food technologists and butcher Thomas Pröller to the question whether all the homework already been made on the part of the meat processing industry.

aho: Europe has grown together over the last decades to a utility room with a fairly easy trade in food, consumer and industrial goods. How uniform Europe is in relation to boar fattening and meat.

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Practitioners meeting the Akademie Fresenius shows new regulations and potential dangers of the product manufacture and consumption of food on

Not since the recent horsemeat scandal is the "Safe Food" and outside the industry - literally - "all the rage". Consumers are confused as never before and are skeptical, which vendors and products they can really trust and is advised on where prefer caution.

What are the consequences drawn from the food scandals of recent years, the authorities on how to create a company more security in the production and in the supply chain and what new risks have to be considered, experienced representatives from the fields of quality assurance and management, Regulatory Affairs and laboratory and hygiene management on the 5. "QS-management meeting" the Akademie Fresenius at 12. and 13. June 2013 in Cologne.

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International Fresenius Conference "Contaminants and Residues in Food" considered a status on acrylamide, mercury and dioxins

The to-do list of the European Agency for Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and its CONTAM Panel (Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain) is getting longer. In addition to updates on food contaminants that even now the public have long been known as such in the art and a term that increasingly more ratings have discovered to New or recently fallen into suspected substances are created. News about "old friend" and actual results to investigate new problem areas afforded the eighth International Fresenius Conference "Contaminants and Residues in Food" on 22. and 23. April 2013 in Mainz.

Rolaf van Leeuwen (Wageningen University, The Netherlands) presented EFSA's findings on dioxins and brominated flame retardants in foods for babies and young children. The data on the occurrence of these substances, which were submitted by various EU countries, were all below the maximum limit for dioxins and brominated flame retardants. The highest levels have been set for ready meals based on fish and meat. Unfortunately, it was not possible to identify a trend over time and no statement could be made about the current situation, as the investigation was based on upper limits, said van Leeuwen.

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Bizerba organized theme day for quality assurance in the food industry

Premiere in Bochum: Bizerba has organized a theme day for quality assurance (QA) in the food industry. QA managers from various industries gathered in the Park Inn hotel, to discuss with experts from Bizerba, the TÜV Süd and the FPQS Laboratory of Microbiology questions about quality management.

The International Food Standard (IFS) is a globally recognized quality standard for food safety. In the recent sixth version he takes from July 2012 criteria for product safety and quality management under the microscope. Leading retailers such as Metro, Rewe and Edeka require the IFS certificate from food producers to increase consumer safety.

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When is wine matured? When spoils cereal? Where explosive gases? The control of industrial goods and the living and working range of people requires sensors that are rugged, self-sufficient and cost-effective. Novel hybrid sensors that detect a wide range of substances in air and water, can help to identify risks and to conserve resources. In order to accelerate the strategic development of hybrid sensors, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and its partners have now established a club.

"The material flows of the economy must be constantly monitored to ensure the quality of products to guarantee" explains Hubert Keller, group leader at the KIT and chairman of the newly founded association "HybridSensorNet". "We want to network developers from industry and research to develop advanced sensor technologies and to set the course for long-term cooperation."

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Almost all foods contain the genetic material of that animal and plant species that have been used as ingredients. Scientists from the Institute of Molecular Genetics, genetic engineering safety research and advice to the University of Mainz (JGU) is now a new screening methods have developed, which enables highly sensitive, quantifiable estimate of quantity of animal, plant and microbial food ingredients. The most modern techniques of DNA sequencing are used which otherwise present help in human genetics to elucidate the genetic information of thousands of patients.

"The new compared to conventional DNA detection methods such as the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, is that we can detect such species on the bioinformatic analysis of all globally available DNA data of organisms that are completely unexpected. In addition, we can have a simple digital counting of short DNA snippets to share individual species probably determine more precisely than before, "said molecular geneticist Professor. Dr. Thomas Hankeln, of the method together with the bioinformatics scientist Univ.-Prof. Bertil Schmidt, Ph.D. and colleagues from the German and Swiss food control authorities have developed.

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Fresenius Conference "Food Safety and Dietary Risk Assessment" presents new research on the subject of food safety

Pesticide residues and other contaminants in food can have serious consequences for the unsuspecting consumer. Short term problems are possible as well as lingering effects that show their full extent in the form of serious disease only after several years or decades. Across Europe, researchers are working on new models, methods and procedures in order to specifically detect risks, evaluate and develop countermeasures. The latest findings in the field were now at the eleventh International Fresenius Conference on "Food Safety and Dietary Risk Assessment" on 20. and 21. February 2013 discussed in Mainz.

Khaled M. Abass (University of Oulu, Finland, and Menoufia University, Egypt) explained in his lecture on the topic of "movement and metabolism of pesticides" that the exploration of pesticide metabolism plays a key role in the risk assessment. The latter is dependent on reliable, scientific information that could be provided by the characterization of metabolism and movement behavior of individual substances, Abass began. The metabolism is one of the factors that would take the great influence on the toxic profile of a pesticide. Enzymatic reactions come sometimes to a so-called "metabolic activation" of the substance, which thereby pass over from an innocuous in a reactive form, continues the expert.

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