Stephanie Seege, Founder of Nordchocolate-owned brand kAAKAO talks about her work to push for a change in the EU legislation so that she can call her date-sweetened cocoa bars 'chocolate'.
Levels of severe obesity in children aged 10 to 11 years have reached the highest point since records began, according to new figures published in July 2018 by Public Health England (PHE)[1]. This trend has been decades in the making – reversing it will not happen overnight.
The Food Standards Agency has successfully completed a pilot using blockchain technology in a cattle slaughterhouse[2]. It is believed to be the first time blockchain has been used as a regulatory tool to ensure compliance in the food sector.
A new project has been launched to examine how the Internet of Things (IoT) could transform the food industry through innovations such as ‘smart’ cooking appliances, data-driven supermarket refrigeration networks and enhanced food traceability systems[3]. The project is funded by a £1.14m grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to nurture and grow the UK’s food manufacturing digital economy.
Scientists at the University of Kent have discovered that the vitamin content of some plants can be improved to make vegetarian and vegan diets more complete. Vitamin B12 (known as cobalamin) is an essential dietary component but vegetarians are more prone to B12 deficiency as plants neither make nor require this nutrient.
A team, led by Professor Martin Warren at the University’s School of Biosciences, has proved that common garden cress can take up cobalamin. The amount of B12 absorbed by garden cress is dependent on the amount present in the growth medium.
Campden BRI has developed a new method to rate the chilli heat of complex products, such as ready meals and cooking sauces[5]. The calibrated method uses the company’s highly-trained panel of taste testers to provide retailers and manufacturers with a consistent way to rate their products as mild, medium, hot or very hot.
Three major retailers, Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, have joined forces with plastic packaging manufacturer, Faerch Plast, and recycling and waste management company, Viridor, to put recycled black plastic into new food grade packaging[6, 7]. The aim is to provide a circular economy solution to a previously challenging material that was difficult to recycle and to reduce the amount of virgin plastic entering the economy.
The British Poultry Council (BPC) has released its 2018 Antibiotic Stewardship Report[8], which highlights the achievements made by the British poultry meat sector’s drive to deliver responsible use of antibiotics to safeguard the efficacy of antibiotics across the supply chain.
A team of scientists lead by Brunel University London are developing a molecular test and a smartphone app that, when used together, can detect six key pathogens in poultry[9]. Backed by £615,000 from the UK government’s Newton Fund, Brunel will work with the University of Surrey and Lancaster University to develop the tests over the next three years.
I have recently been invited to attend meetings with two significant-sized food businesses to talk to their technical managers about what IFST does and can do to support those in technical roles – particularly around encouraging their continuing professional development (CPD).
A team of students from the University of Nottingham won the gold prize at Ecotrophelia UK with their spicy BBQ flavoured savoury snack. The ‘RICH Pickings’ team has developed ‘Pom Puffs’ – a tasty and nutritious snack made from extruded apple pomace and maize, packaged in a recyclable pouch. Each member of the gold-winning team took home a share of £2,000 and an invitation to become an IFST Young Ambassador.
