Examples of uses of the Database by Food Industries

Examples of uses of the Database by Food Industries in Prediction, monitoring and control of Food Processes

1. Thermal processing. Quantitative HACCP (in conjunction with software for temperature prediction).Improved selection and design of coolers, freezers and ovens. Optimisation of retention of nutritive value during thermal sterilisation. Optimisation of the use of energy.

2. Mechanical processing. Predicting the influence of food composition on flow of foods through pipes and heat exchangers. Mixing of ingredients. Extrusion processing. Prediction of time-temperature relationships during high pressure processing of foods. Quantifying mechanical properties of foods and correlating them with consumer response (perception and preferences) to texture.

3. Mass transfer. Control of moisture and preservative migration. Extending the shelf-life of composite products by minimising undesirable migration (e.g. between pastry case and filling). Selecting the correct salting time, optimising the salt content (e.g. cheese, smoked fish). Predicting the ingress of anti-oxidants, flavour additives or other compounds into foods. Utilisation of rapid sensors for the on-line measurement of salt content of foods.

4. Microwave and ohmic heating. Ensuring the microbiological safety of foods heated by microwaves. (The danger is that the centre of the food is not properly heated. Knowledge of the dielectric properties enables correct design of microwave ovens and of food products including their containers. This improves the uniformity of heating and therefore aids inactivation of micro-organisms in the entire volume of the food).
The knowledge of dielectric properties is important for:

• Designing pre-cooked meals so that their different parts heat at nearly the same rate during microwave heating;
• Design and control of ohmic heating;
• Rapid sensing of food composition (detecting added water, glaze, adulteration).

5. Optical and colour properties of Food. Novel approaches to non-contact, hygienic sensors for process control using visible and infra-red optical properties. Rapid sensing based on optical and colour properties of foods: quality and freshness control in the fish and meat industries. Rapid quality control of raw materials, (e.g. monitoring cross-linking in gels, concentration of sugar solutions); detecting adulteration (e.g. in wine and honey).

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