Non Chlorine Rinse for Poultry

Spray washing chicken carcasses with a solution of lauric acid and potassium hydroxide could help processors design practical and non-chlorine-based sanitisers, said the US Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

The body, which is part of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), said the work was carried out as part of its mission to develop alternatives to chlorine rinses – which are banned in the European Union. Poultry treated with chorine sanitisers have been outlawed in the EU since 1997 in what has become one of the longest-running trade disputes between the two economic powers.

Lauric acid rinse

The study – published in the International Journal of Poultry Science – found that using the cleansing solution to wash eviscerated chicken carcasses was effective in eliminating bacteria that cause human foodborne diseases.

Researchers Arthur Hinton, Jr., John Cason and R. Jeff Buhr conducted a series of tests and concluded the cleanser, comprised of lauric acid and potassium hydroxide, could be used to disinfect chicken carcasses during processing prior to chilling.

In one set of studies they found that different concentrations of the sanitiser were significant. Results showed that increasing the concentration of lauric acid to two per cent and potassium hydroxide to one percent of the solution generally removed more bacteria from the broiler carcass.

“That means that the concentration of the cleanser is an important consideration when utilising it as a sanitiser,” said the ARS. However

In another series of studies, Hinton and his colleagues used varying spray pressures (60, 100 and 150 pounds per square inch) and found that pressure did not have a significant effect on reducing bacterial contamination.

The researchers further examined the effect of time on the ability of the spray-washing to reduce bacterial contamination of carcasses. Hinton found that increasing the amount of time the carcasses were sprayed from 5 to 15 or 30 seconds resulted in significantly reduced bacterial contamination.

Addressing European concerns

The study said alkaline salts of lauric acid are soaps that can cut microbial contamination by acting as surfactants that help remove bacteria from meat surfaces. It added that since fatty acids already have GRAS status that are normally found in food, their use should not raise the same health concerns as chlorine-based washes. These substances have been banned in Europe on concerns over the formation of human carcinogens in the meat.

The 13-year EU ban on chlorine treated poultry escalated last year when the US asked the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to adjudicate on the matter. The US lost patience with its EU counterparts after a request in 2002 to lift the ban was ignored. Brussels also refused to change it stance even though the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said in 2008 the banned chemicals were safe to use in poultry processing.

Bacteria Recovered from Whole-Carcass Rinsates of Broiler Carcasses Washed in a Spray Cabinet with Lauric Acid-Potassium Hydroxide by A. Hinton Jr., J.A. Cason, R.J. Buhr and K. Liljebjelke

Source: International Journal of Poultry Science

Tetra Pak unveils revolutionary UHT processing system

A revolutionary UHT milk processing system slashes production time by up to 90 per cent, cuts operating costs in half and reduces capital outlay by almost a third compared to conventional equipment, said Tetra Pak.

The processing and packaging company described its OneStep aseptictechnology “as a revolution when it comes to efficiency of processing UHT milk”.The single and high-throughput process eliminates the need for pasteurisation, pre-treatment and intermediate storage, Bengt Eliasson, Tetra Pak dairy aseptic solutions manager told FoodProductionDaily.com.

The truncated process therefore requires less equipment which means capital costs could be reduced by as much as 30 per cent compared to a conventional UHT milk processing line, with similar reductions in product losses also possible, he added.

The system has been developed for high capacity processors but would be suitable for medium-sized UHT operators “particularly when there is a new line installation”, said the firm.

Shortcut to UHT production

Raw milk is preheated, clarified, separated, standardised and homogenised in “one unbroken step”. The liquid then undergoes UHT treatment and regenerative cooling before being transferred to two aseptic buffering tanks.

The new system reduces processing times by 90 per cent from two days to just a few hours, and cuts operating costs by up to 50 per cent compared to conventional equipment, said the company.

“OneStep technology gives customers a shortcut to UHT milk production, maximising both product quality and safety with hygienic design in every detail and full traceability and control of the line," said Eliasson.

The core of the innovation – three years in development - lies in combining the heat treatment, separation and standardisation stages into a single step, thereby“significantly simplifying and accelerating” the production process, said the company. A further advance is that the equipment incorporates aseptic buffering. This ensures a UHT operation that is “completely automated and continuous ….with fewer process steps and smaller hold-up volumes in the line”.

“The whole process is far more efficient than conventional solutions, creating significant savings when it comes to operating costs and greatly reducing the environmental impact,” added Eliasson. “And because a lot less equipment and floor space are needed, capital costs are also lower. It adds up to greater efficiency at lower cost.”

Energy and water savings

The company said its OneStep system can cut energy and water consumption by up to 35 per cent. Waste and effluent load could be slashed by as much as 60 per cent thanks to the equipment’s increased accuracy of chemical use during cleaning-in-place (CIP) procedures and the fact that no CIP of the pasteuriser and intermediate storage tanks is needed.

Such economies are estimated to result in carbon footprint reduction of around 40 per cent, said Tetra Pak.

The method also streamlines product loss by up to 30 per cent compared to conventional systems, thanks to fewer process steps and smaller hold-up volumes in the line.

The company said the system is characterised by its flexibility – with the ability to change the fat content of milk products without stopping production – and to run milk with different fat contents at the same time. It promotes efficient production planning and high utilisation of filling machines - with up to 100 per cent availability.

“This means that you only need to stop the aseptic fillers for CIP of the filler. The process line is designed to supply the filling lines 24/7,” sais Eliasson.

Food Production Daily

Stevia tops preferences for low-cal chocolate

Beverages formulated with stevia are preferred by consumers over similar products sweetened with sugar or other common high intensity sweeteners, says new research from Croatia.

Cocoa beverages formulated with stevia produced “the most balanced attributes” when tested by a panel of 15 tasters, according to findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

“On the basis of these results, it can be seen that panellists preferred the drinks made with stevia sweetener, because it tasted well, was moderately sweet, and provided a well-balanced flavour and taste, which indicates a great potential of using this sweetener,” wrote the researchers, led by Drazenka Komes from the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology at the University of Zagreb.

On the other hand, the scientists also report that the highest scores for sweetness were observed for beverages formulated with a blend of aspartameand acesulfame K, indicating the potential of different formulations, according to local preferences.

There has been a great deal of excitement about stevia and its high purity component Reb A since the US Food and Drug Administration said it considers the zero-calorie, natural sweetener to be GRAS (generally recognized as safe) in December 2008. This was followed by a positive opinion from EFSA on the safety of stevia in April of this year. Final EU approval is expected next year.

Differentiation must be made between rebaudiside A and steviol glycosides in general. Rebaudioside A, also known as Reb A and rebiana, is a high-intensity sweetener derived from the stevia leaf. It is said to be approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar.

Boosting flavour, maintaining health

Cocoa beverages were formulated using two cocoa powders with various fat contents and a variety of sweeteners, including sucrose, glucose, maltodextrin, erythritol (all from Cargill), fructose (Merck), isomaltulose (Beneo-Palatinit), inulin and oligofructose (Beneo-Orafti), a 50-50 blend of aspartame/acesulfam K (Brenntag), and stevia (Kal, USA).

Microwave processing.

A revolutionary microwave sterilisation processing technique has been developed over a 13-year period by WSU professor Juming Tang and a team of university, industry and US military scientists. The technology received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance late last year to process mashed potato and the group is currently working on authorisation for other foods.  

Stevia in India

Stevia supplier GLG Life Tech has announced that it is looking to develop agricultural and extraction facilities for stevia in India, as well as market its stevia extracts in the nation.

fruit juices that have been subjected to ultra violet light (UV-C) disinfection not safe.

Writing in Food Chemistry, scientists at the Illinois Institute of Technology were particularly concerned that UV-treatment of juices containing HFCS may lead to the formation of furan – a volatile aromatic compound and suspected carcinogen.

Ozone could inactivate E. coli in apple juice, finds study

Research, published in Food Microbiology, investigated the efficacy of gaseous ozone on the inactivation of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and NCTC 12900 strains in apple juice of a range of pH levels, using an ozone bubble column.

The pH levels investigated by the researchers based at the Dublin Institute of Technology in Ireland were 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 and 5.

BioPlus to challenge Tate & Lyle in Sucralose

Bangalore-based BioPlus Life Sciences manufactures sucralose using a process it claims does not infringe any of Tate & Lyle's patents and is itself supported by a suite of patents.

BioPlus vice president Joe Zannoni told FoodManufacture.co.uk that he predicted “continued growth of existing products containing sucralose currently on the market as well as new product launches containing sucralose”.
 

Solae soy fiber increase yield in process meet

Solae said its Cenergy FMS ingredient contains a mixture of protein, soluble and insoluble fibre from the soybean cotyledon – the part of a seed embryo that becomes the first leaves of a seedling. According to the company, the combination of these components results in the ingredient’s ability to control purge, increase water retention and improve cooking yields in ground meat applications.

The ingredient is said to increase moisture retention with fast hydration and integration into manufacturers’ formulations.

No Weight Gain consume Sucralose

Results from animal studies that indicated sucralose could modify the absorption of glucose in the intestine were not observed when the sweetener was fed to humans, according to findings published in the British Journal of Nutrition.


Researchers from the University of Adelaide and the Royal Adelaide Hospital also report that consumption of the sweetener did not affect levels of a hormone linked to hunger - glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).
Previous studies with animals have suggested that sweeteners may interact with glucose and enhance the absorption of glucose in the gut via GLUT2 expression.

Noni approve as Noval Foods in EU

The tropically-sourced Morinda citrifolia or noni plant including beverages, beauty, and weight loss lines, has already received approval for its noni juice and its noni leaves under the bloc’s Novel Foods regulation.

The novel foods approval decision of 21 April published in the Journal of the European Union states that: “…On the basis of the scientific assessment, it is established that the fruit puree and concentrate from Morinda citrifolia (Noni) complies with the criteria laid down in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 258/97.”

Stevia Sweetener

The report, The Global Market for Intense Sweeteners, says that stevia-derived sweeteners are driving the move away from additives and ingredients that are perceived as artificial, and it already accounts for 14 percent of the intense sweeteners market, up from just one percent in 2007.

“Stevia represents one of the most dynamic sectors within the global intense sweeteners market by far, with sales having risen dramatically since the middle of the last decade as a result of increasing uptake within the US food and drinks industry,” the report said.

Tetra Pak helps manufacturer to safe cost.

Tetra Pak has claimed that its Operational Cost Reduction (OCR) programme for dairy and juice firms cuts the cost of running a packaging line by an average of 12 per cent.

The processing and packaging firm first introduced the programme back in 2008 to help customers running dairy, juice, and nector factories to drive effeciecies and cut costs. By setting up the consulting service, Tetra Pak also wanted to extend its own role from that of a supplier to a trusted partner.

Devise to track milk origin, no more fraud.

The new Milk Origin Verification Solution (MOVS) is based on the fact that every country has a unique stable isotope signature comprising ratios of varied oxygen, and hydrogen isotopes.

Picarro, the gas analyser supplier said that by working with researchers at Purdue University, IsoForensics has been able to maps stable isotope ratios of regional food and water supplies across the US.

Real time sensor monitor fermentation process.

The APPLES (Advanced Process and Production Light Enabled Sensors) project is run by a consortium comprising GlaxoSmithKline, fermentation technology expert Green Biologics and the Centre for Processing Innovation (CPI).

It is led by Stratophase, a spin-off from the University of Southampton best known for its SpectroSens optical microchip sensor for monitoring fluids in-line.

Dairy contribute 4% of GHG.

Using 2007 data, the FAO found that this figure was 1 969m tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent, a standard measure for comparing emissions of different GHGs.

In fact, carbon dioxide is only responsible for a small proportion of the total, especially in developed nations, with methane accounting for 52 percent of the GHG emissions.

The headline 1 969m CO2 equivalent figure translates to 4 per cent of global emissions but when taking meat production from the equation and focusing just on emissions related directly to milk products, the figure was 1 328m tonnes or 2.7 per cent of global emissions.

Ohmic Heating Technology

During ohmic heating, food serves as an electrical resistor, and is rapidly heated by passing an electrical current through it. The electrical energy is dissipated into heat, which results in rapid and uniform heating and eliminates burning, fouling on heat transfer surfaces and overcooking.

The technology was particularly well-suited for heating canned liquid foods containing large particulates, such as soups, stews, and fruit pieces in syrup, in which quality was often compromised by conventional cooking where heat was transmitted to the food by conduction and/or convection. This often caused overheating of the liquid in order to make sure the solids were properly sterilised, said Leadley.

By contrast, ohmic heating volumetrically heated the entire mass of the food, so that the temperature of the particulates was raised at the same speed as the surrounding liquid, creating a higher quality product, and far shorter cooking times, he claimed.

Other potential applications for ohmic heating include treating fruit juices to inactivate proteins; blanching; thawing; starch gelatinisation; speeding up fermentation in dairy production and fruit peeling without chemicals.
However, foods high in fat can present challenges as fat globules are poor conductors due to lack of water and salt.

Ohmic heating is also being trialled by UK firm C-Tech Innovation in partnership with anaerobic digestion company Bioplex to pre-treat sludge and slurry waste containing animal by-products, enabling their safe disposal. (Animal byproducts legislation requires such waste be heated to a minimum of 133°C for 20 minutes at 3-bar pressure.)

C-Tech is also designing ohmic heating systems to treat compost leachate, a liquid that drains out of compost, which must be pasteurised to destroy pathogens, said the firm.

Stevia Challenge in the Beverages Market

The positive opinion issued by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) last week for stevia extracts with at least 95 per cent purity of steviol glycosides paves the way for EU-wide approval next year.
This news has been greeted by a media buzz and welcoming noises from the stevia suppliers but market data from Mintel suggests that it may only prove significant in the long term.



In the US, a non-objection letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave beverage manufacturers the freedom to start formulating with Rebaudioside A [one of the best-known steviol glycosides] back in late 2008.

Indonesia Palm Oil Deforestation to Blame Biofuel, Not Food.

Political decisions encouraging biofuel production from palm oil is causing deforestation in Indonesia and not the low tonnage sourced by Kit Kat maker Nestlé, according to the chairman of the Swiss based food company.

In reply to a question from a Greenpeace representative about deforestation at Nestlé’s annual general meeting in Lausanne, the food group’s chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe claimed that it is not Nestlé’s 320,000 tonnes of palm oil that brought about deforestation in Asia but a political decision to use food as a source for biofuels.

Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER)

Leading companies and trade groups in the beverage industry have clubbed together to draw up guidance for greenhouse gas (GHG).

Big names from across the industry from Diageo to the Coca-Cola Company and the American Beverage Association joined the BIER to develop the united approach to GHG reporting.


The new document built on existing global protocols including the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and Publically Available Specification 2050 to develop guidance specifically for the beverage sector.

Malaysian Kopi-O Coffee Made from Liberica beans

There's a new coffee on the horizon. The centuries-old Malaysian Kopi, named Asia's best coffee by The Wall Street Journal, is a must-have for serious coffee lovers.

With its distinctive burnt flavor derived from roasting coffee beans with butter and sugar, kopi is quite different from the brews sold throughout the U.S.

Ozone

Because ozone is a safe, powerful disinfectant, it can be used to control biological growth of unwanted organisms in products and equipment used in the food processing industries. Ozone is particularly suited to the food industry because of its ability to disinfect microorganisms without adding chemical by-products to the food being treated, or to the food processing water or atmosphere in which food are stored.

In aqueous solutions, ozone can be used to disinfect equipment, process water, and some foodstuff. In gaseous form, ozone can act as a preservative for certain foods products and can also sanitize food packaging materials. Some products currently being preserved with ozone include eggs during cold storage, fresh fruits and vegetables, and fresh fish.

Until recently, the food processing industry limited its use of ozone mainly to the treatment of bottle water and wastewater because ozone was not approved by the FDA for food applications. Recent actions, however, have cleared away some major barriers to wider applications of ozone. In 1997, through efforts of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the FDA granted ozone with the status of "Generally Recognized As Safe" (GRAS) as a sanitizer and disinfectant for foods. EPRI accomplished this following guidelines set forth by the FDA. The process involved assembling a panel of experts on food, toxicology, and ozone to evaluate scientific and historic information on the use of ozone in food processing. The panel affirmed GRAS classification for ozone "as a sanitizer or disinfectant for foods when used at levels and by methods of application consistent with Good Manufacturing Practices." The FDA does not have to reaffirm the GRAS classification, and food processors now free to use ozone for sanitation or disinfection.

The GRAS classification for ozone was announced with a few months of the passage of a new Federal law which, for the first time, limits the presence of E. coli and Salmonella on meat and poultry. The timing of the GRAS classification is advantageous because ozone is particularly effective in inactivating these infectious agents.

Food processors and beverages manufacturers consume billions of gallons of water daily for food handling, washing, processing, and cooking and for cleaning equipment. All of this water must be free of contaminants. Even before ozone received GRAS status, the food and beverage industry had begun to recognize its potential as a disinfectant and as an alternative to chlorine, which traditionally has been used to treat food processing water. This is because ozone eliminates a problem associated with chlorine disinfection-the potential for the build-up of toxic residues of chlorine and chlorinated by-products in water that has been treated more than once.

Cleaning Chemiclas

Silicate product: good on fats removal, but bad on stainless steel surface. when drying, deposit is hard to remove.

When to perform Cleaning

Post-process cleaning

Pre-process cleaning

In-process cleaning

Factors Affacting Cleaning

Time

Action

Chemical Concentration

Temperature


Water

Individual

Nature of Soil

Surface to be cleaned.

How to identify fats, granse or oil on surface.

Hanging water droplets.

Greasy oily film.

Generally white appearance.