Taste & Flavour, Upcycling and Sustainable Processing - Digital Uni Food Day 2022

04 October 2022

Lactobacillus Helveticus… For people into latin definitions and detailed understanding of processes within food production and upcycling as well as the science behind taste & flavor, there was plenty to gain from participating in this year’s Digital Uni Food Day on 30th of August in which Arla Foods, CP Kelco and Lactosan introduced research topics to discuss with researchers from knowledge institutions. The day was divided into three sessions with each one thematic focus, one company and three research persepctived from Danish knowledge institutions.

Arla Foods – Sustainable processing

During the first session, Peter Wejse, head of university collaboration from Arla Foods was curious about how the product is affected both by processing and packaging and as a part of a broader sustainability strategy of the largest dairy company in the Nordics. 
Lilia Ahrné from University of Copenhagen explained and illustrated at a macroscale and meso/microscale level how the viscosity of a fermented dairy product – e.g. a yogurt - is affected by the process, and suggested a company should have good control of the protein content of the input (e.g. milk) for ensuring a better gelification within the end product. 

Milena Corredig from the Dept. of Food Science of Aarhus University outlined some dilemmas when selecting product packaging, and shared insights on how to select the right packaging material according to the function.
Lisbeth Truelstrup Hansen, from DTU Food, explained pros and cons of using UV-lightening for disinfecting. For instance, the technique preserves vitamin D but destroys vitamin C. 

On 26th of October, Lilia Ahrné will introduce the learnings of a report on “gentle processing” during a workshop at University of Copenhagen.

Read more here about the workshop here

CP Kelco – Side streams/upcycling

Ibrahim Armargan, Product Development Manager from CP Kelco kicked off the second session by explaining just how the food ingredient producer selects the next product development investment using the FDSV-model, which analyses Feasibility, Desirability, Sustainability & Viability. He suggested to take a closer look at the functionalities and applications of proteins from the side stream from seaweed, from which the company extracts carregeenan.

Betül Yesiltas from DTU Food, who is already in collaboration with the company, took the participants through her investigations on enzymatically treated protein extracts from seaweed (s.c. “hydrolysates”). Her studies indicated that the hydrolysates can be used for different food applications such as oxidative or physical stability (in popular terms, delay rottening or changes in structure).

Marija Banovic, from the MAPP Centre, Dept. of Management, Aarhus University shared insights from studies on consumer acceptance of new products – e.g. sea weed. One of several conclusions was that positive claims such as health and sustainability provided at the eating and/or purchasing situation DO create a higher acceptance of new products and purchasing (claims must still respect the marketing & food legislation, of course).

Anne Christine Steenkjær Hastrup from the Danish Technological Institute introduced the possibilities for collaborating with knowledge institutions when validating the scalability and even outsourcing some of the production to shared facilities. This could be of the functional peptides identified in side streams from seaweed pulp from the production of carrageenan at CP Kelco, but also many others.

How to handle side streams is also the focus of one of the Networks by Food & Bio Cluster Denmark - “Side Streams from Food Processing”. Find out more on www.foodbiocluster.dk/netvaerk

Lactosan - Taste & Flavor

At the third session, Lactosan’s Head of Strategic Innovation Projects, Inger Hansen introduced her current scientific centre of attention; what’s really going on from a taste perspective when we use cheese powder? Lactosan is a supplier of taste enhancers made of cheese with more than 70 years experience looking at a global, annual growth of use of cheese-based taste enhancement of 4,5% (average, 2018-2021).

As an introduction to the scientific questions, the audience was taken on a fascinating journey through the processes of cheese production by Christian Solem, from Microbial Biotechnology and Biorefining from DTU Food. One of the key messages was that the type of lactic acid bacteria used in the process has an immense impact of the flavor, e.g. the Lactobacillus Helveticus gives a nutty flavour, while the Lactococcus lactis subsp. Lactis biovar diacetylactis will support a more “buttery” flavor.

Professor Karsten Olsen from the Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen provided the audience with the chemical science behind food pairing. His research supported the perspective of Lactosan that flavor enhancers which add fatty mouthfeel, umami and kokumi to a product or a dish, and ARE the future for a transformation towards a more meal composition richer in vegetables and green proteins. Cheese powder being a powerful one of several options.

Line Ahm Mielby from Danish Technological Institute finally supplied the audience with a useful, suggested structured approach to product development for SMEs. 

More information on natural food supplements, taste and flavor can be found e.g. in the report “Tilsætningsstoffer fra naturlige kilder” from 2021

Accessible funding and equipment

A special focus of the day was given to university-company collaboration for innovation and both accessible funding and access to specialized research equipment at knowledge institutions across Denmark. More information on research equipment ready for public-private collaboration can be found at https://food.au.dk/foodhay, while access to funding can be discussed with your primary contact from Food & Bio Cluster Denmark.

The Digital Uni Food Day would not have been possible without the funding from the National Board of Business Development (DEB) and the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science.

Back