Insights obtained by microtechnological observations as a basis for sustainable food processes design
Authors: Claire Berton-Carabin, Karin Schroën
Wageningen University, Food Process Engineering Group, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Supplying a growing world population with sufficient and healthy foods is one of the major challenges we face as mankind. Although currently sufficient food is produced, the production of healthy food needs to be increased in a sustainable manner; however there is a clear shortage of tools that allow observation at very small (nano-micrometre) scale, and within short times.
To mediate this we propose the use of microtechnology, and show examples of how this has led to new insights in the fields of emulsion formation, e.g. allowing observation of dynamic interfacial tension effects, and coalescence stability. This is not only relevant for the emulsions prepared with microfluidics but also for current technology used for emulsion preparation. The tools that were developed allow also for ingredient functionality testing, which is relevant for e.g. the protein transition going from dairy based, to plant based materials of which the functionality is very poorly understood.
Furthermore, we will touch upon sensors and link that to what the products of the future may look like, and ultimately discuss how microfluidics can be used to investigate digestion of foods, and their effects on organs. All these insights will allow us to design the foods of the future that are both healthy foods in and sustainable.
Biography of Karin Schroen & Claire Berton-Carabin
Dr. Claire Berton-Carabin holds a BSc from Angers, an MSc from Bordeaux, and PhD degree from Nantes University and INRA, all in France. After that she did post-docs at Penn State (USA), and Danone (the Netherlands). Since 2013, Claire Berton-Carabin has worked within the food microtechnology group at the Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, first as assistant professor, and was recently promoted to associate professor. Her field of specialisation is emulsion preparation and design using sustainable ingredients.
Prof. Karin Schroen, holds an MSc and PhD from Wageningen University. She was a post doc at UCL, London, and the biotechnology group of Wageningen University, and became an assistant professor right after. Since 2012, she is a full professor and has her own research group dedicated to fundamentally investigating processes on small scale, and translating this knowledge to processes occurring at large scale (food microtechnology group.
Claire and Karin have intensely worked together during the last 6 years, trying to link effects occurring at the oil water interface to healthy products that can be made in a sustainable way. For example, the use of plant proteins as a more sustainable alternative for animal based proteins has been researched at various scales ranging from nanometres (interfacial layers), to micrometres (e.g. coalescence behaviour) and beyond (in actual products, and even during digestion).
Day: Wednesday December 11th
Where: Agro & Food
Time: 09:50h – 10:20h
