Episodes
-
Spore-forming bacteria as probiotics
With the ever-increasing consumer demand for healthy and functional foods and beverages, probiotics offer a path for producers to differentiate products and meet the needs of more customers. In parallel, probiotics and ingredient companies are looking for ways to use new bacterial strains to deliver probiotic health benefits. However, working with these live and often sensitive microorganisms can be difficult.
With their stability and resilience, spore-forming bacteria are gaining attention for potential health-promoting applications. Janneke Ouwerkerk, Department Head Microbiology at NIZO, explains the benefits and challenges of choosing a spore-forming bacterium as a probiotic.
-
Alternative methods of producing proteins offer exciting opportunities for creating vegan alternatives to animal-based products and ingredients. Some of these even promise to create ‘animal proteins, without the animal’.
But with high costs for development and production, how can you be sure you are on the right track? Emma Teuling, Project Manager Protein Functionality Herwig Bachmann at NIZO, tells us about the hurdles of making techniques such as precision fermentation feasible.
-
Missing episodes?
-
Dietary fibre plays a key role in human health; fibre-rich foods and prebiotics can help promote gut health and benefit the gut microbiota, for instance. Adding fibre to foods and ingredients can thus help increase their attractiveness to consumers, and differentiate them in a competitive market.
Petra Scholtens, Project team leader Nutrition & Health at NIZO, explains how in vitro models and human trials, supported by bioinformatics, can help manufacturers identify and demonstrate the health benefits of dietary fibres.
-
When consumers shop for food, food safety is rarely at the top of their mind, because they see it as a ‘given’. Clearly, all food on the market must be safe and it is up to producers to ensure this.
But the risk of contamination runs through the entire food production chain: from raw materials and ingredients, to formulation and processing, and on to the finished product. Some microbial contaminants are pathogenic and cause foodborne infection.
Others produce toxins in foods – which can be just as dangerous as a food manufacturer, preventing outbreaks of food-borne illness is key: a health issue linked to your product can have serious repercussions for your company, your reputation and your brand.
Marjon Wells-Bennik, NIZO’s Principal Scientist Food Safety, with over 20 years academic and industrial experience in food safety and microbiology, explains the dangers of bacterial toxins in food, and what food producers can do to minimize the risks.
-
By 2050, the global population may reach 10 billion people. Feeding this booming humanity will require increasing food production by more than 60% placing intense pressure on resources including arable land and fresh water.
Food and ingredient companies are thus turning an interested eye towards microbial biomass as a potential sustainable source of protein. Yet, as Rianne Ruijschop, Department Head Health at NIZO, explains, sustainability is only one side of the story for edible biomass. It’s time to look at the potential nutritional and health benefits, as well.
-
It has been widely reported that around one third of all the food produced globally is wasted. This represents a huge environmental impact and also is a huge cost for the food industry. Peter de Jong – NIZO’s Principal Scientist in food processing, professor of dairy process technology at Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences and director of New Technology Development for Food at the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology (ISPT) – explains how food fractionation and the smarter use of raw ingredients could enable more sustainable food products.
-
The market for probiotics and other microbiome modulators is expected to grow 6.7% annually from 2020 to 2027, reaching $76.7 billion by 2027. And as we learn more about how bacteria can promote health beyond the gut, new potential applications abound.
But probiotics are no ‘low-hanging fruit’: there are many challenges in developing and producing these living organisms. To reduce risk and ensure fast time to market, they must be addressed as early as possible.
We get the latest insights from microbiome and fermentation expert: Dr. Janneke Ouwerkerk.
-
The market for probiotics and other microbiome modulators is expected to grow 6.7% annually from 2020 to 2027, reaching $76.7 billion by 2027.
And as we learn more about how bacteria can promote health beyond the gut, new potential applications abound. But probiotics are no ‘low-hanging fruit’: there are many challenges in developing and producing these living organisms.
To reduce risk and ensure fast time to market, they must be addressed as early as possible. We get the latest insights from by wo experts microbiome and fermentation expert: Dr. Janneke Ouwerkerk.
-
In this Podcast, NIZO Food Research Division Manager René Floris will be exploring some of the key issues and challenges facing the nutraceutical and food ingredient industry today.
Reducing food waste trough microbial quality control
Globally, as much as one-third of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted every year. One reason food may be discarded is the presence of microbes that can cause spoilage or illness. This makes proper food safety and chain control in food development and production a key aspect of reducing food waste.
Microbiology and Food Safety expert Robyn Eijlander from NIZO discusses how to ensure and control microbial quality when adding novel ingredients or probiotics, or adapting processes.
-
Podcast 13: FROM BIOMASS TO HIGH-VALUE FOOD PRODUCT: FERMENTED NON-MEAT PROTEINS
In this Podcast, NIZO Food Research Division Manager René Floris will be exploring some of the key issues and challenges facing the nutraceutical and food ingredient industry today.
From biomass to high-value food product: fermented non-meat proteins
Producing proteins from single cell microorganisms is an exciting and fast-growing area in the food industry. But as Renske Janssen, NIZO’s Project Manager Protein Technology, explains, companies that have developed a microbial protein have a long and complicated journey to turn it into a useable, marketable and profitable food ingredient.
-
In this Podcast, NIZO Food Research Division Manager René Floris will be exploring some of the key issues and challenges facing the nutraceutical and food ingredient industry today.
Meeting consumer sensory expectations for “reduced” food products
Developing new formulations for familiar products is a major part of the food industry. For example, to meet consumer demands for food products with less fat, sugar and/or salt, or plant-based versions of traditional animal-based favourites. But while consumers are eager for healthier, more ethical and environmentally friendly foods, they also expect the same eating enjoyment as they get from the foods they know and love. Els de Hoog, Senior Project Manager Flavour and Texture at NIZO, explains how manufacturers can deliver the right sensory experience when reformulating food products.
-
In this Podcast, NIZO Food Research Division Manager René Floris will be exploring some of the key issues and challenges facing the nutraceutical and food ingredient industry today.
Scaling up plant protein production processes:
To meet the ever-growing market for food and beverages with a plant-based claim, start-ups and ingredient manufacturers alike are reaching further afield for sustainable sources and side streams from which to extract proteins. Ruud Heshof, Senior Project Manager at NIZO, discusses the journey to prove the viability of a new plant protein and get it market-ready.
-
In this Podcast, NIZO Food Research Division Manager René Floris will be exploring some of the key issues and challenges facing the nutraceutical and food ingredient industry today.
Sleep is a key promoter of emotional wellness and health in general. Lack of sleep is known to contribute to conditions such as stress, depression, obesity and diabetes. But in the modern world, sleeping well seems increasingly difficult, with up to 30% of consumers saying they often have trouble getting to sleep.
There is growing evidence that the gut microbiome might influence our general health via the gut-brain axis, and recently studies have hinted at a link between the gut microbiome and sleep quality. To explore that link, and its potential implications for the nutraceutical and food ingredient industry, René spoke to gut microbiologist Guus Kortman at NIZO.
-
In this Podcast, NIZO Food Research Division Manager René Floris discusses some of the big issues in today’s food industry.
Food production processes are becoming increasingly complex. Small changes can have big impacts on everything from food safety and product quality to production output and efficiency. But finding the right production set up can be a long and costly exercise.
In this episode René spoke to Kevin van Koerten, Project Manager and Processing Scientist at NIZO, about how computer modelling can help food manufacturers optimize their production processes.
-
In this Podcast, NIZO Food Research Division Manager René Floris discusses some of the big issues in today’s food industry. In this episode he continues his exploration of the protein transition by looking at food safety for plant-based foods.
The market for meat- and dairy alternatives is growing at a massive rate. But while these plant-based products may deliver as close an eating experience as possible to their animal-based counterparts, the food safety challenge they present can be very different. To find out more, René spoke to Robyn Eijlander, Senior Project Manager Microbiology and Food Safety.
-
In this podcast NIZO Food Research Division Manager René Floris continues exploring some of the key issues and challenges facing the nutraceutical and food ingredient industry today.
During the current pandemic, customer demand for immunity-boosting nutraceutical and food products has strongly increased: according to the latest Innova Market insights, over 60% of consumers worldwide are looking for products that support the immune system. In a previous podcast, we discussed the importance of the pre-clinical stage, highlighting several in vitro technologies that can help companies build scientific evidence on the immune health benefits of their ingredients and components.
Now, we take a look at the next step in this journey: human clinical trials, with Alwine Kardinaal, Expertise Group Leader Nutrition & Health at NIZO.
-
In this episode we talk about smarter processing in food. Having chosen the right protein source, the challenge turns to ensuring you can maintain the desired functionality of that protein during processing and deliver the associated benefits to your customers.
In this podcast you can find out the role of processing in protein functionality. The role of processing in protein functionality was put under the microscope by asking questions to Peter de Jong, Principal Scientist Processing at NIZO.
In addition to his role at NIZO, Peter is professor of dairy process technology at Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences and director of New Technology Development for Food at the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology.
-
In this episode we talk about Fermentation while its importance for developing plant-based products has quickly grown. However, selecting cultures, blending strains, and controlling the fermentation process is far from simple.
To find out how to do that effectively, René Floris spoke to Wim Engels, senior Project Manager and expert in food fermentation for NIZO, who has over 30 years of experience in the fields of fermentation, chemistry, biochemistry and cheese ripening.
-
In this episode we talk about Food Safety. All too often, controlling pathogenic and spoilage microbes in a new or reformulated food product comes at the end of the development process. In this podcast you can find out how a more holistic approach from the start can solve potential problems as part of the product development itself.
In this podcast, Marjon Wells-Bennik, NIZO’s Principal Scientist Food Safety with over 20 years academic and industrial experience in food safety and microbiology, explains how a more holistic approach from the start can solve potential problems as part of the product development itself.
-
In this episode we talk about health benefits of food. These are attracting a lot of consumer interest. However, manufacturers can’t just make unsubstantiated health claims.
In this podcast you can find out in vitro testing can provide important evidence to create compelling stories. To find out more, René Floris spoke to Anita Hartog.
Anita is Senior Scientist in Nutrition and Health at NIZO and has over twenty years industrial experience studying the health and immunological impact of food.
- Show more
