Originating from the silage that cows eat, C. tyrobutyricum is a significant problem for cheese makers, especially manufacturers of hard or semi-hard cheeses. Even small amounts can produce butyric acid, which gives off a rancid taste, and result in an excess build-up of carbon dioxide causing cracks to emerge.

Writing in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, scientists from the Institute for Food Research (IFR) claim to have identified and characterised a microorganism that specifically attacks the contaminant.

They concentrated their work on a bacteriophage (a type of virus that infects bacteria) called ΦCTP1. This produces a protein, called an endolysin, which recognises C. tyrobutyricum and breaks open its cells from the inside.

By sequencing the genome of endolysin, identifying the gene encoding it and then expressing this gene in E. coli, IFR research leader Arjan Narbad told DairyReporter.com that the team was able to produce endolysin and introduce it to break down C. tyrobutyricum from the outside.

Highly specific

In laboratory trials and in milk, Narbad said endolysin proved to be effective in reducing levels of C. tyrobutyricum and importantly their research suggests that it is highly specific. This means that using endolysin to control the bacteria may not interfere with the bacteria that ferment the cheese.

To develop the technology further, Narbad said there are two potential possibilities. Firstly, endolysin can be made in the lab and then added in the cheese making process in place of lysozume, which is often used to control C. tyrobutyricum contamination but with some concerns about resistance.

Secondly, endolysin could be expressed in Lactococcus lactis, the bacterium involved in the cheese fermentation process. This would ensure that the endolysin can be produced in situ during cheese production but would make the resulting cheese a GM products.

In any case the next step is to test the endolysin technology in the cheese manufacturing process. To do this Narbad said the IFR team plans to complete trials with Dr Margarita Medina at Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) in Spain.

Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology
doi:10.1128/AEM.00989-10
Genomic sequence and characterisation of the virulent 1 bacteriophage ΦCTP1 from Clostridium tyrobutyricum and heterologous expression of its endolysin
Authors: Melinda J. Mayer, John Payne, Michael J. Gasson, and Arjan Narbad

Food manufacturers have benefitted from a rise in at-home eating, as US consumers cut down on restaurant meals in favor of convenient prepared foods for home consumption, but many have assumed that consumers would go back to eating at restaurants more once the economy recovers.

According to the NPD Group’s new report examining the US foodservice industry, entitled A Look into the Future of Foodservice, restaurant visits are likely to increase at a rate of 1.1 percent a year over the next decade – a slower rate than population growth.

The report’s author and NPD’s restaurant industry analyst Bonnie Riggs said this trend is largely due to the effect of an aging population, as older consumers tend to be less frequent restaurant users.

“In addition to being hit hard by the recession, Americans are eating more suppers at home, and fewer women entering the workforce have negatively impacted restaurant industry traffic,” Riggs said. “…There isn’t much that can be done about the aging of the population and population growth.”

She said that trend momentum – which tracks factors like new menu items, promotions, and restaurant openings and closures – has been unfavorable for the restaurant industry over the past nine years, but that the restaurant industry could still change the direction of the forecast.

Riggs said: “Forecasts are something to be worked against, but are not cast in stone. They are used to assess potential opportunities and risks for the purpose of long-term planning. The future course can be altered.”

This is not the first time that it has been suggested that increased eating at home is likely to continue even as the economy recovers.

A survey commissioned by ConAgra and carried out at the end of March, questioned 1,018 adults nationwide about their grocery shopping and eating habits, and found that many consumers intend to continue cooking at home, using coupons and bargain-hunting.

Associate professor Kevin Keener, of Purdue University in Indiana, said the fast cooling of eggs after laying and processing would “significantly reduce the ability of salmonella to grow inside the egg and potentially keep consumers from becoming sick”.

Egg recall

The US is currently enacting a recall of at least half a billion eggs as people have been sickened by salmonella across the country.

Keener was quick to point out that ‘natural contamination’ from shell eggs was relatively rare and the current problems were more likely to have arisen because of sanitation failures within the processing environment.

“There is a big discussion right now about how food safety in the US is regulated and cooling eggs is part of that debate,” he told FoodProductionDaily.com.

Six days

Federal guidelines on how quickly eggs should be cooled do not currently exist – but Keener pointed out that under present industry practices, it can take up to six days for eggs to cool to 45F (7C) – the temperature at which salmonella can no longer grow.

Keener said eggs can be more than 100 F (38 C) after washing and packaging in cartons. Thirty dozen eggs are then packed in a case, and 30 cases are stacked onto pallets and placed in refrigerated coolers. The eggs in the middle of the pallet can take up to 142 hours to cool to 45 F degrees. He said scientists estimate that one in about every 20,000 eggs has salmonella naturally inside.

“The eggs in the middle of a pallet may take up to six days to cool, and if the one in 20,000 that has salmonella is in the middle, the bacteria will grow,” Keener said. “In reality, some eggs don’t cool to 45 degrees until they’re in the refrigerator in your home.”

Salmonella reduction

By contrast, the food safety expert said the rapid cooling technology he and colleagues have been developing and refining over the past dozen years takes just 90 seconds.

“Studies from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) show that if eggs were cooled and stored at 45 degrees or less within 12 hours of laying, there would be an estimated 78 per cent fewer salmonella illnesses from eggs in the United States each year,” he added.

He said he believed his system was unique but added alternative solutions had been developed.

Commercialisation

Keener said the system could be easily adapted for large-scale egg production and he is seeking a commercial partner to enable him to do this. He estimates treatment with the technology would cost between two and five cents per dozen eggs for a large producer but would not slow processing speeds and result in a near-doubling of egg shelf life.

“The technology extends shelf life from the basic 6-8 weeks to 12-15 weeks depending on how the eggs are stored,” said Keener. “This extension would make the process commercially viable as the shelf life would be such that producers would have the potential to export.”

Mike Wilson, president of the British Automation & Robot Association (BARA) told FoodManufacture.co.uk that despite a 172% growth in robot sales to the UK food and drink industry since 2006, the UK still lagged significantly behind its EU neighbours.

Wilson said that leading robot suppliers were beginning to understand that user-friendly, affordable systems could boost the popularity of their wares, rather than complicated systems that tried to accomplish too many tasks.

He said:“Certainly leading robot suppliers are driving towards developing robots that are easier to programme and maintain, systems that non-engineers can use.”

He added that SMEs in the food and drink industry found it particularly difficult to afford engineers specialising in advanced manufacturing technologies, whether as permanent staff or consultants.

Short-term payback

Another rationale for cheaper, less complicated systems was short-term payback, Wilson said, with UK manufacturers eager for quick returns from pricey, complicated machines because of worries about whether they would keep key retail contracts:

“One problem for businesses here is that the supermarkets have so much power,” Wilson said. “I feel they could be a little more proactive and encourage suppliers to innovate in exchange for contractual security.

“It would benefit the whole supply chain and prevent a vicious circle: if smaller manufacturers don’t spend on automation they risk losing contracts, but if they innovate, they worry about capital expenditure and potentially long payback times.”

Wilson said that German manufacturers only expected payback after five years, on average, and uptake of robotic technology was consequently higher than in the UK, as the latest International Federation of Robotics figures for 2008 show.

Within the food and drink industry, 823 robots were sold in Germany compared with 74 in the UK during 2008. Germany had a total of 4,817 robots in the industry, while the UK only had 637.

Simulation techniques

Nonetheless, Wilson said that baking and confectionery were two areas of food manufacturing where automation was making inroads, with current food and beverage industry growth driven primarily by “large manufacturers”. He mentioned primary and secondary packaging as two tasks for which robots were proving popular.

One scheme to encourage automation through affordability was launched by the Centre for Food Robotics and Automation (CenFRA) in July.

It employs 3D computer simulations to help food manufacturers ‘virtually’ evaluate the merits of automating aspects of production processes, and helps them avoid the expense of installing potentially unsuitable trial systems.

A CenFRA spokeswoman told FoodManufacture.co.uk said that new simulation techniques could be used by the food and beverage industry as a whole, and that uptake had been good thus far.

She cited a recent trial at Yorkshire-based pork pie maker Vale of Mowbray:“The firm wanted to expand a production line using robotics. They simulated a proposed idea using CenFRA simulation and found it didn’t work for them.

“It actually made production less efficient, and the design was subsequently fine-tuned. Obviously this saved them money on dummy trials.”

According to BARA, the food and drink sector accounted for 17% of UK robotics sales in the second quarter of 2010, second only to the pharmaceuticals industry (at 19%).

Overall sales of robotic equipment in the first half have also grown for the first time since 2006, and are 55% up on 2009, said BARA.

Developed by California State University professor Gour Choudhury, the new processing system uses air to blast peel off fruit and vegetables. A specialist in food processing systems, Choudhury estimates that the technology could cut fruit and vegetable companies’ water use by up to 80 per cent, saving tens of thousands of euros each year.

Choudhury told FoodProductionDaily.com: “We did a commercial prototype run last year, and it worked very well. We are doing a full-scale commercial run this year.”

Waste water discharge

According to the patent application filed by Choudhury with the US Patent and Trademark Office: “Using air to remove the loosened peel instead of the conventional use of water significantly reduces the freshwater requirements and substantially reduces the quantity of wastewater discharge with very low concentration of contaminants.”

The technology focuses on the initial use of caustic fluid and/or steam to weaken the connection between the peel and the flesh of the produce. “Once the peel has been sufficiently loosened from the flesh, forced air may be applied to the surface of the produce to remove the loosened peel and any residual caustic fluid,” according to the application.

Following processing, the fruit and vegetable peels, caustic fluid, and water are collected and separated. The peels are then neutralized and fed to livestock, used as fertiliser, or used for pectin production. The caustic fluid and residual water can be recycled.

Conventional processing involves slicing fruit in half, removing pits and washing the produce in a lye solution that loosens the skin. The skin is then removed by water blasting as the fruit is carried along a conveyor belt.

Accountant-friendly

Under development for three years, the new technology promises to offer an environmentally and accountant-friendly peeling solution for processors of peaches, tomatoes and other soft fruit.

Cost of the equipment is estimated at $300,000 to $500,000.

California State University has dedicated a team to commercialise the technology which is now looking for industry partners.

Ed Yates, president of the Sacramento-based California League of Food Processors told local news provider Freshno Bee: “Anything that uses less water, energy and chemicals will help keep us compete against the rest of the world.”

In the third part of the FoodNavigator focus on meat substitutes, we take a look at the market for meat and meat replacements and the reasons behind the declining growth rates for both categories.

“Growth rates for meat are declining, but this is actually appearing to be the case for meat substitutes too. Perhaps surprisingly, in markets such as Spain, Italy and the UK, there is not much difference in growth at all despite the perception that people are switching from one to the other. The figures for the substitutes are more worrying still when you factor in the much lower base rates, which usually exaggerate any growth,” says Datamonitor analyst Mark Whalley.

Current market data for meat and meat analogues can be found at the bottom of this article.

Meat consumption declines

Analysts point to four key drivers for a general decline in meat consumption in Europe and North America. These are: health, ethics, price and ethnocentrism.

Health: Whether justified or not, many consumers perceive meat to be unhealthy, particularly red meat which has been linked to cardiovascular disease. “Several diets encourage the consumption of less meat, or even complete abstention. As a society that is growing increasingly obese, more and more consumers are looking to these kinds of diets as a means of managing their weight,” says Datamonitor.

Ethics: The analyst also points out that eating meat has increasingly become a moral issue, with people turning away from meat as they do not agree with the killing of animals.

Price: With meat getting more expensive, some consumers are looking for alternatives, whether these are meat analogues or something completely different. However, Whalley points out that prices are also going up for meat substitutes. “Actually as a percentage of total cost some of the substitutes are increasing in price faster,” he says, which partly explains why meat analogues have not taken off.

Ethnocentrism: “Consumers have grown more concerned with the possible dangers of consuming meat, especially that imported from elsewhere,” says Whalley. Historical food crises such as the BSE/beef and swine flu cases have made some consumers reticent to eat meat due to fears over safety. Consumers are also proving to be somewhat less inclined to consume products imported from a long way away, as evidence by the rise of the localism trend.

Meat analogues: Missed opportunity?

However, market analysts indicate that meat substitutes are generally not shaping up to consumer needs and expectations, prompting them to suggest aggressive changes if the market is to be salvaged.

According to a survey conducted by Mintel, over half of consumers are disappointed with the variety of meat-free products, with a strong perception of poor taste of these products.

Meat substitute manufacturers need to focus on more exotic and ethnic flavours, as well as more premium products to increase appeal to many consumers, particularly women, says Mintel.

Datamonitor suggests that it may already be too late for meat substitutes.

“This could be a big missed opportunity for meat analogues. The growth rate of meat consumption is slowing yet these alternatives are not necessarily thriving. They still to an extent suffer from a widespread consumer perception that there is a significant compromise on taste – an issue still facing manufacturers of soy products, gluten-free products and similar,” says Whalley.

He also points out that consumer surveys highlight “a widespread dissatisfaction among consumers regarding the choice and quality of products available. It seems that rather than switching from meat to substitutes, some meat reducers/abstainers are actually just cutting the whole concept out altogether.”

Meat market data

The European market for meat is currently valued at US$228bn, which marks a 2.5 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2004, according to Datamonitor. Moving forward, the analyst forecasts a continued decline in growth rates, with CAGR set at 2.2 per cent between 2009 and 2014, when it expects a market value of $254bn.

A similar movement is seen in the North American market, which was valued at $45bn last year – a 2.8 percent CAGR since 2004. By 2014, the market is expected to reach $51bn, with CAGR dipping to 2.3 per cent.

When looking at volumes, there were 2.1bn kg of meat sold in Europe in 2009, and 2.4bn kg forecast to be sold in 2014. This marks a 1.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent CAGR from 2004-1009 and 2009-2014 respectively.

In North America, 4.9bn kg of meat were sold in 2009 and 5.2bn kg are forecast to be sold in 2014. CAGR comes in at 1.3 per cent from 2004-2009 and 1.7 per cent from 2009-2014.

Meat substitutes data

A similar decline in growth rates is seen in the market for meat substitutes, both in terms of value and volumes.

In Europe, the meat substitute market was valued at $2bn in 2009, which represented a 3.4 per cent CAGR between 2004-2009. By 2014 the market is forecast to reach $2.4bn, with CAGR dipping to 3.3 per cent.

In terms of volume, 226m kg of meat substitutes were sold in Europe last year, a 2.3 per cent CAGR since 2004. By 2014, volumes are forecast to reach 249m kg, with CAGR falling to just under 2 per cent.

The North American market for meat substitutes held a value of $326m in 2009, with a 3.1 per cent CAGR since 2004. Forecasts for 2014 place value sales at $368m, with CAGR dipping to 2.5 per cent.

Volume sales of meat substitutes in North America were 53m kg in 2009, with 2.6 per cent CAGR since 2004. By 2014, Datamonitor predicts volumes to increase to 57m kg, but CAGR will decrease to 1.7 per cent.

While popular meat alternatives include soy, wheat and Quorn – a mycoprotein derived from fermentation of the fungus Fusarium venenatum – there are a number of emerging opportunities in the meat substitutes market.

Soy protein-based meat analogs are among the most established meat substitutes and they have become more popular in recent years, as the protein’s palatability has been improved with a high-moisture extrusion process.

Texture like chicken

Professor of biological engineering and food science at the University of Missouri Fu-Hung Hsieh has been working for a number of years to produce a soy product that simulates the fibrous qualities of a chicken breast, rather than one that simply adds flavor and color to soy protein. He claims that the best process is one with a very high moisture content of up to 75 percent.

And researchers at the Canadian Food Science and Technology Centre in Brooks, Alberta have been working to produce meat analogs from peas, wheat and potatoes with a texture closely resembling that of chicken or fish. The researchers claim to have produced a high quality analog by extruding pea protein isolate at 92 percent protein, vital wheat gluten at 80 percent protein, and potato starch at high moisture levels.

Tasty veggie patties

Meanwhile, researchers at specialty hydrocolloids firm CP Kelco have been experimenting with ways to make patties from vegetables like sweet potatoes, for instance, that do not burn on the outside or fall apart before they are cooked on the inside. Speaking at the Research Chefs Association conference earlier this year, food scientist at CP Kelco Ted Russin presented his work with hydrocolloids that enable vegetable patties to form a Maillard crust – the tasty, crisp surface caused by a reaction in starchy foods between sugar and the amino acid asparagine.

Eco-protein

Meat-free marketing initiatives, such as giving up meat for one day a week, have had limited success in Europe and North America, but there is a growing body of research suggesting that meat and dairy consumption has a large impact on global carbon emissions. In view of this push toward switching out meat for environmental reasons, Dutch research institute TNO is working to extract proteins from coldwater algae, which it believes could herald a new, environmentally-friendly, source of protein and a meat analog.

Quite unlike livestock rearing, algae consume carbon dioxide, as well as nitrate and phosphate.

Ancient grain potential

And although it is thought to have been consumed by people for 6,000 years, quinoa is a relative newcomer in the meat analog market.

There has been increasing interest in its use as a nutritious gluten-free grain for bakery products, but Israeli food company Soglowek has sought to exploit its healthy attributes for the meat substitute sector by developing vegetarian patties that use quinoa as the main component, combined with soy protein and lentils.

Adriana Tong, director of Nekta Nutrition, told BakeryandSnacks.com that its new bakery ingredient Nektabake acts as a natural stabilizer, flavour enhancer and texturiser and is produced through a proprietary kiwifruit extraction process that relies on ”enhancing the natural attributes of the fruit” so that the pulp behaves like fat.

“The natural pectin in Nektabake acts in a similar manner to shortening, fats and oils and naturally mimics the volume and moisture of fats,” she said.

She said that the ingredient, which is supplied in a paste form (40-45 brix), ranges in colour from dark green to brown and has a pH of 3.3. “It is very cost affective to use and in most cases it will lower costs by 7 to 30 per cent in bakery products,” continued Tong.

Natural product

The company director said Nektabake is processed using all the fruit and contains no additives, or added sugars, artificial ingredients or preservatives, and thus adheres to manufacturers’ current clean label requirements.

It has been in development for many years, said Tong, but was only trial launched two years ago in New Zealand with selective industry players. This month sees its wider release.

Fat replacement

Pre-release evaluation of Nektabake was based on cakes, muffins, biscuits, bread and pastry products with trials demonstrating its successful incorporation into bread products with all the added fat, milk powders and eggs removed, she continued.

“The colour of the bread was a little darker than the control but the addition of soy flour ensured a whiter colour. The softness of the bread was good and improved after three days,” commented Tong.

In terms of pastry, she reports, a baker can remove up to 90 per cent fats but that the flavour will change at this level and in cakes, muffins and cookies it is possible to remove up to 100 per cent of fats but the manufacturer, said Tong, would then need to add a natural flavour to give the butter notes.

The natural fructose content in Nektabake enhances a product’s humectancy, explained Tong, and this helps to keep the bread product in a moist state. As fruit sugars are a food source for yeast, Nektabake will feed the yeast longer and in turn gives more volume, she added.

“In some cases it is best to add Nektabake to water (1 to 1) to make a more liquid form to get the best distribution in bakery products,” said Tong.

Multi-functionality

The Nekta Nutrition director also said that its multifunctional ingredient can prevent ice crystallization and makes most products microwaveable:

“The ingredient works in a way that is very similar to encapsulation, in that it coats the water particles to prevent the water from freezing. And the high moisture binding capabilities of Nektabake means it can take up to four times its own weight in water, thus helping to control water loss in products during microwaving.”

The company said that trials showed the ingredient can also be used in dairy and meat products.