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Agrofood
Agrofood
A better life and a better future; right to foods
#WorldFoodDay Once again, the time has come to celebrate food, nourishment, and everything that surrounds this fundamental human right. Every year, on October 16th, the world comes together to celebrate and raise awareness of an essential aspect that affects all of us...
You can also consume locally
In a world that is increasingly globalized, the trend to consume local products and opt for short distribution chains has become increasingly relevant. This approach not only has economic implications but also environmental and social ones, positively impacting...
NIRS: Let´s not talk about “new technologies” but about good applications
What if we had a tool that we could carry in our pocket and that would allow us to control the quality of the food products at any point in their production? Dear sirs, we have it!! It seems like and advert selling a panacea,I know, but I´m not going beyond...
The Second Green Revolution, or how agrigenomics is transforming agriculture
In the 1960s, the American biologist Norman Borlaug used selective plant breeding techniques to create a dwarf variety of wheat that uses most of its energy to produce grain instead of stalks. This work won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 and, along with that of...
World Food Day; with soul of water
Today, 16th October, we celebrate once again a very important date for each and every living being of the planet; World Food Day. This time, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) pays tribute to precious resource essential for life; WATER....
Towards a Food Revolution: UN Food System Summit + Stocktacking Moment
The food revolution has begun in Rome! From 24 to 26 July 2023, the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was filled with hope and action at the event UN Food System Summit + Stocktaking Moment. More than 2,000 participants...
POCTEP INBEC Project: Circular and sustainable bioeconomy carried out to cross-border business cooperation
The global challenges we face in achieving sustainable resource management, while delivering economic development, require the close collaboration of all actors in a chain consisting of industrial (business), government and research sectors. In this context, Circular...
Redefining the value fo snacks; stress & snacks
Let me tell you... Food is intrinsically linked to our health and quality of life to the extent that melatimes play a crucial role in satisfying our needs both on a biological level (the nutrients provided by the food we eat) and on a psychosocial level. Among these...
Waiter! One of dung beetles!
This story beggins a sunday afternoon whichever, 2 documentary in the background. With the eye half-open I distinguish a scene in which a beetle locate fresh droppings and gives them the form of a perfect ball (aaaah! hence the name "dung beetle"!! With drums and...
World Food Day 2022; no one should be left behind
Economic crises, conflict, inequality and subsequent food price rises make difficult to access adequate food and the lack of availability creates even more inequality. All these situations are affecting food security and preventing a path towards ending hunger and...
New challenges in plant-based food
Environmental concern and awareness linked to the expected population growth, and with it the increase in demand for food and the need to ensure the sustainability of resources through more efficient processes has led to a change in the consumption trends. Consumers,...
Skip ad…
I´ m on my way to work and I hear an ad for a soft drink on the radio; during my break I see that my favourite singer encourages me to try it on social netwroks, he tells me it´ s great!; in the afternoon I go to the supermarket and I find a promotion of that soft...
Are we exposed to water and food shortage ?
For some time now, experts and major international organisations have been talking about the onset of a major global food crisis. A crisis that would put more than 265 million people at risk of famine, double the pre-pandemic estimates by COVID-19 for 2020. In...
EAT,PRAY,LOVE….the entire system that feed you
The theme that the World Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has given to the World Food Day of this year 2021 is "Our actions are our future". And so it is, like everything in life, each step and each action that we undertake, determines our...
Chemical fingerprint of food: an alternative way to fight against food fraud
Just as fingerprints are used to identify people, the chemical profile or "chemical fingerprint" of food is useful in the agri-food sector, because it provides information about the authenticity of food. The study of the digital chemical fingerprint allows, among...
Attention: NutriScore Traffic Light! We have a huge mess
NutriScore, is a nutritional traffic light intended to help consumers make healthier buying decisions by providing information on nutritional quality at a glance. It does this by using a algorithm that gives a lower (healthier) score for protein, fibre, fruit, nuts...
Dear food system
Today, October 16, is commemorated, as every year since 1979, World Food Day, promoted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This year, the FAO makes a special call to achieve healthy food for all corners of the planet and, especially, for the...
Heterotrophic microalgae, night efficiency in wastewater treatment
Microalgae here, microalgae there. It is so rare not to have come across any news about the exploitation and the thousand uses of these microorganisms that a few years ago we simply knew as those that dye salty and sweet waters green. Microalgae are a very beneficial...
On World Health Day, #stayhome but do it in a healthy and active way
April 7 is World Health Day. It is paradoxical that this year we will celebrate it confined due to a global pandemic. However, although #Istayhome, life goes on and we cannot let our guard down when it comes to health. Each of us associates the fact of being at home...
October 16th, World Food Day: #ZeroHunger
#ZeroHunger is the motto for the World Food Day that is celebrated on October 16 leaded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) worldwide. #ZeroHunger is also part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the World Health Organization...
Tell me what you eat… and I will tell you if it is good for our planet
We are increasingly aware of the food that we eat, the nutrition intake that food brings and the impact of our shopping and consumption habits have on the planet. That is as it should be. The food we consume, that is, our dietary habits, contributes in one degree or...
Acrylamide has a special ‘COLOR’
From the creators of “What doesn´t kill you makes you fatter or is a sin” and "You don´t know what to eat" appears "Take care if you like overcooking!" and "Nightmare in the kitchen, there is acrylamide in your food". For years it was known that acrylamide was a toxic...
Would you eat insects?
Entomophagy, or insect consumption by humans, is not a novelty to anyone. Diets based on insects and arthropods are fully accepted in many countries and cultures, especially in South America, Asia or Africa. Even they are a real delicacy for some gourmets experts, for...
The recommended intake of sweet consensus
Last July, EFSA published a protocol that sets out the strategy to follow for the collection of data that will be used for the development of a Scientific Opinion that establishes the maximum tolerable level of sugar intake. I know it could seem confusing, let me...
Trashcooking: the circular economy of food
Who has not practice “trashcooking” in his kitchen? Aren’t you? It is high time to start. Keep on reading to know how. “Trashcooking” is the new concept to call the old law of "the food is not pulled" coming from our grandmothers or what today could be called "the...
Edible flowers; the most glamorous realfooding
Perfect for decorating, giving, perfuming, infusing... and why not to eat? A few days ago we talked about "Realfooding", an initiative that is fortunately taking positions in social networks and at the tables of many houses. For those who need a little more variety,...
Alimentaria 2018
For those of us who work in R&D&I in food, the international reference events in the food sector, such as Alimentaria and Hostelco are very interesting. With 4.500 exhibitors from 70 countries and nearly of 150.000 registered experts, Spain has once again...
Spanish Food Industry: forced to improve the food composition
Food is a trending topic. It is known that a good diet is that which nutrients and food are properly combined, which allows a good state of health. However, disorders in the diet are currently a real challenge for public health. The growing figures of obesity and...
With M of Microbiome
In recent years the definition of the human microbiome has been postulated as an essential tool for medicine, pharmacy, nutrition and other disciplines in order to understand the role of microorganisms present in the body on health and immunity. In fact, the...
Malnutrition and the need of an optimal nutritional balance
The term “malnutrition” refers to a state in which a deficiency, excess or imbalance of energy, proteins and other nutrients. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) more than 2 billion people on the planet suffers some form of...
Natural soils or tecnosoils?
Artificial soils, also called tecnosoils, technosols or technosoil are, as the name implies, artificial soils made from mixtures of different non-hazardous waste and by-products. These technosoils are usually complemented with other raw materials for their application...
What is an online NIR and what are its uses?
The quality control of the products we consume daily is carried out by means of reference methods that present great limitations as to the necessity of sampling (which may or may not be representative of the whole), which also entails the manipulation and even...
Cereals: whole, refined or… improved?
There is no doubt that cereal grain are the main source of the diet of consumers around the world. In fact, global cereal production in 2016 was 2,6 million tonnes (FAO data) and account for 30 to 70% of daily energy consumption (FAO data). Cereal intake should be 2-3...
Sugar free, please: the ideal sweetener
We start the new year fulfilling the promise of writing a second part of the post "Without sugar, please” of possible alternatives to elaborate food without sucrose or "table sugar", the most commonly used sweetener in the industrialized world. So this year, my letter...
Do we toast with cava?
During these dates we usually toast at Christmas celebrations. The idea is to toast with a frothy drink, although sometimes we don´t know how to differentiate well one from the other, because we may confuse the terms “sparkling wine”, “cava” and “champagne”. Cava and...
Without sugar, please
Bad news for those people who love sweet food. In the Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children (2015), WHO recommends a reduced intake of free sugars to below 5% of total energy intake. A few 6 teaspoons of coffee/day (25 g), including sugar that provide food....
Snackification: eating and snacking
There is no doubt that the snack food market is one of the strongest in the food industry, as is evidenced by its increasing market value. The snack category of food used to meaning snack chips, nuts and other traditional snacks (extruded snacks, popcorn, nachos...
‘I fat with vegetables’
I tell you a real situation: Some years ago, I was chatting with a friend, when she looked at me very serious and said: I am not be able to lose weight! My doctor says that vegetables fattens me and the worst thing is that I love it! In that moment, those words seemed...
Which are the benefits of extrusion technology?
Extrusion technology allows to improve the nutricional, sensorial and fuctional properties of food. Find out what we are doing in CARTIF with pulses, in the International Year of Pulses, in this videoblog of our colleague Belén Blanco. (Activate the english subtitles)...
Vegetal covers or mulches, right or wrong?
More than once, especially in the villages, we have heard a farmer saying a similar phrase: “Wheat is growing a lot due to rains this year, what a pity! Because many weeds will grow and I will have to spread herbicides”. Before this comment it could open a long...
There’s a bug in my pantry!
Everybody has lived something like this. Open the pantry, take a packet of rice, flour or pasta and… insect! We find out that our foods are infected with bugs. Insect contamination of stored food is a very annoying and worrying problem for consumers and for food...
Food for sportspeople: special or common?
The newly closed Rio 2016 Olympic Games are still in our minds, means of communication and webs, and we are wondering some questions such as how the diet is for athletes? what kind of products they consume? Are they suitable for any athlete with less level? ...
All that glitters is not gold
We cannot speak about Mediterranean diet without the presence of olive oil in our dishes. This fruit juice plays an essential role in the gastronomy of our country. Extra virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, olive oil, olive-pomace oil…all of these products are...
Delicious, and safe raw milk?
Surely many of you have as childhood memory go shopping with your parents to buy fresh milk from farm or the nearest village, or even remembers the van of milkman that went selling the milk in jugs by the streets. This flavour, the cream was left on the surface after...
How much quantity of salt do you consume?
‘And because I do not like dry steaks, mom, take a little sauce and flavor’. As this Spanish rumba says, in our country we use ‘salt-cellar’, in the full sense of the word. In fact, we consume 9,8 g of salt daily, which is almost twice the recommended amount. But we...
‘Brightlabeling’
Every day in the supermarket, we have to face the decision to buy one product or another. Unconsciously, and according to experts, we dedicate about 6 seconds to choose. If we only look on nutritional aspects, manufacturers must be able to communicate that their...
Nothing is thrown away!
The photographer Peter Menzel few years ago visited different countries of the world in order to photograph families of those countries with the food they consume regularly for a week. A book was published based on this work, “Hungry Planet”, where tastes, preferences...
Superfoods?
‘Did you know that cocoa increases mental activity? We are going to discover and prove scientifically the incredible power of what we have in the pantry’. With these words, the Spanish cooker Alberto Chicote started ‘Superfoods’, his special TV program, on March 28....