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 turned into the European benchmark of this sector. With a great success of attendance and internationalization, this meeting is not only a good opportunity to generate business, but new trends and bets have been presented for the next years in innovation, gastronomy and restoration.
From the point of view of innovation, we must go through Innoval, where 300 new products and new launches were gathering. For researchers, to find products on the market in which they have been worked on in laboratory is satisfactory. In the case of CARTIF, this year some of our clients were present, such as Cecinas Pablo, with its new range of snacks from beef jerky or Campofrío, with their cured hams with 25% less of salt, the result of a project carried out jointly.
Among the most curious and fun products, the gin-tonic croquettes of Maheso, ready-to-eat calamari sandwich of Pescanova, preserved fish with aloe vera of Vixvital, 3D printed sponge cake of Dulcesol, chocolate pizza of Telepizza, endible straws of Sorbos or the plastic wine glass of One Glass Wine. All of them reflect the importance of R&D&I applied to food to achieve different products that satisfy an increasingly demanding consumer audience.
But, in addition to the most striking and original offers, this edition of Alimentaria has confirmed the trend of recent years: companies seek to offer healthier products, with the reduction of fats, sugars and salt. Pre-cooked dishes, sauces, dairy products, cereal drinks, yoghurts, ‘bio’, ‘with’ and ‘without’ smoothies, sliced for vegetarians (0% meat) or new formulations that include those commonly called ‘superfoods’ (chia, chlorella, spirulina, kale, lucuma, maca…). To this tendency joins the great variety of snacks (meat, vegetables, fruits, legumes or nougat) that are being introduced to the market very quicly.
On the other hand, in the several conferences in the framework of Alimentaria, experiences have been shared in national and international projects, where experts have emphasised the variety of lines of actuation and the strong collaboration between companies and technological centres. This edition underlines the effort of the companies in the development of new products, on the right track of improving their nutritional profiles in their formulations.
The concern of consumers about health in relation to food makes it essential to work on the performance of intervention studies and the preparation of nutritional tests on personalized nutrition in order to establish a diet and health relation focused on the three different large population groups: children, adults and the elderly.
Within this field, in CARTIF we are taking part in large projects such as PRIMICIA, METASIN, PROGRESO or NUTRIPECISIÓN. In all of them, we work to improve the products and adapt the processing conditions to the new formulations in order to satisfy the current regulations and, of course, the needs and requirements set by the consumers.
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 diseases related to food in Spain and the rest of Europe, have promoted public administrations related to nutrition and health, develop agreements with the food industry.
Food and Beverage Industry, the first industrial sector of our country, with a turnover of more than 98 M € and with important growth expectations, is now facing new paradigms and challenges in food policy and nutrition.
Thus, new consumer demands and trends in health have promoted the generation of a strategy to improve the composition of food and beverages by the Spanish Ministry of Health through the Spanish Agency of Consumption, Food Security and Nutrition (AECOSAN) with the voluntary commitment of more than twenty sectorial organizations representing 500 companies of the food and beverages sector.
The so-called Collaboration plan for improving the composition of food and beverages and other measures 2017-2020, is aligned with the policy of reformulation promoted by the European Union through several frameworks created within the High Level Group on nutrition and physical activity with Member States, in which food groups and priority sectors were established.
The PLAN includes the reformulation commitments of the Manufacturing and Distribution sectors for more than 3,500 foods and drinks of habitual consumption in children, young people and families in relation to the reduction of added sugars, salt and saturated fats.
Food reformulation consists of improving the content of certain nutrients selected from food without this leading to an increase in energy content or other nutrients, maintaining food safety, flavor and texture so that the product continues to be accepted by consumers. Therefore, this entail a significant investment.
The most noteworthy commitments are, among others, the following measures that will be carried out on 13 food groups in a maximum period of 3 years:
Reduction of added sugars up to 18% in sauces such as ketchup and fried tomato, 10% in dairy products, soft drinks, meat products, breakfast cereals for children and fruit nectars and 5 % in pastries and cakes, cookies, ice cream and special breads
Reduction of saltup to16% in meat products and sauces, up to 13,8% in salty snacks, 10% for ready-to-eat meals and 6,7% in vegetable creams.
Reduction of saturated fats; 10% in the case of for ready-to-eat meals and salty snacks and 5% in pastries, cakes and cookies
This voluntary commitment of the Food Industry to the reformulation of certain foods has been associated with an important effort on innovation for the identification of new raw materials and ingredients, reformulationand production processes in order to achieve food according to sensory specifications and quality that consumers expect, topics in which we have worked intensively in CARTIF with a large number of companies in the sector.
This PLAN also includes agreements with sectors such catering or retail industry, with which commitments have been made to increase the offer healthier menus and meals, with an increase in the offer of dishes that include vegetables, greater presence of lean meats and fish accompanied by garnishes of vegetables, vegetables and/or legumes and to minimize the offer of fried precooked dishes. Meals will be prepared with griddled, baking and oven and sauces or stir-fry dressings will be avoided. Olive oil will be promoted as the best dressing option. Bread will be whole grain and the main dessert option will be seasonal fruit.
Regarding the Modern Restoration or HORECA sector, commitments have been made related to the reduction of the amount of sugar contained in single-dose sachets to 50 % and 33 % in those of salt, as well as the use of low-fat milk in breakfast services.
Finally, vending or automatic distribution sector commits to reduce the maximum amount of sugar added in hot beverages and to increase the number of balanced foods, water and soft drinks without added sugars of the total of products and beverages included in the machine.
With this PLAN, is intended that the different sectors work synergistically to contribute to a more balanced diet with high nutritional quality. The PLAN also wants to promote R & D aimed at creating healthier products, strengthen the collaboration of companies and promote the coordination of these measures with the administrations, as well as impact, from the health and social point of view, the shopping basket and promote good practices to improve the diet from the nutritional point of view. Through all these measures, it is also intended to contribute to improving the scientific base and collect data that drives these initiatives and their monitoring at European level.
These actions, undoubtedly, represent an advance and we will find food products with a composition, in certain nutrients, improved compared to the current ones. However, it is necessary to continue taking steps on behalf of all the actors involved in promoting health and reducing the appearance of food-related diseases by creating new strategies.
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 microbiome affects aging, digestion, immune system, mood and cognitive functions.
But, what is the microbiome?
There are different definitions for this term. Generally speaking, we can say that the human microbiome is the set of microorganisms in each person (microbiota)and the genes these cells harbour.
Microbiome research area comprises a field of science associated primarily with advances in DNA / RNA sequencing and computational biology. Thus, the microbiome can be defined as the genomic content of all microorganisms recovered from a habitat or ecosystem (eg saliva, feces or skin).
The study of the microbiome started in the 17th century with the development of the first microscopes and the beginnings of the science of microbiology. However, it has been in recent years when the development of rapid sequencing methods, the reduction of the costs associated with these techniques and the development of data management techniques have been developed which has enabled the microbiome and its constituents.
And why is it important?
Taking into account that the number of microorganisms that we harbour is between 10 and 100 billion (ten times higher than our number of cells), that we can have more than ten thousand different species and that the types of microorganism vary greatly among different people, we can think that the microbiome has a special role in our health. In fact, the knowledge of these microorganisms, the functions of their genes, their metabolic and regulatory pathways is already allowing them to develop strategies to prevent diseases and improve general health.
However, the microbiome of each person is not something static. Nutritional imbalances, lifestyle, use (and abuse) of antibiotics, low exposure to pathogens (or excess of hygiene) permanently modify our microbiome.
And what is your relationship with the diet?
There is a clear relationship between what we eat and the balance of our native flora that has a direct impact on our health status. Indeed, is interesting that changes in diet are always accompanied by changes in the microbiota and the enrichment of their corresponding genes.
Balanced diets can promote a proper and well-structured microbiota and conversely, alterations in the composition of our microbiota or reduction of some of the microorganisms that make up the diversity of the microbiota, increase the risk of suffering from diseases related to lifestyle such as allergies, diabetes, obesity and / or irritable bowel syndrome. In addition, a prolonged state of these situations has been related to metabolic alterations.
Recent studies have shown that there are notable differences in the microbiota of people who follow rich meat diets versus those who follow more ancestral life-styles and diets based mainly on vegetable consumption. There are studies that suggest that a type of diet rich in proteins and animal fat is associated with a particular kind of flora while carbohydrate-rich diets are associated with the prevalence of another type of flora. These differences have been linked to the risk of developing non-communicable diseases such as atherosclerosis.
Over and undernutrition malnutrition has a direct impact on the microbiota that favours alterations of the same that, finally, lead to problems associated with an increase in inflammation and metabolic problems. A strong influence has been observed in nutrient-poor diets, especially those deficient in certain amino acids, in the positive incidence of intestinal inflammation. Likewise, the pathogenesis of various diseases is associated with certain components of the diet that promote disorders in the microbiota.
Therefore, the better balanced the diet, the more diverse the microbiota. Thus, intervention through personalized diets improves the response in individuals with low microbiome richness.
And then, can it be improved?
Of course we can! The importance of food, nutritional balance and life-style have a direct influence on the composition of our microbiota and its activity and, therefore, directly on our health. From this relationship arises the interest to develop new strategies to personalize our diet.
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 malnutrition. When we think about malnutrition, children or adults with undernutrition come to our minds. However, malnutrition can occurs either due to a lack of certain essential micronutrients, e.g vitamins and minerals (dietary deficiency), insufficient calorie intake to ensure normal growth and life (undernutrition) or an excess of consumption of calories (overnutrition).
Nutrition-related diseases are becoming more prevalent in the world and are a serious problem, and overweight and obesity that were related to food abundance, are now a reflection of a clear malnutrition.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), since 1980 obesity has doubled worldwide. Specifically, by 2014 more than 1,9 billion adults (aged 18 and over) were overweight, more than 600 million of them were classified as obese. In the same year, it was established that 41 million children under 5 were overweight or obese.
The global cost of malnutrition is about $3,5 billion per year due to associated public health costs and lack of productivity.
Overweight malnutrition is a prevalent problem and increases the risk of developing metabolic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and stroke, atherosclerosis, and is linked to several cancers due to excess of calories or lack of nutrient balance from the diet.
Economic crisis, political and social factors, cultural and biological conditions are some of the factors that influence the evolution of this problem. In our developed world, the causes that characterize malnutrition are directly related to low nutritional quality diets characterized by an excess in consumption of fat, carbohydrates, low consumption of good quality proteins, vitamins, minerals and fibre and a decrease in physical activity.
New busy life style, increased intake of high-calorie foods (in some countries healthy foods are more expensive than processed food) or inactivity are factors that have contributed to the emergence of this problem.
During the last decade, a boost has been made on nutrition as a key to the development of countries. In 2015, however, the goals for sustainable development were to achieve the end ALL forms of malnutrition by 2030, challenging the world to think and act differently on malnutrition and to end all forms of malnutrition.
Nutrition begins with what we eat. Good nutrition gives us the energy we need to live and is the first defense against diseases. Adequate nutrition is essential for good health and, likewise, poor nutrition can affect the occurrence of diseases or physical and mental underdevelopment, especially in the case of children.
Food is the way to promote health. Recently the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC) has presented the dietary guidelines and the new nutritional pyramid on which basis, of course, includes daily exercise and emotional balance.
The nutritional pyramid should be our spiritual guide to achieve an adequate nutritional balance. However, the new pyramid also raises some issues such as the presence of sausages or coldmeats as part of daily servings of protein sources, or the presence of the scary industrial pastries, sweets and sugary drinks, or salty snacks as an “optional and moderate consum” and especially the appearance of the nutritional supplements flag waving at the top of the pyramid…
Undoubtedly, there are actions that have long been necessary to eradicate this problem associated with food and that require the full involvement of the competent authorities. For example, the urgency in defining nutritional profiles that would limit food producers’ ability to make use of nutritional claims in low-nutrient products, or limiting children’s advertising of calorie foods (action, of course, which WHO has already taken with “fast food” companies) or pressure on the food industry to reformulate certain products (part of this road is already under way).
On the other hand, the necessary (I would say even mandatory) empowering of consumers on nutrition education in order to choose healthy food and diets to obtain an adequate nutritional balance. Internalize the importance of a proper nutrition, choose fresh seasonal products (and if possible, local food), limit (or do without) the consumption of foods that are not necessary (they are almost certainly calorie-rich and very cheap food), check nutritional labels and practice some regular physical activity.
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 both in the improvement of agricultural soils and in the restoration of degraded areas.
The main applications of the tecnosoils are amendment for agricultural soils, material for the recovery of degraded and/or contaminated soils and water, covering of rubbish dumps, employment in areas affected by urban works and infrastructures (roundabouts, roadsides and areas non-recreational garden areas), material for the recovery of mines and quarries or soils degraded by erosion, fire or loss of productive capacity.
The elaboration of the mixtures in order to obtain these artificial soils has a double purpose; on one hand, waste are valorized, minimizing the potential environmental impacts derived from a poor management of these and, on the other hand, degraded soils are recovered without excessive costs.
The idea is to take advantage of all the available resources in the market to valorize and transform them into the best amendments, fertilizers and tecnosoils, essential for the optimal management of agricultural soils or for the correct restoration of soil and environmentally degraded spaces. In this way, wealth is also generated and it is managed to avoid the unwanted and unnecessary elimination of multiple residues and products currently underutilized, able to be reincorporated to a new life cycle, maintaining an environmentally and economically sustainable model that also favors the fight against climate change.
We are working on projects developing tecnosoils inCARTIF, one of them is SUSTRATEC Project, which aims to develop precisely innovative tecnosoils, i.e., artificial soils, which will also possess special features that will make them innovative.
The main novelty of these technological substrates is that they will have a self-fertilizing capacity as well as atmospheric pollutant uptake. The aim is to create “soils to the letter“ and to amend agricultural soils taking into account the different problems. The tecnosoils to be developed will come from the valorization of the sludge coming from the purification plants and agri-food industries. These soils will be complemented with other raw materials such as sugar foams, mussel shell, coffee residues, or pruning, in addition to other additives.
One of the main innovative elements will also be the inclusion of encapsulated bacteria in tecnosoils that will be developed, and that they exert beneficial effects in the field, improving the fertility due to its capacity to fix nitrogen. In addition, artificial soils fixes atmospheric pollutants and contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
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 destruction of the sample (which is a significant economic expense) and does not offer us an immediate response, which makes difficult taking decisions.
The agro-food industry continuously seeks solutions of quick, simple and direct application in order to improve quality and security controls of food, both in the final product and in the different phases of its production chain, starting with the variability in raw materials.
The spectroscopic (near-infrared) NIR technique alone or combined with hyperspectral imaging methods and using chemometric tools in both cases is a technology that saves the tedious, costly and long laboratory tests that the product usually requires to control its production.
NIR technology in online mode allows the monitoring of a process and product without interfering in it, to carry out a continuous and individual control of the production and continuously supervising the quality of the product, which facilitates an immediate adjustment if it would be necessary, contributing directly to the profitability of the plant.
It is true that this technique requires prior preparation of equipment with a significant associated cost, but in the medium term, it is compensated by the ease and the speed in the response to this need.
There are a lot of applications in which agro-food industry has applied online NIR in its labs, for last 15 years, but very few have implemented it directly on the production line, where its advantages are clearly evident.
What would it bring us?
With the information obtained from each product in real time and on the processing line itself, we would facilitate the taking of decision to ensure its quality and safety.
Where do we start?
Identifying the moment in which the product requires the control of some critical parameter that ensure its quality.
How do we do it?
Creating calibrations for each parameter at each point in the process that we want to control.
In CARTIF, we are sure of these advantages because we have been working with this technology for more than 15 years. We have used it frequently to support companies in the agro-food sector, starting with a diagnosis of the process to identify in what way, how and when it is most advantageous and necessary its application and developing the methodology to implement it in the company.
During these years, we have developed a wide variety of applications for very different products: from cereals to pulses, feed, eggs, dairy products, meats, cured meat products, etc., saving important challenges in terms of heterogeneity of products and the determination of minority compounds.
Currently, in CARTIF, we carry on working to companies make the most of this technology and we go on developing new interesting applications for industry and, definitively, for the consumer, such as the identification of contamination of food with potentially dangerous products for sensitive people, whether due to allergies or intolerances.
