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Industrial Platform
Food Solutions
The 5th International Dietary Fibre Conference in Rome: Several presentations and posters from VTT
More than 250 delegates from 38 countries participated in the 5th International Dietary Fibre Conference DF12 in Rome, 6-9th May 2012. Two workshops were held at the beginning of the conference: 1) HEALTHGRAIN Forum workshop and 2) Fibre analysis – co-organised by Megazyme and Medaillon Labs.VTT’s researchers had 3 oral presentations and 2 posters at the conference.
VTT examined beer from Åland shipwreck: Four bacterial species found alive in antique beer
Researchers in Finland have discovered live bacterial species in antique beer originating from the mid-1800´s. The discovery has interesting potential for food and health applications. A few bottles of beer were found in an old shipwreck in the archipelago of Åland in Finland during the summer of 2010. VVT's researchers have now managed to isolate four different species of live lactic acid bacteria from the beer.
Health Effects
Main actors attacking ever increasing problem: mycotoxins in food chain
The aim of the project “Improved analytical methods for enhanced food safety” is to develop diagnostic and analytical tools for free and conjugated mycotoxins. The main novelty value of the project lies in three facts: 1) to address the different needs for centralised (authorities) and decentralised (food industry, on site) testing, 2) to analyse many mycotoxins simultaneously and 3) to detect not only the free forms but also conjugated mycotoxins.
VTT searches for novel biomarkers and targets for preventing or treating type 2 diabetes
VTT is participating in two new European projects focusing on type 2 diabetes. The projects aim at identifying new therapeutic choices and strategies for preventing the disease. Focus is on obtaining information on cellular dysfunction in diabetes and the effects of changes in lifestyle. The goal includes planning individual lifestyle instructions for people at high risk of diabetes and exploiting the results in a major European health insurance system.
Tools for Consumers
Additional value for packages with Hybrid Media
The packages are expected to carry ever more information in a limited space. The list of mandatory information required in food packages is wide. In addition, manufacturers would like to give many kind of extra information about their products to consumers. One solution is hybrid media, i.e. printing intelligent elements on the packages and obtaining the information with a reading device. Available hybrid media technologies are 2D bar codes, digital watermarks, image recognition, fibre matrix, RFID tags and magnetic codes.
Transparent plastic-like film from birch fibril pulp
VTT Technical Research Centre and Aalto University have developed a method which for the first time enables manufacturing of a wood-based and plastic-like material in large scale. The method enables industrial scale roll-to-roll production of nanofibrillated cellulose film. The film has very good oxygen and grease barrier properties and could also be suitable for e.g. food packaging to protect products from spoilage. The invention was implemented in the Naseva project (Tailoring of Nanocellulose Structures for Industrial Applications).