News and Highlights

"Better Breakfast Cereals on Menu", Australian Financial Review, Dec 2, 2011, p.59

Other Related News Stories:

• "Starch gets a better rap from Aussie nuclear Science", Senator Kim Carr's media release, Nov 9, 2011

Successful “Neutrons and Food” Workshop

The “Neutrons and Food” workshop (31 Oct. – 3 Nov. 2010 in Sydney) www.nbi.ansto.gov.au/neutronsandfood was held to identify the future scientific needs in the application of neutron scattering to Food Science. The application of neutron scattering to food-based systems is still in its infancy but has significant potential to understand the complex relationship between food structure, processing, rheology, nutrition, food quality and security. Lectures were followed by animated discussions, a speed networking (between food and neutron specialists) and poster session.

The following topics engaged over 50 participants:

• Protein and complexes  
• Digestion and metabolic processes  
• Drinks and beverages  
• Dairy  
• Lipids and fats  
• Glassy states  
• Food packaging and food safety  
• Plant materials

The workshop dinner greatly enhanced the social networking with a memorable cruise on Sydney harbour. A visit to ANSTO’s neutron facilities was offered at the end of the workshop and much appreciated.

The discussions during the workshop focussed around four main areas:

• Model systems;
• Interaction between facility, academia and industry;
• Collaboration and outreach;
• Access to large-scale facilities.

Funding for Food Science Workshop in late 2010

13 November 2009

We have been successful in gaining $24k of external funding from our Government Department (Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research), under its International Science Linkages Program, for a workshop in October-November 2010 on "Neutrons and Food: Addressing the challenges of food science in an evolving global environment using novel methods". The workshop will be conducted in Sydney, in partnership with the European Union's NMI-3 Integrated Infrastructure Initiative for Neutron Scattering and Muon Spectroscopy, which has also provided funding support. We expect 70-80 attendees from Australia and around the world.

'Protein Club' to power productivity

A group of Australasia's leading grain processing, bread and breakfast cereal, meat and dairy companies have shown strong interest in using a suite of cutting edge research tools to better understand the influences of transport, storage and manufacturing on proteins.

The companies, from across the food sector, have been briefed to join a programme of research being conducted on "Structural, Mechanical and Dynamical Properties of Dry Proteins" or SM(DP)².

Nicknamed the 'Protein Club' by researchers from the CSIRO Food Futures Flagship, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and The University of Queensland, the companies were offered early access to cutting edge protein science, the opportunity to participate in its research direction-setting and to gain access to any commercialisation opportunities.

Positive response

Dr Ingrid Appelqvist of CSIRO's Food Futures Flagship said the feedback from the briefing had been very positive.

"The word has also been spread out there, with companies that did not attend phoning and indicating interest. Twelve companies have now said they are interested in joining the Protein Club," she said.

"The research by CSIRO, ANSTO and the University of Queensland focuses on determining the protein molecular properties that govern their functional and material behaviour in complex food, such as structuring to control food texture, emulsification to stabilise fat droplets and delivery of nutrition", she said.

"The science challenge will be to build a set of design rules to allow the ingredient, food and nutraceutical industries to choose proteins for specific functionality in their processes and products."

Opportunities

Dr Appelqvist said the research aimed at improving the choice and behaviour of proteins in processes, opening new product opportunities and cutting costs by more precise product formulation and reducing waste.

Dr Elliot Gilbert, who leads ANSTO's Food Science project, said invitations to join the Protein Club had been directed at key businesses across the food sector whose products are largely protein-based or are at least a key component of their activities.

Potential Protein Club members were briefed at ANSTO at Sydney's Lucas Heights on the capabilities of the new Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) instrument, Quokka, which is being brought on-line with using neutrons from the organisation's recently commissioned 20 MW OPAL nuclear research reactor.

A beam of neutrons produced by the OPAL reactor will be directed to a sample in the instrument, where deflections from the target of as few as several hundredths of a degree will provide information about structural details on the molecular and macromolecular scale.

This allows investigation of changes in protein structure that may occur during storage and transport and at various temperatures, pressure and moisture levels during various stages of processing.

All these variables can be studied using SANS, since neutrons enable materials to be studied in real time and particularly during industrial process conditions instead of merely comparing the differences in structure before and after a process.

Dr Gilbert said neutrons had the advantage over X-rays when examining samples, as the neutrons continued largely unaffected to detecting equipment without being scattered by sample containers used to simulate various processing environments.

The Protein Club forms part of a collaboration between ANSTO, CSIRO and the University of Queensland that aims to better understand the structure-function relationships of ingredients that go into food and to provide Australian scientists with the information needed to design new foods with improved taste, texture and health-improving qualities.

For further information, contact

Dr Elliot Gilbert, ANSTO

Dr Ingrid Appelqvist , CSIRO