SPECIFIC RESEARCH NEEDS AND BARRIERS TO INNOVATION
by Brian McKenna
 
The following is a list of specific research and development topics requested by the small traditional food SMEs. It is not prioritised but overlapping and duplicated issues have been removed and the list has been collated into cognate groupings.

Processing

  • Ice pack unit for frozen distribution
  • Cutting of cheese rounds
  • Equipment to automate pudding cutting
  • Efficient filtration system for raw milk
  • Cutting and packaging of meats and cheese products
  • A manufacturing device that mixes the off cuts of cheese
  • Stabilization of traditional cheese technological process
  • Microfiltration of milk
  • Light block to prevent oxidisation of sausage to a grey colour
  • Salami ripening; more continuous drying
  • Small scale equipment
  • Air filters to reduce microbial growth
  • Develop rapid aging of cheese and fermented meats
  • Applications of high pressure pasteurization
  • New low impact sterilization techniques
  • Improve grinding & packing for sorghum
  • Small scale cheese equipment
  • Mill blades for producing gluten-free flour for human consumption
  • Effective way of de-crystallizing honey

Sustainability

  • Waste problems from mobile poultry processing
  • Small dairy wastewater treatment plants
  • Energy from photovoltaic systems on dairy farms
  • Reduce water use
  • Reduce detergent use
  • Disposal of meat waste
  • Disposal of egg shell
  • Disposal of high fat waste

 

Rapid testing

  • Optical equipment for testing food products
  • Onsite real-time soil analysis equipment
  • Phosphate test and acidity test
  • Home milk testing system
  • Rapid fat and moisture test
  • Rapid moisture analysis in flour & batter
  • Quick and inexpensive microbiological and antibiotics tests
  • Electronic nose for determination of authenticity
  • Tests for antioxidants
  • Pathogen challenge tests for medium shelf-life dairy products
  • Verification of genetic differences
  • Rapid test to show non-GM ingredients
  • Pollen test for honey
  • Rapid test for contaminants, e.g. glyphosate composition, pH, inhibition of pathogens, etc.)
  • A sort of "genetic thermometer”
  • Rapid testing for EHEC bacteria
  • Rapid Testing of the survival/presence of TB species in matured Cheddar Cheese

 

Allergen management

  • Gluten management
  • Allergenicity problems
  • Develop sorghum-based gluten free cakes

 

Packaging

  • Automate packaging of sausages & pudding
  • Vacuum Packaging or other packaging that would extend shelf life for all or some of meat product range
  • Packaging indicator of cold chain break time
  • Hybrid structure packaging
  • Active/intelligent packaging
  • Plastic packaging weighing less, biodegradable
  • Packaging with protection activities against pollutants or antioxidant activity
  • Peel able films that maintain the shelf-life of products
  • Low cost biodegradable packaging
  • Packaging to preserve low temperature during mail order.
  • Transparent packaging for controlling shelf-life

 

Product formulation

  • Equipment for incorporation of sodium alginate/calcium chloride (for casings)
  • Fish based raw material
  • Research on meat free substitutes/lower meat contents
  • Alternative to sugar to hold cereal bar together
  • Unislim bakeries products
  • Reduce salt and fat
  • Natural probiotics in traditional cheeses
  • Healthier fat in raw materials
  • Anti-mould and anti-bacterial starter cultures
  • Functional dairy ingredients
  • Innovative products from whey
  • Research towards meatless, vegetarian sausages
  • Soy and vitamin use
  • Fermented milk products with 2-3 week shelf-life
  • Develop new goat meat products
  • Reduce enzymes (e.g. cracks in rye crusts)
  • Develop fruit bar in edible packaging
  • Process for spelt flour croissants
  • Puff pastry with less calories
  • Natural raw materials
  • Natural functional ingredients
  • Development of vegan products

 

Product characteristics

  • Extended shelf life of products
  • Extend yogurt shelf-life
  • Research on shelf-life to extend bakery product crispness
  • Moisture migration in breaded product
  • Physicochemical, textural, volatile, and sensory profiles of traditional cheeses,
  • Aromatic cheeses 
  • Functional products (with fibres and polyphenols with high functional activity)
  • pH profiles for traditional cheeses

 

Health and safety aspects

  • Prevention of metabolic syndrome and diabetes
  • Positive health benefits of saturated fatty acids
  • Benefits of natural cheese proteins
  • Impact of natural probiotics on health
  • Health values of traditional cheese made from raw milk compared to pasteurized
  • Develop a balanced meal for diabetics
  • The benefits of consuming unpasteurised raw milk products
  • The safety of cheddar cheese
  • TB inhibition in raw milk
  • Research on risk to humans from cheese from TB-positive milk
  • Can TB bacteria survive in ripening cheddar cheese?
  • Safety of products for controlling the shelf-life of products.
  • Anti-Listeria potential of lactic acid bacteria
  • Protective bacterial cultures

 

Labelling and related issues

  • Difficulty in nutritional labelling when product size and composition varies
  • Remove bottlenecks for PDO
  • Hand held device which would track purchases and automatically generate statements when payment is required
  • Low cost traceability
  • EAN128 barcode for traditional foods
  • RID tags on produce to allow track and trace

You can send your feedback to SRIA@tradeitnetwork.eu or via the open consultation website http://www.tradeitnetwork.eu/sria . By Friday 22nd January 2016!
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