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BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram

FOOD INSPECTOR. NOVEL TOOLS TO AUTHENTICATE FOOD QUALITIES AND FOOD LABELING OF MEAT

Alternative title: FOOD INSPECTOR. NYE VERKTØY FOR AUTENTISERING AV KJØTTKVALITET OG MERKING AV KJØTT.

Awarded: NOK 9.8 mill.

Highlight. Diagnostic tools for evaluating effects of freezing on meat are often laborious and not suitable for rapid routine testing, e.g., by authorities and producers. Food Inspector directly addresses this by establishing user-friendly and low-cost solutions, which can be used for food label authentication of fresh and frozen meat products. In addition, the project has now established that our innovation can be used to detect other relevant food qualities, including a pork meat defect that currently causes great economic loss in many European countries. Abstract. Food authorities require accurate and truthful labeling of food. This includes two labels that carry information on quality changes caused by different preservation of meat. Specifically, defrosted products must not be labeled as "fresh". The "quick-frozen" label for frozen products, on the other hand, allows to signal high quality and added value achieved by superior freezing. Yet, existing tools for authenticating these labels are laborious, expensive and are often not directly accessible for relevant users. Food Inspector develops novel quality monitoring tools and brings together experts in meat science as well as in sensor and measuring technology. To facilitate implementation of the innovations, we recruited stakeholders that cover expertise in the meat sector, in commercialization and food law, and also include a work package which will develop strategies for intellectual property rights protection and commercialization. We have now established that our innovation can reliably detect, if pork, chicken or fish (salmon, mackerel) has been frozen before. This is despite confounding effects by, e.g., different shelf-life, meat quality and composition. We therefore proceed with developing prototypes for analyzer and electrode units that will be used by industry partners. Our work towards commercialization has also identified consumer segments for other, highly relevant quality features, including structural defects in pork ham. With two recent studies we have shown how our method compares to traditional quality monitoring, which does not allow direct testing for structural defects. Our data suggests that bioelectrical testing can replace less robust, e.g., subjective evaluation. We have now used the method to identify molecular changes linked to pork defects. In addition, Food Inspector establishes protocols that evaluate possible quality improvements in frozen food. This includes the assessment of 3D structure, spectral, electrical and metabolomic properties of frozen-thawed meat. The need for proper evaluation of innovations in the food freezer sector is highlighted by our recent work that did not verify improvements for alternative freezing and thawing procedures, despite being marketed as highly efficient. Communicating our findings to the meat sector, therefore, is an important help for investment choices into novel freezing technologies or freeze storage workflows.

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Norwegian and European food authorities require accurate and truthful labeling of food products, including two key labels that signify quality features caused by different preservation of meat. Specifically, defrosted products cannot be labeled as fresh, but as defrosted. For frozen products, the quick-frozen label allows to signal high quality and added value achieved by superior freezing. However, existing tools for authenticating these labels are laborious, expensive and are often not directly available for relevant user groups. For food authorities, producers and trade, FOOD INSPECTOR will establish two research-based, innovative tools that can permit low-cost and rapid authentication of storage quality labels. What's more, the inherent sensitivity for quality deterioration suggests that one of the two technologies we study here can also provide a highly demanded diagnostic tool for a pork quality defect, which presently affects up to 20% of Norwegian ham. Through a battery of scientific validation studies FOOD INSPECTOR will establish and test (1) a tool that can authenticate fresh versus defrosted meat, (2) a tool to authenticate high quality, quick-frozen frozen meat, (3) a proof of concept for detection of pork meat defects. With proof of concept studies our team has already established the prerequisites for tool development in (1) and (2). Establishing the robustness and viable implementation strategies, however, requires a multisector network with diverse expertise. To this end, the project will be headed by a main and a vice-coordinator, will bring together experts in measuring technology and food science, and will be affiliated with stakeholders that cover expertise in the meat sector, food legislation and commercialization. Close, continuous interaction between all partners will be essential for adjustments of scientific and also implementation strategies throughout the project period.

Publications from Cristin

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Funding scheme:

BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram