Spinning disc heat exchanger 
Initial investigations with spinning disc heat exchangers have suggested three major areas for potential applications in the food industry: mixing and thermal preservation in a single step; concentration processes; and rapid cooling. Heat treatment of viscous food products currently involves techniques such as stirred vessels and shell and tube heat exchangers. These typically have relatively low rates of heat transfer and may be associated with fouling and problems with cleaning. In a spinning disc heat exchanger, liquid is fed to the centre of a rapidly rotating disc and is thrown out as a thin film towards the edge of the disc. This enables very fast heat and mass transfer between the disc and the liquid; thus, liquid foods could be heat treated very rapidly, with a resultant improvement in product quality. Products with different shear characteristics, golden syrup and low-fat mayonnaise, were used in our preliminary studies on the practicalities of the system. Complete wetting of the disc surface was achievable, provided that a suitable balance could be achieved between product feed rate and disc rotational speed, and samples easily reached pasteurisation temperatures. CCFRA is now seeking industrial partners to participate in a collaborative research project on the use of this technology in food processing. Contact: Craig Leadley New research projects Airborne contamination in slaughterhouses John Holah Meat species identification As a continuation of the work we undertook for the UK Food Standards Agency in development of a range of qualitative and quantitative assays for meat species identification, these techniques are now being validated in a further project in collaboration with the Central Science Laboratory and three other organisations. Steve Garrett Prediction of spoilage by yeasts and moulds David Dawson Using ICT to improve product sustainability Alan Campbell Validation of safety and quality in flowing fluids Gary Tucker Foodborne protazoan parasites 
The importance of good hygienic practices and HACCP plans in the primary food chain is underlined in a major report on Foodborne Protozoan Parasites. These parasites are now an increasing concern to the water supply and fresh produce sectors. David Dawson, senior microbiologist at CCFRA, is the main author of the report published by the ILSI Europe Emerging Pathogens Task Force. Protozoan (single-celled) parasites have not in the past been a major concern to the food industry. This situation changed in the 1990s for two reasons. Firstly, major waterborne outbreaks of disease were recorded, associated for the first time with Cryptosporidium. Secondly the rise in consumption of ready-to-eat salads highlighted the vulnerability of these products to microbiological contamination. David Dawson comments: The low infective dose of these organisms plus their resistance to sanitisers such as chlorine made them a particular concern. It became clear that outbreaks of foodborne illness could occur through contamination of food via water used in production or, in the case of horticultural crops- through direct contamination in the field. Although the number of recorded outbreaks worldwide have been relatively small, better disease surveillance and understanding of these organisms in the future may lead to increased recognition of the scale of the problem. The ILSI report concentrates on the four most important protozoa, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Cyclospora and Toxoplasma, and looks at their biology and epidemiology. It is downloadable from http://europe.ilsi.org/publications. Contact: David Dawson Anaylsis for Sudan 1 Sudan 1 is a synthetic oil-soluble red dye that has been alleged to be present in a range of savoury sauce-type products, due to its occurrence in chilli powder used in the formulation of these products. The issue was originally raised when a French laboratory detected the dye in a consignment of chilli powder. Sudan 1 is a category D grade carcinogen (and as such is of less concern from a toxicological point of view than aflatoxins, for example, which are grade A), but is not permitted for use as a food colouring. The problem appears to be confined to the products of three exporters from India released between April 2002 and April 2003. The accurate identification and quantification of Sudan 1 is difficult: there are no standard validated methods for its analysis, and the methods in use by various laboratories have limits of quantification of 1-20ppm. As levels being reported in products are often in the 1-20ppm range, results have to be treated with caution. Anyone having problems in this area should: Contact: Howard Davies Training 2004 The latest brochure covering CCFRA training courses and events is now available. Contact: Training Department +44(0)1386 842104 Impact of US Bioterrorism Act: new rules for food and feed exporters to the US. Conference: 4 November 2003, London 12th ICC Cereal and Bread Congress 
Planning for the major event in the Cereals world in 2004 is well underway. Its website, www.ucst2004.org.uk, went live on 1st September and gives details about the programme, sponsorship, registration and the conference venue itself. The ‘Call for Papers’ was issued at the same time and details on how to submit an abstract can be found on the website. There will be an opportunity for delegates attending the Congress to visit our facilities at CCFRA just before the conference begins - more information will follow shortly. 
Linda Young New members Campden & Chorleywood is delighted to welcome the following new members who joined in August 2003:
Contact: Bertrand Emond or Sally Easton Please notify the Membership Department of any name or address changes with respect to our mailing list. Publications - order on-line at www.campden.co.uk Cleaning dry areas - new guide A new guide from CCFRA will help food companies to clean dry goods areas to best effect. It will also help manufacturers of cleaning equipment appreciate the particular constraints faced by dry goods companies and adopt the principles of good hygienic design for their equipment. Whilst essential in preventing end-product contamination, good hygiene can be particularly difficult to maintain in areas where traditional wet cleaning approaches can cause problems. Guidelines for the hygienic design, selection and use of dry cleaning equipment (CCFRA Guideline No. 44) was written with the close involvement of the food industry and cleaning equipment manufacturers to address this. Printed in full colour, it works through the different approaches to cleaning dry areas, commenting on the benefits, limitations and hazards of different systems, as well as pointing out examples of good and poor hygienic design. It is priced at £50 per copy for CCFRA members and £75 for non-members. Technical contact: Andy Timperley,, CCFRA, Tel +44(0)1386 842067 e-mail a.timperley@campden.co.uk Publications sales: Carol Newman CCFRA Tel. +44(0)1386 842048 Fax +44(0)1386 842100 New preservation technologies A short book explaining the basics of new technologies and their role in food preservation has been just published by CCFRA. New technologies in food preservation: an introduction will help technical personnel who wish to become acquainted with the scope and potential of non-traditional approaches to food preservation. After an introductory chapter on food preservation in relation to both safety and spoilage, it looks at novel developments with the established preservation technologies of heating, freezing and drying. It then works through high pressure processing, irradiation, power ultrasound and pulsed electric fields, in each case describing the principles and illustrating these with examples from products in the marketplace or the world of research and development. This, the latest in the Key Topics in Food Science and Technology series, is priced at £25 per copy for CCFRA members and £30 per copy for non-members. Technical contact: Craig Leadley, CCFRA, Tel +44(0)1386 842059 e-mail c.leadley@campden.co.uk
Contact: Mrs. Carol Newman, Publications Officer, CCFRA, |