FOODPRO - A Safer and Healthier Way to Heat Food Products
In most cases, the production of safe food products requires some form of heat treatment and, in traditional heating methods, the result is often a loss of nutritional quality. This is because the heat is generated outside the food and transmitted to it by conduction and/or convection. With products containing particles, like fruit or vegetable pieces, this often causes overheating of the liquid within the food - in order to achieve sufficient heating of the solids. Now FOODPRO aims to develop an alternative heating process through the use of ohmic heating - a process that heats food material internally by passing an electric current through it. The project is pan-European with partners in the UK, Slovakia, Sweden, Portugal, Ireland and Spain and specifically aims to:,· Improve taste and nutritional content,· Maintain or improve microbial safety,· Reduce the need of chemical additives,· Improve the market value of products due to improved consumer demand The project is being co-ordinated by C-Tech Innovation Ltd, an independent technology development and consultancy company. Formerly part of the UK's Electricity Research Centre, it has over thirty years experience and expertise, in providing services to companies, universities and governmental bodies. Co-ordinator Michael Harrison is very enthusiastic about the project, saying: The cost of this type of Co-operative Research would not be possible without the European funding. We estimate the total project costs to be in the region of 1.12 million so, as more than fifty percent is being provided by the Framework Programme, it is unlikely that the project could otherwise have gone ahead.,Taking part in projects like this provides real contacts with organisations who would actually buy the end product. Their involvement allows partners to realise the time it takes to carry out research in the development process. Other participants have already expressed a desire to buy the final product.The EUs Framework Programmes are the worlds largest, publicly funded, research and technological development programmes. The Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) covers the period 2002-2006 and is the European Unions main instrument for the funding of collaborative research and innovation. It is open to public and private entities of all sizes in the EU and a number of non-EU countries. It has an overall budget of 17.5 billion.,Most of the budget for FP6 is devoted to work in seven priority thematic areas:,? Life sciences, Genomics and Biotechnology for Health;,? Information Society Technologies;,? Nanotechnologies and Nanosciences, Knowledgebased Multifunctional Materials and New Production Processes and Devices;,? Aeronautics and Space;,? Food Quality and Safety;,? Sustainable Development, Global Change and Ecosystems; and,? Citizens and Governance in a Knowledge-based Society. There is also a focus on the research activities of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) across all seven thematic areas. The services of FP6UK are funded by the Office of Science & Technology (OST) / Department of Trade & Industry (DTI). More information can be found on http://fp6uk.ost.gov.uk(opens in new window) Food Quality and Safety,The Food Quality and Safety priority re-address' the classical 'farm to fork' approach by giving priority to consumers' demands and rights for safe, high quality food. The budget allocated for the duration of FP6 was 685 million. At present there is a Call open for Specific Support Actions (SSAs) - closing in September and a the third thematic Call is likely to open mid-June with a closing date in October 2004 and a budget of 205 million.
Countries
Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovakia, United Kingdom