Printed meat, alternative protein sources, personalized food and innovative processing processes - this is how the world of food will look in the coming years, according to the experts who participated in the conference of the European Federation of Food Science and Technology, held under the leadership of the Technion
The European Organization for Food Science and Technology, EFFoST, held its annual conference under the title "Bridges between high-tech, food-tech and health: consumer-focused innovation". The conference was held online for the first time on November 12-10, 2020 with the participation of more than 500 researchers, industry professionals and students and led by researchers from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion. This is the first time that this important international conference, which has been held since 1986, was held under the leadership of researchers from institutions outside of Europe. The EFFoST2020 conference was organized by Technion researchers Prof. Uri Lazmes (chairman of the conference), Prof. Esti Segal, Dr. Maya Davidovitz-Pinchas and Dr. Avi Spigelman עם Dr. Zvika Haioka from the Hebrew University and accompanied by a rich scientific committee of the best researchers in Israel and the world.
"As food scientists, we have an obligation to humanity and a responsibility to lead the dramatic moves necessary to advance the world of food in times like these - and even more so in the current crisis period," he said The chairman of the conference Prof. Lazams. "The crisis came at a time when humanity is increasingly aware of the economic, environmental and ethical damages of raising animals for food - an industry that leads to extensive carbon emissions and considerable environmental damage. This is the background for the establishment of companies to produce proteins based on algae and insects, for the development of cultured meat and for increased utilization of plant food sources. In Israel, the rapid development of the foodtech sector and Israel's transformation into a 'foodtech nation' add to the picture, processes that place Israel at the forefront of research and development in this field."
The conference was opened by a unique online broadcasting day that included lectures, scientific discussions and a presentation of Israeli start-up companies. "It's a strange time," she said President of EFFoST Prof. Olga Beyosu-Martin, "But we treat it as a pilot, as an opportunity to explore new ways of teaching and research and to learn how to maintain a healthy balance between work and private life. The plague brings with it great distress, but for the world of science it also invites opportunities, creativity, innovation and community cooperation - very essential elements for the continued development of the world of food."
Artificial intelligence, alternative proteins and reduced meat products
After the opening remarks, the lectures of the main lecturers at the conference took place. Prof. Indrawati Oi from the University of Otago in New Zealand lecture on Processes Food processing without heating. According to her, "For the processes of Processing without heating There are many advantages, including preserving nutritional values, reducing the required energy and reducing waste. The problem is that companies are afraid to enter this new field because it requires a huge investment that seems dangerous to them. Indeed, we must consider the various consequences, including side effects. However, I have no doubt that as awareness of the benefits of heatless processing increases, more and more companies will enter this field. We in the academy have a very important role in bridging theory and application and in the promotion of innovative technologies towards application in the food industry.
Prof. Alejandro Marangoni from the University of Guelph in Canada presented Natural methods for hardening Oils to create substitutes for butter and fat. Prof. Julian McClements from the University of Massachusetts in the USA spoke about Understanding the digestive processes for the creation of Personalized food, for example - controlling the digestion of fats and proteins while providing an efficient supply of vitamins and antioxidants. Prof. Christoph Hartmann from Nestlé-Switzerland spoke about Use of artificial intelligence in food development for adjusting tastes and textures taking into account the raw materials and the different preferences of the consumers. Dr. Liz Specht from The Good Food Institute stood on The need for alternative protein sources to promote the sustainability of the food sector and to create futuristic products such as meat products with reduced meat, which will reduce the environmental damage resulting from the food industry.
Prof. Esti Segal from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion lectured on the innovative technology she developed - active, antimicrobial food packaging, which reduces the need for preservatives, extends the shelf life of food products and prevents health damage resulting from the consumption of spoiled food. The development includes porous sensors and oils that prevent the accumulation of bacteria and other contaminants on the food. The technology is already produced commercially and contributes to the health of the population, while making an economic and environmental contribution by reducing the waste of spoiled food.
Zoom in
Today, according to estimates, about a third of the food produced in Israel is thrown away - millions of tons of food products - and the situation in the world is similar. The development of the aforementioned technology and its commercialization were done through the NanoPack consortium, headed by Prof. Segal. The consortium that was officially inaugurated in January 2017 was established as part of the European Union's HORIZON2020 program and partners in it are 18 research institutions and leading industrial companies from Belgium, Austria, Norway, Spain, Israel, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The European Union supported the new consortium for three years addressing the scientific, technological, economic, safety and regulatory challenges. As part of the consortium, experimental production lines (pilot lines) were set up in an industrial environment, which tested all stages of packaging development and production.
On the second and third day of the conference, parallel sessions were held, in which more than 100 lectures were broadcast, including lectures by faculty members and leading students from the Technion, live meetings and discussions were held with the lecturers, in which they discussed a wide range of topics, such as the use of OMICS technologies and artificial intelligence to understand the composition of food , food digestion and personal nutrition engineering.
At the forefront of technology: leading Israeli startups
The conference was hosted to present some of the innovations in the startup world Three Israeli startup companies:
- Redefine Meat, winner of the Technion and Strauss acceleration program (EIT Food Accelerator network) in 2018, which developed Technology for printing meat and meat substitutes based on plant sources;
- Amai Proteins which uses artificial intelligence for development Innovative sweeteners based on protein engineering;
- Solutum (Solutum) the developer Biodegradable plastic. The founder of Solutom, Sharon Barak, explained in her lecture that "Every year, about 400 million tons of plastic is produced, and about half of this plastic is used for disposable products. One of the problems is that plastic does not disappear - all the plastic that has been produced since the invention of plastic still exists. This is where we enter the picture with the development of biodegradable plastic. And not just perishable - but perishable at the time we set for it in advance. We believe that this development will bring about a dramatic change and curb the damage to the environment."
Only collaborations between the food industry and academia will create new solutions
In his concluding remarks, Prof. Uri Lazmes said: "Population growth, the corona epidemic and the growing awareness of human health and the quality of the environment pose many challenges to the food industry, and only cooperation between industry and academia will allow us to produce innovative, creative solutions based on science and technology. This is exactly the purpose of the conference - to share scientific and technological knowledge and create partnerships that will strengthen the ability of the food sector to provide healthy, tasty and diverse solutions that are in line with environmental awareness, the complexity of the food chain and human versatility. I have no doubt that the EFFoST2020 conference will lead to a better understanding of the challenges we face and the utilization of the science and technologies of the 21st century to formulate creative solutions that will promote diversity in the world of food, the availability of products, their adaptation to the preferences of different consumers and their effects on our lifestyles, on our health and the environment. It was an honor for the Technion to be a pioneer in organizing the conference in these challenging days and to contribute to the promotion of scientific activity with a purpose."
- Researchers at the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion cured fungal skin infections using a tiny "bacterial factory"
- A system developed by Technion students will enable the detection of allergens in food
- The first news about the development when it was fresh: Researchers have made a lab-engineered hamburger. The price is 250 thousand pounds, the financier: Sergey Brin from Google
