Food Colloids Workshop identified common challenges related to the use of X-ray and neutron scattering techniques in food
Around 40 people attended in October the hybrid Industry Workshop on Food Colloids and Structured Interfaces co-organised by Ben Boyd, Professor at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Copenhagen, Associate Professor Jacob Kirkensgaard from Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, and Dr Ulf Andersen from Arla Foods. The event aimed to facilitate networking between companies, provide an arena to exchange ideas, and identify common challenges in relation to food and the use of X-ray and neutron scattering techniques.
Ben, a member of the Northern Lights on Food, Working Group on Food Colloids and Structured Interfaces, reflects that the workshop went well.
Ben Boyd is Professor at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Copenhagen.
– The whole intention of the event was to get companies to talk with each other, and discuss what they are doing and how they are using scattering approaches to solve problems. This is an important aspect since many companies face similar issues. It is also a way of inspiring each other, and increase knowledge on how, and when, to use scattering techniques to gain knowledge about food structures.
Common challenges were identified
So what challenges are common for industry? According to Ben they centre on lack of knowledge of who talk to at large scale facilities, and an uncertainty of what problems scattering techniques can help to solve. Another question is at what point one should take a problem or query to a large-scale facility.
– It was good to discuss these issues, and point to solutions. One specific outcome is reinforcing that that scattering is not generally a kind of imaging technique which is often a misconception. But I think the industry cases we presented gave a good idea of the great possibilities afforded by X-ray and neutron scattering.
– We also discussed the importance of industry having a dialogue with people working at lab scale, maybe at universities or institutes, as soon as a research question arises. These people can advise on whether the problem needs to be investigated using a lab source which can be simpler and easier to access than the large scale facilities. One has to remember that it can be quite hard to get access to larger facilities, and that much experience and knowledge are required to perform experiments.
Important to have places like LINXS to act as a conduit in linking industry to facilities
Ben goes on to say that these types of events are important to increase capacity and understanding amongst industry on how to think about scattering experiments. Places like LINXS and the Danish Technological Institute are also invaluable in acting as conduits in linking industry scientists to people working at large scale facilities.
What does he believe will be the next frontier in food science? He is quick to answer: food efficiency and nutrition value. Producing food that is high in nutrients, healthy and do not contribute negatively to greenhouse gas emissions will be paramount to feed a growing population. To produce this type of food more knowledge on what happens to the food in the gut is needed – his own area of research is in structure of food during digestion.
– There is much that we are still learning about digestion and structure and their impact on the performance of food. That excites me. With my background in the pharmaceutical industry, I am very interested in what happens to foods structures as the components are broken down, and how that in turn affects delivery and absorption of nutrients.
More attention is needed on what happens with food after it is digested
In his own research, he has used X-ray and neutron scattering to investigate the breakdown of milk fats which is key to delivery of lipids and poorly soluble nutirents. His experiments have shown that milk fat droplets form many structures, which interact with other components in milk to modify digestion and delivery. These results could be important for the development of non-dairy drink alternatives which sets out to mimic the nutritional benefits of milk.
– In coming years, I would like to see way more attention on what happens to food after it is digested. Developing this, largely unknown, research field will be really crucial, I believe if we want to ensure food security, and also maintaining our health. Practical ways of doing this, could for example be to use scattering techniques to study not only food structure but also the way in which food particles interact with gut biology such as cells and instinal surfaces or mucus, for example, he concludes.