ARS targets waste reduction and biodegradability in food production
agricultural materials such as cheese whey is the goal of a new
centre opened recently by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
The Centre of Excellence in Extrusion and Polymer Rheology (CEEPR) has begun operations at the ARS Eastern Regional Research Centre in the US. Scientists at the facility will focus on creating new foods, food ingredients and biodegradable products that have non-food, industrial or pharmaceutical applications.
Current research projects cover a wide range of products, including snack foods, cheeses, pet foods and meat substitutes. The opening of the centre underlines the growing trend towards achieving greater efficiency and reducing unnecessary waste within the food production supply chain, and suggests that there remains great potential in this activity.
Indeed, ARS scientists recently developed a technique for changing the water repellency of plastic films using coatings of steam-jet-cooked starch. Commercial polymers such as polyethylene are hydrophobic, or water-repelling, until rendered otherwise (hydrophilic) with chemical reagents, but according to ARS scientists Fred Felker and George Fanta, coating such plastics with soluble starch -prepared by steam-jet cooking - could offer a cheaper, easier and safer alternative.
The scientists made the hydrophilic coating as part of an ARS research effort to develop new, value-added products from agricultural commodities, especially cornstarch. The US supply of cornstarch - along with starches from rice, potato and other crops - often outpaces demand for the commodity.
CEEPR researchers work in a modern pilot plant where new products can be developed from concept to prototype and eventually to full market production through technology transfer collaborations. For example, they develop processed foods and create unique biopolymers with production-scale extruders, and have purchased an injection moulding machine to explore new applications for under-utilised agricultural materials.
Extrusion is the process of converting raw materials into new forms, and forcing the reformed materials through a restricted opening to create new shapes.
The food industry uses special instrumentation to determine what's called a product's rheology - mainly how it is formed, and how it flows once it is melted. This is important in producing products ranging from gels to aged cheddar cheese, according to Charles Onwulata, a food technologist and the CEEPR coordinator. Food processors must know a product's rheological properties to maintain uniform textures in extruded and moulded products.
CEEPR is forming partnerships with industry, other research agencies and universities, and is collaborating with other research units throughout ARS to create new products from materials such as casein milk protein and citrus and apple pectins.
Indeed the ARS centre complements advancements being made in biodegradable food packaging by a number of European manufacturers. Finnish packaging firm Huhtamaki's unit in Honefoss, Norway for example has used leftover cuttings from the group's paper cup operation as raw material long before it became part of Huhtamaki in 1999.
But this year the firm has achieved certification for its biodegradable Chinet range. The certificates, granted by Din Certco Berlin, confirm that European-made Chinet products are in compliance with the EU Directive for biodegradability.
