While the electronic tongue bears little physical resemblance to its namesake, the strand-like sensory probes of the ‘e-tongue’ still outperformed human senses when detecting contaminated wine in a recent study. In an experiment at Washington State University, the e-tongue identified signs of microorganisms in white wine within a week after contamination — four weeks before a human panel noticed the change in aroma. This was also before those microbes could be grown from the wine in a Petri dish. Winemakers traditionally rely on these two methods, sniffing the wine and Petri dish testing, to ..read more

Researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), have created a method for extracting over 80% of the available protein in the solid residue leftover after brewing beer from malted barley — this leftover component is commonly referred to as brewers’ spent grain (BSG). BSG is claimed to be the most significant by-product of the beer brewing industry, with around 36.4 million tons of it produced globally every year. And while some efforts are made to repurpose it in applications such as animal feed, biofuel production or composting, a substantial portion still ends ..read more

The research duo — Professor Hiroto Kawashima and Momoka Suto — devised a novel strategy using denitrifying bacteria to identify the origin of saké and distinguish between products from different breweries. They examined the proportional presence of isotopes, ie, variations of a chemical element differing in neutron count, while retaining the same proton count of oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N) within nitrate molecules across various saké samples. “Recently, many parts of the world are home to saké production, and studies such as ours can help prevent the falsification of saké breweries. We belie ..read more

Asahi Kasei Corp, parent company of Asahi Photoproducts and headquartered in Tokyo, has announced that Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd, also headquartered in Tokyo, has switched to AWP water-washable flexographic plates for the printing of beverage labels in Japan on its 550 mL PET bottles. This is the first time AWP plates have been used for printing labels in the beverage industry in Japan. In implementing this next-generation flexo printing technology, Asahi Kasei collaborated with Fuji Seal, Inc. According to research by Fuji Seal, this is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approxim ..read more

Researchers at Charles Sturt University are conducting what the organisation claim are the first-ever trials with 80 newborn piglets to help discover the best human breast milk alternative. The impact of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) on improving brain and gut development and reducing anxious behaviour will be looked at through the lens of piglets. The research, titled ‘Effect of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) intervention on brain, gut development and behaviour in piglets (2023-2025)’, uses piglets due to their brain structure and function closely resembling that of human infants, a ..read more

MTA — a Trane Technologies brand, will be exhibiting at ARBS 2024 at ICC Sydney, 28–30 May 2024, with a focus on air-to-water and water-to-water chillers and heat pumps that offer low GWP HFO and natural refrigerant heating and cooling solutions. On display at MTA’s stand 758–759 will be the TAE G air-cooled process chillers, specifically designed for use in demanding industrial applications. With a cooling capacity of 7–254 kW, the TAE G is the result of MTA’s commitment to the green transition of energy systems, obtained by combining its process chillers with the use of environmentally frien ..read more

Woolworths has officially launched in the New Zealand market, rebranding from Countdown. Along with the title change, the supermarket chain has shared a renewed commitment to its ‘Fresh or Free guarantee’, meaning that if any customer is unhappy with the quality of a fresh product in stores they can return it for a refund and replace the product. “We know our customers expect us to bring them value with quality fresh products — from produce to meat, seafood and deli, to bakery goods — especially with the cost of living remaining at the top of everyone’s minds. So our promise is to d ..read more

Dairy farm cooperative Fonterra is closing four plants at its manufacturing sites in Hamilton and Waitoa in New Zealand. Alan Van Der Nagel, Fonterra director NZ manufacturing, said the decision was made because Waitoa’s specialty powder plant and coal centre, and two powder dryers at Te Rapa were “aging assets”. A Fonterra spokesperson said the closure would only affect the plants and not the factories as the Waitoa and Te Rapa manufacturing sites would continue to operate. Staff impacted by the plant closures had all been offered redeployment opportunities within the Co-op. “At Waitoa, the ..read more

A team comprising researchers from Zhejiang University and Alexandria University has reviewed the critical relationship between the accumulation of anthocyanins and organic acids in fruits, highlighting how these factors influence fruit colour and consumer appeal through changes in vacuolar pH. The analysis focused on the transcription factors (TFs) responsible for the co-regulation of genes affecting these quality traits, aiming to enhance fruit marketability. By establishing a genetic link and identifying the regulatory mechanisms involved, the team provided a roadmap for breeders to target ..read more

Marel’s Revo FiberFlex is a burger patty forming and processing system. The solution combines low-pressure forming technology, flexibility and the ability to duplicate a specific patty formation in a large consistent quantity. Suitable for producing large volumes of burger patties, the system can provide many options in terms of shapes, sizes and surface indentations. The solution is designed to ensure product shape consistency and weight accuracy ..read more