Roundtable devoted to different applications of synchrotron light for food research.
Cerdanyola del Vallès, 14 June 2021. ALBA contributed with a virtual stand and organising a roundtable with three experienced speakers presenting the applications of the ALBA synchrotron light to the agrifood industry. This roundtable counted with the participation of an academic and an industrial user who have used the services of ALBA to investigate and improve their products and processes.
Marta Avila, Industrial Liaison Officer of ALBA, talked about the application fields of synchrotron light in food value chain, including several examples of synchrotron techniques applied to food and packaging characterisation like the structure of chocolate, oils and fats, or determining the oxidation states of products used for agriculture or foods such as jam and fish. The characterisation of agrifood products and food packages allows a better understanding of their structure and properties and, therefore, it boosts their improvement. In short, the presentation showed that the synchrotron light can be a powerful ally for the agrifood industry.
The second talk of the roundtable was given by Prof. Manuel Valiente, head of the Group of Separation Techniques in Chemistry from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, about selenium enriched wheat. Selenium is an essential micronutrient that prevents heavy metal toxicity in the human body. Selenium was added to the soil of plants like wheat in order to increase the level of selenium in the plant, so that it can become a source of selenium for the people who consume it. However not all types of selenium can be absorbed by the body so it is important to determine the oxidation state and selenium chemical specie and, to do so, they used the ALBA Synchrotron techniques. Synchrotron techniques allow determining the oxidation state and chemical specie directly on the sample, without the need of extractions or any prior chemical treatment. Different substrate enrichment conditions give different selenium speciation and distribution in wheat as Manuel Valiente concluded.
The last talk was given by Esteve Valls, technical manager of Samtack Industrial Adhesives, and was entitled "SmarTack, adhesives that increase shelf life of packaged food". A new adhesive technology for flexible multilayer complexes with antioxidant properties was presented, where also ALBA Synchrotron light was used to gain a deep understanding of this new product and improve its fabrication. Packaging manufactured with such multilayer films allows an increased food shelf life.
The roundtable was moderated by Sergio Sáez, manager of the secpho cluster who addressed the questions raised on the chat by the attendees and also did some of his own. Around 40 persons attended the conferences held on the virtual auditorium of Secpholand. More than 160 people attended the Exhibition hall where the ALBA virtual stand was located. Several connections were established with other companies and institutions in their virtual B2B area.
Virtual stand at the Smart Agrifood Industry virtual congress organized by secpho.
