Foods of the Future Flashcards
Urban agriculture definition
Growing, processing and distributing food and other products within and around a city center
Ex. rooftop farms like Lufa and vertical farms
Veggie growth on international space station
Plants with: reliable growth, rapid growth, attractiveness, low native microbial levels, palatability and antioxidants
Ex. red romaine, Zinnia
Plants harvested live on TV in 2015
Benefits:
- challenges of living and working in small space
- supply chain difficulties (cost of transporting food to moon)
- Mars travel will require self-sustainable food options
- contribution to ISS ecosystem
- psychological benefits
Deep space food challenge
Create novel food production tech or systems that require minimal input and maximize food output for long-duration space missions (and can also benefit people on earth)
Phase 1: Design report - details of design
Phase 2: build prototype to demonstrate food output and tastings
Phase 3: full system demonstration - 12 months to build production tech and demonstrate in an appropriate facility
CRCTS
Cricket growth system submission
Tray systems to isolate populations and from humans and keep a controlled environment which minimizes contamination risk
Requires climate control, lighting, UV sterilization, vacuum harvesting
Cricket powder as protein supplement
InSpira PBR
Spirulina growth system
<4 hours per week maintenance
Closed loop and compartmentalized honeycomb unit for control over growth parameters and staggered growth
Geopolymer growing substrate
can grow a variety of plants in it - provides physical and chemical needs enabling root growth and nutrient storage
Porous concrete substrate
Modern food production encompasses
New tech, new foods and ethical implications
Outsiders untrained in core sciences and physiology trying to step in with a health and environmentally conscious perspective - there is a growing demand for a new kind of expertise
The public does not always know when emerging tech has been used on their food
Trust is the #1 reason consumers buy one product over another
Main issues in emerging food tech
Food processing essential for extending shelf life, improving functional properties, consistent better quality
Food storage in developing nations (often unhealthy)
Reliance on food imports on economy of a country
Reversing food insecurity, sustain constant supply
Safety, sustainability and commercial viability
Minimally processed foods
Non-thermal processing
No actual definition - growing trend
- Almost every food we consume is processed in some way
Safety depends on novel preservation techniques:
on-thermal processing: irradiation, high-pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric field (PEF), pulsed light, ultrasound, oscillating magnetic fields, and cold atmospheric plasma
Benefits: makes food safe without drawbacks of thermal processing
Food irradiation
uses gamma (X-ray) or electrons to kill pathogens
Canada use for potatoes, onions, wheat flour, whole wheat flour, ground spices and dehydrated seasonings
Negative views from consumers on carcinogenicity, quality and risk to workers
In US it is regulated as an additive not a process (requires symbol)
High pressure processing
Pulsed electric field processing
Pulsed light technology
HPP
- very high hydrostatic pressure to inactivate microorganisms
- Does not affect nutrition though some enzymes can be affected
- Used on juices, dressings, cold meats, baby foods and fish products
- Perceived as fresh and more nutritious ($$$)
PEF
- Preservation of liquid and semi liquid to inactivate microbes
- Preserves attributes and freshness
- Considered safe and public awareness is low
PLT
- intense short white light (broad spectrum) for sterilization or reduced microbial on packaging/food surfaces
- milk, apple juice, apple cider
Ultrasonication
Static and Oscillating Magnetic Fields
Cold Plasma
Ultrasound used for non-invasive inspection , analysis and sterilization
- Inactivation of enzymes and microbes deterring food spoilage
- No guidelines at present
SMF/OMF inactivate microorganisms for liquid or solid foods inside flexible packaging
Cold Plasma: charged gas, inactivates microbes without heat generation within 3-120 seconds
Ohmic
Radio frequency
Ohmic heating: heat generation by passing electrical current through food which resists it - rapid and uniform heat generation
- best for foods with particulates in suspension of weak salt medium
- thermal and non-thermal cellular damage
- inactivation of spoilage enzymes
- limited by viscosity
Radio frequency: similar to microwave, placed between capacitor plates and heated by electromagnetic waves from 3kHz - 300 MHz
- faster than microwave
- no nutrient impacts
- effective sterilization method
Clean food movement realities
Number of ingredients does not relate to chemical composition, safety or nutritional value of a food
People assume if it is plant based then it is better for us
- but long term metabolic effects, physiology of plant matrices, gut microbiome effect, food security solutions?
“Un-processed” processed foods like rx bars, paleo products
NOVA classification oversight - assuming all processed foods are less healthy
Types of alternative proteins
Concerns related to introduction of new proteins
Plant-based (1% of US meat market) - consisting of vegetables, grains, pulses, or foods derived from plants without animal products
Fermentation derived - cell factories of customized microbes to produce functional ingredients once derived from plants and animals
Cultivated - animal based protein foods made by cultivating animal cells placed on organic scaffold (eliminates raising and farming animals)
Insect based - food products using insect ingredients
Allergenicity, toxicology, contaminants and residues from source, uninformed consumers on food spoilage mechanisms with these products (lack of research)
- no industry standards, novice newcomers lack science fundamentals, unintended consequences
