VEG-i-TEC (UGent)

🤜𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐄𝐆-𝐢-𝐓𝐄𝐂 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫: Kyriaki Tsirtsidou 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧-𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧-𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 #𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐤-𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 #𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬!  👉 #Strawberries contain many valuable compounds with potential health benefits. However, these compounds are extremely sensitive and degrade fast when exposed to heat, light, oxygen and pH changes. This instability presents a challenge for their direct incorporation into food products, as they may lose their activity before or during consumption, resulting in reduced bioaccessibility and effectiveness. Kyriaki’s PhD research focuses on encapsulating these unstable compounds in pectin-chitosan hydrogels – to improve their stability – and their further application in a tea drink aiming to develop a novel tea product with enhanced bioactivities. The findings of this study are promising, showing that the composition of the milk tea product enhanced the release of valuable compounds from the pectin-chitosan-strawberry gels under conditions simulating the intestinal phase during digestion. 🙏Her research is conducted under the supervision of Prof. Dr. ir. Katleen Raes (VEG-i-TEC (UGent)) and Dr. Robbens Johan (Cell Blue Biotech & Food Integrity (Instituut voor Landbouw, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO))), within the #BlueCC project, financially supported by the BlueBio Cofund. 

📢 VEG-i-TEC (UGent) was part of Flanders' FOOD Inspiration Day during a special session around food pilots in Flanders. 🗣️ Together with #FoodPilot, #FR&Dhall and #FermentedFoodPilot an interactive session was organized to showcase our infrastructure and how we work! Big thanks to Bart Van Damme for organizing this. 👏We, of course, also enjoyed the other great talks and networking possibilities during this day. Kudos to all speakers and Flanders' FOOD! Faculty of Bioscience Engineering UGent ILVO (Instituut voor Landbouw, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek) POM West-Vlaanderen VIVES campus Roeselare Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Meer weten over de industriële verwerking van prei? En hoe de verwerking een impact heeft op de kwaliteit tijdens bewaren én ontdooiien? 👇👇👇 ⚙De VEG-i-TEC (UGent) pilootinfrastructuur werd ingeschakeld om de diepvriesketen te doorlopen van geoogst tot ingevroren product. 🤝 Samen met Laboratory of Food Technology en ILVO (Instituut voor Landbouw, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek) binnen het #VeggieChain project slaan we de handen in elkaar! Zodanig ook de kwaliteit tijdens bewaring als bij ontdooiien in kaart te brengen. 🎁 Grote dank ook aan Flanders' FOOD en VLAIO - Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship voor de nodige ondersteuning en funding alsook alle betrokken bedrijven! https://lnkd.in/exCUkNb7

Inspiratiedag Flanders' FOOD @Technopolis Tot nu toe een heel leerrijke voormiddag; samenvatting VEGGIECHAIN project met Tara Grauwet; waar VEG-i-TEC partner was. Meer info via: https://lnkd.in/exCUkNb7 Pulserende Elektrische Velden (PEF) als conserveringstechniek van levensmiddelen PEF toegepast in de aardappel industrie met Prof. Frank Devlieghere (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering UGent) en Ruben Devos (Agristo).

📢Very excited to announce that Maryam Imbumi's product MaryaPorr has been selected for presentation in front of 400 people at the Expedition DO! Final Destination Pitch Night 2024!! You are all welcome! 👉 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆𝗮𝗣𝗼𝗿𝗿 is planning a large-scale production and use of insect-fortified complementary instant porridges for children. 📅 Don’t forget to reserve your spot to see Maryam Imbumi, other researchers and students pitch live on stage this 3̳r̳d̳ ̳o̳f̳ ̳O̳c̳t̳o̳b̳e̳r̳: https://lnkd.in/eQy_6by9 Also, see the following posts: https://lnkd.in/eHu38wyF https://lnkd.in/eq8NXS8r

📝We are happy to share our #newpublication in Food Chemistry by Kyriaki Tsirtsidou, Yang Zou, Robbens Johan, and Katleen Raes entitled "𝐏𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧-𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬".   🔎In this study, a blend of low and medium #molecularweight chitosan was used for the first time to improve the stability and properties of pectin-chitosan #hydrogels in the presence of an aqueous strawberry extract. This study showed that manipulating the molecular weight range of chitosan would allow the formation of more stable gels, which could enhance the delivery of the bioactive berry #phenolic compounds during digestion. 💡 Interested? Read all about it: https://lnkd.in/eHVHyGu9   🤝This work is a collaboration between VEG-i-TEC (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering UGent) and Cell Blue Biotech & Food Integrity (Instituut voor Landbouw, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)) within the #BlueCC project, financially supported by the BlueBio Cofund. 

🌟 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭! 🌟 Last week, VEG-i-TEC (Universiteit Gent) had the pleasure of hosting the final co-creation workshop and training of the Belgium case study of the #Horizon2020 FAIRCHAIN_EU project. Over the past four years, we’ve worked hard to develop a̳n̳ ̳i̳n̳n̳o̳v̳a̳t̳i̳v̳e̳ ̳a̳s̳e̳p̳t̳i̳c̳ ̳f̳i̳l̳l̳i̳n̳g̳ ̳m̳a̳c̳h̳i̳n̳e̳ ̳f̳o̳r̳ ̳l̳i̳q̳u̳i̳d̳ ̳a̳n̳d̳ ̳v̳i̳s̳c̳o̳u̳s̳ ̳f̳o̳o̳d̳ ̳p̳r̳o̳d̳u̳c̳t̳s̳. This technology not only enables efficient packaging in easy-to-store flexible pouches while improving product quality, but most importantly, it extends shelf life and reduces the need for heat treatments. We were happy to welcome stakeholders from across the food value chain, including farmers, food producers, processors, machine builders, packaging experts, air quality specialists, and retailers. This serves as an example of what a̳n̳ ̳i̳n̳t̳e̳r̳m̳e̳d̳i̳a̳r̳y̳ ̳v̳a̳l̳u̳e̳ ̳f̳o̳o̳d̳ ̳c̳h̳a̳i̳n̳ could look like. The day was packed with insight and interaction: 🎤 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Prof. Imca Sampers (Case study leader; UGent) introduced the FAIRCHAIN project, Prof. Frank Devlieghere (UGent) shared insights on microbial shelf life, Dr. Thierry. Benezech (INRAE) covered hygienic design, Ing. Pieter-Jan Loveniers (UGent) and Steven Dewulf (IndusFilter BV) discussed air purification and aseptic filling, and Prof. Peter Ragaert (Pack4Food & UGent) offered insights on sustainable packaging. Attendees learned about the latest innovations in all these different topics, along with key considerations and challenges for practical applications. 🧠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩: Divided into smaller groups, each stakeholder had the opportunity to discuss preset questions, exchange knowledge, and share challenges. 🍷 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: The productive day was concluded with a relaxed networking session where participants could engage in new connections. The FAIRCHAIN event was made possible through the help of the partners and members of the VEG-i-TEC team, with special thanks to Dr. Joëlle Housmans and Ing. Louis De Bruyckere whose efforts were key to its success. It was a fantastic day of learning, sharing, and connecting, and we’re excited about the future impact of the FAIRCHAIN project! 🤝𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬: Greenyard, INRAE, Pack4Food, Scaldopack nv, Universiteit Gent (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering UGent; VEG-i-TEC) 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨:  🔗https://lnkd.in/gC5Jd3c or https://lnkd.in/eDvn7_DV 📧 [email protected] #Innovation #AsepticFilling #SustainableSolutions #Networking #FAIRCHAIN #Horizon2020 #FoodValueChain #Collaboration

Meet the VEG-i-TEC researcher - Joëlle Housmans 🖐 👉 As a Postdoc researcher in the lab of Prof. Imca Sampers, Joëlle is working on two diverse projects focused on improving food safety and sustainability: 1) 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 👨🌾 🍎: For the Horizon2020 FAIRCHAIN_EU project, which aimed to develop an aseptic fill-and-seal machine for small and medium businesses, Joëlle and her colleague, Louis De Bruyckere, helped organise an event with diverse stakeholders, including machine builders, farmers, large food processors, and packaging experts. They are also helping to create tutorial videos on #packaging, #hygienicdesign, and the impact of #airquality during packaging with the partners of the Belgian case study. This work involves extensive communication and cooperation with partners; Universiteit Gent, Pack4Food, INRAE, Greenyard and Scaldopack nv. 2) 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🍟 💦: Given the large amounts of drinking water used by industries, reducing or reusing this water is crucial for sustainability. Joëlle is investigating the process of reusing blanching water during potato fries production. Her work includes grant writing to promote new research projects that ensure both food safety and taste. 🙏 Thanks to #Horizon2020 funding, Joëlle is making progress towards more sustainable and efficient food production practices. 🔗More info: https://lnkd.in/eDvn7_DV or contact: 📧 [email protected] Faculty of Bioscience Engineering UGent

📝 We are happy to share our #newpublication in Food Hydrocolloids on "𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐢𝐫-𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬" by Ben Van den Wouwer, Laura Scheldewaert, Kristof Brijs, Katleen Raes, and Arno Wouters. 🥔 🔎 In this study, a diverse set of samples was used to assess the contribution of different #potato #protein fractions to the #foaming properties. The major potato protein fractions, patatin and protease inhibitors, display a distinct foaming behavior. This behavior can be better understood by studying their air-water interfacial properties and determining the protein colloidal state in different environmental conditions. 💡 👉 Link to the article (50 days free access): https://lnkd.in/gaQGGQHU 🙏 This work is a collaboration between VEG-i-TEC (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering UGent) and Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Biochemistry KU Leuven within the #EffSep project, which is financially supported by VLAIO and coordinated by Flanders' FOOD. KU Leuven & Universiteit Gent #plantprotein #foam #research #foodhydrocolloids

🚀Op 29 augustus lanceerden we het 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐕𝐄𝐆-𝐢-𝐓𝐄𝐂 met een heerlijk inspiratieontbijt. 💡 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠? Toelichten van het project en vooral inspireren rond innovatie in energie- en waterbeheer. De focus lag op het gebruik van sensoren, digitalisatie en procesoptimalisatie. 🔍De interactieve sessie bracht inzichten over energieverbruik, -productie, -opslag, restwarmterecuperatie en energiemanagementsystemen. We wisselden ook ideeën uit over investeringsmogelijkheden voor energiebeheer in de voedingssector. Deze waardevolle input nemen we mee in de verdere ontwikkeling van het project en zorgt voor nieuwe innovatiekansen binnen de voedingssector. 👥Wil jij ook graag bijdragen aan energie-efficiëntie en duurzaamheid binnen de voedingssector? Neem dan zeker deel aan toekomstige evenementen van Resilient VEG-i-TEC zodat we kunnen samenwerken aan een duurzame toekomst of neem contact.   📧 Meer info: [email protected] Imca Sampers (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering UGent) en Jurgen Van Ryckeghem (Howest Energie) en Nathalie van Hal (POM West-Vlaanderen) 🔗 website: https://lnkd.in/d4t22xWf   #EFRO #ResilientVEGiTEC #samenondernemen #voedingssector #duurzaamheid #innovatie   In samenwerking met POM West-Vlaanderen, Universiteit Gent en HOWEST Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen. Dit project krijgt financiële steun van EFRO Vlaanderen, VLAIO en Provincie West-Vlaanderen - Thuis in Europa.