The first Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SCFE) pilot plant in Africa will officially be opened at the end of October 2012. It will be situated in the Bio Beneficiation Systems Lab on the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU) as part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s dti Centre of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing.
Ever since food manufacturers started providing sauce in bottles, there has been a problem with that sauce that is always stuck to the bottom and the sides. Now MITPhD candidate Dave Smith and a team of mechanical engineers and nano-technologists at the Varanasi Research Group have found the solution – LiquiGlide.
Advances in mobile technology are increasing the number of consumer products with smart barcodes. Although this development is encouraging more sustainable products, Organic Monitor believes the implications are far reaching and could eventually lead to the demise of some eco-labels.
Eco-labels currently play an important role in marking sustainable products. Indeed, green symbols and logos are becoming ubiquitous on foods, cosmetics, household cleaning products, textiles, furniture and even toys. However, some consumers are becoming disillusioned with eco-labels because of the shortcomings of many standards and the lack of transparency. According to Organic Monitor, a growing number of consumers are now turning to mobile technology applications to meet their informational needs.
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Qmilch® is new and sustainable fibre made entirely from milk. It’s gentle, hypo-allergenic and ideal for people with skin allergies. It drapes and folds like silk, but can be washed as if it is cotton.
More interesting, for our readers, is the fact that the fibre is made entirely from milk that may not be consumed due to Germany’s strict control standards. Every year about 1.9 million tonnes of non-marketable milk is discarded by agricultural enterprises in Germany.
Read more...A novel process for isolating soy protein components may lead to 
new ingredients. The first prototype has just been developed and all patents granted.
Solae, supplier of soy-based ingredients, is leading a four-year €11 million research project, called MagPro2Life, funded by the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union (EU) Commission. It includes researchers from Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. The main aim of the project is to use what the company calls ‘smart magnetic particles’ to extract beneficial components during the processing of food, pharma and feed. The company announced the achievement of major milestones in the project, at the beginning of December 2011. This included a scale-up of the pilot scale magnetic centrifugation process and the granting of multiple patents to DuPont, for both the process and equipment. Read more...
