Food packaging is an invaluable part of fresh food systems. It contains and protects fresh food products and can add convenience to consumers while also communicating its quality and value. Key trends and innovations for optimising sustainable food packaging are highlighted below.
Largely through the effects of the global pandemic, the last 12 months has seen tremendous changes in our way of life, way of working and way of thinking. This year's Convention picks up on this th...
Students completing their undergraduate studies in food science at University of NSW (UNSW) in Sydney can now add a minor in humanitarian science and technology to their bachelor of food science (h...
The environment in which we live and work is changing, and so must we if we are to meet the production demands of the future, as well as look after the environment and our communities.
Sensory and consumer sciences are vital for the success of the food industry. To ensure its success, food industry and sensory providers need to work closely together.
Garlic is an integral part of European and Asian cuisines. It is appreciated for its flavour, and the consumption of garlic is associated with a wide range of health benefits throughout history. For instance, records from Ancient Egypt suggest that pyramid builders were fed garlic to acquire extra power. In the Roman Empire, garlic was used to treat gastrointestinal disorders, asthma, madness, tumours and worms.
Monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamate or MSG, is the sodium salt of glutamic-acid or glutamate, the most abundant naturally occurring non-essential amino-acids and can be found in many protein-rich food products such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products and other plant sources. Glutamic-acid was discovered and isolated from wheat gluten and identified in the year 1866, by the German chemist Karl Heinrich Leopold Ritthausen.
There is much attention on sugar in the food supply given the recent sugar tax in Britain. Sugar remains a controversial, yet much loved ingredient. A new comprehensive study from Deakin University Centre for Advanced Sensory Science (CASS) looked at the relationship between sweet taste function, diet and anthropometry among 60 adults. Low et al used six different sweeteners (glucose, fructose, sucrose, sucralose, erythritol, and Rebaudioside A) and measured detection, recognition threshold and perceived intensity of all the sweeteners in all subjects. They assessed diet in all subjects as well as height, weight and waist circumference.
At the recent 10th Annual Australia and New Zealand Sensory and Consumer Science Symposium, the question was posed: can a marriage between sensory and marketing last?
Fat has always been associated with texture, flavour release, and thermal properties in foods, but not the sense of taste. Yet as the taste system has evolved to detect the nutrients or toxins in foods prior to ingestion, it makes sense that fats, an essential energy-dense macronutrient, would be detected through taste, as other macronutrients, namely carbohydrates and proteins, are detected through the tastes of sweet and umami.
