10th European PhD Workshop on Food Engineering and Technology

Uzwil, Switzerland,  28-29 April 2016

 

Report

The 10th European PhD Workshop on Food Engineering and Technology took place at the end of April at Bühler in Uzwil and brought together some of the best young researchers in food engineering. "The challenges we face in feeding almost 10 billion people by the year 2050 require innovations across the whole value chain," explains Ian Roberts, Chief Technology Officer of Bühler. 16 PhD students from 12 European countries were selected to present their research. The projects were then evaluated by leading food engineering professors from European universities and representatives from industry partners like Bühler, Nestlé, Barilla, Givaudan, and General Mills. The Bühler Food Engineering Award was awarded for the first time this year and complements the Julius Maggi Research Award, which is also presented at the event and is sponsored by Nestlé.

Bühler Food Engineering Award 2016 winner: The first place went to Josef Hörmansperger, PhD candidate from ETH Zurich, for developing a microbial decontamination method which is based on a vacuum-steam-vacuum process. The process allows the decontamination of food powders which are sensitive to heat or moisture, for example milk powder, without compromising their quality.

Julius Maggi Research Award 2016 winner: The first place of the Julius Maggi Research Award went to Pia Meinlschmidt, PhD candidate from the Technical University in Munich and the Fraunhofer IVV in Freising, Germany, for examining non-thermal food processing technologies for the reduction of soy allergy. These technologies could be used to produce low-allergen food ingredients that combine good taste and, at the same time, address the growing concerns many consumers have about different food allergies.

Ongoing commitment to food engineering and technology
The 10th European PhD Workshop on Food Engineering and Technology was hosted by Bühler’s Corporate Technology team in collaboration with the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST), the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE) and the European Academy of Food Engineering (EAFE). Every year, the event brings together the best PhD students from all over Europe. PhD candidates in Food Engineering and Technology can submit their research projects on any subject at the interface of food and engineering. More information about the event is available on www.phdfoodworkshop.com .

Bühler Food Engineering Award 2016 (sponsored by Bühler)

• Winner: Josef Hörmansperger, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
  "Quality preservation of functional food powders by short-time Vacuum-Steam-Vacuum decontamination treatment"
• 2nd place: Jana Bahtz, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
  "Development of a W1/O/W2 emulsion powderization process preserving an osmotic swelling capacity"
• 3rd place: Christian Hertwig, Technical University Berlin, Germany
  "Cold plasma - Comparison of different plasma sources and its influence on microbial inactivation"

Julius Maggi Research Award 2016 (sponsored by Nestlé)

• Winner: Pia Meinlschmidt, Technical University Munich / Fraunhofer IVV, Germany
  "Low-Allergen Food Ingredients - An Insight into Nonthermal Food Processing Technologies to Mitigate Soybean Allergy"

Two candidates received the second place:

• 2nd place: Ulrike Schmidt, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
  "Citrus pectin as a hydrocolloid emulsifier: Emulsifying and emulsion stabilizing properties"
• 2nd place: Kemal Aganovic, DIL e.V. / KZ Leuven, Belgium
  "Headspace fingerprinting and sensory evaluation to discriminate between traditional and alternative pasteurization of watermelon juice"