Food & Beverage
Discovery: resistance to wheat dwarfing virus
If the wandering sand cicada (Psammotettix alienus) bites a wheat plant to drink plant sap, the consequences can be fatal: Along with its saliva, the cicada can transmit Wheat Dwarf Virus (WDV). Depending on the age of the plant at the time of infection, yields drop by at least 30 percent, and even total failure is possible. Researchers at the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) have now tested 500 wheat varieties, including cultivars, genebank accessions and wild species, for their resistance to the virus. The wild varieties were found to be similarly susceptible to the virus as modern varieties, suggesting that breeding has not resulted in a loss of resistance genes.
More than half of the varieties studied perished as a result of infection. Two Hungarian varieties described as resistant showed only some quantitative resistance to the virus disease, with infection rates of 21.5 and 34.5 percent. However, the researchers discovered near-complete resistance in the Russian winter wheat variety “Fisht,” which was infected at only 5.7 percent. They describe this in their recent publication in the open-access journal Frontiers in Plant Science.
“For the first time, we were able to determine QTL associated with low yield losses due to the virus. Using genetic markers, these QTL could be crossed into elite wheat lines in the future to create resistant varieties.”
– Anne-Kathrin Pfrieme
QTL (quantitative trait loci) are segments in the genome that are associated with quantitative traits – traits such as height, weight, or even disease resistance. These gradually measurable traits are the result of the interaction of different genes. Of the 35 gene loci first identified, 14 remained after testing that could be consistently linked to low yield losses from wheat wilt virus infections.
The interest of various breeding companies, which were involved in the research together with the Gesellschaft zur Förderung von Pflanzeninnovation e.V. (Society for the Promotion of Plant Innovation), was high, he said, especially since the virus cannot be controlled and no plant protection product is approved within the EU against the cicada that transmits it.
Background
Many cicada and aphid species benefit from climate change because higher temperatures allow them to remain active longer and, in some cases, produce another generation of offspring. This has recently been proven once again by a survey using an insect suction trap at the Quedlinburg site. The region of western Saxony-Anhalt is particularly affected by climate change in the form of rising temperatures and drought. Virus diseases transmitted by these vectors are also on the increase.
The wheat dwarfing virus has spread throughout Europe since the middle of the 20th century. In addition to wheat, it also infects barley and other cereals. Today, it is one of the most important cereal diseases in Europe, Asia and Africa. It is transmitted in the fall by adult wandering sand chirps (Psammotettix alienus). Secondary infection by nymphs of the cicada is possible in spring. Infection is manifested by striped coloring of leaves, chlorosis, reduced number of ears, reduced winter hardiness, and death of plants at early stages of development.
Since viruses cannot be controlled with plant protection products and, in some cases, active substances for environmentally compatible use against the vectors are also lacking, the breeding of varieties that are resistant to the pathogens is becoming increasingly important.
Food & Beverage Ingredients & Auxiliary Materials News Processing Technologies Trade shows
Presentation of innovative platform at Vitafoods Europe in Geneva
International nutritional solutions provider Glanbia Nutritionals is introducing its TechVantage platform at this year’s Vitafoods Europe, the world’s leading nutritional supplements trade show. It offers functionally optimized nutritional technologies that provide increased stability, the ability to mask flavors and colors, and improved solubility and flowability.
Today, more than ever, there is a need for product formulations that meet the demands of increasingly sophisticated dietary supplements, beverages and foods. Functionally optimized nutrient technologies are based on more than 30 years of industry experience and cover a wide range of challenges and requirements, such as optimizing product color, clarity, taste, stability, dispersibility and bioavailability. The in-house technologies within the platform are NutraShield microencapsulations, UniTrit triturations and GranulPlex granulations, each with their own merits:
NutraShield microencapsulated nutrients provide a protective structure around each nutrient. This enhances efficacy and function in a variety of ways – including masking odors and flavors, improving stability, controlling color intensity, converting oils to powder, and delaying the release of nutrients.
UniTrit triturated nutrients are standardized on a carrier for homogeneous nutrient release, allowing easier distribution of nutrients in the final blend and easy scaling with less excess.
GranulPlex granulated nutrients are formed by forming individual particles from multiple small and large particles, allowing for better instantization, dispersibility and a more powerful compressible powder.
The nutrient portfolio of covers a wide range of categories, including vitamins, minerals, botanicals, amino acids, sweeteners, carbohydrates, fats (oils), botanicals, fiber and acids. It enables manufacturers to make significant improvements in the production of tablets, chewable tablets, effervescent products, gummy bears, powdered drink mixes, beverages and more.
“Decades of knowledge and experience in microencapsulation, granulation and trituration have gone into the development and creation of our TechVantage™ platform. This has been done with the expectations and requirements of many of our customers in mind. TechVantage will provide our partners with increased end-product functionality while reducing formulation issues and manufacturing difficulties.”
– Josh Stewart, Senior Product Manager Premix Solutions
Consumables Food & Beverage News Processing Technologies
Investment of 50 million euros for new plant
The functional ingredients manufacturer Beneo is investing 50 million euros in the construction of a new plant for processing pulses. The new plant is being built at the Offstein site and will produce protein-rich ingredients for the food and animal feed industries. Initially, the focus will be on the production of protein concentrate, starch-rich flour and pods from field beans. In the future, other pulses may also be processed on site. The new production facility strengthens the portfolio of vegetable proteins. The company will thus be able to meet the growing demand for plant-based food and animal feed products even better.
The trend towards vegetable proteins is unbroken. According to forecasts by market research company Mintel, plant-based proteins will account for 75 percent of total protein demand by 2027. Manufacturers of plant-based protein products can expect a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than ten percent between 2020 and 2027. Legumes are also growing in popularity. Peas and field beans are on track to become the top new ingredients in global new product introductions, with a CAGR of 20 percent over the past five years.
Along the entire supply chain, the company places great emphasis on sustainability. Pulses help reduce greenhouse gas emissions right from the agricultural production stage. For example, field beans fix nitrogen from the air, covering their own nitrogen requirements and those for subsequent crops, so there is no need for appropriate fertilization. The field beans come from farmers in the region who are certified by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) and comply with appropriate standards for sustainable agriculture. Beneo fully utilizes the field beans to produce protein concentrate, starch-rich flour and pods as functional ingredients. In addition, the production process selected is characterized by comparatively low energy consumption. As a result, it makes an overall contribution to climate neutrality and sustainability targets.
Planning work has already begun and construction of the plant is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2024. This will create up to 25 jobs at the Offstein site. To ensure that food and animal feed customers can benefit from the ingredients from the field bean as quickly as possible, the company will process the raw materials on existing production facilities until the new plant is fully operational. Initial product volumes will thus be available as early as the beginning of June 2022.
The protein concentrate and starchy flour from field bean are used to enrich protein and improve the texture of meat and dairy substitutes as well as (gluten-free) baked goods and cereals. The pods, as well as the starch-rich flour, are used as a vegetable protein or fiber source for sustainable pet, aqua and livestock feed.
“The recent investment in a new legume production facility is just the beginning. As we strongly believe in plant-based ingredients, we see the new facility as an important first step in expanding our protein offering. This will allow us to produce a greater variety of sustainable plant-based protein ingredients in the years to come.”
– Christoph Boettger, Member of the Executive Board
Food & Beverage Measurement, Instrumentation, Control & Automation News Processing Technologies
Innovative pressure sensors of the PI series
The sensors used in the food industry have very high requirements. Hygienic design, high protection class and robustness are just some of them. The new pressure sensors of the PI1xxx series meet these requirements just like the predecessor models, but offer many more advantages.
The new PI1xxx pressure sensors are mainly used in the food industry and therefore meet all common hygiene requirements. Among other things, they are certified according to EHEDG and FDA and meet protection class IP69k, so that daily cleaning with a high-pressure cleaner is no problem. The sensors use a capacitive ceramic measuring element and are therefore extremely robust. Neither abrasive or corrosive media nor vacuum or pressure peaks can harm the sensor element. In addition, the sensor permanently withstands 150°C media temperatures and is thus suitable for many high-temperature applications in the food industry. The media temperature can also be read out via IO-Link. The PTFE seal, which is permanently maintenance-free, also contributes to the robustness.
Higher resolution improved design
The new pressure sensors, which are available with various measuring ranges from vacuum to 100 bar, now communicate via IO-Link 1.1 and have a resolution of 32 bits. This is especially important for applications where differential pressures are measured and thus only a small part of the measuring range can be used. Temperature compensation has also been improved in the new series. In food industry plants, the CIP process, in which the equipment is cleaned with hot liquids, is the standard. If production is then to be resumed at low temperatures, it is important that the sensor functions reliably again as quickly as possible. This has been significantly improved in the new PI1xxx, so that production can restart much faster after cleaning – in many applications, this leads to a significant gain in efficiency.
Even seemingly small improvements to the design of a sensor can have a big impact in the application. For example, the vent opening on the new pressure sensor has been offset by 90° and is now located on the side when mounted conventionally. This prevents condensate, for example, from collecting on the membrane of the vent opening and causing contamination or impairing the function. The product has also been optimized in terms of user-friendliness: the new operating concept with three buttons makes parameterization much more convenient and thus faster.
The pressure sensors of the new series are ideally suited for applications in the food sector – for example in dairies, breweries and many other cases where liquids are used. Pressure measurements in these applications are made in tanks as well as in pipelines. The numerous improvements to the sensors offer users important advantages in this regard.