iShowcase event organised by the Food and Drink iNet as part of the 2010 East Midlands iFestival

A foretaste of future developments in the food and drink sector will be unveiled as part of the 2010 East Midlands iFestival.

Details of nine research projects being undertaken by the region’s universities which have the potential to shape the future of the food and drink industry will be revealed.

The projects have received grant support of £445,000 for research and development through the Food and Drink iNet’s Higher Education Collaboration Fund.

The schemes will come under the spotlight at an iShowcase event on March 23rd at the Sir Colin Campbell Building, The University of Nottingham Innovation Park, Nottingham.

The event is part of the 2010 East Midlands iFestival taking place from 12th March to 23rd April, which is the largest annual celebration of innovation in the UK and features more than 150 activities across the region. The iFestival is being co-ordinated by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and East Midlands Innovation (the region’s innovation council).

“For those involved in the food and drink industry, this event provides an insight into the science that sits behind the future innovations and technologies of the food and drink sector,” said Peter Maycock, Food and Drink iNet Director. “It’s also a fantastic opportunity to explore potential solutions to the challenges faced by food and drink sector businesses across the East Midlands.”

Among the projects being unveiled at the iShowcase event is a research project between De Montfort University and Loughborough University to reduce the problem of lumps in powdered food, known as caking, which has challenged food manufacturers for decades; a collaboration between The University of Lincoln, Nottingham Trent University and The University of Northampton to improve heat sealing for packaging to help reduce waste and provide higher levels of performance by getting it right first time; a research project by The University of Leicester and The University of Nottingham to measure the quality and ripeness of fruit without touching it using real time mass spectrometry; and a collaboration between Nottingham Trent University and The University of Nottingham to study the most common cause of bacterial food-borne illness worldwide, campylobacter coli, in organic and free-range poultry.

Other projects include a collaboration between Loughborough University and The University of Nottingham to kill bugs using Cold Atmospheric Plasma; a project between The Food Packaging Research Laboratory at Nottingham Trent University and the University of Lincoln to develop a new food packaging material that destroys bugs and reduces waste; a study to look at food structure effects on body hydration being carried out by The University of Nottingham and Loughborough University; a collaboration between Nottingham Trent University, The University of Nottingham and Cosmos Biomedical Limited to assess the safety of powdered foods; and The Silica Joint Health Supplement Project to improve welfare by strengthening the legs of poultry, being undertaken by Nottingham Trent University in collaboration with The University of Nottingham.

Running from 9am to 4pm, tickets for the iShowcase event are free. Delegates can attend all or part of the day, but must pre-register. Visit www.eminnovation.org.uk or email enquiries@foodanddrinkforum.co.uk for more information.

The Food and Drink iNet is aiming to foster innovation in the region’s food and drink sector by encouraging businesses to turn new ideas into new business through the development of new technologies and products. It’s also hoping to stimulate new processes, services and ways of working in the industry to help boost the sector.

Funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda), the Food and Drink iNet is managed by a consortium, led by the Food & Drink Forum and including Food Processing Faraday, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Lincoln, and the University of Nottingham.