10 articles on technology that should be read

Throughout the first quarter, we have been publishing various articles on technologies that are setting trends in the industrial development of key consumer sectors such as agri-food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, packaging ... In this article, we take stock of what is written by grouping it into three blocks: Technologies for a Circular Economy; Technologies that mark the future of Food Security; and Technologies for consumer welfare, nutrition, and healthy eating. Go ahead and read.

All the actors involved (authorities, business, and consumer) are immersed in a global revolution that advocates replacing the linear concept of production (produce-use-throw) with a sustainable and competitive system in which efficient use is made of the resources. Therefore, creating a new model that advocates circularity and allows the productive cycle to be closed, giving new uses to waste, converting them into products of value, will allow achieving more sustainable development and progress.

Towards a sustainable food system: The challenges of the EU on the 2030 horizon

The FOOD 2030 document from the European Commission revealed where research and technological development in food in the EU should be oriented. A document that focuses on 4 main areas: innovation, sustainable and healthy nutrition, action against climate change and environmental sustainability and circularity and efficiency in the use of resources.

In the article Towards a sustainable food system: The challenges of the EU in the 2030 horizon, we analyze this document and extract the most significant conclusions of interest for the R & D & I professionals of the food industry. Our recommendation is that it should be an article of obligatory consultation for R & D managers, responsible for the areas of innovation and marketing and CEOs.

The circular economy of water: 4 lines of work
The environmental challenge will be key in large consumption sectors such as agri-food, cosmetics ... The competitiveness of these industries will depend to a large extent on their ability to cope with the growing demand for inputs (water, electricity, raw materials ...) in scarce environments. The efficient use of water is one of the issues that mark the agenda and the future.


In this article, "Towards the circular economy of water: 4 lines of work", we present four lines of work as circular solutions, as well as the main technological innovations in water reduction, recycling, and reuse, as a solution towards a Circular Economy. Our recommendation is that directors and technicians of environmental management in companies, production managers, as well as responsible for Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development, are aware of this broad potential of technological solutions already available, with examples of performance of relevant companies in these fields.

Bioplastics: Is a 100% biodegradable barrier container for food possible?
The innovation in the packaging, its design and the materials used is key to move towards a sustainable system. In this sense, the REFUCOAT Project, in which AINIA Centro Tecnológico participates as a partner, aims to offer a 100% biodegradable barrier packaging that improves the shelf life of food.


In the article Bioplastics: Is a 100% biodegradable barrier packaging for food possible? We advance the conclusions of this project in terms of biodegradable packaging to extend the shelf life of food. The project starts from a philosophy concept of Circular Economy. Recommended reading for directors of R & D, Quality, Marketing, and Production, as well as for the important auxiliary industry of materials and packaging.

Chemical technologies: towards the circular economy
The chemical industry, so present in every aspect of our lives, is undergoing unprecedented changes. To achieve green and sustainable chemistry is the key to innovation as a strategy to improve competitiveness. ^

For this, our R & D director proposes three lines of work: Clean and sustainable extraction processes, COASC technology for the treatment of sewage sludge and biorefineries as a transformation system towards a Circular Economy.


If you want to know more about its different advantages, we invite you to read the article "Chemical technology: towards the circular economy".

Technologies that mark the future of Food Safety
Big Data, the management, management and mass analysis of information to support technologies or manage information from all elements of the food chain will mark the future of food security. A globalized and technologicalized food security, with a hyperconnected consumer, where anticipation and prevention acquire whole, without losing sight of control. We recommend reading three articles:

Industry 4.0: Machine learning and artificial vision in food safety
By "Machine Learning" we mean machines that learn by themselves. In AINIA we are applying this artificial intelligence to systems of quality control and food safety, from the control of Petri plates in food analysis laboratories, to the analysis of data to optimize productive processes in the industry. In the article Industry 4.0: Machine learning and artificial vision in food security we give the keys.

New control methods to detect the presence of mercury in meats and other veterinary residues
Regarding food safety, different national and European sources identify unsatisfactory analytical results in relation to veterinary medicines, as well as potential emerging risks of mercury in meats and viscera; avermectins in muscle and liver; and fipronil in eggs, meat, and offal.


As a solution, AINIALAB has developed control methods that allow the detection of these veterinary residues and contaminants in food. If you want to know more you can do it in the article New control methods to detect the presence of mercury in meats and other veterinary residues.

Application of electrical pulses on packaged foods
Safety from a microbiological point of view and the quality of food is key for the consumer. For its part, the industry requires effective treatments. In response, Grupo Riberebro, Gvtarra, and AINIA Centro Tecnológico have developed the NOVA-PACK project, focused on developing new packaging materials on which to apply the technology of electric pulses to vegetables and packaged vegetables. If you want to know the progress of this project in more detail, we invite you to read the article signed by Concha Bosch, Application of electrical pulses on packaged foods. It is one of the first developments that address the challenge of applying electrical pulses to packaging.

Technologies for consumer welfare, nutrition, and healthy eating

Wellness, health, and healthy eating are the main trends in current consumption. All those who want to differentiate by the product must face the value bet for any of these attributes. Although there is much under the sun, in this quarter we wanted to focus our reflections on sharing knowledge around three major trends, for which the contribution of technology is fundamental.

Functional Foods: How to evaluate and demonstrate the biological effect of bioactive compounds on health

In this article, we advance the latest in this line of research, framed in the interesting results of the European macro-project Pathway-27. A project whose main objective is to demonstrate how functional foods enriched with bioactive components benefit the health and well-being of people, thus responding to their demand for healthy foods and providing added value.

Elements such as the most advanced research in cell lines and the existence of technological tools such as the In Vitro Dynamic Digestor of AINIA are indispensable elements to advance in the development of bioavailability studies of functional or enriched products.

If you want to know more about the progress of this project, we invite you to read Functional Foods: How to evaluate and demonstrate the biological effect of bioactive compounds on health.

MyPrefs: An APP that improves responsible and sustainable consumption

The retailer, like other agents of the value chain of the food sector, is obliged to respond to the habits of consumers, increasingly aware and committed to their social environment and more concerned about their diet.

In response, AINIA Technological Center, together with other European partners, has developed "My Prefs", a mobile application that allows retailers to know buying behaviors or consumption habits. In parallel, consumers and consumers concerned and responsible can know, through the mobile application, much more about the products they buy and the more or less sustainable policies of the companies that manufacture them. Bidirectionality of the communication that interconnects the consumer, the distributor, and the manufacturer.

If you want to know more about the result of the ASSET Project, we invite you to read the article "MyPrefs: an APP that improves responsible and sustainable consumption".

Foods low in sugar: How to estimate the glycemic index

Consumers, according to consumer trends, increasingly want products with less sugar in the composition. In response, the industry releases more variants of "low sugar" or "no sugar" products every year.

Therefore, especially companies that offer products to groups with overweight, cardiovascular disease or diabetes, need to communicate in their products scientific evidence about the glycemic response of their products developed.

If you want to know how to obtain them by using the Dynamic Digestor in vitro available in AINIA and thus validate the nutritional and healthy improvement of them, we invite you to read the article "Foods low in sugar. How to estimate the glycemic index ".

In these ten articles, we have tried to give a brushstroke of how much is moving in the technological environment and industrial innovation in consumer sectors. We will continue to contribute more in the coming months. What technologies do you think are trending in 2018? Do you share them with us? We would like your opinion.