Biochip screening for antibiotic residues in food. Antibiotics are sometimes used to control disease in food animals, however, drug residues in food can pose a health risk to consumers. Allergies to sulphonamide antibiotics are relatively common – causing skin rashes, hives, pruritus and anaphylactic shock. It is essential to restrict antibiotic drug residues in foods, both to avoid unnecessary consumer exposure to drugs, and to limit the development of antibiotic resistance by ensuring antibiotics are used correctly and responsibly. Recently, there have been a number of news reports about imported foods that are contaminated with drug residues.  This highlights the need for quick, sensitive and cost-effective tests suitable for screening large numbers of samples.
A biochip screening test to detect sulphonamide antibiotic drug residues in meat, honey, feed and livestock is available. The anti-microbial array utilises a biochip containing an array of immobilised antibodies, each specific to a different antibiotic. The biochip simultaneously tests for 12 sulphonamide antibiotics in just 50 microlitres of urine or one gram of tissue, honey or feed. Simple sample preparation procedures and simultaneous testing enable a rapid throughput with minimum effort – 540 tests in under 2½ hours. The Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) is the maximum level of drug residue that is permitted in food. The EU has assigned an MRL of 100 ppb for all sulphonamide drugs. The anti-microbial array has sensitivities below 10 ppb for each sulphonamide, more than adequate for drug residue screening. Positive samples are retested using a confirmatory method such as HPLC or LC-MS. Biochip screening for antibiotic residues in food
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cooking systems
A new series of cooking systems to handle every kind of sugar confectionery is being launched by Baker Perkins. Proven, unique cooking process technologies are at the heart of the AutoCook concept, backed by modular units configured to provide an efficient, automatic solution for a wide range of outputs. The cooking method depends on process and product requirements. The choice includes the Microfilm swept surface cooker, regarded as the industry standard for sugar and sugar-free high boiled and hard candies, including those with milk and cream; the Turbofilm plate pack cooking system ideal for jelly products;  the Carablend for toffee and caramel; and a dedicated fondant cooker. Cookers are integrated with skid mounted systems for weighing and mixing, dissolving, pre-cooking and colour and flavour addition. The systems are designed for easy installation, maximum efficiency and minimal cleaning and maintenance. Controls can be either stand alone or integrated with upstream and downstream systems.     
AutoCook systems cover the full range of syrup based confectionery including hard candy, lollipops, toffee, fondants, fudge, jellies and fruit snacks. A system can be configured to make a variety of products – both soft and hard candies, for example. The systems can feed most types of confectionery forming techniques, including starchless depositing, die forming, slab forming, extrusion, cut and wrap, and starch mogul processes.  

Baker Perkins
Peterborough, Cambridge, UK
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Beer stabilisation product
Brewers Clarex is a highly successful enzymatic concept for beer stabilisation, which enables brewers to effectively stabilise beer, whilst increasing production capacity, and reducing their energy costs and carbon footprint. The product effectively prevents chill haze formation, while enabling brewers to significantly reduce or completely remove the costly, time-consuming and environmentally damaging sub-zero temperature stabilisation stage from their brewing processes. It is easy to use and requires no capital investment unlike current stabilising agents, thus simplifying brewing operations. It also enables sustainable production without generating disposal waste – resulting in a up to 8% reduction in the environmental impact of beer stabilisation when compared to the use of classical powder stabilisers, such as silica gel and PVPP (polyvinylpolypyrrolidone). In addition, Brewers Clarex is compatible with cross-flow membrane filtration technology, for a completely powder-free beer manufacturing process.

DSM Food Specialties
Delft, The Netherlands
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At-line FT-NIR spectrometer
The NIRMaster instrument is the first stand-alone FT-NIR-spectrometer with hygienic design and is fully “at-line” compatible in the production environment of food and feed industries. The cleaning of the system and its operation are extremely simple and safe, and comply with all applicable hygiene requirements. The system is available in two versions: the first a food-certified polymer housing and the other with a stainless steel enclosure. With their wide range of pre-calibration settings the NIRMaster units are truly plug-and-play and ready for immediate implementation. Their unique polarization interferometer provides the systems with a level of robustness that is typically not achievable by other interferometer designs; the high sensitivity assures reliable and accurate results even in harsh environments. The internal laser reference eliminates the need of frequent, expensive instrument standardization. Globally operating NIR networks with multi-site NIRMaster installations are supported by the NIRAnywhere software solution, providing safe and fast remote calibration updates and/or data backups, no matter the location of the instrument.

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Analyser for amino acids in food and feedstuffs. Analysing the amino acid composition of feedstuffs ensures that nutritionists provide a more precise feed formulation. A compact bench top analyser capable of rapidly analysing complex amino acids mixtures found in food and feedstuffs is available. The Biochrom 32 is a ‘load and go’ system designed to run whole profiles of amino acids as well as short programmes enabling the user to rapidly analyse single amino acids. Lysine is a limiting amino acid in cereal grains and some vegetable protein sources.  Improvement of animal performance through better amino acid balance, better carcass quality and prevention of lysine deficiency are some of the benefits associated with the right lysine content in the animal diet. Analysis of lysine using this analyser takes less than ten minutes and allows rapid adjustment of feedstuff formulations. The ergonomic instrument meets the requirements of the AOAC and the EU Commission directive 98/64/EC for the analysis of food and feedstuffs.

Biochrom Ltd • Cambridge, UK.

Analyser for amino acids in food and feedstuffs
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