A few months ago, the Joint Research Centre Zeeland (JRCZ) established a Food Innovation Lab. ‘This is the link between our chemistry labs and practical application,’ says lecturer Tanja Moerdijk of the Marine Biobased Chemistry research group. ‘In our chemistry lab, we learn to understand what biomass contains, and in the food lab, we turn it into something edible and valuable.’
The Marine Biobased Chemistry research group conducts research into the food transition, focusing in particular on how chemical knowledge can help to accelerate it. ‘The food transition is an enormous challenge,’ explains Tanja. ‘Chemical knowledge is indispensable in this regard. If you want to extract proteins from mussels or seaweed, you need to know which extraction methods keep the proteins intact and which break them down. And if you want to use fermentation, you need to understand which substances are formed and how this affects the taste and digestibility.’ The utilisation of waste streams is also important in the food transition. ‘If you want to process them circularly, you need to know which valuable components they contain. Moreover, you cannot make claims about health or sustainability if you cannot substantiate them chemically.’
Parameter number one
Researchers, lecturers and students acquire their chemical knowledge in the chemistry laboratories located on the second and third floors of the JRCZ. However, as a practice-oriented researcher, this knowledge is of little use if you cannot translate it into practice. ‘Taste is the number one parameter for food,’ says lab manager Sandra de Reu. "For example, Marine Biobased Chemistry is conducting research into syrups. They are trying to remove the sugars, but that affects the taste and shelf life. We are looking at which natural components we can extract substances from that we could add to the syrups to extend their shelf life. Rosemary is one such example. We can identify these substances in our chemistry labs, but if the syrups then taste of nothing, it doesn't work. You can't actually taste things in a chemistry lab, which is why we do that here in the Food Innovation Lab."
We have noticed that entrepreneurs appreciate our practical approach. The interaction is going extremely well.
Professional kitchen
The food lab resembles a well-equipped, professional kitchen with additional chemical equipment. For example, there is an extraction device in the corner near the door. Tanja and her colleagues use this to make extracts from herbs (for example, for healthy syrups) and the leaves of Zeeland blackcurrants. ‘Once we've extracted the flavour, we can use it in kombuchas, another healthy drink we're researching,’ says Tanja. ‘In the food lab, we translate theory into practice. This also allows us to innovate more quickly,’ says Sandra.
The entrepreneurs with whom the researchers collaborate also contribute their own knowledge, which the research group in turn links back to the research. ‘We notice that entrepreneurs appreciate our practical approach. The interaction works extremely well,’ says Tanja.
According to Tanja and Sandra, the food lab is unique in its kind. 'You don't often see a combination of a chemistry lab and a lab like this. It really is a link between chemistry and practice. Here you can literally see how waste streams are transformed into valuable products: from oysters to protein extracts, from fish by-products to broths, and from agricultural material to fibre-rich ingredients. Here, we create new ingredients, reduce food waste and continue to build a regional circular economy. I hope that this will enable us to take steps towards the food transition in Zeeland. In the long term, our plates will have to look different. We are helping to achieve this by developing new products.'
Marine Biobased Chemistry
The Marine Biobased Chemistry research group aims to develop knowledge in the field of the protein transition, the chemical properties of food components and innovative, circular processing methods.
Read more about the Marine Biobased Chemistry research group