HZ Water Management student Johan Diepeveen has published an article in the Journal of Food Science together with teacher-researcher Tanja Moerdijk and lecturer Feike R. van der Leij of Inholland's Research and Innovation Centre Agri, Food and Life Sciences. The article even graced the cover of the renowned magazine.
Johan laid the foundation for the article during his minor at the lectorate Marine Biobased Specialties. This minor fell in the middle of the corona crisis. This made practical assignments difficult. Johan was given a theoretical assignment. He did a literature study on how the taste of umami is experienced from a chemical perspective and how you can apply that knowledge to, for example, improve the appetite of older people. "A better understanding of the interactions between taste-active and other compounds on the overall taste helps to improve the quality of products," reads the last paragraph of the article, just before the impressive bibliography begins. "Umami ingredients help to reduce the consumption of salts and fats and promote appetite in the elderly."
Aahminozuren
Johan carried out the assignment within Aahminozuren, an SIA Kiem-Gochem project in which the HZ and Inholland collaborate. "We can put the results to very good use, but you don't normally get around to this kind of research," says Tanja. "When do you have six months to get to the bottom of this? Johan turned out to be the ideal student for this assignment. He got really stuck in and got to the bottom of it. He didn't get an A for nothing.
After completing his minor, he, Tanja and Feike rewrote the report into a review paper. He himself is proud of the publication. "I found it a great deal of fun to conduct research," says Johan. "It was a big surprise that it was published and got on the cover."The edition of the Journal of Food Science was published in April. More information can be found here.
