21 March 2019
Praktijkverhalen
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Strict requirements
Healthy food may be hot, but the be, the government imposes strict requirements on health claims: no empty slogans, no incomplete story. Director of the campus Saskia Goetgeluk: "Companies want to be able to place the stamp of health on their product. Affordable research is important for this. For example, there is the project 'The Value(s) of Fruit and Vegetables', in which the ingredients of fruit and vegetables are researched in collaboration with HAS. The contents of vegetables and fruits are being studied in collaboration with HAS University of Applied Sciences, Avans University of Applied Sciences and Maastricht University, financed by parties from the business community and by parties from the business community and with additional funding from the Top Sector the Top Sector Horticulture and Starting Materials. With a better foundation of the preventive health value of fresh produce, new markets can be opened. new markets can be opened up. See food as the new pharma. In the four-year program, two innovative measurement methods will be developed and combined, as a result of which in the future it will be possible, on the one hand, to more efficiently and more cheaply what is in the various products and on the other the health effects of all substances in the product together.
Saskia Goetgeluk, Director of Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo
New food for a new generation
Another example is the Chair of Youth & Healthy Nutrition financed by companies from all the links in the chain together with University of Maastricht at the Brightlands Campus in Venlo. Goetgeluk: "We actually still know quite little about what exactly constitutes good nutrition, also for young people. is, also for young people. What are their mealtimes, how do they experience What are their meal times, how do they experience taste, how do they choose? New food for a new generation. If we can get answers to these questions, companies will be able to take advantage of the product development and thus better market healthy food. That is what makes the link between science and business so interesting interesting: knowledge is made really applicable. It is not just publications but actually develops it further; and That will lead to concrete innovative products."
Food concepts for today's consumer
.A third example of collaboration between knowledge institutions and the industry is the Nutritional Concepts Lab. In this lab This lab investigates how fruit and vegetables can be processed while preserving valuable valuable nutrients. Goetgeluk: "We need to eat 250 grams of fruit and vegetables a day if we want to have sufficient healthy of vegetables and fruit every day if we want to get enough healthy nutrients. ingest sufficient healthy nutrients. 95% of people do not manage this. Can we process these 250 grams of can we process these 250 grams of vegetables and fruit in such a way that the nutritional value is retained and the consumer will take it in more easily, for example by putting it into one concentrated smoothie? That question is interesting for food science, but of course also for business."
The Nutritional Concepts Lab
Promoting healthy eating
For the fourth initiative, I speak with Aalt Bast, dean of the Healthy Eating & Food Innovation (HEFI) / Food Claims Center, a series of laboratories at Maastricht University made possible by the Province of Limburg aimed at promoting healthy eating. The laboratories, located at Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo, focus on three focus on three lines of research:
1: The psychology of eating
Taste and smell tests are carried out here, there is a sensory lab and For example, the impact of portion size or the environment on people's eating behavior is investigated. environment on people's eating behavior. We also look at the effect of certain The effect of certain substances on the sense of satiety is also being studied. In addition In addition, test panels in small units give their opinions on products.
2: Investigation of digestive processes
Here, for example, the influence of intestinal bacteria on the gut bacteria on digestion. How are fibers broken down? With in vitro models the large and small intestine and stomach are imitated, as it were a as it were an intestinal system in a cupboard. Convenient, because in this way research can can be done without the need for volunteers.
3: Research on health effects
In a small clinical unit, volunteers are examined by taking blood or saliva samples, for example, after eating and digesting certain foods. There is also a cell culture lab with which The effects of food components and breakdown substances can also be detected.
Prof. Dr. Aalt Bast, dean of the Healthy Eating & Food Innovation (HEFI) / Food Claims Center
Watch out for health promises
In addition to the lab facilities, a lot of desk research is done, which investigates whether a product can have a particular nutritional or health health claim and what exactly can be put on the label. be put on the label. Aalt Bast: "Can you say that a product is light, reduces cholesterol or is rich in lowering cholesterol or rich in vitamin C? The European regulations are very strict and quite complex. Even the font size on the label is prescribed. We help SME food companies to get a clear answers to such questions."
Learning students
In addition to the research facilities, HEFI offers the opportunity to use
of its 250 undergraduate and graduate students. The master Health Food
Innovation Management is a globally unique study for which there is a lot of
interest. University College Venlo was recently rated the best
Bachelor study in the Netherlands. Bast: "80 percent of the
students come from outside the Netherlands and consciously choose to focus on nutrition and health.
on nutrition and health. That results in very studious students who work
with a great deal of ambition to work on practical research questions. Companies
Companies often find the contact with the students very inspiring."
Meanwhile, the first PhD students have graduated on the degradation of
fibers from cassava and orange peels by the body. Interesting
research, because it provides starting points for a more circular
approach by using residual streams in food.
Also a research question?
When does it make sense for companies to submit a research question to the
Brightlands Campus or to step into a joint knowledge
knowledge development trajectory? Both Aalt Bast and Saskia
Goetgeluk recommend to think about one's own needs and then to openly discuss them.
start the conversation openly.
Goetgeluk: "It is precisely by bringing together parties from different links in the chain
chain together, you get an overview of the total market and you will more quickly see
potential for your role within the chain. It is also important
expanding your own network is also interesting. We regularly see that
We regularly see parties continuing to work together and develop
cooperation and further development. I advise curious entrepreneurs to
take the time to find out what is happening at Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo.
Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo. If there is a need to talk further about
about the possibilities, then we will be happy to start the conversation and welcome
people gladly here."
Bast: "For some companies we come into the picture very early in the
development process, and for others it is very late. The most important thing
is that we have to be able to add something. It has to offer added value
It has to add value for both sides: for science and for the market. We are happy to
the conversation with interested parties."
More information:
The HEFI Labs at Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo.