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RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN SARDINIA
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Food technology and microbial biotechnology

Food technology and microbial biotechnology platform 
The Food technology and microbial biotechnology platform housed in an industrial building of about 800 sqm, comprises several units – divided into traditional and innovative processes – providing a broad range of services to the agrifood industry and allied sectors.

The main activities of the platform include:
- the development of food products with innovative technologies (mild or minimal processing technologies) so as to preserve their nutritional characteristics
- eco-compatible extraction from biomasses and from natural raw materials of active principles for use in cosmetics, human and animal health and welfare, as addictives etc.
- assessment and determination of product shelf life, also of traditional products, through studies of the interaction between packaging materials and food characteristics in order to optimise packaging design (active packaging, equilibrium modified atmosphere, etc.)
- optimisation of traditional processes through review of process parameters
- production and characterisation of grain products (bread and bakery products).

Contacts
Tonina Roggio
Indirizzo emailroggio@portocontericerche.it
Research and Development Department
Porto Conte Ricerche
S.P. 55 Porto Conte-Capo Caccia, Km 8.400
Loc. Tramariglio
C.P. Santa Maria La Palma
07041 Alghero (SS)- Italia
Phone +39 079 998.400
Fax +39 079 998.567

Processing Unit equipment
The Processing Unit has technology and equipment enabling the processing and preservation of various food products. It can process vegetable products and obtain processed foods packaged in different types of containers (glass jars, tinplate cans, plastic trays etc.), bakery products, especially bread and cakes and biscuits, both artisan and industrial, and package the products in standard atmosphere, modified (or protective) atmosphere or active systems (active packaging).
The unit's equipment also enables testing of new formulations and heat treatments on relatively small quantities of raw materials or semi-processed products, reproducing industrial processes on a 1:20 scale.
The plants have been designed for maximum versatility and operational flexibility. They can either perform individual operations or test the full production process.

Vegetable processing plant
The plant includes several operating units which can be either used individually (single operation) or continuously for developing processes of varying degrees of complexity. It is particularly versatile and only requires small amounts of raw or semi-processed materials.
The plant enables development of the following processes:
- production of vegetable preserves, dressings, sauces and spreads
- production of vegetables preserved in vinegar and in oil
- production of fruit juices and nectars
- production of fruit jams and marmalades
- production of fruit in syrup
- production of candied fruit
- osmo-dehydration
- drying of vegetable products
- processing of fresh-cut produce (IV gamma) and ready-to-use produce (V gamma).

Pilot bakery
The plant has a full array of equipment for developing production of various bakery products: typical breads traditional cakes, sweet and salty pastry, pizza.
Three kneading machines are available for preparing different kinds of dough according to requirements (twin arm, spiral and planetary mixers). Equipment for rolling out, moulding and cutting the dough includes a pastry sheeter, a moulder and a divider.
Controlled temperature leavening can also be performed in a rising chamber, ensuring standardisation of production conditions.
Dough can be stored in a chiller/freezer.
Two ovens, conventional and tunnel, enable the baking of all types of bread, including carasau (Sardinian crispy flatbread) spianata (flatbread) and all bakery products.
Finally, there is a fermenter for the production of natural yeast for bakery goods.

Fermenter and lyophilizer
This plant is a unit for the massive production of micro-organisms (biomass) and derivative products.
It produces biomass for the following food industries: dairy, bread and bakery goods, beer and vegetable and meat products.
It also produces primary and secondary metabolites such as amino-acids, vitamins, polysaccharides, proteins, antibiotics and similar products.
Components:
- Computer-controlled and monitored 15-litre fermenter
- Lyophilizer
- Tangential filtration system
- Super-centrifuge
- Vacuum thermo-sealing machine
- Vacuum packaging system

Modified atmosphere packaging machines (MAP)
Modified (or protective) atmosphere packaging is applied in various sectors of the agrifood industry to extend the shelf life of products sensitive to microbial spoilage.
The platform has a packaging machine equipped with a gas mixer which can use up to three gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen).
Various types of films and two types of containers can be used: rectangular trays and tubs.

Stabilization Unit equipment
Industrial food microbiological and enzymatic stabilization are achieved by wet heat technology. The wet heat process destroys all micro-organisms, including sporogenous forms and yields a sterile food product, which has a long life but loses part of its organoleptic characteristics, colour etc.
Alternative techniques are now available for stabilising foods: high-temperature, short-time (ohmic processing), or high-pressure process.
The plant and equipment available in this area enable the development of sterilization and stabilization processes for various kinds of foods and their packaging in flexible bags, glass jars, trays and capsules.

Autoclave sterilizer
This plant is designed for direct steam sterilization of foods packed in glass jars, cans, and flexible material bags. A ventilator placed on the side opposite the door, and a rotating basket, ensure homogeneous heat penetration inside each of the containers to be sterilised. These two characteristics ensure homogeneous sterilization. Additionally, the system enables vacuum cooking and cooling also using inert gases. Applications include:
- thermal stabilization of foodstuffs
- optimization of thermal pasteurization and sterilization processes
- vacuum cooking and conditioning
- controlled pressure and temperature processing.

High pressure plant
This plant performs high-pressure mild-heat stabilization, yielding safe, high-quality foodstuffs. It applies isostatic pressure which is transmitted to a fluid held in a pressurized container. The benefits offered by this processing system are mainly related to the instant transmission of pressure through foodstuffs regardless of their size and shape.
The high-pressure process can also be performed at ambient temperature. This plant makes it possible to perform heat processing at overall milder temperatures than conventional thermal processes.
The high-pressure treatment has applications in the following areas: food preservation, processing, and separation.

Ohmic heating and aseptic packaging plant
This unit can process acid, non acid, liquid or paste foodstuffs containing pieces not exceeding 14 mm.
Thermal stabilization is achieved through conventional or ohmic heating. The foodstuffs can be packaged in multi-layer aseptic bags of 8-litre capacity. The main benefit of ohmic heating lies in the more uniform heating of the liquid and of the food particles dispersed in it compared with conventional indirect heating methods.
Since it performs uniform heating of heterogeneous mixtures containing up to 90% solids without mechanical damage and with limited nutrient and vitamin loss, this process is excellent for aseptic packaging, enabling higher quality and longer shelf life than has ever been achieved by other sterilisation techniques.

Extraction Unit equipment
The extraction of active principles from natural matrixes, including biomasses, cultivated and wild plants, is undergoing swift technological development, driven by the increasing consumer preference for natural over synthetic active substances.
These substances are used in various sectors: agri-food, pharmaceutical, the cosmetic industry etc.
Platform equipment includes conventional and innovative systems for the extraction of essential oils from plants or the extraction of non-polar molecules from solid or liquid matrixes.

Supercritical fluid extractor
The SFE equipment is a system for the extraction of essential oils, vegetable and industrial extracts, from solid, semisolid and liquid matrixes, through the use of supercritical carbon dioxide. This technique exploits the specific properties of CO2 which at particular temperature (304.2 K) and pressure conditions (73 atm) has high solvent power. This system offers a valid alternative to fractional distillation processes, has a broad range of industrial applications and produces high-purity products, free from toxic residues. The SFE process has applications in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and perfumery sectors etc.

Thin film distillation system
The plant makes it possible to separate volatile substances (aromatic compounds, colourings, volatile fatty acids), from complex vegetable or industrial matrixes. The unit includes a vacuum chamber with heated walls (distillation column) where a continuous stream of liquid film (complex matrix) moves rapidly on a rotating blade. This system offers better performance than traditional distillers, including higher output, minimum losses from heat degradation, and high-quality and purity products. Applications include:
- extraction of aromatic compounds
- extraction of dyes
- extraction of fatty acids from fat
- deodorizing of oils
- concentration of active pharmaceutical ingredients
- distillation of petroleum fractions
- monomer/polymer separation.

Technology Lab equipment
The lab equipment enables the monitoring of processes and products developed in the various units, and can guarantee the delivery of services such as determination of texture, rheological properties, colour, free water content, moisture, pH, the concentration and composition of gas mixtures inside foodstuff packages, etc.

Colorimeter
This is a device used to determine colour in foodstuffs. Its working principle is based on the capability of coloured samples to absorb electromagnetic radiations in the visible spectrum. The radiations emitted by a quartz halogen lamp are partially absorbed and partially transmitted. Measurement is based on comparison of the light transmitted by the sample with that transmitted by one or more benchmark solutions.

Dynamometer
The dynamometer or texture analyzer provides information on the friability, adhesiveness and firmness of foodstuffs. The unit has different cells and probes for determining the texture of a product and can be used to determine:
- the fracture point of snacks and biscuits
- penetration for jellies, yogurts and margarines
- extrusion for dressings, shortening, jellies and viscous liquids

Rheometer
This device enables determination of the rheological characteristics of fluid and liquid foodstuffs. Measurement is based on the application of a shear stress which enables calculation of the degree and speed of deformation, or, vice versa, on the application of a deformation having a given speed, and subsequent measurement of stress.

Chopin alveograph
The Chopin alveograph is an instrument for measuring the extensibility of dough and its strength at rest.
The dough to be measured is formed into small round discs which are placed on a cylinder. Then air is pumped into the dough until breaking point is reached. Test results are plotted onto a graph whence the indices are extrapolated.
The indices obtained from an Alveograph test are:
a) W = baking strength of dough (the area under the curve)
b) P = dough strength index (height of curve)
b) P = dough extensibility index (length of curve)

Water activity measuring device
The water contained in a given food product influences its stability and hence its shelf life. This device measures the water activity (Aw) of a food product, i.e. its amount of free water.
Process: a stainless steel mirror, located inside the measurement chamber, is repeatedly cooled and heated until a drop of dew is formed; at this stage, the device measures Aw and temperature of the sample.

Refractometer
This instrument is essential for measuring sugar content (° Brix), and other fluid concentrations through direct reading of the refractive index. It is used for measurements in essences, beverages, concentrated products, syrups, jams and brines.

Gas analyzer
This instrument is used to perform combined analysis of carbon dioxide, oxygen and other gases present in foodstuff packages. Process: the gas extracted from the package is conveyed to a ceramic sensor to measure oxygen content and subsequently to an infrared sensor to measure carbon dioxide content. The data obtained are processed by a microprocessor to calculate carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations and, by difference, concentrations of the other gases.

Process temperature monitoring devices
To monitor temperature during heat sterilization of foodstuffs, thermistors and thermocouples are used. The former being wireless have the added benefit of being usable inside processing plants. The second enable real time visualization of temperature values recorded and are mainly used for static processes.