Making future foods more tasty
Imagine beaming your favourite treat with X-rays to map out exactly what makes it so delicious. Then, picture being able to transfer some of those magnificent qualities and tastes to healthier, more sustainable products.
Such a fantasy could become reality if the University of Copenhagen’s Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) method is used. The method could be used to optimise foodstuffs and help us produce ever-tastier and more sustainable food in the future.
By using X-rays, SAXS makes it possible to study food at the nanolevel, where a nanometre equals one millionth of a millimetre.
SAXS has yet to be widely deployed for food research, but the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Food Science is working on the method and has acquired a Nano-inXider instrument that uses X-ray radiation to examine foodstuffs, among other things.
The method has great potential in relation to the foods of the future, said Jacob Kirkensgaard, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Food Science, as well as at the Niels Bohr Institute. Kirkensgaard uses SAXS equipment in his research, where he collaborates with the Department of Pharmacy and Lund University.
“SAXS can be used to optimise the development of foodstuffs in relation to their taste, texture and nutritional content. For example, when we look at the structure and function of foods at the nano level, we could improve their design so that they break down in such a way that as many nutrients as possible are absorbed. In this way, we can help prevent obesity and improve health,” he said.
Plant-based foods of the future
SAXS can also be used to make our foods more sustainable, said Professor Lilia Arhné of the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Food Science.
Together with Jacob Kirkensgaard, she used the SAXS method to study how milk proteins behave in various sustainable processing methods.
“Our knowledge of how milk components give a special taste, mouthfeel and texture can be used for research into plant-based proteins. Because, if we can map out exactly what it is that makes milk nourish us, feel soft in the mouth and taste sweet and salty, we could copy those properties into new plant-based products that are easier on our climate, which would help get more people to consume them,” she explained.
The two researchers have already met with great interest from Danish industry in relation to how the SAXS method can make it easier to produce tasty plant proteins.
“Recently, we met with a range of large Danish food producers and ingredient suppliers. They are particularly curious about how they can make delicious plant-based foods, without compromising taste and structure,” Kirkensgaard said.
He underscores that the development of new sustainable and innovative foodstuffs depends on our being able to understand and analyse the structure of individual products.
“As such, the University of Copenhagen's commitment to the SAXS method is interesting. We certainly hope that industry embraces it,” Kirkensgaard concluded.
How the SAXS method works
SAXS stands for ‘small angle X-ray scattering’. The method uses X-rays to examine materials on a nanometre scale (ie, 1–1000 nm).
The method works by emitting lightwaves into, for example, a protein-based food, where they interact with electrons in the sample. Some of these lightwaves are absorbed, others shine through and still others affect the molecules. The lightwaves are scattered in new directions and the pattern they form is then analysed by researchers. This provides insight into the structural properties of a given food.
The method differs from microscopy in that samples need not be fixed while examining them. Proteins, for example, can be examined while being heated. This is an advantage as most foods require processing, where the structural organisation of their constituents continuously changes throughout processing.
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