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Department of Microbiology, Gurukula Kangri University, Haridwar, India

Department of Energy and Materials Engineering, Dongguk University-Seoul, Seoul, South Korea

Department of Forestry, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology, Itanagar, India

Department of Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan-si, South Korea

Recent innovations in nanotechnology have transformed a number of scientific and industrial areas including the food industry. Applications of nanotechnology have emerged with increasing need of nanoparticle uses in various fields of food science and food microbiology, including food processing, food packaging, functional food development, food safety, detection of foodborne pathogens, and shelf-life extension of food and/or food products. This review summarizes the potential of nanoparticles for their uses in the food industry in order to provide consumers a safe and contamination free food and to ensure the consumer acceptability of the food with enhanced functional properties. Aspects of application of nanotechnology in relation to increasing in food nutrition and organoleptic properties of foods have also been discussed briefly along with a few insights on safety issues and regulatory concerns on nano-processed food products.

Introduction

Over the past few decades, nanotechnology has increasingly been considered as to be attractive technology that has revolutionized the food sector. It is a technology on the nanometer scale and deals with the atoms, molecules, or the macromolecules with the size of approximately 1-100 nm to create and use materials that have novel properties. The created nanomaterials possess one or more external dimensions, or an internal structure, on the scale from 1 to 100 nm that allowed the observation and manipulation of matter at the nanoscale. It is observed that these materials have unique properties unlike their macroscale counterparts due to the high surface to volume ratio and other novel physiochemical properties like color, solubility, strength, diffusivity, toxicity, magnetic, optical, thermodynamic, etc. ( Rai et al., 2009; Gupta et al., 2016). Nanotechnology has brought new industrial revolution and both developed and developing countries are interested in investing more in this technology ( Qureshi et al., 2012). Therefore, nanotechnology offers a wide range of opportunities for the development and application of structures, materials, or system with new properties in various areas like agriculture, food, and medicine, etc.

The rising consumer concerns about food quality and health benefits are impelling the researchers to find the way that can enhance food quality while disturbing least the nutritional value of the product. The demand of nanoparticle-based materials has been increased in the food industry as many of them contain essential elements and also found to be non-toxic ( Roselli et al., 2003). They have been also found to be stable at high temperature and pressures ( Sawai, 2003). Nanotechnology offers complete food solutions from food manufacturing, processing to packaging. Nanomaterials bring about a great difference not only in the food quality and safety but also in health benefits that food delivers. Many organizations, researchers, and industries are coming up with novel techniques, methods, and products that have a direct application of nanotechnology in food science ( Dasgupta et al., 2015).

The applications of nanotechnology in food sector can be summarized in two main groups that are food nanostructured ingredients and food nanosensing. Food nanostructured ingredients encompass a wide area from food processing to food packaging. In food processing, theses nanostructures can be used as food additives, carriers for smart delivery of nutrients, anti-caking agents, antimicrobial agents, fillers for improving mechanical strength and durability of the packaging material, etc. whereas food nanosensing can be applied to achieve better food quality and safety evaluation ( Ezhilarasi et al., 2013). In this review, we have summarized the role of nanotechnology in food science and food microbiology and also discussed some negative facts associated with this technology.

Nanotechnology in Food Processing

The nanostructured food ingredients are being developed with the claims that they offer improved taste, texture, and consistency ( Cientifica Report, 2006). Nanotechnology increasing the shelf-life of different kinds of food materials and also help brought down the extent of wastage of food due to microbial infestation ( Pradhan et al., 2015). Nowadays nanocarriers are being utilized as delivery systems to carry food additives in food products without disturbing their basic morphology. Particle size may directly affect the delivery of any bioactive compound to various sites within the body as it was noticed that in some cell lines, only submicron nanoparticles can be absorbed efficiently but not the larger size micro-particles ( Ezhilarasi et al., 2013). An ideal delivery system is supposed to have following properties: (i) able to deliver the active compound precisely at the target place (ii) ensure availability at a target time and specific rate, and (iii) efficient to maintain active compounds at suitable levels for long periods of time (in storage condition). Nanotechnology being applied in the formation of encapsulation, emulsions, biopolymer matrices, simple solutions, and association colloids offers efficient delivery systems with all the above-mentioned qualities. Nano polymers are trying to replace conventional materials in food packaging. Nanosensors can be used to prove the presence of contaminants, mycotoxins, and microorganisms in food ( Bratovčić, 2015).

Nanoparticles have better properties for encapsulation and release efficiency than traditional encapsulation systems. Nanoencapsulations mask odors or tastes, control interactions of active ingredients with the food matrix, control the release of the active agents, ensure availability at a target time and specific rate, and protect them from moisture, heat ( Ubbink and Kruger, 2006), chemical, or biological degradation during processing, storage, and utilization, and also exhibit compatibility with other compounds in the system ( Weiss et al., 2006). Moreover, these delivery systems possess the ability to penetrate deeply into tissues due to their smaller size and thus allow efficient delivery of active compounds to target sites in the body ( Lamprecht et al., 2004). Various synthetic and natural polymer-based encapsulating delivery systems have been elaborated for the improved bioavailability and preservation of the active food components (Table 1). Further, the importance of nanotechnology in food processing can be evaluated by considering its role in the improvement of food products in terms of (i) food texture, (ii) food appearance, (iii) food taste, (iv) nutritional value of the food, and (v) food shelf-life. It is a matter of fact that surprisingly nanotechnology not only touches all the above-mentioned aspects but has also brought about significant alterations in food products providing them novel qualities.

TABLE 1. Different nanotechniques to encapsulate and delivery of functional ingredients.

Texture, Taste, and Appearance of Food

Nanotechnology provides a range of options to improve the food quality and also helps in enhancing food taste. Nanoencapsulation techniques have been used broadly to improve the flavor release and retention and to deliver culinary balance ( Nakagawa, 2014). Zhang et al. (2014) used the nanoencapsulation for the highly reactive and unstable plant pigment anthocyanins which have various biological activities. Through, encapsulating cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) molecules within the inner cavity of apo recombinant soybean seed H-2 subunit ferritin (rH-2) improved the thermal stability and photostability. This design and fabrication of multifunctional nanocarriers for bioactive molecule protection and delivery. Rutin is a common dietary flavonoid with great important pharmacological activities but due to poor solubility, its application in the food industry is limited. The ferritin nanocages encapsulation enhanced the solubility, thermal and UV radiation stability of ferritin trapped rutin as compared to free rutin ( Yang et al., 2015). The use of nanoemulsions to deliver lipid-soluble bioactive compounds is much popular since they can be produced using natural food ingredients using easy production methods, and may be designed to enhance water-dispersion and bioavailability ( Ozturk et al., 2015).

As compared to larger particles which generally release encapsulated compounds more slowly and over longer time periods, nanoparticles provide promising means of improving the bioavailability of nutraceutical compounds due to their subcellular size leading to a higher drug bioavailability. Many metallic oxides such as titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide (SiO ₂) have conventionally been used as color or flow agents in food items ( Ottaway, 2010). SiO ₂ nanomaterials are also one of the most used food nanomaterials as carriers of fragrances or flavors in food products ( Dekkers et al., 2011).

Nutritional Value

A majority of bioactive compounds such as lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins are sensitive to high acidic environment and enzyme activity of the stomach and duodenum. Encapsulation of these bioactive compounds not only enables them to resist such adverse conditions but also allows them to assimilate readily in food products, which is quite hard to achieve in non-capsulated form due to low water-solubility of these bioactive compounds. Nanoparticles-based tiny edible capsules with the aim to improve delivery of medicines, vitamins or fragile micronutrients in the daily foods are being created to provide significant health benefits ( Yan and Gilbert, 2004; Koo et al., 2005). The nanocomposite, nano-emulsification, and nanostructuration are the different techniques which have been applied to encapsulate the substances in miniature forms to more effectively deliver nutrients like protein and antioxidants for precisely targeted nutritional and health benefits. Polymeric nanoparticles are found to be suitable for the encapsulation of bioactive compounds (e.g., flavonoids and vitamins) to protect and transport bioactive compounds to target functions ( Langer and Peppas, 2003).

Preservation or Shelf-Life

In functional foods where bioactive component often gets degraded and eventually led to inactivation due to the hostile environment, nanoencapsulation of these bioactive components extends the shelf-life of food products by slowing down the degradation processes or prevents degradation until the product is delivered at the target site. Moreover, the edible nano-coatings on various food materials could provide a barrier to moisture and gas exchange and deliver colors, flavors, antioxidants, enzymes, and anti-browning agents and could also increase the shelf-life of manufactured foods, even after the packaging is opened ( Renton, 2006; Weiss et al., 2006). Encapsulating functional components within the droplets often enables a slowdown of chemical degradation processes by engineering the properties of the interfacial layer surrounding them. For example, curcumin the most active and least stable bioactive component of turmeric ( Curcuma longa) showed reduced antioxidant activity and found to be stable to pasteurization and at different ionic strength upon encapsulation ( Sari et al., 2015).

Nanotechnology in Food Packaging

A desirable packaging material must have gas and moisture permeability combined with strength and biodegradability ( Couch et al., 2016). Nano-based "smart" and "active" food packagings confer several advantages over conventional packaging methods from providing better packaging material with improved mechanical strength, barrier properties, antimicrobial films to nanosensing for pathogen detection and alerting consumers to the safety status of food ( Mihindukulasuriya and Lim, 2014).

Application of nanocomposites as an active material for packaging and material coating can also be used to improve food packaging ( Pinto et al., 2013). Many researchers were interested in studying the antimicrobial properties of organic compounds like essential oils, organic acids, and bacteriocins ( Gálvez et al., 2007; Schirmer et al., 2009) and their use in polymeric matrices as antimicrobial packaging. However, these compounds do not fit into the many food processing steps which require high temperatures and pressures as they are highly sensitive to these physical conditions. Using inorganic nanoparticles, a strong antibacterial activity can be achieved in low concentrations and more stability in extreme conditions. Therefore, in recent years, it has been a great interest of using these nanoparticles in antimicrobial food packaging. An antimicrobial packaging is actually a form of active packaging which contacts with the food product or the headspace inside to inhibit or retard the microbial growth that may be present on food surfaces ( Soares et al., 2009). Many nanoparticles such as silver, copper, chitosan, and metal oxide nanoparticles like titanium oxide or zinc oxide have been reported to have antibacterial property ( Bradley et al., 2011; Tan et al., 2013; Figure 1).

FIGURE 1. Schematic diagram showing role of nanotechnology in different aspects of food sectors.

The application of nanoparticles is not limited to antimicrobial food packaging but nanocomposite and nanolaminates have been actively used in food packaging to provide a barrier from extreme thermal and mechanical shock extending food shelf-life. In this way, the incorporation of nanoparticles into packaging materials offers quality food with longer shelf-life. The purpose of creating polymer composites is to have more mechanical and thermostable packing materials. Many inorganic or organic fillers are being used in order to achieve improved polymer composites. The incorporation of nanoparticles in polymers has allowed developing more resist packaging material with cost effectiveness ( Sorrentino et al., 2007). Use of inert nanoscale fillers such as clay and silicate nanoplatelets, silica (SiO ₂) nanoparticles, chitin or chitosan into the polymer matrix renders it lighter, stronger, fire resistance, and better thermal properties ( Duncan, 2011; Othman, 2014). Antimicrobial nanocomposite films which are prepared by impregnating the fillers (having at least one dimension in the nanometric range or nanoparticles) into the polymers offer two-way benefit because of their structural integrity and barrier properties ( Rhim and Ng, 2007).

Nanosensors for Pathogen Detection

Nanomaterials for use in the construction of biosensors offers the high level of sensitivity and other novel attributes. In food microbiology, nanosensors or nanobiosensors are used for the detection of pathogens in processing plants or in food material, quantification of available food constituents, alerting consumers and distributors on the safety status of food ( Cheng et al., 2006; Helmke and Minerick, 2006). The nanosensor works as an indicator that responds to changes in environmental conditions such as humidity or temperature in storage rooms, microbial contamination, or products degradation ( Bouwmeester et al., 2009). Various nanostructures like thin films, nanorods, nanoparticles and nanofibers have been examined to their possible applications in biosensors ( Jianrong et al., 2004). Thin film-based optical immunosensors for detection of microbial substances or cells have led to the rapid and highly sensitive detection systems. In these immunosensors, specific antibodies, antigens, or protein molecules are immobilized on thin nano-films or sensor chips which emit signals on detection of target molecules ( Subramanian, 2006). A dimethylsiloxane microfluidic immunosensor integrated with specific antibody immobilized on an alumina nanoporous membrane was developed for rapid detection of foodborne pathogens Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus with electrochemical impedance spectrum ( Tan et al., 2011). Nanotechnology can also assist in the detection of pesticides ( Liu et al., 2008), pathogens ( Inbaraj and Chen, 2015), and toxins ( Palchetti and Mascini, 2008) serving in the food quality tracking-tracing-monitoring chain.

Biosensors based on carbon nanotubes also gained much attention due to their rapid detection, simplicity and cost effectiveness and have also been successfully applied for the detection of microorganisms, toxins, and other degraded products in food and beverages ( Nachay, 2007). Toxin antibodies attached to these nanotubes causes a detectable change in conductivity when bound to waterborne toxins and therefore are used to detect waterborne toxins ( Wang et al., 2009). Further, the use of electronic tongue or nose which is consists of the array of nanosensors monitor the food condition by giving signals on aroma or gases released by food items ( Garcia et al., 2006). The quartz crystal microbalance (QCM)-based electric nose can detect the interaction between various odorants and chemicals that have been coated on the crystal surface of the QCM. Many studies on small molecule detection have used quartz crystal surfaces that have been modified with different functional groups or biological molecules, such as amines, enzymes, lipids, and various polymers ( Kanazawa and Cho, 2009).

Safety Issues

Besides a lot of advantages of nanotechnology to the food industry, safety issues associated with the nanomaterial cannot be neglected. Many researchers discussed safety concerns associated with nanomaterial giving emphasis on the possibility of nanoparticles migrate from the packaging material into the food and their impact on consumer's health ( Bradley et al., 2011; Jain et al., 2016). Although a material is being considered as GRAS (generally regarded as safe) substance, additional studies must be acquired to examine the risk of its nano counterparts because the physiochemical properties in nanostates are completely different from that are in macrostate. Moreover, the small size of these nanomaterials may increase the risk for bioaccumulation within body organs and tissues ( Savolainen et al., 2010). For example, silica nanoparticles which are used as anti-caking agents can be cytotoxic in human lung cells when subjected to exposure ( Athinarayanan et al., 2014). There are a lot of factors that affect dissolution including surface morphology of the particles, concentration, surface energy, aggregation, and adsorption. A model to study the migration of particles from food packaging has been developed by Cushen et al. (2014). They studied the migration of silver and copper from nanocomposites and observed that the percentage of nanofiller in the nanocomposites was one of the most crucial parameters driving migration, more so than particle size, temperature, or contact time. Since every nanomaterial has its individual property, therefore, toxicity will likely be established on a case-by-case basis ( Mahler et al., 2012). Further, regulatory authorities must develop some standards for commercial products to ensure product quality, health and safety, and environmental regulations.

Conclusion

Over past years the popularity of the uses of structures on the nanometer scale in the food sector is increasing, therefore, interest and activities in this research area have greatly focused. As nanobiotechnology steps forward, devices or material based on this technology become smaller and more sensitive. Its applicability in the areas of food packaging and food safety are well known. Additionally, promising results have been achieved in food preservation using nanomaterial where they might protect the food from moisture, lipids, gases, off-flavors, and odors. They offer excellent vehicle systems to deliver bioactive compounds to the target tissues. Although the advances in nanotechnology are paving new paths day by day, there still persist many challenges and opportunities to improve the current technology and also issues about the consequences of nanotechnology that must need to be addressed in order to alleviate consumer concerns. The transparency of safety issues and environmental impact should be the priority while dealing with the development of nanotechnology in food systems and therefore compulsory testing of nano foods is required before they are released to the market.

Author Contributions

TS and SS designed, conceived, and wrote the manuscript. PK helped in writing and editing. VW, VB, and IR critically reviewed, edited, and finalized the manuscript for submission.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

Qureshi, A. M., Swaminathan, K., Karthikeyan, P., Ahmed, K. P., Sudhir, and Mishra, U. K. (2012). Application of nanotechnology in food and dairy processing: an overview. Pak. J. Food Sci. 22, 23-31.

Subramanian, A. (2006). A mixed self-assembled monolayer-based surface Plasmon immunosensor for detection of E. coli O157H7. Biosens. Bioelectron. 7, 998-1006. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2005.03.007

Tan, F., Leung, P. H. M., Liud, Z., Zhang, Y., Xiao, L., Ye, W., et al. (2011). microfluidic impedance immunosensor for E. coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus detection via antibody-immobilized nanoporous membrane. Sensor. Actuat. B. Chem. 159, 328-335. doi: 10.1016/j.snb.2011.06.074
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Yang, R., Zhou, Z., Sun, G., Gao, Y., Xu, J., Strappe, P., et al. (2015). Synthesis of homogeneous protein-stabilized rutin nanodispersions by reversible assembly of soybean ( Glycine max) seed ferritin. RSC Adv. 5, 31533-31540. doi: 10.1039/C5RA03542B

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Application of Nanotechnology in Food Science: Perception and Overview

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Recent innovations in nanotechnology have transformed a number of scientific and industrial areas including the food industry. Applications of nanotechnology have emerged with increasing need of nanoparticle uses in various fields of food science and food microbiology, including food processing, food packaging, functional food development, food safety, detection of foodborne pathogens, and shelf-life extension of food and/or food products.

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Abstract

Food nanotechnology is an area of emerging interest and opens up a whole universe of new possibilities for the food industry. The basic categories of nanotechnology applications and functionalities currently in the development of food packaging include: the improvement of plastic materials barriers, the incorporation of active components that can deliver functional attributes beyond those of conventional active packaging, and the sensing and signaling of relevant information. Nano food packaging materials may extend food life, improve food safety, alert consumers that food is contaminated or spoiled, repair tears in packaging, and even release preservatives to extend the life of the food in the package. Nanotechnology applications in the food industry can be utilized to detect bacteria in packaging, or produce stronger flavors and color quality, and safety by increasing the barrier properties. Nanotechnology holds great promise to provide benefits not just within food products but also around food products. In fact, nanotechnology introduces new chances for innovation in the food industry at immense speed, but uncertainty and health concerns are also emerging. EU/WE/global legislation for the regulation of nanotechnology in food are meager. Moreover, current legislation appears unsuitable to nanotechnology specificity.

Keywords: nanotechnology, nanofood, food packaging, nanoparticles, nanoencapsulation

Introduction

The word "nano" comes from the Greek for "dwarf". A nanometer is a thousandth of a thousandth of a thousandth of a meter (10 −9 m). One nanometer is about 60,000 times smaller than a human hair in diameter or the size of a virus, a typical sheet of paper is about 100,000 nm thick, a red blood cell is about 2,000 to 5,000 nm in size, and the diameter of DNA is in the range of 2.5 nm. Therefore, nanotechnology deals with matter that ranges from one-half the diameter of DNA up to 1/20 the size of a red blood cell. Further, it is interesting to note that nanomaterials are so small, even bacteria would need a microscope to see them. Nanoparticles are generally accepted as those with a particle size below 100 nanometers where unique phenomena enable novel applications and benefits. Nanomaterials on which most of the research has been carried out are normally powders composed of nanoparticles which exhibit properties that are different from powders of the same chemical composition, but with much larger particles. Research is in progress into their potential in food nanotechnology sector including food packaging, foods and supplements due to their unique functions and applications of nanomaterials. Tens of millions of dollars are being spent in a global race to apply nanotechnologies in food production, processing and packaging.

Natural self-assembled nanostructures

The understanding of food materials and food processing at the nanoscale is important to create new and improved food products. Moreover, the potential for nanotech food seems unlimited. In the food industry, nanotechnology has thrilled manufacturers as its potential uses are explored, including detecting bacteria in packaging, or producing stronger flavors and colorings. Currently, the number of food products using nanotechnology of any kind is relatively small. Most of the nanotechnology is still only a promise for enabling new food products: some or many years in the future. Nanotechnology may revolutionize the food system and has the potential to influence the science of food in a positive way, as it could generate innovation in food texture, taste, processability, and stability during shelf life. The design and application of nanoderived assemblies as tools for improved delivery and bioavailability of bioactive nutrients were reported., Nanotechnology is quickly moving from the laboratory onto supermarket shelves and our kitchen tables and has the potential to revolutionize food systems. Further, worldwide commercial foods and food supplements containing added nanoparticles are becoming available. Nanotechnology promises big benefits for food safety, quality, and shelf life, provided the challenges it brings can be overcome. Scientists are of the opinion that nanomaterials are fundamentally different substances that create new and unique risks to human health and the environment and require new forms of safety monitoring.

Types of nanomaterials and nanostructures

The novel properties of nanomaterials offer many new opportunities for the food industry Different types of functional nanostructures can be used as building blocks to create novel structures and introduce new functionalities into foods. These include: nanoliposomes, nanoemulsions, nanoparticles and nanofibers. Weiss has described several of these structures, their actual and potential uses in the food industry, According to the currently available information, nanomaterials used in food applications include both inorganic and organic substances. Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) which are likely to be found in nanofood products fall into three main categories: inorganic, surface functionalized materials, and organic engineered nanomaterials.

Inorganic nanomaterials for application in food food additives, food packaging or storage include ENMs of transition metals, such as silver and iron; alkaline earth metals, such as calcium and magnesium; and non-metals, such as selenium and silicates. Other ENMs that can potentially be used in food applications include titanium dioxide. Food packaging is the major area of application of metal (oxide) ENMs. Nanosilver is finding a growing use in a number of consumer products, including food and health food water, and food contact surfaces and packaging materials. Indeed the use of nanosilver as an antimicrobial, antiodorant, and a (proclaimed) health supplement has already surpassed all other ENMs currently in use in different sectors. Amorphous nanosilica is known to be used in food contact surfaces and food packaging applications. Nanoselenium is being marketed as an additive to a green tea product, with a number of (proclaimed) health benefits resulting from enhanced uptake of selenium. Nanocalcium salts are the subject of patent applications for intended use in chewing gums. Nanocalcium and nanomagnesium salts are also available as health supplements. Nano-iron is available as a health supplement and is used in the treatment of contaminated water, where it is claimed to decontaminate water by breaking down organic pollutants and killing microbial pathogens. A soluble nanomaterial under development is nanosalt, which will enable consumers to cut down their salt intake, since a small amount will cover a larger area of the food surface. Cola-tasting nanomilk and fat-reduced nanomayonnaise are just two of the nanotechnology-based food products in the pipeline from Wageningen University in Holland. Nanotechnology would even be used to manufacture 'smart' packaging to dramatically extend the shelf life of food and enable it to be transported even further. Smart' packaging (containing nanosensors and antimicrobial activators) is being developed that will be capable of detecting food spoilage and releasing nanoantimicrobes to extend food shelf life, enabling supermarkets to keep food for even greater periods before its sale. Nanosensors, embedded into food products as tiny chips invisible to the human eye, would also act as electronic barcodes.

Surface functionalized nanomaterials add certain types of functionality to the matrix, such as antimicrobial activity or a preservative action through absorption of oxygen. For food packaging materials, functionalized ENMs are used to bind with the polymer matrix to offer mechanical strength or a barrier against movement of gases, volatile components (such as flavors) or moisture. Compared to inert nanomaterials, they are more likely to react with different food components, or become bound to food matrices, and hence may not be available for migration from packaging materials, or translocation to other organs outside the GI tract. The nanoclay mineral is mainly montmorillonite (also termed as bentonite), which is natural clay obtained from volcanic ash/rocks. Nanoclay has a natural nanoscaled layer structure and is organically modified to bind to polymer matrices. The use of functionalized nanoclays in food packaging can help to develop materials with enhanced gas-barrier properties.

Organic nanomaterials (many of them naturally-occurring substances) are used (or have been developed for use) in food/feed products for their increased uptake and absorption, and improved bioavailability of vitamins, antioxidants in the body, compared to conventional bulk equivalents. A wide range of materials are available in this category, for example food additives (eg, benzoic acid, citric acid, ascorbic acid) and supplements (eg, vitamins A and E, isoflavones, beta-carotene, lutein, omega-3 fatty acids, and coenzyme-Q ₁₀). An example of an organic nanomaterial is the tomato carotenoid lycopene. A synthetic nanosized form of lycopene has been produced and found as equivalent sources of lycopene compared to natural lycopene. Proteins, fat and sugar molecules, as well as neutraceuticals consisting of food additives derived from plants, are examples of organic nanomaterials.

Nanotechnology analysts estimated that between 150-600 nanofoods and 400-500 nano food packaging applications are already on the market., Nanotechnology has also opened the way for the introduction of other functionalities, such as antimicrobial activity in biodegradable materials. For instance, the preservative benzoic acid has been bonded to a magnesium-aluminium hydrotalcite and the complex has been blended with polycaprolactone to slow down the release of the antimicrobial molecule. Other developments include the use of certain enzymes with antimicrobial activity that could be covalently immobilized on to amino- or carboxyl-plasma-activated bio-oriented polypropylene films via suitable coupling agents.

Potential food applications

A number of recent reports and reviews have identified the current and short-term projected applications of nanotechnologies for the food sector. ⁻ The main areas of application include food packaging and food products that contain nanosized or nanoencapsulated ingredients and additives. The potential for food nanotechnology applications seems unlimited. All facets of the food industry from ingredients to packaging to food analysis methods are already looking into nanotech applications. These are resulting in numerous promising applications for improved food production, processing, packaging, and storage. ⁻ Bacteria identification and food quality monitoring using biosensors; intelligent, active, and smart food packaging systems; nanoencapsulation of bioactive food compounds are a few examples of emerging applications of nanotechnology for the food industry Carbon nanotubes can be used in food packaging to improve its mechanical properties. It has been recently discovered that carbon nanotubes exhibited powerful antimicrobial effects and Escherichia coli bacteria died on immediate direct contact with aggregates of carbon nanotubes. In fact, the long, thin nanotubes puncture E. coli cells, causing cellular damage. Applications of nanotechnology in organic food production require precaution, as little is known about their impact on environment and human health. Some recent food applications of nanotechnology, safety and risk problems of nanomaterials, routes for nanoparticles entering the body, existing regulations of nanotechnology in several countries, and a certification system of nanoproducts were reported., Increasing uses of tools and techniques developed by nanotechnology to detect carcinogenic pathogens and biosensors for improved and contamination free food have been reported.

Functionalized nanostructured materials are finding applications in many sectors of the food industry, including novel nanosensors, new packaging materials with improved mechanical and barrier properties, and efficient and targeted nutrient delivery systems. Scientists have provided insights into the potential benefits of nanotechnology in food safety The main achievements, such as harnessing the casein micelle, a natural nanovehicle of nutrients, for delivering hydrophobic bioactives; discovering unique nanotubes based on enzymatic hydrolysis of a-lactalbumin; introduction of novel encapsulation techniques based on cold-set gelation for delivering heat-sensitive bioactives including probiotics; developments and use of Maillard reaction based conjugates of milk proteins and polysaccharides for encapsulating bioactives; introduction of β-lactoglobulin-pectin nanocomplexes for delivery of hydrophobic nutraceuticals in clear acid beverages; development of core-shell nanoparticles made of heat-aggregated β-lactoglobulin, nanocoated by beet-pectin, for bioactive delivery; synergizing the surface properties of whey proteins with stabilization properties of polysaccharides in advanced W/O/W and O/W/O double emulsions; application of milk proteins for drug targeting, including lactoferrin or bovine serum albumin conjugated nanoparticles for effective in vivo drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier; beta casein nanoparticles for targeting gastric cancer; fatty acid-coated bovine serum albumin nanoparticles for intestinal delivery, and Maillard conjugates of casein and resistant starch for colon targeting were reported. DNA microarrays, microelectromechanical systems and microfluidics technologies will enable the realization of the potential of nanotechnology for food applications. Nanocharcoal® adsorbent finds applications such as decoloration of food products.

Analytical food nanotechnology

Detection and characterization of nano delivery systems is an essential part of understanding the benefits, as well as the potential toxicity of these systems in food. A detailed description of food nano delivery systems based on lipids, proteins, and/or polysaccharides, and the current analytical techniques used for the identification and characterization of these delivery systems in food products has been reported.

The analytical approaches have been subdivided into three groups; separation techniques, imaging techniques, and characterization techniques. The recent progress made in analytical nanotechnology, as applied to the food industry and to food analysis; with particular emphasis on nanosensing have been reported. The electronic nose is a device that uses an array of chemical sensors tied to a data-processing system that mimics the way a nose works. A new strategy for feature selection has been introduced to MS-based electronic nose applications. Its fine performance has been demonstrated using two MS e-nose databases. Detection of fruit odors using an electronic nose has been reported. Methods have been reported to estimate chemical and physical properties of pears from the electronic nose signal. The electronic nose could also be a useful and innovative tool to monitor strawberry aroma changes during osmotic dehydration. A typical nanosensor 'electronic nose' can be used for quality control of milk during industrial processing. Nanotechnology-based electronic nose applications include: monitoring and control (for example, direct measuring of specific stages of a process, such as baking); more accurate volatiles measurement than measuring temperature and the time taken currently in baking to monitor product quality, quality assurance (eg, timely warning in a refrigerated environment on whether a ham is no longer safe to eat). Nanosensors are integrated in food packaging to show if the food product is still fit for human consumption. Nanosensors have been developed for food safety and quality control in the European project GOODFOOD (2004-2007) and Nanosieves can be used for filtration of beer or of milk for cheese production. Nanofiber of microbial cellulose produced by fermentation was also studied to develop novel nanostructured materials.

Detection and characterization of nano delivery systems are an essential part of understanding the benefits, as well as the potential toxicity of these systems, in food. Scientists showed that for a sufficient characterization, the nano delivery systems need to be separated from the food matrix, for which high-performance liquid chromatography or field flow fractionation are the most promising techniques. Subsequently, online photon correlation spectroscopy and mass spectrometry proved a convenient combination of techniques to characterize a wide variety of nano delivery systems. The detection and characteristics of engineered nanoparticles in food has been reported., A rapid and cost-effective method has been reported that simultaneously detects three food-borne pathogenic bacteria, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella flexneri, and E. coli O157:H7, via an approach that combines magnetic microparticles for the enrichment and antibody-conjugated semiconductor quantum dots as fluorescence markers. Nanosensors can detect allergen proteins to prevent adverse reactions to foods, such as peanuts, tree nuts, and gluten.

Nanofood

The term 'nanofood' describes food that has been cultivated, produced, processed or packaged using nanotechnology techniques or tools, or to which manufactured nanomaterials have been added. Nanofood has, in fact, been part of food processing for centuries, since many food structures naturally exist at the nanoscale. The purpose of nanofood is to improve food safety, enhance nutrition and flavor, and cut costs. Although nanofood is still in its infancy, nanoparticles are now finding application as a carrier of antimicrobial polypeptides required against microbial deterioration of food quality in the food industry. A coating of starch colloids filled with antimicrobial substance, such that if microorganisms grow on the packaged food they will penetrate the starch releasing the antimicrobial agent. Reports on nanofoods are covered by the popular media. The benefits of nanofood, for instance, include health-promoting additives, longer shelf-lives or new flavor varieties. The current nanotechnology applications in food science provide the detection of food pathogens, through nanosensors that are quick, sensitive and less labor-intensive procedures. However, it is well known that the nanoparticles equipped with new chemical and physical properties that vary from normal macro particles of the same composition may interact with the living systems thereby causing unexpected toxicity. So far, warnings about nanofoods-products made via the manipulation of molecules-have not reached a tipping point in terms of public attention. Untested nanotechnology is being used in more than 100 food products, food packaging and contact materials currently on the shelf, without warning or new FDA testing. A list of food products currently containing nanoproducts include: Canola Active Oil (Shemen, Haifa, Israel), Nanotea (Shenzhen Become Industry Trading Co. Guangdong, China), Fortified Fruit Juice (High Vive.com, USA), Nanoceuticals Slim Shake (assorted flavors, RBC Lifesciences, Irving, USA), NanoSlim beverage(NanoSlim), Oat Nutritional Drink (assorted flavors, Toddler Health, Los Angeles, USA), and 'Daily Vitamin Boost' fortified fruit juice (Jamba Juice Hawaii, USA) and nanocapsules containing tuna fish oil (a source of omega 3 fatty acids) in "Tip-Top" Up bread (Enfield, Australia). A listing of nanorelated food and beverage is provided by the Nanotech Project in its Nanotechnology Consumer Products Inventory. ɛ-Polylysine, a food-grade polypeptide, can be added to the oil droplets to help protect from oxidation. Polylysine is much smaller than the phytoglycogen octenyl succinate nanoparticles, allowing it to fill in the gaps between phytoglycogen octenyl succinate nanoparticles.

Nanoencapsulation

Lipid-based nanoencapsulation systems enhance the performance of antioxidants by improving their solubility and bioavailability, in vitro and in vivo stability, and preventing their unwanted interactions with other food components. The main lipid-based nanoencapsulation systems that can be used for the protection and delivery of foods and nutraceuticals are nanoliposomes, nanocochleates, and archaeosomes. Nanoliposome technology presents exciting opportunities for food technologists in areas such as encapsulation and controlled release of food materials, as well as the enhanced bioavailability, stability, and shelf-life of sensitive ingredients. The application of nanoliposomes as carrier vehicles of nutrients, nutraceuticals, enzymes, food additives, and food antimicrobials was reported.

Coenzyme Q ₁₀ nanoliposomes were produced with the desired encapsulation quality and stability. Colloidosomes are minute capsules made of particles one tenth the size of a human cell and assemble themselves into a hollow shell. Molecules of any substance can be placed inside this shell. Scientists believe that fat blockers, medicine, and vitamins could be placed into the colloidosomes. A method was proposed to form water-soluble nanoparticles with entrapped β-carotene of controlled functionality. Scientists formulated beta-carotene within a nanostructured lipid carrier that allows the normally hydrophobic beta-carotene to be easily dispersed and stabilized in beverages.

Nanoencapsulation technologies have the potential to meet food industry challenges concerning the effective delivery of health functional ingredients and controlled release of flavor compounds. Zein, the prolamine in corn endosperm binds and enrobes lipids, keeping them from deteriorative changes. Further, zein has been shown to adsorb fatty acids and produce periodic structures, most interestingly, nanoscale layers of cooperatively assembled fatty acid and zein sheets. Soy lecithin is the main structural ingredient in the formation of aqueous nanodispersions that carry high loads of water-insoluble actives. These actives include water-insoluble nutraceuticals, fat-soluble vitamins, and flavors. The encapsulated actives disperse easily into water-based products, showing improved stability and increased bioavailability. A separate study has shown a seven-fold increase in intestinal cell uptake of CoQ ₁₀ in nanodispersions versus traditional powder formulations.

A 30 nm spherical product, called NovaSOL, containing two nutrients to burn fat has been developed by German based company Aquanova (Darmstadt, Germany). Nanocochleates consists of a purified soy based phospholipid that contains at least about 75% by weight of lipid that can be phosphotidyl serine, dioleoylphosphatidylserine, phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidyl glycerol and/or a mixture of one or more of these lipids with other lipids. Additionally or alternatively, the lipid can include phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphotidylglycerol, dioleoyl phosphatidic acid, distearoyl phosphatidylserine, dimyristoyl phosphatidylserine, and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylgycerol. Nanocochleates are nanocoiled particles that wrap around micronutrients and have the ability to stabilize and protect an extended range of micronutrients and the potential to increase the nutritional value of processed foods.

Nanoencapsulation of probiotics

Probiotics are generally defined as live mixtures of bacterial species and can be incorporated in foods in the form of yoghurts and yoghurt-type fermented milk, cheese, puddings and fruit based drinks. Encapsulated forms of ingredients achieve longer shelf life of the product. Nanoencapsulation is desirable to develop designer probiotic bacterial preparations that could be delivered to certain parts of the gastro-intestinal tract where they interact with specific receptors. These nanoencapsulated designer probiotic bacterial preparations may act as de novo vaccines, with the capability of modulating immune responses. Biopolymer assemblies stabilized by various types of noncovalent forces have recently shown considerable progress.

Nanocomposites in food packaging

Nanotechnology has the potential to generate new food packaging. Nanocomposites can improve mechanical strength; reduce weight; increase heat resistance; and improve barrier against oxygen, carbon dioxide, ultraviolet radiation, moisture, and volatiles of food package materials. The main kinds of nanoparticles have been studied for use in food packaging systems; as well, their effects and applications were overviewed., Fine nanoparticulates (100 nm or less) are incorporated into plastics to improve the properties over those of conventional counterparts. Polymer nanocomposites are thermoplastic polymers that have nanoscale inclusions, 2%-8% by weight. Nanoscale inclusions consist of nanoclays, carbon nanoparticles, nanoscale metals and oxides, and polymeric resins. Nanocomposites are characterized by extremely high surface-to-volume ratio, making them highly reactive in comparison to their macroscale counterparts, and thus presenting fundamentally different properties. Food and beverage packaging comprises 55% to 65% of the $130 billion value of packaging in the United States. Moreover, nanocomposites could also be characterized by an antimicrobial activity. Packaging containing nanosensors are coming to food stores to give information of enzymes produced in the breakdown of food molecules making them unsafe for human consumption. The packages could also be used to let air and other enzymes out but not in, thus increasing shelf life, as well as the reduction of man-made preservatives in our foods. Another important potential application of nanoparticles in food packaging is the degradation of ripening gas, such as ethylene., In view of the above, the idea to insert active nanoparticles into polymer matrices could bring the twofold advantage to improve the performance of food packaging material and to impart it an additional functionality (antimicrobial, antioxidant, scavenger), thus promoting the prolongation of the shelf life of the packaged product. Researchers reported the challenges of using nanotechnology to create low-cost packaging that assists in functionality, weight, and ease of processing. The new hybrid plastic, comprising polyamide and layered silicate barriers, makes it much more difficult for oxygen to pass through to the packaged goods than does conventional films made of polyamide. Durethan, from Bayer Polymers (Pittsburg, USA) is a nanocomposite film enriched with an enormous number of silicate nanoparticles that reduce entry of oxygen and other gases and the exit of moisture, thus preventing food from spoiling. Nanocor (Arlington Heights, USA) has developed nanocrystals to be used in nanocomposite plastic beer bottles. This material minimizes loss of carbon dioxide and entry of oxygen into beer bottles. Natural biopolymer-based nanocomposite packaging materials with bio-functional properties have a huge potential for application in the active food packaging industry. Recent advances in the preparation of natural biopolymer-based films and their nanocomposites, and their potential use in packaging applications were reported. The other improvements in nanotechnology for food packaging include carbon nanotubes that can be used in food packaging to improve its mechanical properties. It has been recently discovered that they might exhibit powerful antimicrobial effects. E. coli bacteria died on immediate direct contact with aggregates of carbon nanotubes. Polymer-clay nanocomposite has emerged as a novel food packaging material due to benefits, such as enhanced mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties. Scientists have discussed the potential use of these polymer composites as novel food packaging materials with emphasis on preparation, characterization, properties, recent developments and future prospects. More flexible packaging methods will provide the consumers with fresher and customized products. Nano wheels, nanofibers and nanotubes are being investigated as a means to improve the properties of food packages. Nanotechnology has the potential to influence the packaging sector by delaying oxidation and controlling moisture migration, microbial growth, respiration rates, and volatile flavors and aromas. A methodology used to produce polymer nanocomposites with low-cost fibrous materials similar to expensive carbon nanotubes exhibiting optimized dispersion, interfacial bonding, and attractive physical and other properties has been reported. Chitosan-based nanocomposite films, especially silver-containing ones, showed a promising range of antimicrobial activity. PEG coating nanoparticles loaded with garlic essential oil could be used to control the store-product pests. Phytoglycogen octenyl succinate nanoparticles with ɛ-polylysine significantly increased the shelf life of the product. Here, the nanoparticle created a stronger defense against oxygen, free radical and metal ions that cause lipid oxidation. Researchers are using silicate nanoparticles to provide a barrier to gasses (for example oxygen), or moisture in a plastic film used for packaging. This could reduce the possibly of food spoiling or drying out.

Coatings containing nanoparticles

The coatings have been reported to be very efficient at keeping out oxygen and retaining carbon dioxide and can rival traditional active packaging technologies such as oxygen scavengers. Examples include a nanocoating, which is an aqueous-based nanocomposite barrier coating, that provides an oxygen barrier with a 1-2 micron coating for food packaging use, and plasma arc deposition of amorphous carbon inside PET bottles as a gas barrier.

Nanoemulsions

Nanoemulsions have been developed for use in the decontamination of food packaging equipment and in the packaging of food. A typical example is a nanomicelle-based product claimed to contain natural glycerin. It removes pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables, as well as the oil/dirt from cutlery. Nanoemulsions have recently received a lot of attention from the food industry due to their high clarity. These enable the addition of nanoemulsified bioactives and flavors to a beverage without a change in product appearance. Nanoemulsions are effective against a variety of food pathogens, including Gram-negative bacteria. They can be used for surface decontamination of food processing plants and for reduction of surface contamination of chicken skin. The growth of Salmonella typhimurium colonies has been eliminated by treatment with nanoemulsion. Based on the physicochemical properties of the microencapsulated fish oil, sugar beet pectin must be considered as an alternative to milk proteins and gum Arabic for the encapsulation of functional food ingredients., The nanoemulsions showed great promise for use in beverage and other applications. Various types of nanoemulsion, including single-layer, double-layers and triple-layers nanoemulsions, could be produced, depending on the polyelectrolytes, such as alginate and chitosan. Solid lipid nanoparticles are formed by controlled crystallization of food nanoemulsions and have been reported for delivery of bioactives, such as lycopene and carotenoids., The major advantages of solid lipid nanoparticles include large-scale production without the use of organic solvents, high concentration of functional compounds in the system, long term stability, and the ability to be spray dried into powder form. Megestrol acetate oral suspension (MAOS) is an appetite stimulant indicated for cachexia in patients with AIDS. It is available in its original formulation, Megace® (MAOS), and as a nanocrystal dispersion, Megace® ES (MA-ES) (Bristol-Myers Squibb, New York, USA). Bioavailability and absorption were found to be greater for MA-ES than MAOS in fasting subjects, thereby, suggesting MA-ES e a preferred formulation of megestrol acetate when managing cachectic patients whose caloric intake is reduced.

Polymeric nanoparticles

Polymeric nanoparticles for controlled release and targeted delivery of functional compounds have been reported., They are made using polymers and surfactants and include alginic acid, polylactic-co-glycolic acid, and chitosan. Further, scientists reported data on polymeric nanoparticles, including vitamin E, itraconazole (an antimicrobial), and beta-carotene as a colorant., Biopolymer nanoparticles are highly bioactive solid particles with diameters of 100 nm or less. Weiss and his colleagues have demonstrated that the particles can also serve as carriers of antimicrobial components, with niacin-containing biopolymeric nanoparticles exhibiting much more potent activity against E. coli O157:H7 than particles without nicin. The discovery of antimicrobial properties of nanozinc oxide and nanomagnesium oxide at the University of Leeds may provide more affordable materials for such applications in food packaging. Recently, nanoscale processing has been used to make new solidstate forms of food materials, such as cereals. Compared to conventional materials, these materials have new physicochemical properties, such as altered solubility, cohesiveness, stability, and reactivity.

Nanosized self-assembled liquid structures

Nanosized Self-assembled Liquid Structures related to the nanosized vehicles are used as vehicles to targeted nutraceuticals. The vehicles are expanded micelles in the size of ~30 nm and can be used in "clear" beverages without phase separation. They are coined fortifying nanovehicles. Their potential applications include lycopene, beta-carotene, CoQ ₁₀, omega-3 fatty acids, phytosterols, and isoflavones. ⁻

Delivering bioactive compounds

Researchers reported iron- and iron/zinc-containing nanostructured compounds for nutritional applications that improved bioavailability and minimize color changes in finished products. Scientists have reported different ways to fabricate nanoparticles in the unique range that is suitable for the food and drug delivery system. Synthetic protein nanostructure acts as surrogate mimics, such as viruses and plasmid for food and drug delivery system. The benefits of protein nanoparticles include nontoxicity stability for long duration, nonantigenicity and biodegradability.

Bionanotechnology in food industry

Smart food packaging

Smart packaging responds to environmental conditions or repairs it or alert a consumer to contamination and/or the presence of pathogens. Chemical giant Bayer (Leverkusen, Germany) produces a transparent plastic film (called Durethan) containing nanoparticles of clay. The nanoparticles are dispersed throughout the plastic and are able to block oxygen, carbon dioxide and moisture from reaching fresh meats or other foods. The nanoclay also makes the plastic lighter, stronger and more heat resistant. Today, Nanocor, a subsidiary of Amcol International Corp. (Hoffman Estates, USA), is producing nanocomposites for use in plastic beer bottles that give the brew a six-month shelf-life. By embedding nanocrystals in plastic, researchers have created a molecular barrier that helps prevent the escape of oxygen. Nanocor and Southern Clay Products (Austin, USA) are now working on a plastic beer bottle that may increase shelf-life to 18 months. Researchers in the Netherlands are going one further to develop intelligent packaging that will release a preservative if the food within begins to spoil. This "release on command" preservative packaging operates by using a bio switch developed through nanotechnology. 'Smart' food packaging will warn when oxygen has got inside, or if food is going off. Such packaging is already in use in brewing and dairy production and consists of nanofilters that can filter out micro-organisms and even viruses. In lab experiments, the color has been removed from beetroot juice, leaving the flavor; and red wine turned into white. Lactose can now be filtered from milk, and replaced with another sugar - making all milk suitable for the lactose-intolerant. Nanoceramic particles enable clustering of dirt molecules, thereby; keeping cooking oil fresh and soluble forever bread - Tip-Top - contains undetectable nanocapsules of omega-3 fatty acids. Vitamin B ₁₂ spray can simply be sprayed inside a child's mouth to absorb the nanosized vitamins directly through the mucal cells, thereby, relieving the need to bribe children to eat fruits and vegetables. Nano-capsules delivered chemicals in rapeseed cooking oil, will stop cholesterol entering the bloodstream. Nano packaging with self cleaning abilities or nanoscale filters will allow the removal of all bacteria from milk or water without boiling. In the area of nanolaminated coatings on the bioavailability of encapsulated lipids, bioactive lipophilic or fat-liking compounds could be incorporated into foods or beverages, which may increase the ingredient's stability, palatability, desirability, and bioactivity. Functionalized nanostructured materials are finding applications in many sectors of the food industry, including novel nanosensors, new packaging materials with improved mechanical and barrier properties, and efficient and targeted nutrient delivery systems. An improved understanding of the benefits and the risks of the technology, based on sound scientific data, will help gain the acceptance of nanotechnology by the food industry. New horizons for nanotechnology in food science may be achieved by further research on nanoscale structures and methods to control interactions between single molecules. Advances in processes for producing nanostructured materials coupled with appropriate formulation strategies have enabled the production and stabilization of nanoparticles that have potential applications in the food and related industries., The food processing industry should ensure consumer confidence and acceptance of nanofoods. Scientists are not yet certain how various nanomaterials will behave when they cross membranes, such as the blood-brain barrier, or when they are inhaled during production. The safety of a given compound in a food should not automatically apply to a nanoversion of the compound due to possible novel properties and characteristics. Insufficient scientific data prevents FDA from extending GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status of an ingredient to its nanosized version. A significant segment of the public does not want its food "engineered" - bio, nano, GM or otherwise.

Probiotics in food nanotechnology

Probiotics are products aimed at delivering living, potentially beneficial, bacterial cells to the gut ecosystem of humans and other animals. Calcium and Dr Kim's probiotic nanofood combination reduces risk of osteoporosis. Probiotic-containing foods are the best way to get Dr Kim's probiotic nanofood for most people. A variety of capsules, liquids, and powders are available. Powders can be stirred into food but should not be added to food warmer than room temperature, because heat will kill the bacteria. Another option is to add to your diet. These foods include yogurt, kefir (a cultured-milk beverage), tempeh (made from soybeans), and kimchi (a Korean fermented cabbage dish).

Edible nanocoatings

Regulation of nanotechnology in the food industry

Despite rapid developments in food nanotechnology, little is known about the occurrence, fate, and toxicity of nanoparticles. Nanotechnology-derived food ingredients, food additives and food contact materials have been reported in relation to potential implications for consumer safety and regulatory controls., A significant segment of the public does not want its food "engineered" - bio, nano, genetically modified or otherwise. Regulatory bodies around the world have established rules and guiding principles for nanoscale materials that have ramifications for use in food. Uncertainty exists over the regulation of nano-based products and is linked in part due to a lack of necessary safety data needed to inform regulatory bodies. Efforts to facilitate international collaboration and information exchange are underway to ensure acceptance and utilization of the many benefits of nanotechnology Thus, agencies worldwide are gathering information in an effort to decide how best to proceed. There is an urgent need for specific guidelines for testing of nanofoods. The importance of naturalness in food products and trust were significant factors influencing the perceived risk and the perceived benefit of nanotechnology foods and nanotechnology food packaging. UK Soil Association (Bristol, UK) reported that their revised organic standard would prohibit products and processes derived from nanotechnologies (200 nm or smaller). The current risk assessment approach used by FAO/WHO and Codex is available and appears suitable for ENMs in food. However, there is a need to consider the whole life cycle of engineered nanomaterials in agrifood applications.

Conclusions and perspectives

Nanotechnology has the potential to improve foods, making them tastier, healthier, and more nutritious, to generate new food products, new food packaging, and storage. However, many of the applications are currently at an elementary stage, and most are aimed at high-value products, at least in the short term. Successful applications of nanotechnology to foods are limited. Nanotechnology can be used to enhance food flavor and texture, to reduce fat content, or to encapsulate nutrients, such as vitamins, to ensure they do not degrade during a product's shelf life. In addition to this, nanomaterials can be used to make packaging that keeps the product inside fresher for longer. Intelligent food packaging, incorporating nanosensors, could even provide consumers with information on the state of the food inside.

Food packages are embedded with nanoparticles that alert consumers when a product is no longer safe to eat. Sensors can warn before the food goes rotten or can inform us the exact nutritional status contained in the contents. In fact, nanotechnology is going to change the fabrication of the entire packaging industry.

Food nanotechnology advances offers important challenges for both government and industry. The food processing industry must ensure consumer confidence and acceptance of nanofoods. Regulatory bodies, such as FDA, should author guidance with respect to the criteria to be followed in evaluating the safety of food, food packaging, and supplement uses of nanomaterials with novel properties.

It is important to note that nanofoods originate in the laboratory, hence are not the same thing as conventional nanofoods. There has been insufficient scientific exploration of naturally occurring nanosystems and the benefits they provide. Thus, it is very difficult to make broad generalizations as to whether nanotechnology is good or bad. However, nanotechnology food packaging was assessed as less problematic than nanotechnology foods. Moreover, nanofoods are not labeled as such, and consumers who wish to avoid these food products are not being given this option. Thus, mandatory testing of nanomodified foods is desirable before they are allowed on the market. New approaches and standardized test procedures to study the impact of nanoparticles on living cells are urgently needed for the evaluation of potential hazards relating to human exposure to nanoparticles. It is widely expected that nanotechnology-derived food products will be available increasingly to consumers worldwide in the coming years.

Footnotes
Disclosure
The author reports no conflicts of interest in this work.

References

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Food nanotechnology is an area of emerging interest and opens up a whole universe of new possibilities for the food industry. The basic categories of nanotechnology applications and functionalities currently in the development of food packaging include: the improvement of plastic materials barriers, the incorporation of active components that can deliver functional attributes beyond those of conventional active packaging, and the sensing and signaling of relevant information.

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Digital solutions could be the key to producing more food while protecting the environment
It didn't take a pandemic for the world to recognise the vulnerability of global food production. In 2016, when nations pledged their commitment to the Paris Agreement they took stock of the urgent need to end hunger and safeguard food security by redressing climate change. However, the coronavirus outbreak has catapulted the challenges surrounding food resilience into the limelight; countries in every continent are dealing with hampered supply chains and farmers are grappling with a volatile market as well as disruptions to the labour forces they need to support seasonal production. The need for efficient and sustainable farming solutions has never been greater.

For centuries, farmers used animals and ploughs to produce the world's food. In the 20th century, machines took over, allowing greater yields at lower prices. Today, in response to the ongoing challenges facing the food and agriculture industries, another production revolution is underway: precision farming.

Last year, Yara, the Norwegian chemical company, launched Atfarm, technology that uses satellite data to take much of the guesswork out of deciding what inputs fields need. Yara also produces N-Sensor, a tractor-mounted device that measures light reflectance of the crop canopy - data that can be used to calculate plants' exact nitrogen requirements.

"Digital farming tools and agriculture are really just at the beginning of what could be the next big revolution," says Greg Levow, senior manager of computational agronomy and digital farming at Adapt-N Solution, a Yara company. "Over the next years and decades, we are going to see a tremendous amount of progress and adoption in this space."

One of humanity's biggest challenges is ramping up food production while putting agriculture back on a sustainable path

Digital farming solutions are starting to play a bigger role in agriculture, which is translating into increased yields at lower costs. Crucially, these advances hold the promise of tackling one of the biggest challenges facing humanity: ramping up food production while putting agriculture back on a sustainable path.

It is important, therefore, that such efforts aren't disrupted by the coronavirus crisis. According to the World Bank, the global population will reach 9bn by 2050, a rise that will require producing 50 per cent more food than we do today.

Yet physical resources to produce that food are diminishing: the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has calculated that arable land per capita decreased from 0.45 hectares in 1961 to just 0.25 hectares in 2000.

By using digital technology and switching to precision farming, the hope is to produce more using fewer resources

The problem of having to produce substantially more food comes as the planet is on a climatic knife edge. The FAO says that one-third of all land is severely degraded as a result of erosion, chemical pollution and over-fertilisation.

Global weather patterns are becoming more extreme and there is now overwhelming consensus that global warming is occurring - and at an unsustainable rate.

One of the contributors is farming. According to the World Bank, agriculture consumes 70 per cent of the world's fresh water supply. Much of the phosphorous and nitrogen it consumes ends up in waterways and oceans, disrupting fish stocks and other aquatic life. Almost four-fifths of US continental coastal waters now suffer algae overgrowth - a direct consequence of nutrient pollution.

One-third of all land is severely degraded as a result of erosion, chemical pollution and over-fertilisation

By using digital technology and switching to precision farming, the hope is to produce more using fewer resources - or "decoupling" economic growth from social and environmental impact.

Systems are entering the market that can keep track of crops, measuring their performance and exact needs. In turn, that can lead to using less fertiliser and water.

Onfarm, a California-based company, has built an app that displays and analyses data from multiple sources, providing farmers with a one-stop databank that they can use to make better and more precise decisions. In a demonstration of how far precision farming could evolve, it states that by 2050, the average farm could be creating 4.1m data points each day compared with just 190,000 in 2014.

Precision farming has even spawned start-ups such as Local Roots, a US company that turns used shipping containers into grow boxes with proprietary technology that produce as much leafy greens as five acres of land but using only 1 per cent of the water. Its produce has already found its way to local restaurants, Elon Musk's Space X company and even the United Nations.

In and of itself, precision farming stands little chance of solving the dual challenge of the food crisis and climate change. But as Levow of Adapt-N Solution puts it, "there's a recognition that data, both from farms and other sources combined with computing power and science has an opportunity to really advance profitability, performance and environmental impact."

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Precision Agriculture -Farming for the future

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Digital solutions could be the key to producing more food while protecting the environment It didn't take a pandemic for the world to recognise the vulnerability of global food production. In 2016, when nations pledged their commitment to the Paris Agreement they took stock of the urgent need to end hunger and safeguard food security by redressing climate change.

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FUTURE TRENDS AND INNOVATIONS IN CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE STORAGE AND MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING TECHNOLOGIES

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Modern technologies in controlled atmosphere (CA) storage and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) can be traced back to the early- to mid-twentieth century and coincide with the realization that important components of developmental physiology are regulated by oxygen and carbon dioxide. CA and MAP are relatively mature technologies today, comprising important storage strategies for a number of commodities.

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How CA Controlled Atmosphere Keeps Fruit Fresh

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Controlled Atmosphere - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

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Controlled atmosphere (CA) can be defined as a creation of altered atmosphere, in order to provide an appropriate atmosphere for slowing down the respiration, decreasing fungal and physiological deteriorations, and prolonging storage duration.

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Introduction

Controlled-atmosphere storage (CAS) is one of the most important innovations in fruit and vegetable storage systems as the composition of gas in the storage affects their storage life. The CAS technology involves reduction of oxygen (O ₂) and increasing carbon dioxide (CO ₂) as compared to the ambient atmosphere. Sometimes it also involves removal of ethylene and addition of carbon monoxide. CAS implies continuous monitoring and precise adjustment of these gases within the storage container, to a predetermined level. On the other hand, in modified-atmosphere storage (MAS), gas composition is not actively controlled; gas atmosphere within the package is created by the respiratory activity of the fresh produce. Several types of whole and minimally processed fruits and vegetables have been successfully stored in modified-atmosphere packages. Kidd and West originally established the scientific basis of CAS in the early twentieth century. It has been shown to be effective in extending the postharvest life and quality of a wide range of fruits and vegetables.

Increasing commercial use of this technology over recent years in both the short and long term has been in response to market demand for the supply of all types of fresh fruits and vegetables at all times. This article reviews the uses of pre-CAS treatments, physiological changes related to ripening and respiration, sensory and storage quality, and poststorage life of fresh fruits and vegetables stored in controlled atmosphere.

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URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B012227055X002923

1 Introduction

Controlled atmosphere (CA) storage is probably the most successful technology introduced to the fruit and vegetable industry in the 20th century. CA storage commonly uses low oxygen (O ₂) levels and high carbon dioxide (CO ₂) levels in the storage atmosphere combined with refrigeration. Even very early storage practices may have utilized a modified atmosphere enriched with CO ₂ and depleted O ₂ levels to extend storage life of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and other commodities (Dilley, 2006). CA storage was studied for first time in France by Jacques Etienne Berard in the early 1800s in France (Dalrymple, 1969). He observed that fruits did not ripen in an atmosphere depleted of O ₂ (Dalrymple, 1969). Other studies also investigated the effects of low levels of O ₂ and of high levels of CO ₂ on ripening, but the basis for commercial application of CA storage was established by Kidd and West (1927) who studied the effects of O ₂, CO ₂, and C ₂H ₄ on respiration and ripening in pome fruits and berries. However, after the 1950s when CA technology improved, its usage became more common and further developments and technical innovations during the 1990s expanded its use worldwide (Prange et al., 2005).

In CA storage, inside a food storage room is the gas composition that is continually monitored and adapted to maintain the optimum concentration within completely close tolerances. Because CA storage is capital intensive and expensive to operate, it is more appropriate for those foods that are agreeable to long-term storage such as apples, kiwifruit, and pears. The reason for the exclusive application of CA storage to apples was related to its incomparable advantages over refrigeration for this specific produce. CA storage is beneficial for alleviating certain storage disorders and diseases of apples while other disorders may be aggravated or induced by CA storage, but generally its benefits prevail (Prange et al., 2006). However, research has investigated the application of CA storage for other commodities, which led to the commercial use and recommendation of CA conditions for storage of other fruits, vegetables, fresh cut fruits and vegetables, as well as cut flowers and ornamentals (Brecht, 2006; Kader, 2003; Saltveit, 2003). Also, CA storage has specific applications such as insect control and disinfection (Mitcham et al., 2003).

CA packaging is the enclosure of food in a gas impermeable package inside which the gaseous environment with respect to CO ₂, O ₂, N ₂ (nitrogen gas), water vapor, and other trace gases has been changed and is selectively controlled to increase shelf life. Using this explanation, there are no CA packaging systems in commercial use. However, using the combination of O ₂ and C ₂H ₄ absorbers, together with CO ₂ release agents in packaging, at least during the early stages of storage life the packaged product could be classified as CA packaging.

An associated technique that consists of placing the food in an environment in which pressure, humidity, and air temperature are exactly controlled, and the rate at which air in the storage environment is changed and closely regulated, is called hypobaric storage (Burg, 2004). Unlike CA storage and modified atmosphere storage, no gases other than air are required. The total pressure within the hypobaric chamber is important because the O ₂ concentration is directly proportional to that pressure. Although much research has been carried out into the use of hypobaric conditions for refrigerated storage of flesh foods and horticultural products, it has not been employed commercially to any great extent for the storage or transportation of foods. However, it is used commercially by growers of cut flowers.

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12.7.1.3 Controlled atmosphere storage

Controlled atmosphere storage (CA) refers to the constant monitoring and adjustment of the CO ₂ and O ₂ levels within gas-tight stores or containers. CA is most effective when combined with temperature control. There has been great interest in using CA storage on potatoes for fresh, processing, and seed potatoes (Butchbaker et al., 1967; Khanbari and Thompson, 1994; van Es and Hartmans, 1987c). Fellows (1988) recommended a maximum of 10% CO ₂ and a minimum of 10% O ₂ as the optimum controlled atmosphere storage for potatoes. The amount of O ₂ and CO ₂ in the atmosphere of the potato store can affect the sprouting of tubers, rotting, physiological disorders, respiration rate, sugar content, and processing quality (Table 12.1). Storing tubers in anaerobic conditions of total nitrogen can prevent accumulation of sugars at low temperatures but may result in undesirable side effects such as acid or bitter flavor (Harkett, 1971). Varying concentrations of CO ₂ and O ₂ in controlled atmosphere affected sprouting (Schouten, 1992, 1994) with 3-6% CO ₂-stimulated sprouting while 9% O ₂ completely inhibited sprouting. From the results, it was concluded that controlled atmosphere storage at 6°C was not an alternative to chemical control of sprout growth. Khanbari and Thompson (1994) showed that high CO ₂ with low O ₂ combinations during storage completely inhibited sprout growth and resulted in the darkest colored crisp (i.e., chips) which was reversed by reconditioning. In a comparative study on the effects of normal and CA combinations at 9 ± 1°C for 6 months using the tubers of Agria and Russet Burbank on tuber components responsible for acrylamide, it was found that there was only a limited increase in the concentrations of sugars under normal atmosphere conditions. Low-dose irradiation (50, 200 Gy) slightly decreased the rate of sweetening in tubers. The potential to form acrylamide remained almost the same in both storage conditions. CA storage, in which O ₂ was decreased to levels below that required for respiration, increased sugars and thus the potential for acrylamide formation upon frying at 170°C for 10 min (Gokmen et al., 2007).

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Introduction

Controlled atmosphere (CA) storage of fruits and vegetables refers to storage in atmospheres with reduced levels of oxygen and/or relatively high carbon dioxide concentrations, at low temperature and high relative humidity (RH). The modified atmospheres are created in an air tight room, and they are continuously monitored and maintained throughout the storage period.

CA storage is an appropriate and practical technology for prolonging the shelf life and maintaining the quality of fruits and vegetables on a large scale. CA storage reduces the metabolic activity of the produce, allowing the control of ripening and senescence, which reduces weight loss, delays softening and anthocyanin formation, inhibits browning and decay, and favors flavor and chlorophyll retention.

CA storage is most effective on climacteric fruit such as apples, pears, apricots, mangos, tomatoes, bananas, and papayas, and it has great potential for preserving vegetables with high respiration rates. It is less effective on nonclimacteric fruit and horticultural products with slow respiration rates. Climacteric fruits should be subjected to CA at the earliest possible stage after harvest. Nonclimacteric fruits, such as pineapples, grapes, and limes, have greater flexibility in the after-ripening process.

Oxygen concentration is lowered to the desired level in the storage room by first flushing with nitrogen gas or liquid nitrogen, and then injecting carbon dioxide from a gas generator. The overall result is that oxygen concentration declines and carbon dioxide concentration increases in the atmosphere around the stored commodities.

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Controlled-atmosphere Storage Rooms

Controlled-atmosphere storage rooms were developed for specialized fruit stores, especially those for apples. Interest is growing in the application of this technique to other commodities including meat and fish. In addition to the normal temperature control plant, these stores also include special gas-tight seals to maintain an atmosphere, which is normally lower in oxygen and higher in nitrogen and carbon dioxide than air. An additional plant is required to control the CO ₂ concentration, generate nitrogen and consume oxygen. ( See CONTROLLED-ATMOSPHERE STORAGE | Applications for Bulk Storage of Foodstuffs.)

There is growing interest in the use of controlled atmosphere retail packs to extend the chilled storage and display life of meat and meat products. Since the packs insulate the products, efficient precooling before packaging is important.

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Methods Used to Control Gas Levels in CA Storage

CA storage rooms are built with structures capable of supporting the gases used, and they are provided with the adequate system to produce the atmosphere and the best-available method to maintain the atmosphere composition for the required time. In CA storage, foods are placed into an insulated store room whose walls and doors are gastight. CA rooms are made from metal-faced insulated panels, which are fitted together with gastight locking devices. Doors are usually sealed by having rubber gaskets around the perimeter, which correspond to another rubber gasket around the door jamb of frame to avoid leaks. Static and dynamic are the two ways used to produce the atmosphere needed in CA storage rooms. In the static method, the product generates the atmosphere and it is maintained by ventilation and scrubbing. In the dynamic system, the gas concentrations are supplied by flushing gases. There are also different ways to control the gas levels in CA rooms. Systems such as external burners, liquid or gaseous nitrogen, gas separator systems, and hypobaric storage can be used to control the O ₂ levels. For the removal of CO ₂ scrubbing systems based on NaOH, hydrated lime (Ca(OH) ₂), water, activated charcoal, and molecular sieves have been implemented. Heated catalyst scrubbers, ethylene-absorbing beads, and UV light are used to control the ethylene levels ( Table 1).

External burners

The level of O ₂ in the storage room is reduced by the combustion of propane or natural gas generating CO ₂ and water vapor. They usually require a CO ₂ scrubber to control the levels of this gas and cooling systems to reduce the temperature of air before and after combustion. They are classified as open flame or catalytic burners. The open flame burner does not allow air recirculation because of the risk of extinguishing the flame by the O ₂ depleted recirculating airstream. Catalytic burners provide more complete combustion reducing O ₂ levels to 3%; in addition, they have lower operation cost despite being more expensive to install

Flushing with liquid or gaseous N ₂

O ₂ levels are reduced by directly flushing N ₂ in the storage room until the desired O ₂ level is achieved. Liquid N ₂ is injected into the room through spray headers that atomize the N ₂

Gas separator systems

Gas separator systems decrease the O ₂ levels while increasing the N ₂ concentration from 97% to 99%. They are classified as pressure swing absorption (PSA), hollow fiber membrane separators (HFMS), and high-temperature ammonia cracking systems (HTAC)
PSA system compresses dry air and once filtered forces it through a bed of pelletized carbon material, which absorbs O ₂ and enhances the N ₂ levels
HFMS systems are based in the different diffusion rates of gases through membranes. CO ₂ and O ₂ have much higher permeation rates than N ₂; thus, the levels of CO ₂ and O ₂ decrease, while the level of N ₂ increases
In the HTAC system, high-temperature anhydrous NH ₃ gas reacts with air from the CA room, yielding hydrogen and inert N ₂ gas. Further, hydrogen reacts with the O ₂ to yield water vapor

Hypobaric storage

Hypobaric pumps are used to reduce the pressure of the room with consequent decreasing in O ₂ levels

NaOH

NaOH dissolved in water can be used to remove CO ₂ in the storage room by circulating the air in open tubes. The amount of CO ₂ removed is proportional to the NaOH exposure time

Hydrated lime scrubber (Ca(OH) ₂)

Ca(OH) ₂ is one of the simplest and most effective systems for controlling the level of CO ₂. Ca(OH) ₂ is placed in an insulated and airtight box outside the storage room to which it is connected by two pipes in which one of them allows air from the storage room to enter the box that contains the lime
Ca(OH) ₂ can also be placed on bags or pellets that react with CO ₂ yielding calcium carbonate, water, and heat maintaining it at level lower than 1%. This methods required space to place the bags and is inefficient because 80% of the lime is not used

Water CO ₂ scrubbers

A brine solution is pumped or sprayed over the evaporator coils in the CA room. The brine absorbs CO ₂, due to the pressure difference between the incoming water and the atmosphere in the CA room. The corrosion caused by the brine solution may be prevented by using dry cooling units

Activated charcoal and molecular sieve scrubbers

The air from the CA room is blow through an absorbing unit reducing the CO ₂ levels, and then it is forced back to the CA room. When saturated with CO ₂, the absorbent must be reactivated by pursing it with air

Heated catalyst scrubber

The air is forced thought ceramic pickings used as heat exchangers removing up to 87% of the ethylene from the air. The catalyst is electrically heated and the high temperature promotes the oxidation of ethylene to CO ₂ and water vapor. This system requires energy for heating and cooling

Ethylene absorbing beads

Small particles of aluminum silicate impregnates with potassium permanganate are placed in a sealed unit. Air from the CA room is circulated through the unit and the ethylene reacts with the permanganate changing the color of the beds when saturated with ethylene

UV light

The UV light reacts with O ₂ to form ozone, which eliminates ethylene

Source: Thompson, A. K. (2010). CA technology. In: Thompson, A. K. (ed.) Controlled atmosphere storage of fruits and vegetables (2nd ed.), pp. 26-42. London: CAB International; Rennie, T. J., Vigneault, C., Deell, J. R. and Raghavan, S. G. (2003). Cooling and storage. In: Ramaswamy, H. S., Vijaya Raghavan, G. S., Chakraverty, A. and Mujumdar, A. S. (eds.) Handbook of postharvest technology: cereals, fruits, vegetables, tea, and spices, pp. 505-538. New York: CRC Press.

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14.8.4 Controlled atmosphere storage

Controlled atmosphere storage is used to manage the harvest and to ensure an orderly supply of fruit over a wide marketing window. The ability to harvest and pack fruit at the optimum maturity can be limited by the packing capacity available but this is overcome by using CA storage, since fruit can be harvested at the optimum time and packed later.

The atmospheres commonly used for 'Hayward' are 2% OLallu Patterson Arpaia Lallu ₂, with 5% CO ₂ (McDonald and Harman, 1982), and for 'Hort16A' 2% O ₂ and 2% CO ₂ ( et al., 2003). The difference in CO ₂ between the cultivars is because of the greater susceptibility to cryptosporiopsis rots when 'Hort16A' fruit are exposed to high CO ₂ ( et al., 2003). With both cultivars, catalytic ethylene scrubbers are used to keep ethylene below 0.03 ppm throughout the storage period. The rate of establishment of the O ₂ and/or the CO ₂ in the CA after harvest is important, as a reduction in firmness retention occurs when CA establishment is delayed ( et al., 1984). However, rapid establishment of the CO ₂ in the CA may be associated with increased rot and disorder incidence at the end of, or after, CA storage ( et al., 2003). Shock treatments with high concentrations (10 to 20%) of CO ₂ also reduce the rate of softening (Rothan and Nicolas, 1994) but such treatments are not common commercial practice.

Disorders seen with CA storage of kiwifruit include stem-end rots, body rots, physiological pitting and shrivel. To manage stem-end rots, the use of lower concentrations of COBrigati Tonini Lallu Lallu Arpaia ₂ ( et al., 1989) or delayed CA establishment ( et al., 1999) has been suggested. Delayed and/or a slow rate of CO ₂ establishment has also been suggested to reduce the incidence of physiological pitting and fungal pitting in CA-stored 'Hayward' fruit ( et al., 2003). Shrivel arises from water loss, which has also been implicated in physiological pitting expression ( et al., 2003). The relative humidity in most CA rooms used for kiwifruit is 90-94% and after 4 months of storage, water loss from fruit is about 3-4%. A disorder termed white core inclusions can occur at storage temperatures under CA with 5% CO ₂, especially when ethylene is present ( et al., 1985; Arpaia et al., 1986).

Dynamic CA storage has been used in New Zealand but is not in common use. Similarly, whilst SmartFresh SM treatment appears to be suitable as an alternative to CA storage for kiwifruit (Regiroli and Vriends, 2007), at present it is not used for Class I New Zealand kiwifruit.

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B Controlled Atmosphere Storage

Controlled atmosphere (CA) storage refers to storage in atmospheres different from normal air (20-21% O ₂, about 0.03% CO ₂, 78-79% N ₂, and trace quantities of other gases) and its strict control during the entire storage time. MA and MAP rely also on storage or transportation of produce in atmospheres different from normal air, but in contrast to CA, the atmosphere is not controlled after its establishment. Thus, strict temperature control management is mandatory to effect a positive impact of MA and MAP on the quality and shelf-life of produce. Modified or controlled atmosphere conditions reduce or retard biochemical processes such as respiration, ripening, and yellowing of fruits and vegetables. The modified environment contains typically low levels of oxygen and high levels of carbon dioxide, which slow down the catabolic processes, in particular respiration, as well as aging, thereby extending the storage life of fruits and vegetables. Worth mentioning is the effect on ethylene: oxygen is required for its synthesis and both oxygen and carbon dioxide affect its biological activity. Hence, controlled or modified atmospheres slow down the synthesis and activity of ethylene during storage.

In the 1960s it became evident that maintaining as low levels of oxygen as tolerated by produce was advantageous. This was reflected in the terminology used for different storage regimes, such as LO (low-oxygen) storage or ULO (ultra-low-oxygen) storage (Hoehn Boersig et al., 2009). In general, the lowest possible level of oxygen corresponds to the anaerobic compensation point (ACP) (Figure 2.15). The ACP is the oxygen concentration at which carbon dioxide production is at a minimum ( et al., 1988).

The overall benefit of CA storage is that produce can retain its freshness and eating quality for much longer periods. Not all fruits and vegetables, however, can be stored under these conditions. Considerable research has been conducted on a wide range of produce, but apples remain worldwide the major fruit handled commercially under CA storage conditions. Other commodities stored or shipped commercially under controlled atmospheres include pears, kiwis, berries, cabbage, onions, lettuce, avocados, asparagus, and bananas. One of the major problems associated with CA storage is that different conditions are required for the storage of different cultivars. For example, apples have been extensively studied, with lists of recommended conditions for specific cultivars available from different regions of the USA, England, and Europe (Stoll, 1970, 1973; Blanpied, 1977; Fidler et al., 1977; Porritt, 1977; Kader, 2003; Kupferman, 2003; Saltveit, 2003b; Brecht, 2006; Erkan and Wang, 2006). This makes CA storage very expensive as conditions have to be tailor-made for the different cultivars of the same crop as well as for the different fruits and vegetables.

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1 Construction of CA Storage Systems

CA storages are constructed with gastight steel linings inside the storage. The inner walls are lined with galvanized steel or polyurethane foam (insulation) sandwiched between steel sheets and made airtight with a locking system. Sliding-type doors have rubber gaskets to avoid any gaps. Pressure-release valves are fitted to regulate the pressure, since doors opening and closing can change pressure and gas concentration. The air and gaseous mixtures pass through cooling coils to avoid temperature change. However, it is important to check the gas-tightness of the storage chamber. Refrigeration units are attached to CA storages. CA storages with capacities as high as 600 tons or more are commercially operational in different parts of the world. Insulation is placed behind the steel lining with some gaps where refrigerated air is circulated. The airtight steel lining removes the product heat by conduction because there is no direct air circulation in the storage area. The controlled gaseous concentration is easily maintained inside the steel walls of the storage. However, cooling is quite slow in this system and air ducts may be necessary. Fruit should be precooled before storage. There are several variations on this system. The polyurethane foam-sandwiched metallic panels provide interiors that are gastight and very easy to assemble.

For transport purposes, a CA system unit can also fitted to refrigerated reefer containers of 30-60 cum volume capacities. These reefers have their own mechanical refrigeration units and are powered by their own diesel engine electricity units. Membrane technology is used to regulate oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. These units are compact and efficient for containers and are also easily detachable. CO ₂ and O ₂ are monitored using flow through gas analyzers (CO ₂ with IR gas analyzers and O ₂ with paramagnetic O ₂ analyzers). The utility and economic value of such reefers for shipment of high-value specialty citrus fruit needs to be investigated.

CA conditions (gaseous composition) may also vary with temperature (Izumi et al., 1990). Humidity interacts with CO ₂ and O ₂ in storage, and the effects of gaseous composition can be different at different humidity levels.

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CA/MA considerations

CA storage with different O ₂ and CO ₂ levels has reduced weight loss, fungal decay, and physiological disorders during storage of different varieties of pomegranate. Similarly, husk scald development was inhibited at between 2 kPa and 4 kPa O ₂ and 2-6°C as compared with regular atmosphere (Hess-Pierce and Kader, 2003). Artés et al. (1996) reported that CA storage was effective in maintaining fruit quality by reducing CI, weight loss, and fungal decay in Spanish 'Mollar de Elche' pomegranates. This cultivar could be stored at 5°C in a CA of 5 kPa O ₂ + 5 kPa CO ₂ for up to 2 months and at 7.5°C in 5 kPa O ₂ + 15 kPa CO ₂ for up to 5 months. In another study, 'Hicaznar' pomegranates stored in 1 kPa CO ₂ + 3 kPa O ₂, 3 kPa CO ₂ + 3 kPa O ₂, or 6 kPa CO ₂ + 3 kPa O ₂ had a storage life of 130 days (Küpper et al., 1996) (Fig. 1). Defilippi et al. (2006) have found that the most effective postharvest decay control on 'Wonderful' pomegranates was the combination of prestorage treatment with potassium sorbate followed by storage in an atmosphere of 5 kPa O ₂ + 15 kPa CO ₂.

MAP is a simple and low-cost method that has been proven to maintain postharvest quality of pomegranates up to 6 months after harvest (Selcuk and Erkan, 2015) (Fig. 2). It has been proven to be a successful means of reducing water loss, shrinkage, scald development, and decay and can facilitate maintenance of fruit quality for three months after harvest of 'Mollar de Elche' (Artés et al., 2000), 'Ganesh' (Nanda et al., 2001), 'Shlefy' (Ghafir et al., 2010), 'Primosole' (D'Aquino et al., 2010), 'Mollar de Elche' (Laribi et al., 2012), and 'Hicrannar' (Selcuk and Erkan, 2014) pomegranates. Porat et al. (2008) reported that crop-specific MAP for pomegranate fruit have different gas permeability results in the accumulation of 5 kPa O ₂ + 12-14 kPa CO ₂ within the bags at the end of prolonged storage. These types of bags reduced weight loss from 7% to 3.5% and husk scald development from 38% to 21% in "Wonderful" pomegranates. 'Hicaznar' fruit packed in MAP and stored at 6.0°C for 6 months were better conditions in fruit quality criteria than those unpacked fruit (Selcuk and Erkan, 2015). Furthermore, MAP reduces the moisture loss by creating a high RH within the environment, surrounding the product during handling, storage, and transportation of pomegranate fruit. However, if the permeability of the MAP is insufficient, it can create a saturated environment within the package that can promote the development of fungal decay. Therefore it is vitally important to correlate the permeability properties of the packing films with the respiration rate of pomegranates, in order to avoid anaerobic conditions and accumulation of ethanol.

Several postharvest techniques have been tested for long-term storage of pomegranates, including low-temperature storage (Ben-Arie and Ore, 1986), CA storage (Artés et al., 1996; Küpper et al., 1996; Defilippi et al., 2006), MA storage (Artés et al., 2000; Caleb et al., 2012; Selcuk and Erkan, 2014, 2015), film wrapping (D'Aquino et al., 2010), and intermittent warming (Artés et al., 1998). Among these techniques, the most successful method for reducing decay and physiological disorders is the use of CA storage. However, CA storage facilities are not always economical and available in many pomegranate-producing countries. For that reason, the use of MAP is a simple, economical, and effective method in delaying the postharvest deterioration and maintaining the postharvest quality of pomegranates.

The tolerance limit for CO ₂ and O ₂ levels could be different for different cultivars of intact pomegranates and extracted arils. For example, Hess-Pierce and Kader (2003) reported that in intact fruit 10 kPa of CO ₂ resulted in higher concentrations of fermentative metabolites, including acetaldehyde and ethanol, especially after 4 and 5 months at 5°C, 7.5°C, or 10°C. In another study, Holcroft et al. (1998) reported that it is possible to store intact pomegranates at 7.5°C in 5 kPa O ₂ + 15 kPa CO ₂ for 5 months. Furthermore, Holcroft et al. (1998) found that arils stored in regular atmosphere enriched with 10 kPa CO ₂ had a lower anthocyanin concentration than that found in regular atmosphere-stored arils and with 20 kPa CO ₂ had even much lower level anthocyanin concentration, possibly due to suppressed anthocyanin biosynthesis. In general, the tolerance atmosphere limit for pomegranate fruit is 5 kPa O ₂ + 15 kPa CO ₂ and at 7.5°C fruit can be stored for up to 5 months.

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Controlled-atmosphere storage (CAS) is one of the most important innovations in fruit and vegetable storage systems as the composition of gas in the storage affects their storage life. The CAS technology involves reduction of oxygen (O 2) and increasing carbon dioxide (CO 2) as compared to the ambient atmosphere.

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Only the Northern line tube trains rumbling through tunnels overhead provide any clue that Growing Underground is not a standard farm.

The rows of fennel, purple radish and wasabi shoots could be in almost any polytunnel, but these plants are 100 feet below Clapham High Street and show that urban agriculture is, in some cases at least, not a fad.

The underground farm has occupied a section of the second world war air-raid shelters for nearly five years, and Richard Ballard, one of the founders, is planning to expand into the rest of the space later this year.

"The UK is the hardest market for growing salad," he said. "We've got very low prices in the supermarket, so if we can make it work here we can make it work anywhere."

The Growing Underground experience is being highlighted at two exhibitions this year: Roca London Gallery's investigation into "agritecture", London 2026, which opened on Saturday, and the V&A's Food: Bigger Than the Plate in May, which will also showcase micro-farming methods such as Grocycle's hanging mushroom bags.

Urban commercial farming - as opposed to Britain's 330,000 allotments - is a regular topic of interest at places like the World Economic Forum in Davos, where policymakers consider whether the world's food system, blamed for causing both obesity and malnutrition, can be fixed.

There are already plenty of urban farming projects around the world, particularly in the US, Japan and the Netherlands, ranging from aquaponics - urban fish and plant farms - to vertical farming, where plants are grown in stacked trays, a method Growing Underground also uses.

ReGen eco-villages would power and feed self-reliant families. Photograph: © EFFEKT Arkitekter ApS

"It's definitely becoming an expanding industry," Ballard said. "There's several other businesses starting up in London in containers, smaller projects, and there are several around the country now, other vertical farms."

Growing Underground supplies herb and salad mixes - pea shoots, garlic chives, coriander, rocket, red mustard, basil and parsley - to Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Ocado, Whole Foods and Planet Organic, as well as restaurateurs including Michel Roux. Being in London creates an advantage, Ballard says, as they can harvest and deliver in an hour.

He reels off other advantages. Being underground means temperatures never go below 15C - surface greenhouses need to be heated. They can do more harvests: 60 crops a year, compared with about seven in a traditional farm or about 25 in a polytunnel. Electricity to power the lights is a major overhead, but the firm believes renewable energy will become cheaper.

Similar British ventures include the Jones Food Company in Lincolnshire, while in the US AeroFarms has several projects in New Jersey, and Edenworks in Brooklyn uses the nitrogen waste from the tilapia and striped bass in its aquaponic fish farm to feed its herb crop.

For Clare Brass of Department 22, a sustainability consultancy which curated the Roca London exhibition, projects like Growing Underground are vital pointers to the future.

"We are living in the most ridiculously wasteful system," she said, citing research that shows about a third of the world's food is lost. "We need to transition to a circular economy. Business and government are not going to do it. These are people who are innovating, and we need these people to show us the way."

Some of the ideas presented include rooftop bee-keeping, an insect breeding farm for roundabouts in Stockholm, home food recycling in 24 hours, and a floating dairy farm in Rotterdam that is due to open later this year - a real-life interpretation of the children's book The Cow Who Fell In the Canal.

Futuristic food tech companies may look like a great investment, but when venture capital runs out, many businesses fold. Paignton Zoo in Devon was one of the first to try vertical farming in 2009, using a system known as VertiCrop to grow leafy greens such as Swiss chard and pak choi for its monkeys. Five years later, the system was gone. The company behind it, Valcent, which later became Alterrus and set up rooftop greenhouses on carparks in Canada, went bankrupt in 2014.

"Vertical farming makes sense for microgreens," Carolyn Steel, a London-based architect and author of Hungry City, said. Herbs are about 200 times as valuable per kilo as grains. "But why farm grain in a city when it can grow 20 miles away and spend three years in a grain store. Grain stores are one of the reasons cities emerged in the first place."

For Steel, urban farming should be encouraged as an important reminder for city dwellers where their food comes from. "We have become very remote from our food," she said, pointing out that London's geography shows how it was built on its food supply. Grains came along the Thames to Bread Street, chicken entered from the east to Poultry, while beef went to Smithfield.

"Ultimately we need to pay more for food," Steel said. "Ever since industrialisation we've been externalising the true cost of food, and now we're seeing the true cost of that in terms of climate change, mass extinctions, water depletion, soil erosion and diet-related disease. Where does vertical farming sit in that?"

A hydroponics unit for the home provides water and light for plants. Photograph: © Department22

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On rooftops and in tunnels, city farms lead food revolution

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Only the Northern line tube trains rumbling through tunnels overhead provide any clue that Growing Underground is not a standard farm. The rows of fennel, purple radish and wasabi shoots could be in almost any polytunnel, but these plants are 100 feet below Clapham High Street and show that urban agriculture is, in some cases at least, not a fad.

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https://droneag.farm/

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Drone Ag: Farmers Who Know Drones - Software | Training | Sensors

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More productive farming through practical, hassle-free drone automation and AI. Scout crops faster by drone, get training and buy advanced crop sensors.

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https://futurism.com/a-team-of-scientists-just-made-food-from-electricity-and-it-could-be-the-solution-to-world-hunger

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A Team of Scientists Just Made Food From Electricity — and it Could be the Solution to World Hunger

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It produces a nutritional powder that is 50 percent protein.

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https://www.vox.com/2019/5/28/18626859/meatless-meat-explained-vegan-impossible-burger

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2019 has been an incredible year for a niche industry: alternative meats.

First, Impossible Foods, a leading creator of plant-based meatlike burgers, announced the Impossible Burger 2.0, an improved recipe over previous meat substitutes that tastes, well, a lot meatier. In April, Burger King announced the launch of the Impossible Whopper, Qdoba said it would make Impossible Meat bowls and tacos available at all of its US locations, and Del Taco announced it would offer Beyond Meat's beef alternative.

And in May, investors jumped aboard the bandwagon, big time. Beyond Meat went public, initially selling its stock for $25, and has since seen it jump to an astounding $80- which means the company now has a market capitalization of more than $5 billion. Impossible Foods closed an additional $300 million in investor funding.

Meat alternatives are clearly having a moment - and it's offering us a glimpse into a different future for meat. Every year, more than 9 billion animals in the US are raised and killed on factory farms. Our factory farm system has contributed to a range of problems, from increasing antibiotic resistance to the climate crisis. Proponents of meat alternatives say they could help change that equation.

Let's sort the hype from the reality. Here are nine questions you might have had about meatless meat products and their leap to the mainstream.

1) What are meat alternatives? Veggie burgers have been around for a while - are these new products any different?

Meat alternatives aren't new. There have been veggie burgers available in grocery stores for a long time.

But the meatless meat products on the market today are different in one important way: An alternative meat, like a Beyond Meat burger or the Impossible Burger, is a product made from plants that is meant to taste like meat, be marketed to meat-eating customers, and replace some of those customers' meat purchases. That's what makes them different from veggie burgers, which have typically been aimed mostly at vegetarians.

There's another kind of meat alternative on the horizon: so-called cell-based (or lab-grown, or cultured) meat products are made from real animal cells but are grown in a food production plant instead of taken from animals raised in captivity and slaughtered for consumption. These aren't on the market yet - and some are skeptical that they'll work out - but they aremeat alternatives too, and they might be part of the big picture as we try to move away from relying on factory farming to supply the meat consumers want. (More on them below.)

Caroline Bushnell oversees retail research at the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit that works to promote meat alternatives. "Veggie burgers have been around for many decades," she told me. "Plant-based meats are still just getting started. The next generation is really designed for meat eaters, so the stakes are higher for what the products need to deliver on. People really like the taste of meat. Instead of trying to convince them to eat a kale and quinoa bowl, why not try to make meat for them in a better way?"

The rise of meat alternatives was driven, researchers and marketing experts told me, by one realization: that alternative meats didn't have to be a niche product just for vegans or vegetarians, who make up about 3 percent of the US population. There are lots of Americans who are meat eaters and always will be, but who are up for trying plant-based products as long as they're tasty, cheap, and nutritious. Those consumers, not vegetarians and vegans, would be the target of the next generation of meat alternatives.

The teams behind meat alternatives work to ensure their products have the flavor, macronutrient balance, and cooking experience of meat. The Impossible Burger famously bleeds, thanks to a meat protein called heme, which the company produces from yeast.

The leading companies that produce meatless meat products have actually gone out of their way to make sure their products won't be tarred as just for vegetarians. Burger King's Impossible Whopper, for example, comes slathered in mayo - not vegan at all - and when I went to get an Impossible Burger at a San Francisco restaurant, nearly every selection paired it with bacon bits.

So that's the big difference: Veggie burgers are a niche product targeted toward vegetarians. But the makers of meatless meat are betting they can find their way onto everyone's plate.

2) Okay, but do they actually taste like meat?

Some of the leading meat alternatives on the market today are burgers, ground beef, and sausages from two companies: Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat.

"Both companies have really led with taste," Zak Weston, an analyst at the Good Food Institute, told me. Everyone agrees that taste will be the big make-or-break factor for these companies. Does their meat really, actually taste like meat?

Food reviewers have delivered mixed verdicts so far. Reviewers at Food & Wine loved the Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger, and were less impressed with more traditional veggie burgers. The Washington Post's Tim Carman wrote, "the Impossible Whopper patty, all by itself, has more flavor than the meaty one," though he noted that while you can't tell the difference on the first bite, you can tell eventually.

Adam Rothbarth at Thrillist was l ess impressed, writing that his burger had been overcooked and as a result, "it's very one-note in its flavor and texture ... the question shouldn't be whether it tastes like a Whopper (it does), it should be whether it tastes good (not especially)."

It's fair to say that we're at the point where whether Beyond Meat or Impossible Meat taste like meat to a given person depends on that person, and the specifics they pay attention to in their food experience. It's good enough for some, but not good enough for all - yet.

3) I've been hearing a lot about meatless meat lately. Why now?

Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have both grabbed a lot of headlines in the past few months. Impossible scored a partnership with Burger King to offer meatlessWhoppers. Burger King joined White Castle, which sells Impossible Foods sliders, and Carl's Jr., which sells burgers from Impossible Foods' competitor Beyond Meat. Del Taco announced it'll offer Beyond Meat too. And Qdoba announced that it will offer the Impossible Bowl and the Impossible Taco at all its US locations.

The two companies have also gotten attention in the financial pages. Beyond Meat's stock surged after its IPO in early May; Impossible Foods raised $300 million in more funding and may be looking at an IPO itself.

What happened, and how did it happen so fast? Experts told me they see a virtuous cycle, where consumers - more concerned with health and sustainability than ever before - demand the products, which then feeds publicity, which then fuels more customer demand.

Ricardo San Martin, who studies meat alternatives at UC Berkeley, told me that many restaurants and food manufacturers had been waiting to see whether the popularity of plant-based meat was a fad. As consumer interest has grown, "companies have become more aware that this is here to stay" - and they're placing their own orders. That generates more publicity, which makes more consumers interested in the products and convinces other companies that the trend is for real.

Michele Simon, the executive director of the Plant Based Foods Association, saw the same pattern - that publicity meant more consumers were aware of the products, which increased demand.

"It's a combination of increased consumer interest in healthier eating in general, and then combined with innovation and an explosion of more great-tasting meat alternatives for consumers to choose from. With that has come the mainstreaming of these types of foods," Simon told me.

Now the burst of publicity is "getting consumers more familiar and breaking down some of the myths around them, like that they won't taste good, that you're sacrificing something by giving up conventional meat."

4) Is eating meatless meat healthier than eating actual meat?

In general, eating vegetables is good for you. So many people might think it's obvious that plant-based meat is healthier than regular meat. But that's not quite true.

Plant-based meat is absolutely safe - but it's not a health food. While there's a lot of uncertainty in nutrition science, and meatless meat may avoid the cancer risks of red meat, for the most part, it isprobably about as good for you as the meat it's imitating.

San Martin called the assumptions about health effects a major misconception about plant-based foods. "Plant-based means it's of ingredients that come from plants," he told me, but that doesn't mean you're eating a salad - "they are processed foods." As a result, they're likely less healthy than unprocessed veggies.

Moreover, most meat alternatives attempt to imitate meat as closely as possible, including in macronutrient profile and calorie content. That's because meatless meat makers want consumers to know what they're getting. If eating a Beyond Burger was not nearly as filling as eating a real burger, that would probably leave consumers dissatisfied (indeed, a Beyond Burger provides the same amount of protein as a beef burger). As a result, there's only so much that meat alternatives can do to be healthier than animal-based meat products.

That's not to say there are no health benefits at all. Some people report sensitivities to the growth hormones or antibiotics fed to cows that then make it into burgers and steaks, a problem that plant-based meats don't have. Plant-based meat should be able to avoid worries about food poisoning from undercooking and mad cow disease entirely. But ultimately, if you're ordering a Whopper at Burger King, it's not going to be health food, even if it's an Impossible Whopper.

Some people have raised health concerns specific to meatless meats - for example, worrying that the heme in Impossible Foods could somehow be harmful. There is no reason to worry on those grounds.

Beyond Meat doesn't use GMOs and other ingredients that health-conscious consumers often fret about. (To be clear, there are no signs that GMOs are dangerous to consumers, but many of the health-conscious consumers Beyond Meat caters to may nonetheless be wary of it.) Beyond's products are also soy-free and gluten-free, which similarly have no known health impacts for the typical person but are priorities for health-conscious consumers.

The Impossible Burger "bleeds" like meat because it uses heme, a protein found in red meat that Impossible Foods grows from yeast. Some analysts raised worries that the Impossible Burger might, due to the heme, have the same negative health effects - like elevated risk of cancer and heart attacks - sometimes associated with red meat. An exhaustive review of the nutrition literature by Business Insider last year found that there are no signs heme is the reason red meat has those effects.

So plant-based meat products are safe, and they are likely at least as healthy as the products they're replacing. But if you're hoping for a burger that's as good for you as a salad, food science still has a long way to go. Of course, maybe that's beside the point. "The real point of comparison is a meat burger, not a bowl of broccoli," Weston told me. By that standard, meatless meat is perfectly fine.

5) Is meatless meat better for the environment than regular meat?

Yes - meatless meat can make a huge difference for the environment by almost every metric, including land use, water use, and fighting climate change. Right now, however, it's too small a share of the market to significantly impact those problems.

A big driver of interest in meat alternatives is meat's effect on the environment. Livestock cultivation is one of the most greenhouse gas-intensive activities out there.

This is the driving motivation of Pat Brown, the CEO of Impossible Foods. In a recent interview with Business Insider, asked why he cares so much about replacing meat, he said, "We are now in the advanced stages of the biggest environmental catastrophe that our planet has ever faced, and overwhelmingly the largest driver of that is animal-based food technology." (In fact, a bout 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are from livestock.)

Plant-based foods have the potential to have a vastly lower carbon footprint. In general, you have to feed an animal 10 calories of plants to get one calorie of meat, so you can expect plant-based foods to have about a tenth the carbon costs of animal-based foods.

That's an extremely rough guideline, but it's surprisingly close to the results you get from a much more careful calculation. An analysis of the Impossible Burger 2.0found that its carbon footprint is 89 percent smaller than a burger made from a cow. It also uses 87 percent less water and 96 percent less land. That's an improvement from the 1.0,and Impossible Foods hopes it can slice the carbon footprint even more as it scales its operations.

So there's potential for meatless meat to make a huge difference for the environment. But the analysts I spoke to raised one major point of skepticism: scale.

Right now, the entire meatless meat industry makes up less than 1 percent of the product volume of the meat industry. Yes, it's growing fast, and yes, it's in the headlines, but nearly all meat sold in the US and worldwide is traditional meat. As long as meatless meat remains a niche industry, it simply can't affect the climate because it's too small to matter.

Christie Lagally, the CEO of Seattle Food Tech, which makes meatless chicken, told me, "If you're going to make any impact on the amount of chicken in the world, and address all the health and environmental concerns, you have to be able to make chicken at scale." Until then, all these restaurant announcements and all these taste tests won't have the slightest effect on climate change. "One of the big concerns in the plant-based meat industry is that it really does have to scale," Lagally told me. "Being able to redesign how manufacturing occurs for plant-based meat is what will make it work."

Scale is the big challenge for Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat too. Both companies cited it as a motivation for their recent efforts to raise more money. "We had tough years both 2017 and 2018 because we weren't able to keep in stock," Seth Goldman, the executive chair of Beyond Meat, told me. "One of the reasons we raised this money" - that is, the hundreds of millions raised in Beyond Meat's successful IPO - "was to address these problems."

If they succeed, and if meatless meat becomes a significant share of the meat market, then the returns for climate change could be enormous. But the transition from novelty product to consumer staple isn't easy, and there's a lot that could still go wrong along the way.

6) What about "cell-based"/"lab-grown"/"cultured" meat? How is that the same, and different, from plant-based meat?

There's another meatless meat idea that is even further from being realized, and that's cell-based or lab-grown meat. (Producers are still trying to figure out which label accurately conveys what the product is without sounding too alien to customers.) While plant-based meat products try to imitate the overall taste and nutrition profile of meat using plants, cell-based meat uses actual animal cells, grown in a serum instead of as part of a cow or a chicken.

If it succeeds, it won't just taste like meat - such products would actually be meat on a molecular level. But unlike plant-based meats, which are already workable, cell-based meat products are still a long way away.

"With the numbers we have today," UC Berkeley's San Martin told me, "we don't see how [cell-based meat] can scale up and deliver products soon at a competitive price. Besides all of the technological hurdles, the scaling up can be very complex. So far, I haven't seen a medium-sized operation cultivating these kinds of cells for this purpose. It's very hard, and with what we know today, maybe it's not the right approach."

There are still a number of hurdles to overcome before cell-based meat makes it into stores. First, there's a challenge called "scaffolding" - figuring out how to shape cultured cells into tissue. Right now, cell-based meat techniques can make a decent replacement for, say, ground beef. But to replace a steak, you need to grow the cells into the tissues they grow into in living animals. Researchers are still figuring out how to do that.

Once you have a product, there's the question of scaling it. The hope for cell-based meat is that it can eventually meet all of the world's demand for meat, which is steadily increasing as the world gets wealthier. To do that, it's not enough to be able to make one steak - you need to be able to make steaks at the same incredible scale that factory farms do.

But investors are optimistic that with enough effort, funding, and researcher attention, the remaining technical challenges will prove to have a solution. Meat producers like Tyson Foods have invested in Memphis Meats, a leading cell-based meat company, and more new companies are joining the emerging field: There are at least nine in the US and more than 20 worldwide.

If cell-based meat can succeed, it will likely be able to win over some consumers who aren't sold on anything made from plants, no matter how similar the taste.

7) Does all this progress on meat alternatives signal the end of meat?

In a word, no - not yet, anyway.

Demand for meat actually grew last year. And demand is projected to grow even further.

"As emerging economies grow and become wealthier," Weston told me, "one of the first things that changes is that their diet becomes more like the Western diet." That means more meat.

It's a great thing that the rest of the world is becoming richer, and it isn't surprising that they'd want the same luxuries that people in wealthy countries enjoy. But the increasing demand for meat poses a lot of challenges.

One is antibiotic resistance. Animals in factory farms are mass-fed antibiotics to limit the sicknesses that would otherwise sweep through animals in such close quarters. But that means that bacteria develop resistance to the antibiotics. This is a huge problem in the United States, and an even bigger problem in emerging economies like China, which haven't agreed to US restrictions on antibiotics being fed to animals.

And then, of course, there's climate change. Eating more meat is just one of the ways consumers in the developing world cause more greenhouse gas emissions as they become wealthier.

All of these are reasons why it would be a huge deal if we could meet the increasing demand for meat - or even just some of it - with meatless meat.

So far, prospects look pretty good. Surveys find consumers in India and China - two of the biggest markets in the world - eager to try cell-based meat products once those exist, and broadly enthusiastic about plant-based meat too. In fact, by one survey, they're way more interested in plant-based meat than Americans are:

It looks like there's a large share of American consumers who refuse to purchase plant-based meat products, and there's no similar contingent among consumers in India or China. There are more consumers who say they're very likely or extremely likely to buy, too.

That suggests it might be possible for plant-based meat to absorb much of the increase in demand for meat. That'd make a huge difference all by itself. But replacing meat entirely doesn't look like it's on the horizon anytime soon.

8) Are there other ways to reduce meat consumption?

The rise of meatless meat has accompanied a lot of other interesting trends in vegan and vegetarian advocacy. For decades, advocates have tried to raise awareness of factory farming and convince people to go vegetarian or vegan. But rates of vegetarianism and veganism remain pretty low, surveys find that many vegetarians still eat meat sometimes, and advocates have begun looking at other ways to combat factory farming.

That's the change in thinking that has driven the rise of Meatless Mondays, campaigns to serve meat-free meals once a week in schools and offices. The idea is that going meatless one day a week does a seventh as much good as going meatless full time - and if you can persuade seven times as many people to commit to it, then it's a better bet.

The same idea is behind the rise of the awkwardly named "reducetarianism." As Brian Kateman, founder and CEO of the Reducetarian Foundation, told Vox, we tend to see meat as an "all-or-nothing premise." Either you're a good vegetarian or you don't think about meat in your diet. But if you eat a lot of meat, cutting back that quantity by half does a lot more for the environment - and a lot more to combat the harms of factory farming - than cutting that last favorite food out of a mostly vegetarian diet.

Another proposal to reduce meat consumption is taxing meat, which would allow us to accurately account for its effects on the environment but which would disproportionately affect low-income people. A more moderate version of the proposal is to just stop subsidizing meat. Currently, the US spends an estimated $20billion a year on subsidizing agribusinesses, and much of that goes toward feed for animals. Commentators on both the left and the right have called for an end to this giveaway.

But there is, as you might have noticed, a common thread here. Many of these other approaches to reducing meat consumption work a lot better if there's a good alternative right there for consumers to switch to. Increasing costs of beef will affect consumers less if there are cheap products nearly identical to beef. Voluntary diet change to stop climate change is a lot easier if people can replace favorite foods with options that are just as tasty.

"Consumers want to make healthier choices, they want to make sustainable choices, but the product has to taste great," Bushnell told me.

Ultimately, all the ways of reducing meat consumption are much simpler to make progress on if there are good meat alternatives.

9) What should we be on the lookout for next?

So what's next for meat alternatives?

There's actually a lot to look forward to in the coming months. If you're trying to get a sense of the destiny of the meatless meat movement, one place to look is agreements between Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, and major chain restaurants. As discussed earlier, these agreements expose more consumers to the products, and if there are more such agreements over the next few months, that'd be a good sign that offering meatless meat continues to look to retailers like a smart business decision.

One major restaurant chain that has been conspicuously silent in the spree of recent announcements is McDonald's. Competitors like Burger King, White Castle, Qdoba, Del Taco, and Carl's Jr. now offer meatless meat products, and Taco Bell has offered its own in-house meat alternative product in the UK while teasing a big announcement in the US sometime soon. That's led to speculation - especially in the runup to Beyond Meat's IPO - that a deal with McDonald's is in the works.

Insiders have claimed that McDonald's is waiting to commit to plant-based meat until it is sure that it's not a passing fad.

Another thing to look out for is competition. Major meat companies, such as Tyson and Purdue Farms, are launching their own plant-based meat products. Those launches might be bad for Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, but they're almost definitely great news for the industry. More competition keeps prices down and makes it likelier that the industry can scale up to meet the growing demand for meat.

Finally, the most important thing to look out for is one you can check for yourself at a Burger King, Qdoba, Del Taco, or grocery store near you. How does meatless meat measure up? How does it compete on taste? On price? On availability? Ultimately, it's consumers who will decide whether meatless meat is up to the task in front of it.
Hungry for more? Bring your questions about meatless meat to a Reddit Q&A with Kelsey Piper on Wednesday, May 29th. She'll be in the Sign up for the Future Perfect newsletter. Twice a week, you'll get a roundup of ideas and solutions for tackling our biggest challenges: improving public health, decreasing human and animal suffering, easing catastrophic risks, and - to put it simply - getting better at doing good. at 2 pm ET/11 am PT. See you there!

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2019 has been an incredible year for a niche industry: alternative meats. First, Impossible Foods, a leading creator of plant-based meatlike burgers, announced the Impossible Burger 2.0, an improved recipe over previous meat substitutes that tastes, well, a lot meatier.

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Nestlé unveils plant-based shrimp and eggs as vegan shift accelerates

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Nestlé unveils plant-based shrimp and eggs as vegan shift accelerates

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https://www.ft.com/content/e437608e-b8b7-40e0-809d-7385a10a4be5

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Nestlé has unveiled plant-based versions of shrimp and eggs as the world's largest food company tops SFr1bn ($1.1bn) a year in sales of vegetarian and vegan products thanks to changing diets and environmental concerns.

The company's "vrimp", made from seaweed, peas and the roots of konjac, or elephant yam, and liquid egg alternative, called "vEGGie", made with soy protein, are the latest products in a range that includes versions of chicken, tuna, burgers and milk.

Along with rivals such as Unilever, the group is racing to build a portfolio in plant-based proteins, betting that consumers will partly switch away from meat and dairy because of their different nutrient profiles and higher carbon dioxide emissions.

Mark Schneider, Nestlé chief executive, said: "Over time there will be an opportunity to essentially offer a plant-based version of every animal protein around . . . I feel that we are on to something that is a major trend."

The company sells about SFr200m a year of plant-based meat alternatives, Schneider said. Along with sales of plant-based dairy and meat-free dishes such as pizzas, total revenues for its vegan and vegetarian foods have reached SFr1bn annually.

It is vying with other multinationals and specialist start-ups for a slice of the alternative "centre of plate" market, selling its plant proteins through outlets as diverse as Ukrainian petrol stations and Greek fast food restaurants along with retail, where its brands include Garden Gourmet and Sweet Earth.

Optimism about the growth of vegan food is prompting large companies to launch more products and move beyond meat and dairy to other protein categories.

"At the moment it's a land grab," said Mark Lynch at Oghma Partners, a corporate finance advisory firm focused on consumer products.

While some large food companies want to buy start-ups, he said that others, such as Nestlé, were developing products in-house because of the high price of acquisitions. "Many of them are asking themselves: is it worth paying three to four times sales when we can do it ourselves?" he said.

The launch of the egg substitute - which can be scrambled or used in baking - and faux-shrimp in a "small number" of European markets follows the rollout of Nestle's "Vuna" fake tuna last year and Wunda pea-based milk in May. It has also launched a vegan chocolate KitKat.

Schneider said such products offer a 70 to 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions compared with their meat and dairy equivalents. The company will next week launch a partnership with hospitality group Whitbread, which will bring its plant proteins to Premier Inn hotels and some of its restaurants.

Nestlé expects the global plant-based meat and dairy market to grow from its current SFr26bn to SFr42bn by 2025.

Food multinationals are also dipping their toes into lab-grown meat and dairy. US meat groups Tyson Foods and Cargill were among early investors in lab-grown meat start-ups, while Nestlé is exploring opportunities with Israel's Future Meat.

Vegan seafood sales in the US grew 23 per cent in 2020 from the previous year to $12m, according to the Good Food Institute, a non-profit advisory and lobby group.

The plant-based egg category continues to grow, though new entrants and product launches mean it is becoming crowded. Earlier this year Danone acquired Earth Island, which owns VeganEgg under the Follow Your Heart brand.

Eat Just, a pioneer in mung-bean based egg, raised $200m in a March funding round led by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, while Israeli start-up Zero Egg and India's Evo Foods have tapped investors for early-stage funding.
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Nestlé unveils plant-based shrimp and eggs as vegan shift accelerates

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Nestlé has unveiled plant-based versions of shrimp and eggs as the world's largest food company tops SFr1bn ($1.1bn) a year in sales of vegetarian and vegan products thanks to changing diets and environmental concerns.

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Circular agriculture: a new perspective for Dutch agriculture

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For more than half a century, Dutch and European agricultural policy has focused on efficiently producing as much food as possible for a low price and with a reasonable income for the farmers. Using this policy that was developed by the legendary Sicco Mansholt, Dutch agriculture attracted admiratio…

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1. Food possibilities of the future -- created through science
2. The possibility of saving land

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Starch is an essential material for everything from bread-baking to paper-making, and there is much to be gained from streamlining the way we produce it. Scientists in China have managed to take an important step forwards in this area, developing a novel technology that turns CO2 into starch in a highly efficient manner, which could lead to massive savings when it comes to land and water use.

Given its widespread use in the production of foods, textiles, pharmaceuticals and many other goods, there is high global demand for starch. Currently, we produce commercial quantities of it through plants as they photosynthesize CO2, but this involves around 60 biochemical reactions and requires vast amounts of cultivated land and freshwater to carry out.

Researchers have been searching for a simpler form of starch production that lessens our reliance on traditional agriculture, and a big breakthrough has now come from a team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The researchers have developed what they say is the first method for the artificial synthesis of starch from CO2, and it is many times more efficient than the process that takes place naturally in plants.

The scientists came up with a hybrid solution involving what they call a chemoenzymatic system and an artificial starch anabolic pathway. This sees CO2 first reduced to methanol with the help of an organic catalyst. The methanol is then subjected to engineered enzymes that turn it into sugar units, which are then turned into polymeric starch.

The entire process involves only 11 core reactions, and produces starch from CO2 with 8.5 times the efficiency of corn. According to the scientists behind it, the resulting synthetic starch has the same structure as natural starch, and could be produced using far less space.

"According to the current technical parameters, the annual production of starch in a one-cubic-meter bioreactor theoretically equates with the starch annual yield from growing one third of a hectare of maize without considering the energy input," says Cai Tao, lead author of the study.

The team believes the breakthrough offers a new scientific basis for new technologies that manufacture industrial quantities of starch from CO2. Not only could this save on land and water, but it could also go a long way to shoring up food security and reduce the use of environmentally damaging pesticides and fertilizers.

"If the overall cost of the process can be reduced to a level economically comparable with agricultural planting in the future, it is expected to save more than 90 percent of cultivated land and freshwater resources," says MA Yanhe, corresponding author of the study.

The research was published in the journal Science.

Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences via Phys.org

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World-first artificial synthesis of starch from CO2 outperforms nature

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Starch is an essential material for everything from bread-baking to paper-making, and there is much to be gained from streamlining the way we produce it. Scientists in China have managed to take an important step forwards in this area, developing a novel technology that turns CO2 into starch in a...

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Re-localising elements of the food system can bring many benefits to farmers, citizens and the environment.
Idea: See how it would impact environment (carbon dioxide etc.) and people's health (fresher and better food).
Would we need a lot of money to invest in order to harvest more within the country? Would people pay less or more for the food etc.

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In the conclusion of its Farm to Fork strategy on sustainable food systems, the Commission invites "all citizens and stakeholders to engage in a broad debate to formulate a sustainable food policy." This is pertinent, as decision-making power in the food system is being increasingly concentrated in a handful of global corporations.
Asger Mindegaard and Celia Nyssens explore some of the benefits of re-localising parts of our food systems to create shorter and fairer supply chains.
The agri-food sector is increasingly characterised by the consolidation of power and market shares in still larger corporations. These large corporations are fundamentally driven by a logic of maximising profit for their shareholders, while environmental sustainability, health aspects, food security and affordability are of less importance. Due to their market dominance and strong lobby efforts, these companies have proven remarkably resistant to scrutiny by regulators and authorities.

Decisions about which food is produced and how it is produced, processed, packaged, priced and sold are crucial to society and cannot be entrusted to large corporations whose primary aim is profit. They should rather be taken in dialogue between national and local public authorities, local businesses, unions, and citizens, striving for a high degree of 'food sovereignty' (people's right to exercise direct, democratic control over food and the resources needed to produce it).

It is not a question of vilifying businesses in general, but of changing the power dynamics governing global food systems. Rather than being dominated by massive multinational corporations, we need a mobilisation of many diverse actors, new relationships and new distribution networks to reconcile food production and consumption with societal goals and priorities.

Re-localising elements of the food system can bring many benefits to farmers, citizens and the environment and also has the potential to make the food system more resilient to external shocks, such as the coronavirus pandemic. This is not about ending international trade, but about rebalancing priorities to achieve better socio-economic and environmental outcomes. There is a wealth of empirical evidence and a growing body of research (see for example work done by the New Economics Foundation) demonstrating that shorter supply chains can benefit both local communities and sustainability.

Local food networks preserve local heritage

The global standardisation of agricultural production together with the market dominance of large agri-corporations are driving increasing genetic homogeneity at the cost of locally/regionally adapted animal breeds and crop varieties. 17% of farmed animal breeds are at risk of extinction and at least 100 breeds have gone extinct between 2000 and 2014. And of an estimated 7,000 crop species that have been cultivated for human food throughout history, only 150 are commercially important today. Rice, maize and wheat alone account for 60% of the global food supply.

The heavy reliance on few food varieties threatens global food security as food production becomes ever more vulnerable to climate change, pests and diseases. It also leads to a loss of local knowledge and the erosion of local cultures depending on local agro-biodiversity.

For the past two decades, Slow Food Europe has worked against these trends through the Presidia project, protecting agro-biodiversity and linking it to economic viability and cultural heritage. A Presidium brings together communities of producers eager to collaborate and jointly establish production rules and ways of promoting their product. Today there are 589 Presidia worldwide, aiming to save native breeds, crop varieties and artisanal products at risk of disappearing by strengthening producer organisations, promoting the local area, preserving traditional methods and knowledge, and supporting sustainable practices.

"The Presidia project exemplifies the Slow Food approach to building local food systems on environmental sustainability, healthy diets, producers' livelihoods and preserving local culture," says Madeleine Coste, Policy Officer for Slow Food Europe. "These local networks don't only help to protect endangered foods and bring them to market, they also bring immeasurable social and cultural benefits to local communities, which too often are discounted in food policy making."

Varieties of maize (daledbet from Pixabay)

Democratic supermarket in Paris

The EU food retail sector (supermarket and other stores) is highly consolidated, accounting for 30% of the total turnover and employment of the entire EU food and drink supply chain (agriculture, industry, wholesale and retail) in 2015 but representing only 7% of the total number of companies. 50% of food retail sales in the EU happens through only 10 major supermarket chains. The sector has an enormous influence on the food we eat, where it comes from, how it is produced and how much packaging is used. A recent market study in 11 EU countries found that the lack of sustainable options in the usual shopping place was one of the main obstacles to sustainable eating.

However, an increasing number of alternative business models are challenging the current retail model. Community supported agriculture and direct purchase from producers are gaining momentum across the continent and various innovative food retail business models are gaining traction, prioritising waste-free, organic or local food products.

A good example of this is the Parisian participatory and cooperative supermarket La Louve. The 4,400 customers are both owners (with a minimum investment of €100) and workers (commiting to a minimum 3 hours of work per month). Strategic decisions about products and sales are taken democratically, fostering a feeling of community and a sense of pride and ownership. The main focus of La Louve is on organic, artisanal, local and fair-trade products, and members pay 15-40% less than in other stores on average. At the same time, it promotes collaboration in urban neighborhoods, democratises food procurement and establishes fair business relationships with regional suppliers.

La Louve, Paris.

"Belgian data shows that people have flocked to CSA farming and short supply chain shops since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The pandemic has reminded everyone that the ever-increasing distance that our food travels comes at a great and increasing price," Nick Meynen, Senior Policy Officer for Environmental and Economic Justice at the EEB observes. "But the seeds of a re-localised food system planted by community groups and cooperatives need state support to grow from a niche to the mainstream. After all, they are doing society at large a valuable favour."

Local produce on the menu

Restaurants play an important role in many people's 'food education' and one in five meals is consumed out of the home. Restaurants impact our feelings around food, as we often go to restaurants to celebrate special occasions, to treat ourselves and one another or to try something new and different. Restaurants can tell compelling stories about the food they serve (seasonality, regionality, sustainability, animal welfare etc.) and can help shape people's attitudes towards food. A restaurant committed to sustainable sourcing from regional producers can thus contribute to building better food systems through the food they cook and the stories they tell.

With this in mind, the Italian Slow Food 'Cooks' Alliance' recently published a set of ambitious guidelines for its 538 member restaurants. The main objective of these guidelines is to promote local and high-quality raw materials produced by farmers, shepherds, fishermen, butchers, bakers and artisans who preserve biodiversity and traditional knowledge. Furthermore, the restaurants strive to give visibility, dignity and fair value to producers and their work and to reduce food waste and the environmental impact of their activities.

"Slow Food's Cooks Alliance is a good example of restaurants' increasing power to shape our food systems: a global network of cooks committed to developing a direct contact with farmers and producers, to sharing knowledge of seasonality and food culture and to guaranteeing respect in the working environment," says Yael Pantzer, Policy Officer and Network Manager for Slow Food Europe. "If restaurants play their part, we as citizens can play ours by looking beyond the price when choosing restaurants dedicated to quality, sustainability and fairness. At the end of the day, we are not simply consumers, but co-producers."

Restaurants have their part to play in the transition to future-friendly food. (Image by StockSnap from Pixabay)

Public money for public good in Slovenia

While individuals' preferences in the supermarket and at the restaurant are strong drivers of EU food demand, so is public procurement of food by local and national institutions. 250,000 public authorities in the EU spend around 14% of the EU GDP (around €2 trillion per year), amongst other things on food services. The power of public institutions to influence market trends is significant, both because of the sheer economic volume it represents, but also because of the reach public decisions have in our daily lives: the criteria for public procurement determine what food (produced under which conditions) is served in places ranging from our children's schools to health care facilities, public offices and prisons. Consequently, it can have an enormous impact on our food habits and values throughout our entire lives.

One good example of public procurement seeking to strengthen both sustainability and regional supply is the Podravje Self-Sufficiency Project in the Podravje region of Slovenia. For the period 2015-2020, a minimum of 20% of the budget for canteens in primary schools was earmarked for local products while also prioritising sustainability and nutrition. Looking to 2030, the region wants to expand the project to other public institutions and to go beyond 20%, which will require active capacity-building of the regional food system (producers, processing and distribution). Prioritising locally produced food in public procurement can be challenging though, as EU rules often require authorities to make tenders EU-wide and price-determined.

"We currently find ourselves in an absurd situation where private consumers are urged to buy local and organic food while public authorities often have limited options for prioritising local products through public procurement," explains Stephanie Wunder, Coordinator for Land Use Policy and Food Systems for Ecologic Institute. "As a result, authorities have to find 'creative' solutions to circumvent rules for public tenders. What we need instead is a change of mindset towards seeing food as a public good characterised by cultural and regional differences," she concludes.

Authorities should encourage public procurement to have a local focus. (Image by Helmut H. Kroiss from Pixabay)

Towards re-localised food systems

These four cases exemplify how food systems based on shorter and more localised value chains can look, bringing important food decisions closer to buyers whether public authorities, restaurants or citizens. But so far, the opportunities of more regional supply chains remain largely untapped.

"What we need is a collaborative effort at national, regional and even city level, to support alternative business models, such as short and direct supply chains and consumer cooperatives and involve local and regional governments committed to transitioning towards sustainable food systems," says Wunder. "At EU level, this needs to be backed with an ambitious Common Agricultural Policy promoting the needed change and trade policies ensuring that imported foods comply with EU sustainability standards to avoid importing environmental destruction, such as deforestation embedded in much soja and palm oil."

The initiatives stemming from the Farm to Fork strategy are of utmost importance, not the least the development of a proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems foreseen in 2023. Across the entire food supply chain, from farm to fork, the EU must ensure a meaningful integration and coherence between all policies with an influence on food production, processing, distribution, consumption and trade. The EU must also accelerate its efforts to balance out power relations and protect smaller operators in the food supply chain, building on measures such as the 2019 Unfair Trading Practices Directive.

The examples provided in this article are indicative of the wealth of ideas and initiatives existing in the EU from which the Commission must learn and draw inspiration when implementing the sustainable food framework and other initiatives. Supporting local products and producers, democratic retail, ethical restaurants and sustainable public procurement are but some crucial elements if the EU truly wishes to ensure a resilient, fair and sustainable food system as announced in the Farm to Fork strategy, and at the same time ensure farmers' incomes and vibrant rural areas as stated in the Commission's proposal for the reformed Common Agricultural Policy.
This article is written in collaboration with Yael Pantzer, Policy Officer and Network Manager for Slow Food Europe and Stephanie Wunder, Coordinator for Land Use Policy and Food Systems for Ecologic Institute.
Inspiration for an agroecological Europe

As Europe battles COVID-19 the EEB is committed to continuing our work towards a better future where people and nature thrive together. Getting the future of our food and farming system right is a crucial part of it.

This article is the 11th in a series telling the story of agroecological farms throughout Europe and beyond. We hope to show what an agroecological future for Europe could look like, and why it's a desirable path.

Subscribe below to be sure you don't miss these articles and more in the coming months.

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Future farming: re-localising food systems across Europe

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In the conclusion of its Farm to Fork strategy on sustainable food systems, the Commission invites "all citizens and stakeholders to engage in a broad debate to formulate a sustainable food policy." This is pertinent, as decision-making power in the food system is being increasingly concentrated in a handful of global corporations.

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Solarpunk is an art movement that envisions how the future might look if humanity succeeded in solving major contemporary challenges with an emphasis on sustainability problems such as climate change and pollution. Solarpunk describes a multitude of media such as literature, fine arts, architecture, fashion, music, tattoos, and video games in a similar manner to adjacent movements such as steampunk and cyberpunk as well as more established art movements like Baroque and Art Nouveau and Impressionism. The iconography of solarpunk focuses on renewable energies such as solar and wind power. Popular icons in the genre include van life vans, solar panels, waterfalls, indigenous peoples, parrots, psychedelic mushrooms, wind turbines, vertical gardens, and fruits.

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Urban Farming / Vertical Farming could be an interesting concept to look into.

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From rooftop gardens and indoor vertical farms to community plots and edible landscapes, urban agriculture is on the rise. As more of the world's population resides in cities, city farming is touted as a sustainable solution. But are there enough rooftops to make it work?

New Jersey has been known since the late 19th century as the Garden State. But today its 12th largest city, Camden, is anything but lush and green. It is the country's poorest city - an astonishing 42 percent of the population lives below the poverty line - and one of the country's most dangerous. A recent Rolling Stone profile of the city began: "The first thing you notice about Camden, New Jersey, is that pretty much everyone you talk to has just gotten his or her ass kicked."

And yet.

A small food economy is blossoming in Camden. AeroFarms, an indoor agriculture firm, plans to break ground as early as this year on a 78,000-square-foot vertical farm that would grow 12 stories of red-leaf lettuce, kale, bok choy and more.

Meanwhile, more than 100 of the city's thousands of vacant lots have been transformed into community gardens. In 2009, at the dawn of enthusiasm for urban farming and during the last available year data were collected, gardeners at 44 sites harvested almost 31,000 pounds of vegetables. Had it not been an unusually wet and cold summer, it might have been more.

It's all very inspiring: Whizz-bang technology that offers healthier food and much-needed jobs. Communities taking charge of their food destiny in a place that the almighty market has neglected. (Camden, population 77,000, has just one supermarket within its city limits.) But it's not only struggling cities that see the promise of urban farming.

Urban agriculture - which by definition includes indoor farms, rooftop and backyard gardens, community plots and edible landscapes - is often hailed as a solution to daunting global challenges. It addresses climate change by allowing food to be grown close to home, rather than hauled thousands of miles. It could affect obesity and chronic disease by making healthy options more available. And urban farming could help feed a quickly growing world population, because many of the predicted 9 billion people on the planet (by 2050) are increasingly headed to cities.

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION?

But can urban farming sustainably feed cities? A close look under the agri-hood suggests that it's a lot more complicated than advertised.

For starters, let's examine the history. The Industrial Revolution quickly and dramatically severed ties between consumers and the farmers who grew their food. Efficient train networks transported food more rapidly, from farther away, and more people moved away from rural areas to cities for work in factories. Since then, there have been regular waves of enthusiasm for urban gardening in the West, motivated by social reformers, who made a moral connection between the land and healthy living, or by the innate human desire for self-sufficiency.

To wit: One of the Salvation Army's first initiatives in late 19th-century London was "farm colonies" designed to help city folks feed themselves. Beginning in the 20th century, Israel's early Zionists created thousands of small urban farms. But the only examples of urban farming feeding substantial numbers of people occur when there is little other choice.

In Israel, urban farms soon gave way to rural kibbutzim (collectives based around agriculture). The United States saw Americans plant more than 5 million household plots during World War I and 20 million in World War II. Those 1940s victory gardens produced 9 million pounds of produce each year - what amounted to 44 percent of the U.S. harvest. (Read more about how people cope with food shortages during wartime in our story about rations.) But when the war ended, citizens largely abandoned their gardens and returned to the convenience of shopping at the supermarket.

HIGH-TECH FARMING

Proponents of urban farming say this time could be different. Besides the global challenges of climate change and population, there is wide consumer demand for locally grown food. Moreover, technology that makes urban farming more productive and more sustainable could tip the balance. The technologies include lightweight beds that can be stacked, efficient LED lights and hydroponics and aeroponics, by which plants grow without soil and fed a calculated diet of nutrients by water circulating beneath them.

"By some estimates, we will need 50 percent more food by 2050," says David Rosenberg, CEO of AeroFarms. "We need transformational changes. Vertical farming does more with less."

A decade ago, not even one of these so-called vertical farms existed. Today, there are dozens of them - one in Singapore, one in a former bomb shelter in London and one in Japan, built by researchers to provide safe food after the devastating Fukushima earthquake in 2011. That farm, formerly a semiconductor factory, now produces 10,000 heads of lettuce per day.

AeroFarms operates nine vertical farms. Its largest, in Newark, 90 miles northeast of Camden, produces 2 million pounds of leafy greens each year. The 70,000-square-foot complex is a poster child for futuristic farming. Inside, so-called grow tables are stacked 12 levels high and enveloped by a glow of pink LED light. (Plants, it turns out, require little from the yellow part of the light spectrum, which requires greater amounts of power to produce.)

Rosenberg sees AeroFarms less as an agricultural producer than as a data-science company, delving into the intersection of plant biology and engineering with the goal of controlling every aspect of growing and maximizing efficiency.

"We take data on plants and understand what makes them grow," he explains. "You can't do it this way in the field. There are too many unknowns."

RESOURCE CONSERVATION: PROS AND CONS

The biggest boon of vertical growing may be water conservation. Drive through California's Salinas Valley, where the vast majority of America's salad greens are grown, and you'll see hundreds of sprinklers shooting great arcs of water across the fields. Some of that is used by the plants, but much is lost to evaporation and runoff.

In contrast, hydroponic and aeroponic systems give the plants only the water they need, and it is recirculated through the system. On average, indoor farms and greenhouses use at least 70 percent less water than traditionally farmed lettuce in California.

There are other benefits, too. The produce doesn't have to travel - unlike the lettuces that journey as far as 2,800 miles if they are shipped from coast to coast. This all but eliminates the greenhouse-gas emissions associated with transport, though those are only a fraction of the total associated with producing food. (Read more about greenhouse gases tied to food waste in our feature on page 18.) And because they are fresher, the greens last longer in consumers' refrigerators, which means less lettuce thrown away because it's gone bad before it could be eaten.

No wonder vertical farms are catnip to technology investors looking for the next big disruptor. According to AgFunder, in 2016 funders poured $126 million into indoor agriculture- related startups (including things like lighting and software). But critics say that the environmental benefits of indoor farms don't add up.

For one, to grow even a fraction of the fruits and vegetables needed to feed cities would take vast amounts of space. According to one analysis, it would require a 150-foot-by-150-foot, 37-story building to provide the vegetables for a city of just 15,000. This would cost $250 million to build and $7 million in electricity to run annually.

Indoor farms also fail to take advantage of a free and renewable source of energy: the sun. "If you're not taking advantage of the sunlight, then the process will inherently involve excess energy consumption and carbon emissions," says Stan Cox, a researcher at the Land Institute in Salinas, Kansas.

Substituting electricity for sunlight is costly. Using current technology, the equation just about works out for leafy greens, which are 90 to 95 percent water and don't require as much light to grow. But do the math on denser fruits and vegetables or other crops - carrots, potatoes or wheat - and the amount of power required to grow them soars. According to Cox, it takes about 1,200 kilowatt-hours of electricity for each kilogram of edible matter (excluding the water stored inside). Or to put it another way: You need the same amount of electricity to grow one kilogram of tomatoes as you do to run your home refrigerator for an entire year.

"The claim of indoor farming is that we can spare the land by getting rid of industrial farming," Cox says. "But of course, this vision uses more industrial inputs than anything done on the landscape."

AeroFarms' Rosenberg counters that lighting technology is getting ever more efficient. And though he concedes that indoor farming may look industrial, it addresses major challenges including the depletion of arable land, water pollution and conservation: "We don't use soil. We don't use pesticides. We use a fraction of the water that field farms do. We have a much softer footprint."

GREENHOUSE GROWING

An even softer footprint comes from other types of commercial urban and peri-urban farms that use greenhouses. Take BrightFarms, which operates three commercial greenhouses and sells directly to grocery stores in seven states and the District of Columbia.

BrightFarms uses hydroponics, which means that trays of greens grow atop vast ponds. But rather than place its farms in cities, where land is generally more limited (and much more expensive), it locates its greenhouses just outside of urban areas. With more space, it is not necessary to stack plants to turn a profit. The use of hydroponics also means that the farms can be, well, horizontal - and take advantage of (free) sunlight.

Today, the crops that make commercial sense for hydroponic farming are greens and tomatoes, says BrightFarms CEO Paul Lightfoot. Both crops travel long distances, unless you live on the West Coast. Both too are highly perishable and sell for a premium price. And, as anyone who has eaten a winter tomato knows, these crops benefit from being grown closer to home.

One day, Lightfoot hopes that BrightFarms will expand to other crops that meet the same criteria: strawberries, peppers and cucumbers. But there are limits to what he can produce. BrightFarms, he says, will never be able to compete on a crop like apples, which grow in many geographic areas, store well and travels easily. They will always be cheaper and more sustainably grown in the field.

Hydroponics

A method of growing plants without soil, using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. Nutrients may be delivered a variety of ways, including fish waste, duck manure or a fertilizer containing key macronutrients.

CLOSING THE GAP

Commercial farms, of course, do not have to produce everything. Could community, rooftop and backyard gardens make up the difference? According to a 2016 report from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, the answer is no. While a significant proportion of fresh produce needs could theoretically be met in some places, it would only work in those locations if urban farms are widely implemented and focus on intensive forms of production such as rooftop gardens.

To feed Cleveland, for example, 80 percent of every vacant lot (of which there are many), 62 percent of industrial and commercial rooftops, and 9 percent of every occupied residential lot would have to be put into food production. Those are daunting numbers before you even consider practical constraints such as property values, infrastructure limitations and zoning regulations.

Urban agriculture's limits do not make it a failure. Community, rooftop and backyard gardens make significant impacts in the lives of the people who tend them, and give poor communities like Camden access to fresh, free food.

Dominic Vitiello, a professor of city planning and urban studies at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied urban farming in cities including Camden, concludes that in the United States, perhaps urban farming's greatest potential is to effect "inside-out" community revitalization. Urban farming offers opportunities for social enterprise and supplemental income for low-income families. It also helps to build and sustain vital social networks that go unmeasured by traditional economic-development research.

In other words, urban farming may not feed a city like Camden. But its gardens can help rejuvenate the city and make it a worthy representative of the Garden State.

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Urban Agriculture: Can it Feed Our Cities? - Food+City

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Technological developments in agriculture have opened up a surprising new kind of field for crops. Vertical gardens that thrive in urban warehouses and soil-free greenhouses with produce growing in hydroponic tanks bring fresh food closer to population centers. Jane Black digs into the future of farming.

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PPU What if in 2121? - Specualtive design brief

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SPECS Scans (controversial concept - not scientifically proofed)

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Strengths Technical

UI / UX Design (App Design)
Web Design (Coding)
3D Design

Strengths Human Centered

Organized
Can take initiative
Perfectionist
Good under pressure

Weaknesses Technical

Drawing / Illustration
Painting
Fashion

Weaknesses Human Centred

Procrastination
Need clear objectives
Sidetracked easily

Values

Respect

Quality
Inclusion

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Strengths Technical

Photography

Graphic Design

Branding
Art Direction

Strengths Human Centered

Engagement

Responsibility

Inclusion

Diligence
Reflective

Weaknesses Technical

App/Web Design

Writing

3D Design
Drawing

Weaknesses Human Centred

Tendency to perfectionism

Critical

Can be controlling

Values

Respect

Sustainability

Quality