Centre for Food and Microbial

Technology

KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 22

B-3001 Heverlee (Leuven)

http://www.biw.kuleuven.be/m2s/clmt/lmt/

KU LeuvenOrganisation

KU Leuven

Group Science, Technology and Engineering

Faculties

Faculty of Bioscience Engineering

15 Departments

Microbial and Molecular Systems (M2S)

Center for Microbial

and Plant GeneticsCenter for Surface

Chemistry and Catalysis

Center for Food and

Microbial Technology

CFMTOrganisation

Laboratory of Food & Lipids (KULAK)

Laboratory of Food Microbiology

Laboratory of Food Technology

Centre for Food and Microbial Technology

Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Biochemistry

Prof. J.A. Delcour, Prof. C.M. Courtin, Prof. I.J. Joye

Prof. M. Hendrickx, Prof. A. Van Loey, Prof. T. Grauwet

Prof. C. Michiels, Prof. A. Aertsen

Prof. I. Foubert

Prof. C.M. Courtin

Production systems:

Agriculture / Fisheries / Aquaculture

Processing

Organoleptic impact

Health and well-

being of consumers

Nutritional value / digestion /

health impacts

Safe, high-quality foods

Storage / transport / retail

Preparation

Environment

Consumers

Nutrition

Processing

Safety

Environment

Courtesy D. Tissot, EC

CFMT Research mission

• To study the building blocks and micro-organisms of

food systems and their changes and interactions

during the entire food life cycle.

• To contribute to food microbiological and chemical

safety and quality as reflected in healthiness,

nutritional profile, organoleptic properties and …

Foods and food ingredients

Cereal derived ingredients and products

Fruit and vegetable derived ingredients and products

Enzymes (heterologous expression, isolation, purification, characterization and processing stability)

Food quality changes during processing and shelf life (rheology, texture, micronutrient concentration &

in vitro accessibility, microbial safety & stability)

Food constituents

Proteins (isolation, purification, characterization and processing stability)

Physico-chemical properties of starch

Structure and composition of non-starch polysaccharides

Pectin structure function relations

Lipids

Micronutrients

Microbiology

Food microbiology (analytical, inactivation, control, food safety and stability)

Microbial physiology (molecular biology, microbial genetics, dynamic cell biology)

Microbial ecology (microbe-microbe and microbe-matrix interactions)

Processing and preservation

Thermal processingHigh pressure processing

High pressure homogenizationReaction kinetics and mechanisms

Mathematical modeling

Indicator systems for food processing (extrinsic, intrinsic, fingerprinting)

FOOD SYSTEMS

CFMT An integrated research approach

CFMTAn integrated food system approach

Laboratory of Food Chemistry

and Biochemistry

Centre for Food and Microbial Technology

Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe)

KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20

B-3001 Heverlee (Leuven)

http://www.biw.kuleuven.be/m2s/clmt/lmcb

LFCB Mission

• To generate basic insights in

o Structure and properties of cereal constituents

o Their conversion by plant and microbial enzymes

• To apply this basic knowledge in biotechnological

processes in which cereals are used to

o Understand and improve processing

o Improve organoleptic quality of end products

o Produce ingredients with health promoting effects

LFCB Mission

• To create value by

o Research collaborations with industrial partners

o Analytical support and consultancy

o Patenting and licensing

o Spinout creation (www.fugeia.com)

LFCB Research topics

Constituents Enzyme systems Cereals Product applications

Major constituents

Storage

proteins

Peptidases,

oxidases,

NAD(P)(H)-

hydrolysing enzymes

Wheat, rye, barley,

rice

Bread, malt, cake,

cookies, gluten/starch-

separation, bio-active

peptides, bio-plastic

Starch Amylases Wheat, rye, durum

wheat, rice

Bread, pasta, cake,

cookies, parboiled rice,

food starches, malt

Minor constituents

Non-starch

carbohydrates

Xylanolytic enzymes,

β-glucanases,

inhibitors

Wheat, rye, barley,

durum wheat, maize

Bread, malt, pasta,

refrigerated doughs,

cookies, bio-active AXOS

Lipids Lipases Wheat Bread, cookies

Puroindolines / Wheat Bread, cookies, cake

LFCBResearch projects

• Clustered in 4 interdependent research lines:

o Cereal constituents

o Enzymes

o Functional ingredients and products

o Cereal-derived end products

LFCB Expertise and facilities

• Structure and properties of

o Cereal constituents

o Plant and microbial enzymes and their inhibitors

• Cereal processing from grain to (stored) end product

• Approaches on different length scales

• Cereal-based food systems: bread, pasta, cake, cookies,

malt/beer, waffles, …

• Analysis of raw materials, intermediates and food products

• Fully equipped laboratory

• Pilot-scale production facilities: milling, baking (bread,

cake, cookies), extrusion, pasta production, micro-malting (1-

10 kg)

Laboratory of Food Microbiology

Centre for Food and Microbial Technology

Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe)

KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 23

B-3001 Heverlee (Leuven)

http://www.biw.kuleuven.be/m2s/clmt/lmm/

LFM Research mission

1. Understand behaviour of microorganisms along the food chain

o Variety of pathogens and spoilage organisms

o Factors influencing growth, survival, inactivation, competition

o Stress adaptation and evolution on short and medium time scale

o At individual cell and population level

2. Develop new or improved methods for control

o Safety / Spoilage / Shelf-life / Quality

Primaryproduction

Processing & Packaging

Preparation & Consumption

Storage & Distribution

Lab Food Microbiology

LFM Specific research foci

• Food processing and preservation

o Mild non-thermal preservation processes: HP, u.v., PEF…

o Natural preservatives: plant compounds, enzyme systems, …

o Hurdle technology: HP + biopreservatives

o From lab scale to pilot scale validation in real foods (incl. shelf-life)

• Stress adaptation of microorganisms in the food chain

o Cellular mechanisms of resistance to HP, antimicrobials, low pH, cold,…

o Bacterial lysozyme inhibitors

o Sublethal injury and resuscitation

o Stress adaptation by mobile genetic elements and DNA tandem repeats

o Focus on E. coli, Salmonella, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes,

Clostridium botulinum

Primaryproduction

Processing & Packaging

Preparation & Consumption

Storage & Distribution

●●●●●

●●● ●● ●

●●●●●●●

Lab Food Microbiology

LFM Expertise & facilities

• Conventional (food) microbiology

• Genetic analysis and DNA techniques in Gr- and Gr+

bacteria

o PCR, DNA sequence analysis, cloning, expression, reporter genes,

RT-PCR…

o Protein expression and purification

o Mutant creation and analysis

• Single cell analysis

o FACS

o Time lapse microscopy

• Anaerobic microbiology

• High pressure processing (lab scale)

Lab Food Microbiology

Laboratory of Food Technology

Centre for Food and Microbial Technology

Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe)

KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 22

B-3001 Heverlee (Leuven)

http://www.biw.kuleuven.be/m2s/clmt/lmt/

Understanding and quantifying process-structure-function relations

of food systems during processing, preservation and digestion

Raw materials Structuring Stabilization Storage Consumption Digestion

s

Food processing technologies

StructureEngineering

Health Functionality

Kinetics andFingerprinting

forProcess Impact

Evaluation

Process-structure relations: Generation and preservation of

food structures

Structure-health relations: Health functionality by intelligent processing and preservation, use of in vitro methods

Structure-quality relations: impact of

existing and new technologies through

fingerprinting and kinetics

Nutrient Accessibility

LFT Research lines

Texture

Rheology

(Micro)nutrient content

(Micro)nutrient digestion

accessibility

Chemical markers

High pressure

Thermal

High Pressure Homogenization

Blending

Enzyme conversions

In vitro digestion

Engineering approach

Muti-variate data analysis

Kinetic (multi-response) modeling

Process design and optimisation

Multicellular

Single cell systems

Cell fragments

Polymers

MolecularProcess

Function

Structure

For optimal exploitation of the

endogenous potential of fruit

and vegetable raw materials

For developed and

developing countries

At different lengths of

scale and time

Using untargeted and

targeted approaches,

fingerprinting

Mechanisms and kinetics

Plant based systems, fruit and

vegetable based foods and

ingredients

LFT Expertise

LFT Research facilities

• Analytical

o HPLC (DAD, ELSD, PAD, MS-TOF, MALLS, RI), SPME-GC-MS

o Spectroscopy (UV, VIS, IR)

o Microscopy (fluorescence)

o Particle size distribution

• Unit operations

o High pressure homogenization

o High hydrostatic units (with temperature control)

o Retorting, in pack thermal processing

o Incubation cabinets for shelf life studies

• Advanced data analysis

o Multi-response kinetics

o Advanced multivariate data analysis

Laboratory of Food & Lipids

(KULAK)

Centre for Food and Microbial Technology

Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe)

KU Leuven Campus KULAK, E. Sabbelaan

Kortrijk

LFL Focus

• Nutritionally interesting lipid ingredients

Microalgae as source

Application in lipid-rich food systems

Nutritionally interesting

components: omega-3

fatty acids, phytosterols,

antioxidants, carotenoids,

…

PROCESSING

Bioaccessible?

HARVEST

CELL DISRUPTION

EXTRACTION

LFL Focus

• Influence of lipid crystallization on functionality of lipid

rich food products

Functionality of lipid rich food systems

CRYSTALLIZATION

(Monitoring by means of ultrasound)