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Dr. Pyke's contributions to science over many years have been recognized by his professional colleagues; he has been made a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry, a Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology, a Fellow of the Institute of Biology and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In recognition of his national and international service, Dr. Pyke was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1978. U1trafiltered Milk Research at Laval Canadian cheesemakers can increase their efficiency and expand cheese production in Canada by using ultrafiltered milk powder instead of fresh milk. This is the finding of research carried out at Laval University for the federal government, through funding from the Canadian Dairy Commission. Ultrafiltration involves passing milk through a very fine membrane. In this way large amounts of water are removed, leaving behind only the useful milk solids. The use of ultra- filtered milk reduces the volume of milk to be stored and processed when manufacturing cheese. In a cheddar cheesemaking study, the volume of milk used was cut in half by ultrafiltration. This made it possible to produce twice as much cheese in the same vat. The process also required only half the normal amount of rennet. Additional advantages were found using ultrafiltered milk powder instead of ultrafiltered fluid milk. By using milk powder produced from ultrafiltered fluid milk, it is possible to keep summer production surpluses for use during winter periods when milk deliveries are lower but demand for cheese has increased. Cheesemakers can also save on storage and transportation costs. Additional savings are possible on evaporation and drying costs when manufacturing ultra- filtered milk powder. At Laval University, research was carried out on the use of ultrafiltered milk powder to manufacture three types of cheese: camembert, cheddar and cottage cheese. The best results were obtained with cottage cheese; there was little difference in taste between cottage cheese produced using traditional methods and that made from ultrafiltered milk powder. A good quality mild cheddar cheese was also pro- duced but the attempt to make camembert was unsuccessful. There is an opportunity for Canada to become a leader in the production of ultrafiltered milk powder, and this new product could help cheesemakers save money and expand cheese production in Canada. Meat Research Facility at Lacombe The Treasury Board has approved $2.5 million in federal funds to build a new meat processing laboratory at Agricul- ture Canada's Lacombe, Alberta, Research Station. The Lacombe station has a top meat research team with an international reputation, but the present facilities are not adequate to carry out all the needed research. The new facilities will allow the research team to carry out studies on many aspects of the meat processing industry, especially the effects of pre- and post-slaughter conditions on meat quality. There will also be research on methods of increasing the shelf life of pork and beef. The building will house a modern abattoir, capable of handling twenty-five cattle or fifty hogs per day, a cooler and cutting room, and laboratory equipment for microbiology and muscle biochemistry work. The facility will also be used to compare carcass meat yields with current grade standards, and to compare carcasses of different breeds as part of the station's cattle and swine breed evaluation programs. This research cannot be carried out in commercial meat process- viI Affaires de I'Institut ing facilities and the laboratory will make it possible to develop more efficient methods of processing high quality meat products at a reasonable cost. Aspartame Approved Sugar free soft drinks with not more than one calorie per 100 mL have been reintroduced to the Canadian market following federal government approval of aspartame, a low calorie sweetener composed of two amino acids like those which occur naturally in foods. Soft drinks sweetened with aspartame will fill a gap in the market which has existed since Health and Welfare Canada banned saccharin for use in soft drinks and other processed foods in June 1977. Cyclamate, another low calorie sweet- ener, was banned for use in soft drinks in 1969. Both products are still available as tabletop sweeteners. Aspartame is composed of two amino acids, L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine. These are commercially produced but are identical to the amino acids found naturally in foods. Searle Food Resources Inc. will market the sweetener to the food industry as NutraSweet (trademark). Aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. A soft drink sweetened with aspartame could contain not more than one calorie per 100 mL as opposed to about forty calories for a similar product sweetened with sugar. Aspartame is currently being marketed in Belgium, France and Luxembourg as a tabletop sweetener and has received government approval in Tunisia, Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines. In Canada, Dr. A. B. Morrison, Assistant Deputy Min- ister of the Health Protection Branch of Health and Welfare Canada, issued an Information Letter on aspartame in Sep- tember 1979. Progress was delayed in order to monitor the results of a Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) into the use of aspartame in the United States. Canada has been waiting for the affirmation of the acceptable daily intake, recommended in 1980 by the Joint Experts Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the Food and Agricultural Organization! World Health Organization, a United Nations agency. G. D. Searle & Co., of Skokie, Illinois, the pharmaceuti- cal company which discovered aspartame in 1965, claims the sweetener has been subjected to one of the most extensive testing programs ever undertaken for a food additive peti- tion. The tests, on both animals and humans, began in 1967 and are continuing. Almost immediately after the Food and Drug Adminis- tration (FDA) approved aspartame, a marketing stay was issued against the sweetener and a PBOI into aspartame's safety was scheduled. The PBOI has heard testimony from a number of researchers, including Dr. John Olney of the University of Washington, who reported that aspartame caused brain tumors in rats. G. D. Searle & Co. has chal- lenged Dr. Olney's report, assembling a battery of research- ers who have pointed out errors in testing proceQures. Searle has also maintained that aspartame is a compound of two ingredients found in nature and that many foods - including hamburgers and mother's milk - would have to be banned if these compounds were considered dangerous. The non-nutritive sweetener cyclamate was banned in Canada in 1969 following reports that it caused cancer in a number of tests involving animals. In 1978, Abbott Labora- tories of Montreal filed new research data with the Health Protection Branch (HPB) which indicated cyclamates were not carcinogenic. The HPB accepted some of Abbott's re- search but cited a West German study which indicated cyclamates were responsible for testicular atrophy in rats. Cyclamate is available in a number of European countries but has not been permitted in the United States since 1970. J. Insl. Can. Sri. Technol. Alimem. Vo!. 15, No. r. 1982
