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
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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)
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