Prof. Dr. Gustavo Barbosa-Cánovas of the Washington State University (WSU) visited the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL) on June 20 and 21, 2009. He caught up on the process engineering activities the institute at Quakenbrück is involved in. Barbosa-Cánovas focused especially on the development of non-thermal processes, a field where DIL is one of the leaders in Europe. Barbosa-Cánovas’ own studies and research in this field resulted in more than 30 books and numerous other publications within the past 20 years. He is doubtlessly the most recognized scientist in this discipline. The special praise from this qualified expert for the DIL is therefore even more pleasing: “The DIL institute with its fortunate combination of materials handling, process and mechanical engineering is unique on global level." The successful launch of the high performance pulsed electrical fields technology in the food industry in form of the DIL brand ELCRACK® seems to be the best example to him.

Dr. Volker Heinz, Director at DIL, thanked Prof. Dr. Barbosa-Cánovas for this assessment and pointed out that this development would not have been possible without the excellent international cooperation with colleagues, in particular with scientists from the US.

Prof. Dr. Barbosa-Cánovas and Dr. Heinz agreed to create a permanent platform to improve the knowledge and technology transfer in the future. The cooperation agreement between DIL and the Center for Non-Thermal Processing of Food at the WSU comprises:

• Use of instruments, equipment and service
• Exchange of scientific personnel
• Frequent consultations and joint research initiatives

The first result from this agreement shall be the submission of a research application targeted at increasing the extraction yield in wine production with ELCRACK®. The Federal State of Washington is the second largest wine producer in the US behind California.

Interesting links: http://www.bsyse.wsu.edu/barbosa
http://www.bsyse.wsu.edu/barbosa/CNPF/cnpfhome.html