New ideas for the meat industry

International trade show for the meat industry, IFFA, presents itself as platform for innovative solutions. German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL) turns trend-setting approaches into action.

Whether meat products without casings produced fully automatically, the use of RFID chips or the application of non-thermal production processes - the meat industry is in motion. This was demonstrated at this year’s IFFA, the international trade show for the meat industry. In this context, it is important to revise the new findings for possible applications and to implement them into existing production processes.

The increasing internationality was one of the key aspects of IFFA 2010 which recently took place in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. About 59% of the trade visitors to this important meat product fair came from abroad. This is a clear sign that the globalization has found its way into the once rather traditional meat industry.

The industrial representatives at IFFA were very optimistically, the willingness to invest in new technologies for example was high. These investments are important in order to keep up with the stiff competitive environment. Apart from the globalization, in particular the increasing consumer demands for quality, safety and transparency require a reorientation. Therefore, innovative solutions and approaches for all meat processing fields had been in the focus at this year's IFFA.

The increase in automation e.g. by robots, the improvement of the energy efficiency in production, the traceability of products as well as the entire field of food safety and hygiene were the trends of this fair. Additives, spices and packagings were other issues attracting the interest of the trade visitors.

The setting of new standards requires the consideration of novel approaches and scientific findings and their implementation into practice for the benefit of industry and consumers alike. This is the task of the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL). And this was how the research institute presented its comprehensive service portfolio at IFFA.

The industry was very keen to learn more about the use of new technologies and their potential for improved product development, prolonged shelf life, optimized energy efficiency and higher safety. Among the processes that may be used in the meat industry are High Pressure, Pulsed Electrical Fields and Shock Wave applications. The potential of these processes was demonstrated at the DIL stand with the presentation of new meat products. The tasting of the special German meat products Kasseler (cold cuts from cured pork), Teewurst (spreadable sausage made from raw meat) and liverwurst, all made with the use of high pressure technology, had a strong appeal for the visitors from the industry.

The DIL also offers assistance in the use of functional starter and protective cultures and additives, in the handling of unpacked products with robots and in the consideration of food safety aspects (such as monitoring concepts, traceability, etc). In these fields, the industry can benefit from the expertise the institute has gained in various fields.

The series of lectures on the subject “Visions for meat products of the coming decade” organized by the DIL within the framework of the IFFA Meat Vision Conference dealt with latest findings from the following fields: advanced processes, biotechnology, additives, robotics and European legislation. This event was also well accepted by the international fair visitors. Subsequently, the representatives from the industry discussed individual cases and their implementation into practice with the lecturers.

To the DIL, this trade show, which will take place every three years, is a perfect opportunity for networking and for meeting interesting people. Because the first cooperations are already underway, the research institute’s presence at the fair was a success.

Also present on the DIL stand was NGlobal, the Lower Saxonian Society for Economic Development. This cooperation shall be intensified in the future in order to be able to demonstrate to the industry the opportunities new technologies offer. The next event on the agenda is the presentation of the DIL at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo 2010 in Chicago in July in order to increase DIL’s presence on the market in North America.