News
18th December 2013
New funding puts Norwich at the heart of green technologies
With over £5.5 million of funding over five years, researchers at the Institute of Food Research and the John Innes Centre will help make the UK a world leader in industrial biotechnology. Four of 13 new national ‘Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy’ announced by...
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13th December 2013
New method for quantifying stability of emulsions
A recent paper on using atomic force microscopy to study and measure properties of oil droplets, such as those in food emulsions, was featured on the back cover of the journal Soft Matter. Understanding, at the molecular level, more about emulsions, and how fats and...
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6th December 2013
Should we still take vitamin D supplements?
A new systematic review of evidence, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, suggests that low levels of vitamin D levels are a consequence of ill health, rather than a cause of it, casting strong doubt on the value of vitamin D supplements. Daniel Lock and...
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27th November 2013
Livestock-associated MRSA found in poultry
The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) has identified the presence of Livestock-Associated Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) on a poultry farm. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/livestock-associated-mrsa-found-at-a-farm-in-east-anglia The discovery of this livestock-associated strain of MRSA in poultry should present a very low risk to human health, provided normal...
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27th November 2013
More than bread and beer: the National Collection of Yeast Cultures
A new video looks at the National Collection of Yeast Cultures, a BBSRC-funded National Capability at the Institute of Food Research. Brewers’ yeast, Saccharomyces cerivisae, features widely in products we consume daily in our billions across the world, but these ancient unicellular fungi are poised...
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26th November 2013
Researchers have a nose for how probiotics could affect hay fever
A study has shown that a daily probiotic drink changed how cells lining the nasal passages of hay fever sufferers reacted to a single out-of-season challenge. However, it did not lead to significant changes in hay fever symptoms, although this challenge test may not...
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23rd November 2013
Caution needed in feeding food waste to pigs
The IFR generally supports efforts to reduce or reuse food waste, as a way of reducing the overall environmental impact of the food chain. However, this needs to be done in a responsible manner. It is essential that any food waste used to feed...
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19th November 2013
IFR’s International Office team recently took up an invitation to visit the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) at its headquarters in Belfast. As well as briefing AFBI colleagues on IFR’s science mission and capabilities, Professor Tim Brocklehurst and Ken I’Anson held stimulating conversations with...
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18th November 2013
Poultry probiotic’s coat clues to ability to battle bugs
IFR researchers have characterised the coat of a potential poultry probiotic, giving the first clues of how it may be used to exclude pathogenic bacteria from chickens. Lactobacillus johnsonii has previously been shown to exclude Clostridium perfringens from the guts of poultry, opening the...
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15th November 2013
Should the UK consume horse meat to help improve horse welfare?
In response to Princess Anne’s comments that the UK should consider consuming horse meat, as a means to improving horse welfare, the Institute of Food Research has this comment: “With a robust system of provenance and traceability (which covers administration of medications), from a...
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