News
4th March 2016
Discovery of mechanism for transfer of botulinum neurotoxin genes
A new study has shown how Clostridium botulinum could potentially transfer their deadly neurotoxin genes to other bacteria. This highlights the need for constant vigilance in identifying new threats to food safety. The botulinum neurotoxin is the most potent known, and has been much...
View19th February 2016
Norwich to be home to the Quadram Institute, a new Food & Health research centre
The Quadram Institute is the name of the new centre for food and health research to be located at the heart of the Norwich Research Park, one of Europe’s largest single-site concentrations of research in food, health and environmental sciences. Building of a new...
View3rd February 2016
Autophagy – A review of techniques
The third edition of “Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy” was recently published in the leading journal Autophagy,featuring TGAC’s Autophagy Regulatory Network resource and co-authored by Dr Tamas Korcsmaros, Computational Biology Fellow at The Earlham Institute and the Quadram...
View15th January 2016
More weapons but less ammo: benefits and drawbacks of selenium supplementation for immunity
A more thorough evaluation of selenium supplementation is needed, to better understand its benefits to our immune system, and the risks. This is the finding of a new study from the Institute of Food Research, and funded by the Food Standards Agency, which has...
View15th January 2016
New research quantifies Clostridium botulinum spores in raw food materials
A study from the Institute of Food Research has provided new evidence on the background levels of spores of Clostridium botulinum in raw food ingredients that is helping the food industry deliver safe chilled foods more sustainably. Botulism is a serious form of food...
View15th December 2014
Probing the structure of saliva’s protective film
A study at the Institute of Food Research has shown how common chemicals found in foods and oral hygiene products can alter the structure of the protective film that human saliva produces. Saliva has a number of functions, one of which is to coat...
View5th December 2014
IFR announces test for detecting horse meat
Scientists at the Institute of Food Research on the Norwich Research Park have teamed up with Oxford Instruments to develop a fast, cheap alternative to DNA testing as a means of distinguishing horse meat from beef. Because horses and cattle have different digestive systems,...
View26th November 2014
The trouble with Campylobacter
The anticipated publication by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of specific retailer’s levels of Campylobacter bacteria on chicken meat tomorrow has brought the issue back to the forefront of consumers’ minds. Campylobacter is the most frequent cause of bacterial foodborne illness in the UK,...
View14th November 2014
Over 100 delegates attended the BBSRC-sponsored Total Food 2014, an international conference on the sustainable exploitation of agri-food co-products and related biomass. Hosted by the Institute of Food Research, under the auspices of the Royal Society of Chemistry (Food Group), the conference presented the latest...
View14th November 2014
How Campylobacter exploits chicken ‘juice’ highlights need for hygiene
A study from the Institute of Food Research has shown that Campylobacter’s persistence in food processing sites and the kitchen is boosted by ‘chicken juice.’ Organic matter exuding from chicken carcasses, “chicken juice”, provides these bacteria with the perfect environment to persist in the...
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