News
13th May 2015
Spores for thought: study provides new insights into Clostridium spores
Researchers at the Institute of Food Research have established how clostridia bacteria emerge from spores. This could help them understand how these bacteria germinate and go on to produce the deadly toxin responsible for botulism, a lethal form of food poisoning, or cause food...
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22nd April 2015
Enriched broccoli reduces cholesterol
Including a new broccoli variety in the diet reduces blood LDL-cholesterol levels by around 6%, according to the results of human trials led by the Institute of Food Research. The broccoli variety was bred to contain two to three times more of a naturally...
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13th April 2015
New evidence for how green tea and apples protect health
Scientists from the Institute of Food Research have found evidence for a mechanism by which certain food compounds could help protect our health. Dietary studies have shown that people who eat the largest amounts of fruit and vegetables have a reduced risk of developing...
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7th April 2015
Reading Salmonella’s genetic secrets
The World Health Organisation annually celebrates the 7th April as World Health Day, and in 2015 it is highlighting the challenges of food safety. Over 2 million people die each year through contaminated food and drink. IFR welcomes the WHO using World Health Day...
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30th March 2015
Battling biofilms in the fight against Campylobacter
A new study has highlighted a potential new way of battling the persistence of Campylobacter in the food chain. One of the unsolved mysteries about Campylobacter is that it is easy to kill in the laboratory, but surprisingly difficult to remove from the food...
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27th March 2015
New project to develop biofuels from paper waste
The Biorefinery Centre at the Institute of Food Research is to launch a new project, to investigate the feasibility of turning waste paper into biofuels. The project is one of 24 announced by the Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst. Funded by Innovate UK, the Biotechnology and...
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26th March 2015
Yeasts identified that could turn agricultural waste to biofuels
Scientists from the Norwich Research Park have found strains of yeast that look particularly useful for turning agricultural by-products, such as straw, sawdust and corncobs, into bioethanol. It is estimated that more than 400 billion litres of bioethanol could be produced each year from...
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20th March 2015
IFR science presented in Parliament
Sebastian Achterfeldt was selected from hundreds of applicants to present his work at the Houses of Parliament. Sebastian was selected to take part in the SET for Britain event, an annual poster competition held in the House of Commons to encourage, support and promote...
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18th March 2015
What’s in our food? That’s the question the Institute of Food Research asked at The Big Bang Fair, the UK’s biggest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths for young people, which was held at the NEC, Birmingham. Among the tens of thousands of...
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12th March 2015
Heroes of Food Research celebrated
IFR recently celebrated its Heroes of Food Research –the volunteer participants in its dietary studies. Without this help from members of the public, we couldn’t carry out our research that is getting the very best evidence of the links between the food we eat and...
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