Vrijdag VISdag : Sensors for food : February 24th, 2012

Day after day, the food industry attempts to produce safe food products that meet the needs and trends of consumers and the retail standards and legislation. This is not an obvious achievement. Food companies face many challenges: production shutdowns, product spoilage, cross contamination, biofilms, audits, recalls, pricing pressures, lack of specialized personnel, the growing concern for the sustainable use of raw materials and energy, ...

In order to assist food manufacturing companies in ensuring product quality, food safety and increase process efficiency, sensor systems offer increasing opportunities. The wishlist that the food industry sets for such sensors is long : they must quickly and accurately perform reliable measurements, easy to use, robust enough for use near the productionlines, and if possible, able to run their rules contactless. Of course, cost efficiency is an important issue.

Furthermore, there is a need for intelligent data processing that opens new ways, both in terms of instant process control and process optimization.

Against this background,  Flanders' FOOD with research partners IMEC, KULeuven, VUB and IBBT, start the Sensors For Food project. This IWT-supported FISH program focuses on innovative sensor systems that provide opportunities and solutions to problems and challenges in food production which are currently tackled less efficiently with often used random manual checks or current sensor types.

More specifically, in Sensors For Food topinnovative prototypes are tested, optimized and validated for different applications in the food industry. Through a close collaboration with participating food and technology, implementation in the short and medium term are aimed.

These are:

• Optical Fiber Biosensors for rapid, inexpensive and reliable quantitative detection of allergens, microorganisms and validation of cleaning processes
• Hyperspectral Cameras for inspection of product quality and surface cleanliness at a higher level, detection of foreign objects such as plastics and glass; visualization (2D) of product composition, objective color differentiation, and pattern recognition 
• Millimeterwave contactless sensors for on-line determination of moisture content of food and monitoring and optimization of drying processes
• Millimeterwave contactless sensors for determining the refrigeration conditions and temperature to the core of frozen food products and the optimization of freezing processes.

Furthermore, Sensors For Food's goal is to explore , through service and innovation activity, also the application of other existing, emerging and new sensors in an international context, to increase, encourage and improve awareness. This is a forum provided to food companies and technology providers. The lecture will focus on how this unique network can accelerate the innovation sensorprocess and their applications.

Target audience :
This researchmeeting is relevant to food companies, technology companies, machine builders, analytical laboratories, ...

Program:

• 12:00 to 12:30: reception (fish) lunch
• 12:30 to 12:35: Welcome by Innovation
• 12:35 to 1:15 p.m.: Steven Camp Wood (Flanders 'FOOD) - Veerle De Graef (Flanders' FOOD)
• 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.: Q & A

Registration: Participation  25 euros. Registration online.

When ? 24/02/2012

Where ? VAC building Dirk Bouts - Diestsepoort 6000-3000 Leuven