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Department of Food Preservation

Research program of the department includes an applied research to support the producers in the relevant commodities. The main research and development activities involve: Modern food packaging (active food packaging, hygienic aspects of food packaging, evaluation of food contact materials); Food authentication (e.g. detection of food falsification, development of methods for evaluation of food authenticity, maintaining of the databases for the evaluation of authenticity of foodstuffs and food raw materials); Diagnostics of food defects (e.g. development of methodology for detection of causes of various food defects such as precipitation in drinks, color changes, off flavors); Evaluation of shelf life and increasing of food stability; Implementation of new technologies in processing of fruit and vegetables and in the meat technology (e.g. new additives, high pressure treatment, minimal processing of fruits and vegetables, optimization of heat treatment). Research is also conducted to support the industries in implementation and maintaining of Food Quality and Safety Management Systems (namely completion of data for the hazard analysis and risk assessment, implementation and maintaining the HACCP and generally QMS, expert examinations and narrow focused project in complaints or non-conformities). The experts of the department are qualified as auditors of HACCP, IFS, BRC and other standards.

Department R&D website

Current research topics and areas of expertise:
• Food defects diagnostic, application of sophisticated analytical methods for detection of causes of technological defects (e.g. SPME GC MS, DART TOF, LC MS), development of analytical methods and completion of databases for the diagnostic of flavor, color or texture defects of food. Systematic studies on the causes of various defects, e.g. the biofilm forming bacteria (e.g. Asaia) in soft drinks, Allicyclobacillus flavor defects, surface changes of meat products, etc.
• Support of Food Safety and Quality Management Systems in food production - completion and maintenance of databases for the hazard analysis and risk assessment in the individual food productions and commodities
• Food packaging, packaging-food interaction, assessment of packaging materials (pack stability, migration of components, packaging-food interaction), state-of-the-art methods of food packaging (active packaging, packaging for micro-wave heating), hygienic and ecological aspects of food packaging
• Post-harvest changes of food and vegetables, evaluation of the stress on the technological properties of fruits and vegetables as raw materials for the processing, optimization of operations in the processing of fruits and vegetables (antioxidation treatment, texture stabilization, optimization of pasteurization), implementation of new technologies (production of fresh fruit and vegetable salads, coating, active packaging, etc.)
• Meat technology - optimization of technological processes, shelf life of meat and meat products, assessment of additives applied in the processing of meat and meat-based products, new product development, application of sophisticated methods in production practice (e.g. computer image analysis), etc
• Authentication of foods and food raw materials, detection of food falsification, development of analytical methods, completion and maintenance of databases of marker for the authentication of various foodstuffs and for the confirmation of the declared technology, etc
• Re-use and safe disposal of waste from the agricultural and food complex.
• Electromigration methods in food analysis (development of methods, training, courses, demo laboratory exercise, study visits, service analysis, etc.)

Contacts
doc. Ing. Aleš Rajchl, Ph.D., Department Head
Tel: +420 220 44 3012, E-mail: Ales.Rajchl@vscht.cz

Updated: 21.1.2020 13:23, Author: fpbt