Food Island March 2014

Functional foods: providing benefits The focus of the Food for Health Ireland technology centre is on milk and developing innovative ways to add value to it by delivering improved health. Innovation: Dairymaster Thehighestoftechnologyhasbeenappliedto oneofthemostfundamentaloffarmingactivitiestoprovidedairyfarmerswiththelatestin automatedagriculture. Dairymaster,basedinCauseway,CoKerry, startedoutasadeveloperofmilkingparlours backin1968,butithassinceexpandedandnow alsosuppliessoftware,speechrecognition systemsandphoneappstodelivernewservicestofarmers,saysthecompany’sCEODr EdmondHarty(left).“Itisallabouttechnology fordairyfarming,allthehardware,softwareand phoneapps,everythingfordairyfarmers aroundtheworld,”he explains. Ofthe300peopleworkingfull-timeforthe company,around40areinvolvedinresearch, saysHarty.Dairymasterhascustomersaround theworldincludingJapan,Siberia,Australia, NewZealand,Canada,USandUK.“Weexport 75percentofwhatweproduce.” Ithasdevelopedlargerotarymilkingparloursthatidentifythecowcominginthedoor, andthesystemwillflagtheoperatorifthe animalneedsspecialfeeding.Thesystemuses softwaretoallow thecowto“speak”tothe operator.Thecompanydevelopedthe“MooMonitor”,adevicewornbyacowthatdetects whenitentersheat.“Wearemoreadvanced withcattlethanwithhumanswhenitcomesto wearablecomputing,”saysHarty.Betterstill, whilethefarmerusedtohavetogooutatnightto checkforcowsgoingintoheat,aphoneapp receivingsignalsfromtheMooMonitorletsthe farmerknowfromthecomfortofhome when fertilityisatapeak. Researchisnowsecondnaturetothe company,anditworkswithUCCandITTralee onprojects.“Wehavebuiltalot ofcapability withinthecompany,”saysHarty. DICKAHLSTROM Hoveringsomewherebetweenfood andmedicine,functionalfoods– sometimesknownasnutraceuticals –arefoodsthatprovidehealth benefitsbeyondgeneralnutrition: thinkprobioticyoghurtsoromega3 enrichedeggs.Perhapsthemost wellknownproductisBenecol, whichusesplantstanolesterto lowerbloodcholesterol. Functionalfoodssitwithinthe healthandwellbeingfoodsmarket, estimatedtobeworth¤158billion andgrowingat 2-8percentannually.Howeverthereisnotyetanofficial definitionoffunctionalfood. RosemarySextonfromEnterpriseIrelandsaysthereisabigmove towardsfunctionalfooddevelopmentinIreland,particularlyasthe dairysectorpreparesforthe abolitionofmilkquotasandlooksto developvalue-addedproducts.“We seealotofopportunitiesinthe functionalfoodsarea.FromanIrish perspectivenutritionisabigpartof themarket.Therearelotsofdevelopmentsonthedairyside.” InNovember,MinisterforJobs, EnterpriseandInnovation,Richard Brutonannounceda¤21million investmentinFoodforHealth Ireland,aresearchfacilitywhich aimstoisolateandextractthe beneficialingredientsinmilktoadd tofoods.Thecentre,acollaboration betweenfiveindustrypartnersand sevenofIreland’seducationinstitutionshasalreadycompletedfive yearsofresearchinto“mining”milk foractiveingredientsthatcouldhelp intheareasofinfantnutrition, appetitemodulation,performance nutritionandhealthyageing. FoodforHealthIrelandhas identified75ingredientswith potentialtobeusedinfunctional foods,withapplicationsincluding glycemicmanagementandthe preventionofage-relatedmuscle loss.Theaimforthesecondphaseis toworktowardscommercialising research.“Nowmorethanever before,theinsightsfromsciencewill allowfoodandbeveragemanufacturerstocreateproductswithreally strongandcompellingnutritional arguments,”saysNoelCorcoran, salesandmarketingdirectorat Carbery,oneofthefiveindustry partnersalongwithDairygold, Glanbia,theKerryGroupandthe IrishDairyBoard. Functionalfoodsarenotconfined tothedairyindustry.DrFiona Manningisprogrammedirectorof NutraMara,amulti-disciplinary researchconsortium,lookingat bioactivesfoundwithmusseland prawnshells.“Atthemomentit’s quitesmall.It’sthefirsttimemarine scientistsandfoodscientistshave cometogether.” JOANNAROBERTS THE IRISH TIMES | March 26, 2014 | 21

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