Science shorts: Food safety, dairy benefits and salt dangers feature in our science round-up

By Gary Scattergood

- Last updated on GMT

The higher the salt intake, the higher the risk of developing kidney impairment. ©iStock
The higher the salt intake, the higher the risk of developing kidney impairment. ©iStock

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Opportunities to boost food science and safety in Singapore, as well as academic findings around the benefits of camel milk consumption and the dangers of high salt intake are under the microscope in our monthly food science round-up

Enabling food safety research: New Singapore centre seeks food industry applicants

The Waters-sponsored International Food and Water Research Centre (IFWRC) has opened its doors to applicants from food companies and other scientists​ with food and water safety-related projects.

Successful applicants will be provided with a fully-stocked prep lab, an analytical lab and office space complete with conference room facilities in order to comfortably complete their projects.

“Innovative research is essential to the future safety and sustainability of our food and water supplies,”​ said the IFWRC on its website.

“[We] believe in providing access to the most advanced specialty instrumentation, scientific minds, and funding options, in order to support meaningful projects and enable valuable research to be undertaken quickly and effectively.”

Touting a ‘state-of-the-art research environment’​, access to ‘advanced analytical instruments and informatics’​and ‘unbiased and insightful feedback from global industrial and academic experts’​, the IFWRC laboratory will also comprise scientific staff who will work closely with the project owners.

High salt intake linked to development of impaired kidney function: Japanese study

The higher the salt intake, the higher the risk of developing kidney impairment,​ according to a group of Japanese researchers.

A total of 12,126 subjects with normal kidney function were involved in the study. The subjects visited the hospital for their annual physical check-up between July 2008 and December 2015.

Their salt intake was assessed by estimating 24-hour urinary sodium excretion.

As researchers studied the health records of these subjects throughout the years, they found that those with higher urinary sodium excretion were more likely to develop kidney impairment.

Could whey from camel milk have anti-cancer properties?

Introduction:Researchers in the United Arab Emirates say they saw enhanced anti-proliferative, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory activities upon hydrolysis of camel whey proteins​, indicating their potential utilization as bioactive and functional ingredients.

The study, published in the Journal of Dairy Science and done at the Department of Food Science, College of Food and Agriculture, Al Ain, and Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, says In addition to its nutritional benefits, camel milk has been used for its medicinal properties, including immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, and antidiabetic activities.

Probiota Asia: One week to go…check out the major brands confirmed to attend

There is just one week to go until the region's leading probiotics and microbiome summit, Probiota Asia, gets underway in Singapore, but there is still time to register and join a host of top brands at the event.

The summit takes place at Singapore’s Hilton hotel on Orgnard Road from October 17-19.

Blackmores, Danone, Life-Space, Herbalife, Yakult, Spectrumceuticals, Cognoa, GlaxoSmithKline,  Malaysia Dairy, DuPont, Ferrero, Mead Johnson, Dr Reddys, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilife, iNova Pharmaceuticals, Nutrasource, KGK Science and BioCeuticals are among some of the major firms attending.

The summit will also feature a wealth of expert speakers from business, academia and the regulatory sector.

Healthier wine? Three times more resveratrol in Mercian's new Bon Rouge grape wine

The winery arm of Kirin — Mercian Corporation — has launched a new version of its Bon Rouge grape wine, with three times more resveratrol.

Resveratrol is present in grapes skins, some studies have shown​ that it produces antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

The new product, known as “Bon Rouge Premium PET Bottle Red” that came with an alcohol level of 11%, was launched on a limited quantity basis on August 28.

Every 100ml of the wine contains 1.2 mg of resveratrol.

The firm hoped to “bring new health function value to customers”​ through the launch of the new product, Toshiaki Hyodo, a spokesman from Kirin said in response to FoodNavigator’s ​queries.

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