Press Area
Acceso usuario
AZTI-Tecnalia taking part in European project for sustainable development in traditional fishing Thursday, 28 May 2009 08:06
AZTI-Tecnalia, together with ten other partners and 6 collaborators, are taking part in an interregional project of the European Union the aim of which is the sustainable development of fishing that uses traditional techniques and tackle off the coast of the south-east Atlantic, as well as the creation of an observatory in order to diversify fisheries activity. To this end, the EU has created the PRESPO project which, with an overall budget of 3.6 million euros, will be carried out over 36 months in direct contact with coastal fishing personnel. Taking part in this initiative are eleven bodies from Spain, France and Portugal. The project is funded by Feder and, in the case of AZTI-Tecnalia, co-financed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the Government of the Basque Country. The intention of the project is to achieve sustainable development and responsible fishing using traditional fishing methods off the S.E. Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, from the Portuguese Algarve to the Breton coast, taking in Galicia, Asturias and the Basque Country. In order to achieve this, it will be necessary to improve current management policies on common fisheries resources through the development of alternative instruments, within the framework of comprehensive management for coastal fisheries. With the aim of achieving these objectives, PRESPO is proposing the participation of the sectors involved in fisheries management - the fishing industry itself, Government agencies and scientists, through the creation of joint observatories. The Community initiative also aims for traditional fishing to have the levels of biological and technical knowledge as do industrial fishery activities. Another goal of PRESPO is to analyse the diversification of the traditional fishing fleet's activities and assess the viability of tourism fishing and eco-tourism. Finally, the project aims to value the fish caught with those nets and tackle that respect the marine environment, to boost the quality of these products and to certify this quality, as well as to know the impact of the activity in the marine ecosystem. Each one of these objectives will be developed within a work group, coordinated by one of the partners, with the direct involvement of a traditional fishing sector for each region involved. The PRESPO project will finish in 2011 with the organising of a seminar on alternative fishing, to be held in Vigo, where the methods drawn up and the conclusions reached will be made known. Comparte este contenido:              |
El restaurante Mugaritz, AZTI-Tecnalia y la firma de electrodomésticos De Dietrich organizan un taller sobre cocción al vacío Thursday, 28 May 2009 08:00
La nueva sede del Centro Tecnológico AZTI-Tecnalia en el Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia, en Derio, es el escenario donde del 17 al 19 de febrero se va a llevar a cabo el curso “La cocción al vacío a temperatura controlada (Nivel I)”. Esta propuesta formativa, dirigida a profesionales de la restauración, ha sido organizada por el equipo de I+D del restaurante Mugaritz en colaboración con AZTI-Tecnalia y la firma de electrodomésticos De Dietrich. Es fruto de la relación con la empresa Cuisine Solutions Inc., en especial con su asesor sobre cocciones al vacío, el científico Bruno Goussault, quien se encargará de impartir el taller. Dr. Bruno GoussaultDirector de la ingeniería Cuisine Solutions, especializada en platos precocinados, y director científico de CREA (Centro de investigación y estudios sobre la alimentación), es un especialista de reconocido prestigio en la técnica de la cocción al vacío a temperatura controlada. Este científico ha formado a muchos de los mejores chefs de Francia y de otros países, y ha trabajado con restauradores de la talla de Jöel Robuchon y Thomas Keller (Restaurante “The French Laundry” y “Per Se”). Cocción al vacíoLa Cocina “sous vide” (“al vacío”, en francés), es una técnica cuyo origen se sitúa en el inicio de los años 70, cuando los profesionales de la alta cocina comenzaron a demandar una técnica capaz de mejorar la calidad gustativa y aumentar el periodo de conservación de los alimentos. La empresa Cuisine Solutions, sociedad americana especializada en platos precocinados, fue pionera en el uso de este proceso que, aplicando la técnica del vacío, evita modificaciones en el sabor y el color del alimento. Esta técnica, que evita la oxidación y alteración en nutrientes —lo que permite obtener productos más saludables y adecuados desde el punto de vista organoléptico—, es cada vez más solicitada por los restauradores, que ven en ella una manera práctica y útil de crear platos. Comparte este contenido: AZTI-Tecnalia in vanguard of food research in Europe – with its new installations in Derio, Bizkaia Thursday, 28 May 2009 07:56
The AZTI-Tecnalia technological centre has placed itself in the vanguard of food research in Europe with its new headquarters at the Derio Technological Park in the Basque province of Bizkaia, inaugurated 5th February. The new building houses the Food Research Unit, which will double the capacity of the centre and enhance its provision of services with the installations. A multidisciplinary human team of more than 70 experts, a total of 13 laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art technology, a pilot plant of almost 1,000 square metres and an experimental food technologies kitchen are some of the elements which the new installations have. With this commitment to latest-generation scientific and technological infrastructure, the new centre culminates a trajectory of more than 25 years dedicated to the study of and innovation in foods, providing an effective response to the needs of the food market. Pilot plant The pilot plant of nearly 1,000 square metres where pre-industrial scale processes are reproduced is one of the highlights of the new centre. This space, where new food products will be developed and where new and emerging technologies will be validated, will be both of internal use and for total or partial renting. This is why, and with the goal of assuring confidentiality in the development projects undertaken by the companies, the access to this pilot plant is restricted. The pilot plant incorporates technologies for the enhancement of food products and processes - unique worldwide. Notable amongst these are high pressure combined with temperature application - with design and specifications exclusive to AZTI-Tecnalia - enabling an increase in the useful life of products, at the same time as maintaining most of their sensorial attributes (colour, texture, taste), as well as nutritional qualities. Likewise, AZTI-Tecnalia is the first technological centre in Spain that has committed to CAS, an alternative to traditional freezing processes and which enables obtaining defrosted products of greater quality. Latest generation laboratories The new installations have 13 laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, some of which are unique worldwide. Notable amongst these are the laboratories for microstructures, new foodstuffs, sensorial analysis, biodetection, biological, physical-chemical and R+D. The control and enhancement of sensorial characteristics of foods needs a prior microestructure study of the foodstuffs. In their microstructures laboratory, equipped with the latest microestructural characterisation techniques, AZTI-Tecnalia studies the functional properties of each ingredient and the interactions that may occur between them. In this vein they are working on the use of these techniques for preparing high-quality cuisine products (foams, gels, emulsions, and so on). With the laboratory for new foodstuffs AZTI-Tecnalia intervenes from the first stages of the laboratory-scale design and formulation and the pilot plant as a definition of the processes for preparation, the study of useful life and the acceptability of the products, to the phase of transference at an industrial level and launching on to the market. The technological centre has taken part in the development of multiple products with companies from a wide range of sectors of the food industry: Café relax (Cafés Fortaleza); Txahaltxitxas (Urkaiko Cooperative Society); low-salt anchovies (Grupo Consorcio); snack products with "low fat content" (Celigüeta); pasteurised precooked dishes (Gastronomía Baska); sandwiches in controlled atmospheres (Gastrolunch) and Omegas del Norte mackerel hamburgers (Bermeo and Onari Fishermen's Guilds). AZTI-Tecnalia is also pioneer in the use of the Zebra fish for Food Research and is expert in the development and application of molecular analysis methodologies based on DNA, fields developed in their biodetection laboratories. The new centre also inaugurates a renovated laboratory for sensorial analysis with the latest methods of analysis, as well as the statistical procedures and tools required for boosting developing new products and control of their quality. Science and gastronomy Another of the innovative elements of the new AZTI-Tecnalia Food Research Unit is the experimental kitchen - a space of 150 square metres which will act as a nexus of the world of gastronomy, science and technology and the installations of which are due to finish at the end of February. In this vanguard kitchen, in which the R+D Department of the Mugaritz restaurant and the Dietrich electrical household goods firm are working together with the AZTI-Tecnalia Technological Centre, science and gastronomy come together to develop new healthy and user-friendly products of great quality. Pedro Subijana's Akelarre restaurant has also made a commitment to collaboration with AZTI-Tecnalia, in a project aimed at enhancing the development and design of gastronomic dishes. In this way, times for such preparation are reduced and new techniques, technologies and applied equipment can be tested in the world of haute cuisine. Comparte este contenido: El Gobierno de Chile y Tecnalia firman un convenio de cooperación científica y tecnológica Thursday, 28 May 2009 07:54
El Ministerio de Economía chileno y Tecnalia han firmado esta mañana en Bilbao un convenio que promoverá la cooperación entre ambos en materia de ciencia e innovación, relacionada tanto con la investigación aplicada como con la transferencia y difusión de tecnología. El acuerdo, que contempla una duración de tres años, ampliable a seis, facilitará la interacción de la fundación vasca con universidades, centros tecnológicos, organizaciones de investigación y empresas chilenas, en especial en el ámbito agropecuario, la industria alimentaria y las biociencias.
Hugo Lavados, ministro de Economía del país andino, y Luis Javier Telleria, presidente de los centros de investigación agraria y pesquera Neiker y Azti (ambos integrados en la corporación Tecnalia), han sido los encargados de firmar el acuerdo. En este acto de rúbrica ha participado también, de forma testimonial, el consejero de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación del Gobierno Vasco, Gonzalo Sáenz de Samaniego. Además de promover actividades cooperativas, proyectos conjuntos y facilitar el intercambio de profesionales, el convenio también contempla la posibilidad de que uno de los ‘centros de excelencia tecnológicos’ en materia agroalimentaria que se crearán en Chile sea implantado por Neiker-Tecnalia y Azti-Tecnalia, basándose en su experiencia, conocimiento y forma de funcionamiento. Antes de este acto, el ministro de Economía y la ministra de agricultura de Chile han tenido la oportunidad de visitar las instalaciones que los dos centros de investigación vascos tienen en sus sedes de Derio, Arkaute, Sukarrieta y Pasaia, para ver in situ el trabajo que desarrollan. Ambos se han mostrado muy satisfechos tras estas visitas, que han venido a confirmar su acierto al elegir a Neiker y Azti como modelos de referencia en excelencia científica para su país. Luis Javier Telleria, por parte de Tecnalia, ha valorado muy positivamente el reconocimiento que a nivel internacional supone que el Gobierno de Chile se haya decantado por la labor investigadora y de innovación que se realiza en Euskadi después de conocer otros centros de excelencia a nivel mundial. Comparte este contenido: Created database to facilitate use of texture agents Thursday, 28 May 2009 07:53
Researchers at the AZTI-Tecnalia’s Food Unit and the team at the Mugaritz Restaurant, in the Basque city of Donostia-San Sebastián and run by chef Andoni Luis Aduriz, have drawn up a computer application for texture agents (hydrocoloids). This tool aims to facilitate the design of new products or to adapt original formulations, thus achieving results more efficiently and of enhanced quality. This database of texture agents has been drawn up with an eminently practical goal as, throughout its development, it will enable food handlers and transformers to find specific compounds that best suit needs. As a consequence, the number of trials needed to get the desired results is reduced, cutting both time and development costs. The guide will also enable one to know if the texture agents used in a specific compound or dish are incompatible or have synergies with other texture agents. The database is available at webpage http://www.azti.es/texturas/ Texture agents are naturally-occurring carbohydrates and proteins from fruit, vegetable seeds, marine algae, tubers and cereals, amongst others, and that establish the physicochemical characteristics of foodstuffs. They are commonly used in the food industry and in restaurants. They are used as thickening and gelling agents, limiters for sugar and ice crystal formation, at the same time as giving taste and stabilising foams, emulsions and dispersions. They are, moreover, a fundamental element in conservation, as they preserve over a long period of time the nutritive and sensorial properties that recently prepared food has. The innovative guide is a tool to facilitate the work of the food industry and in restaurants, and underlines the interaction between science and gastronomy. This database of texture agents will be updated in an ongoing way, both in content and format, in order to obtain maximum performance. The updating of the guide can be adapted to the needs of the users (food industry and restaurants,) on demand. The content available on the quoted webpage refers to information about two hydrocoloids. Information about other texture agents and other applications of the database may be requested from: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Search parameters The hydrocoloids guide from AZTI-Tecnalia and the Mugaritz Restaurant enables the information search on the basis of the following parameters: name, E number, function (water absorption, thickness, foaminess, suspension of solids, etc), application (drinks, meats, confectionery, low-calorie products, and so on), synergies (celluloses, gelatine, guar, etc.), the most usual ways of presentation, the temperature of dispersion, temperature of hydration, temperature of solubility, the gelling temperature, temperature of fusion and pH. Link between science and gastronomy The AZTI-Tecnalia technological centre and the R+D+i Department at the Mugaritz Restaurant have been working together since 2006 on the development of new formulations and textures, enhancement of foods and the creation of new food products for the sector industry. The relation between the two bodies is generating a ‘laboratory of ideas’ that takes advantage of the creativity of restaurant activity, complemented by scientific-technical knowledge. The results of this symbiosis are in the new proposals and solutions for the food industry and restaurants, in products of great culinary quality, in new technologies adapted to the real needs of cooking and in dedicated training programmes. At the same time, computer tools such as this are generated from this interaction between science and gastronomy. Comparte este contenido: |