Scientists at the Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (IATA) have developed and patented the first immunoanalytical method for detecting patulin, a toxin that can be found in apples and, therefore, in derivatives products such as apple juices, purées and baby food. Two companies will commercialize the method.

Agrasys, a spin-off of the CSIC, has launched Tritordeum, a new cereal which has has accreditation as natural crop species and now reaches the market. After 30 years of breeding, Tritordeum is a cereal with good nutritive and agronomic characteristics (high resistance to drought and heat stress).

Scientists at the “Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos” (IATA) have developed a formula to make bread with up to 45% fewer calories. A restaurant in Madrid will commercialize the product from next Autumn and will offer the customers pizza, bread and bakery products with fewer calories.

A group of scientists led by José Luis Ruiz Barba and Antonio Maldonado at the CSIC has obtained the genome of Lactobacillus pentosus, a bacteria used in food fermentation such as the called “Spanish style” olives. The specific genome sequenced comes from the L.pentosus IG1 strain. The results, published in the magazine Journal of Bacteriology will allow the unveiling of biotechnological and probiotic characteristics of the bacteria.

Scientists at Bioglane, a Spanish Research Council (CSIC) spin-off company, show now in in the British Journal of Nutrition that iminosugar D-fagomine as a functional agent lowers postprandial blood glucose and selectively modulates bacterial adhesion.

A Spanish team has obtained a specific starter for Cabrales cheese that will enable a better control of the fermentation process and a more homogeneous production.

A double-blind clinical trial has demonstrated the antihypertensive activity of peptids isolated from milk proteins. The peptids will be commercialized by the Spanish biotech company Innaves as a food ingredients.

Bioglane, a spin-off company from the CSIC, has developed several original biotechnological processes for the competitive production of novel iminosugars, particularly fagomine, which will open up an array of possibilities for the design and formulation of new tasty functional foods.