In 2023, we began to witness the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence as it descended from laboratories into the realm of mass consumption. What we’ve seen so far in terms of AI potential is likely dwarfed by what it will achieve in the future. The AI revolution inevitably reaches consumers, compelling the food industry to rethink how it communicates with them. Imagine a consumer having access to intelligent data and interpretations about the food they consume simply by placing their mobile phone near the dish. This kind of NIR-based sensor technology is already at our fingertips, and adapting to the consequences—consumers analyzing food while eating, comparing data from mobile phones interpreted by AI with their own sensory experiences of taste, aroma, texture, color, etc.—will likely happen faster than we can comprehend. The internet will be flooded with real-time reviews, overwhelming the analytical capacity of feedback systems employed by producers or their marketing agencies, almost nullifying the value of opinions expressed by various influencers embedded in industry marketing plans. Perhaps it won’t unfold exactly as described, and producers might resort to algorithms to moderate, select, and organize the visibility of comments.
From Social Networks to Consumer Networks
Transitioning from social networks, where we live in tribes arbitrarily generated based on social media algorithms understanding our preferences, to consumer networks where individuals believe their own opinion is predominant in their social environment—and therefore, the correct one—is only a step away. As technologies allow consumers to learn more about the food they purchase, these technologies must be manipulated to maintain market fragmentation and preserve traditional capital. They will need to bring together consumers with similar opinions in the consumer network of a specific producer. In the future, we might not talk about market shares, but rather the size of the consumer network associated with a particular producer. AI combined with analytical power on mobile phones will turn the consumer into an internal quality control lab employee, a perspective challenging for most players in the food industry. This power already emerges through medical analyses accessible through wearable technology: blood sugar, blood oxygen levels, blood pressure, pulse, EKG, and more. Many food analysis techniques require even simpler infrastructures than those for determining the health parameters mentioned earlier. Providing them to mobile phone or smartwatch users, already interested in any additional feature allowing them to discover unique details about their surroundings, is almost an obligation for any phone manufacturer wanting to keep up with market interests.
Imagine individuals with celiac disease identifying the presence of gluten traces in food by simply attaching their mobile phone camera to it. This process will reduce anxiety for certain consumer categories but fundamentally alter relationships among market players. Food counterfeiting and fraud will also take a hit: consumers will be able to identify the presence of undeclared ingredients, deviations from declared nutritional values, etc.
2023 planted the seed for a future in which artificial intelligence will make information about food more valuable than the food itself.
Currently, techniques combining precision imaging and machine learning (ML) algorithms are highly valued in the industry. Artificial neural networks (ANN), the dense scale-invariant feature transform (DSIFT) algorithm, and support vector machines (SVM) are ML techniques capable of identifying impurities, cracked seeds, fungal infections, species, or varieties in cereal masses. ANN is used to classify various wheat species based on visual characteristics like shape, size, and color. The DSIFT algorithm is a computer vision technique that can identify features such as the size, shape, and texture of wheat grains, using them to classify grains into different categories. SVM is another ML technique used for classifying wheat grains, identifying mushroom species in rice, and sprouted wheat grains, and analyzing ground rice grains.
Trends in Baking and Food Research
In the realm of academic research, there is a notable demand for articles exploring the production of food products from composite flours. These flours combine wheat flour with flours from various sources such as buckwheat, amaranth, lentils, oats, quinoa, rice, peas, taro, cassava, flax, spirulina, Moringa oleifera leaves, cassava, nuts, and more. Essentially, researchers are intensively studying the combination of wheat flour with a variety of natural sources. This area also includes studies focusing on the utilization of waste from various secondary processing industries in bread, including powder from grape pomace, apples, olives, rosehips, tortoise shell powder, potato peel powder, waste from the processing of peppers and tomatoes, and more. These studies lack standardization in terms of recipes, testing techniques, etc., and the impact of various additives on rheology should be interpreted with caution due to the variability in experimental models. While literature serves as a valuable source of ideas, observations from literature should be thoroughly evaluated before conducting independent tests. Even breadcrumbs from old bread have been studied to partially replace wheat flour in bread recipes, a practice that was common in the industry until the early 2000s. According to a study, incorporating 20% breadcrumbs in the recipe does not significantly alter the acceptability of bakery products, although such a quantity may notably affect the appearance of the crust, leading consumers to seek explanations.
A current trend involves the incorporation of various insect-based products into bread. Given the extensive study of cricket flour and the prevailing cultural perception that crickets are inferior to ants, researchers are exploring the direct use of ant flour. Ant flour reduces dough extensibility and increases its strength (extensographic values). Moreover, it enhances the fiber content of bakery products, according to Greek researchers.
The trend also includes a focus on new techniques for treating flours to enhance their rheological properties. Treatments involving high hydrostatic pressure, non-thermal plasma, ultrasound, ozonation, ultraviolet light, and pulsed light are emerging non-thermal technologies that have been extensively discussed. Initially developed to inactivate microorganisms and enzymes in food, these technologies offer the advantage of involving low temperatures, preserving numerous thermolabile bioactive compounds.
Studies are examining the effects of specific production practices on the contaminant content in bread. European regulations recommend baking poppy seed bread at temperatures exceeding 200 degrees Celsius to significantly reduce the content of opioid alkaloids. For example, a study found that a longer fermentation time reduces the zearalenone content in contaminated bread by 35%, and baking at temperatures higher than 220 degrees Celsius reduces it by 63%. Fermenting the dough with lactobacilli such as L. plantarum or L. rhamnosum has a similar effect on the content of aflatoxin B1 (-60%) and acrylamide, especially in bread made with cricket flour. Cricket flour has an extremely high protein content, providing ample raw material for the formation of acrylamide precursors. Fermentation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum confirmed this hypothesis in a study conducted in Lithuania. The prospect of using lactic acid bacteria for decontaminating bakery products is intriguing, especially as sourdough gains popularity, with the industry aiming to scale up home experiments conducted during the pandemic. Sourdough fermentation may have additional benefits, as suggested by some studies in the literature. However, meta-analyses consider these benefits inconclusive due to the vast variation in testing recipes and monitored lactic acid species, which prevents drawing unified conclusions. These potential benefits include the reduction of allergenicity of dough proteins through advanced proteolysis during lactic fermentation compared to alcoholic fermentation produced by yeast. Furthermore, sourdough fermentation may lead to the formation of compounds with functional and prebiotic roles, such as those reducing cholesterol, providing anticarcinogenic protection, and favoring specific species in the intestinal microbiome that increase the production of short-chain fatty acids in the colon. Some studies have explored the use of proteolytic enzymes (e.g., bromelain), typically used to correct the rheological properties of flours for wafers or biscuits, to reduce the allergenicity of proteins in flour. This includes not only gluten proteins but also trypsin and amylase inhibitors.
I particularly enjoyed a doctoral thesis that investigated the mechanisms by which ascorbic acid and azodicarbonamide act in dough. The thesis concludes that the effect of these substances is strongly influenced by the amount of O2 incorporated into the dough (i.e., kneading intensity and time), the quantity and type of yeast (which competes for the oxygen necessary for the formation of dehydroascorbic acid following the action of ascorbate oxidase), and the glutathione content of the dough.
Progress has been made in developing wheat varieties capable of expressing higher concentrations of iron and zinc in the endosperm. Admittedly, this involves genetically modified organisms, as conventional improvement methods have not been very successful in this field. Researchers have successfully combined the endosperm-specific expression of the TaVIT2-D iron transport gene from wheat with the constitutive expression of the OsNAS2 nicotianamine synthesis gene from rice (a combination they named VIT-NAS). This led to a significant increase in the total concentration of zinc and the redistribution of iron in white flour fractions. There was a two-fold increase in zinc content in whole wheat flour, reaching approximately 50 µg g−1, and a three-fold increase in iron content in white flour milled on rollers, reaching approximately 25 µg g−1. The expression of the OsNAS2 gene partially restored the translocation of iron to the aleurone layer, which is deficient in iron in seeds expressing only the TaVIT2 gene. The significant increase in the natural level of the metal chelator nicotianamine in VIT-NAS lines was correlated with improved bioavailability of iron and zinc in white flour. Planting these genetically modified plants in greenhouses did not reveal significant differences compared to non-genetically modified plants. These results provide new insights into the translocation and distribution of minerals in wheat grains and show that the individual and combined effects of the two transgenes can improve the nutritional quality of wheat beyond what is possible with conventional improvement methods.
How many of you have heard of gas hydrates? Perhaps those with concerns related to global warming and permafrost melting are familiar with methane hydrates or “burning ice,” which is essentially a mixture of water and gas in a solid state formed under certain temperature and pressure conditions (where gas molecules are embedded inside structures built from water molecules linked exclusively by hydrogen bonds). The formation of gas hydrates is possible with low molecular weight gases such as methane, ethane, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide. Now, consider this: what gases does the dough entrain during volumetric expansion during baking? Clearly, carbon dioxide, produced by yeast and water introduced during kneading, is the exact structural components of a carbon hydrate. Could it be possible to replace yeast with carbon hydrates? This could significantly shorten the technological process of bread production and may offer energy benefits, as fermentation involves infrastructure that consumes energy to provide the optimal temperature for fermentation and steam for humidity. This concept has been studied by Spanish researchers, and the conclusions suggest that, with the use of suitable additives in recipes (such as ascorbic acid and gelling agents like egg white), it may be feasible.
Of course, there are many other works in the field of rheology that have focused on understanding the baking properties of dough, with some proposing new testing methods and directions. However, I did not want to further extend this already lengthy article beyond typical online standards.
IBA 2023: A Quick Overview
I wouldn’t part ways with this year without mentioning IBA, a fair I gladly participated in: in 2023, the IBA fair was a resounding success, captivating attendees with the diversity of products presented by 1,073 exhibitors from 46 countries. Held across 10 halls, the event drew 57,000 visitors from 150 countries eager to explore the latest trends in the baking and confectionery industry. IBA 2023 was marked by the enticing aromas of fresh bakery products, bustling halls, engaging conversations, and opportunities to meet potential or existing clients and exchange knowledge. Innovations, captivating competitions, and the chance to establish new contacts created an excellent atmosphere. A standout moment was “The iba.UIBC.Cup of Bakers 2023,” where teams from around the world competed, inducing tension and excitement akin to gladiators in Roman arenas. Digital solutions such as a robot in the bakery, a 24/7 open automated system, and BrotHaus branches were showcased, highlighting technological advancements in the industry. The iba.START UP zone was also a major attraction, providing visitors with the chance to discover innovations presented by 24 young companies. WECARRY was honored with the iba.START UP AWARD. WECARRY, a start-up from Munich, has developed a reusable, deposit-based packaging system for bakery products, offering an environmentally friendly alternative to single-use paper bags. The system allows consumers to choose a reusable and durable bag, paying a 1-euro deposit upon purchasing bakery products. Upon returning the bag, customers receive back the deposit. WECARRY manages the entire logistics and cleaning process, providing a “worry-free” packaging solution for bakeries.
The event also featured iba.ACADEMY, iba BackStage days for young talents, iba.CONFECTIONERY TEC AREA, company tours, iba.TOURS, and iba.OKTOBERFESTZELT.
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Presentations and discussions on topics such as artisanal baking, food trends, digitization, and sustainability took place on various stages and specialized areas. In addition to the experience on the stages and in the event halls, the atmosphere was amplified on social media platforms, where participants shared special moments under the hashtag #myibamoment. IBA 2023 was a notable success, and thanks were extended to both exhibitors and organizers for their efforts.
IBA remains a benchmark event in the baking and confectionery industry, setting international standards and providing an essential platform for the exchange of ideas, the promotion of innovations, and the strengthening of the community in this field. The next IBA event is scheduled for 2025 in Düsseldorf.
I leave you in the company of some images:
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