Title Participants "Valorisation of mineral nitrogen from livestock barns as slow-release fertilizer or animal feed" "Eva Brusselman, Fien Amery, Edward Belderbos, Thibault Cloet, Luis Corbalá Robles, Maarten De Boever, Sam De Campeneere, Carolien De Cuyper, Tinka De Decker, Evelyne Delezie, Lieve Herman, Marc Heyndrickx, Sam Millet, Astrid Tindemans, Leen Vandaele, Bart Van Droogenbroeck, Veerle Van linden" "Sunflower Bark Extract as a Biostimulant Suppresses Reactive Oxygen Species in Salt-Stressed Arabidopsis" "No name available, No name available, No name available, No name available, No name available, Christof Van Poucke, Bart Van Droogenbroeck, No name available, No name available, No name available, Danny Geelen" "A survey of plant-based wastes identified sunflower (Helianthus annuus) bark extract (SBE), produced via twin-screw extrusion, as a potential biostimulant. The addition of SBE to Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings cultured in vitro showed a dose-dependent response, with high concentrations causing severe growth inhibition. However, when priming seeds with SBE, a small but significant increase in leaf area was observed at a dose of 0.5 g of lyophilized powder per liter. This optimal concentration of SBE in the culturing medium alleviated the growth inhibition caused by 100 mM NaCl. The recovery in shoot growth was accompanied by a pronounced increase in photosynthetic pigment levels and a stabilization of osmotic homeostasis. SBE-primed leaf discs also showed a similar protective effect. SBE mitigated salt stress by reducing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (e.g., hydrogen peroxide) by about 30% and developing more expanded true leaves. This reduction in ROS levels was due to the presence of antioxidative agents in SBE and by activating ROS-eliminating enzymes. Polyphenols, carbohydrates, proteins, and other bioactive compounds detected in SBE may have contributed to the cellular redox homeostasis in salt-stressed plants, thus promoting early leaf development by relieving shoot apical meristem arrest. Sunflower stalks from which SBE is prepared can therefore potentially be valorized as a source to produce biostimulants for improving salt stress tolerance in crops." "Belgian endive-derived biostimulants promote shoot and root growth in vitro" "No name available, No name available, No name available, No name available, No name available, Nathalie Bernaert, Bart Van Droogenbroeck, No name available, Stefaan P. O. Werbrouck, No name available, Danny Geelen" "Recovering biostimulant compounds from by-products of crops is a promising strategy to add value, enhance sustainability, and increase the environmental safety of the agricultural production chain. Here, we report consistent root and shoot growth-stimulating bioactivity present in water-based extracts from Belgian endive forced roots (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum) over two consecutive harvest years. The shoot and the primary root of in vitro cultivated Arabidopsis thaliana treated with Belgian endive extract were about 30% increased in size compared to plants grown under control conditions. The ornamental species Plectranthus esculentus also showed enhanced in vitro shoot and root growth, suggesting bioactivity on a broad range of species. Fractionation of the Belgian endive extracts into aqueous and organic subfractions coupled with bioactivity measurements showed that the principal root and shoot growth-promoting ingredients are primarily water-soluble. NMR-based characterization of the bioactive aqueous fractions revealed the presence of predominantly sugars and organic acids. Malate and sugars were abundant and common to all water fractions, suggesting these molecules contributed to the growth stimulation phenotype. The findings indicate that Belgian endive roots are a source for the development of organic waste-derived biostimulants with potential for application in tissue culture and putatively for soil-grown crop production." "Incorporation of leek powder (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) in wheat bread: Technological implications, shelf life and sensory evaluation" "Nathalie Bernaert, Els Debonne, Ingrid De Leyn, Bart Van Droogenbroeck, Filip Van Bockstaele" "In this study, the incorporation of leek in wheat bread was explored. Green leek leaves were dried with two techniques to obtain leek powder after milling. The air-dried and freeze-dried powders were incorporated into wheat flour at five substitution levels (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 g/100 g). The impact of leek powder on dough rheology, bread quality, sensory evaluation and mould-free shelf-life was investigated. Leek powder negatively impacted the mixing properties and significantly changed the viscoelastic properties of the wheat flour dough. At low levels, the dough was strengthened whereas at higher levels both dough resistance as extensibility decreased. Bread quality was also affected, resulting in lower bread volume and coarser crumb structure. The negative impact on dough and bread properties was more pronounced for freeze-dried powder. The result of the sensory study showed that wheat flour could be fortified by 1 g/100 g of leek powder without adverse effect on the consumer acceptability. Finally, the addition of leek powder did not impact the mould-free shelf-life of wheat bread." "Influence of cultivar and growing location on composition and functionality of dietary fibre concentrates produced from forced roots of Belgian endive (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum)" "Anna Twarogowska, Bart Van Droogenbroeck" "Forced roots of Belgian endive (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum) are by-products with promising valorizationpotential. The roots of four cultivars grown in four locations and mixes derived thereof, were used to producedietary fibre concentrates (DFCs). Obtained DFCs were characterized by a low concentration of total sugars (TS),phenolic compounds (PCs) and sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) and high content of the dietary fibre (DF) andfunctional properties. On average, total dietary fibre content (TDF) was 82.93 g/100 g DW, where the insolublefraction was dominant (71.98–78.08 g/100 g DW). All DFCs showed high water (WHC) and oil holding capacity(OHC) (9.95–15.48 g/g DW and 2.58–4.11 g/g DW, respectively) and swelling capacity (SWC)(13.20–22.95 mL/g DW). Although differences in genotype and location induced variability in the studied parameters,the DFCs showed similar DF profile and functionality, suggesting that forced roots represent a robustfeedstock for DFC production and developing market-relevant plant-based food products." "Toroidal cans for thermal processing of liquid and solid-liquid mixtures under static and end-over-end rotation" "Bart Van Droogenbroeck, Ozan Altin, Eda Coskun, Estelle De Paepe, Ferruh Erdogdu" "Heat transfer is mainly influenced by can geometry and product type. Agitating retorts have been widely used for heat transfer for liquid foods. Since convective heat transfer coefficient is high, this leaves the container geometry the only option to increase heat transfer rate and decrease process time for quality improvement. This is even valid for agitation processes due to applied limitation in the rotation rates. A recent innovation for this purpose was the introduction of toroidal cans. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the potential of novel toroidal can geometries in processing of liquid and solid-liquid mixtures during an end-over-end (EoE) rotation canning process to decrease process time and improve product quality. For this purpose, canning was carried out using custom built toroidal cans processed in a horizontal multi-process EoE retort system. The products processed were distilled water, black salsify-water mix and tomato - based mushroom sauce. Temperature changes of the products were recorded during the EoE canning, and the results were analysed for the heating rate. Combination of toroidal cans and EoE agitation process resulted in a significant reduction in the process time depending upon the viscosity of the product. The results demonstrated the effect of product viscosity and toroidal can geometry on reducing process time. These results were shared with industrial partners and stakeholders to evaluate the potential implementation at industrial scale for expected increased energy efficiency with improved product quality." "Opportunities within the agri-food system to encourage a nutritionally balanced diet– Part I" "Els Van Pamel, Gerda Cnops, Bart Van Droogenbroeck, Evelyne Delezie, Geert Van Royen, Geertrui Vlaemynck, Jonas Aper, Hilde Muylle, Karen Bekaert, Kris Cooreman, Johan Robbens, Daan Delbare, Isabel Roldán-Ruiz, Hendrik De Ruyck, Lieve Herman" "To meet their growing interest and to counteract the increase of diet-related diseases worldwide, the field-to-fork concept comprises opportunities for providing consumers with nutritious and health-beneficial food. Although health-beneficial effects have been ascribed to specific food compounds, most often in vivo human evidence and/or accepted health/nutrient claims are lacking. Part I of this review gives an overview of possible sources of macronutrients, micronutrients and other compounds (e.g. secondary metabolites) with proven in vivo human health-beneficial effects and/or health/nutrition EFSA claims. More importantly, it focuses on opportunities within the primary production to obtain/increase/maintain sufficient amounts of such compounds: (i) crop choice, breeding, crop husbandry and environment, harvesting/storage for plant-derived products, (ii) breeding stock selection, feeding strategies and animal husbandry for animal-derived products. However, providing food commodities/products with sufficient amounts of such nutrients is one thing, but aspects like, for example, bioavailability and interindividual variability play a role as well. As such, a balanced diet should be aimed at by means of differentiation within the dietary pattern while considering foods as a whole rather than a sum of compounds. Within this concept, all factors/actors of the agriculture-food-health trichotomy should be integrated as much as possible to provide consumers with health-beneficial food commodities/products." "Opportunities within the agri-food system to encourage a nutritionally balanced diet– Part II" "Els Van Pamel, Gerda Cnops, Bart Van Droogenbroeck, Evelyne Delezie, Geert Van Royen, Geertrui Vlaemynck, Karen Bekaert, Isabel Roldán-Ruiz, Nathalie Bernaert, Jan De Block, Barbara Duquenne, Keshia Broucke, Hendrik De Ruyck, Lieve Herman" "The field-to-fork concept comprises opportunities for providing consumers with nutritious and health-beneficial food in order to meet the growing interest in health-beneficial foods and to counteract the increase of diet-related diseases worldwide. While raw plant-/animal-based starting material is considered as the primary source of such compounds (see Part I), waste fractions from this primary biomass are additional sources. Opportunities hidden in such fractions are described in the first part of this review Part II. Additionally, specific opportunities further down the field-to-fork system are explored, namely those from processing technologies for plant- and animal-derived foods (e.g. application of heat, pressure, fermentation, etc.). Potential health benefits of raw materials can indeed be positively or negatively influenced by processing whether mild or intense. Processing may affect matrix-associated parameters like density, nutrient interactions, etc. and as such, play an important role for nutrient stability and bioavailability. In addition to attempts to maintain/augment the amounts of health-beneficial compounds within food commodities/products along the primary production and processing chain, opportunities such as concerted actions of the food industry aiming at reducing the levels of certain nutrients (e.g. sugar/salt/fat) can also be explored or applied within the framework of encouraging a balanced dietary pattern." "Upcycling of Belgian endive (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum) by-products. Chemical composition and functional properties of dietary fibre root powders" "Anna Twarogowska, Christof Van Poucke, Bart Van Droogenbroeck" "By-products of Belgian endive represent an interesting yet underutilised source of dietary fibre (DF). Dietary fibre concentrates (DFC) that are low in sugar and neutral in taste are sought by the food industry to increase DF content and improve texture in food products. The aim was to set up a biorefinery process to produce DFC from forced roots of Belgian endive (DFC-BE) and characterise the resulting product. As a control, non-treated forced roots powder (FRP-BE) was tested. Water extraction significantly (p" "Innovative refractance window drying technology to keep nutrient value during processing" "Nathalie Bernaert, Bart Van Droogenbroeck, Els Van Pamel, Hendrik De Ruyck" "The evaluation of the impact of food processing on the nutrients and health benefits of vegetables and fruits is of high practical importance. In this short literature overview the refractance window drying (RWD) technology, a novel contact drying technique, was compared with other drying techniques as the freeze drying technique to stabilize fruits and vegetables. The antioxidant capacity, phenolic or polyphenol content and carotenoids are important published quality properties. The RWD technology as mild drying process showed various opportunities to maintain the product quality and the nutrient content as well as their biological activity to a high degree."