Category: news

From May 2022, we will only publish our news items in Dutch.

There is a growing interest in the potential of the production of walnuts and hazelnuts in the Netherlands. Not only its significance to a healthy diet but also the potential for circular agricultural production systems as well as to support continuous, locale supply chains warrant this interest.

Today most walnuts and hazelnuts consumed domestically are imported mainly from Turkey and USA. The import of walnuts is 7400 tons per year with a value of 50 m€ of which 3200 tons (20 m€) are exported. The production of hazelnuts amounts to 500.000 tons of which 75% is from Turkey.

According to the Dutch Health Institute domestic consumption of nuts is 5gr/day. To take full advantage of the potential of walnuts and hazelnuts in our diets, state-of-the-art knowledge is required on composition, nutritional value and health aspects of walnuts and hazelnuts. Moreover, the creation of added value through nut-based healthy products will be an important part of this study.

Keep Food Simple has started a collaboration with the Nederlandse Notenvereninging to support the growth of the production of nuts, both as fresh products as well as nut- derived food products. A student at the University of Maastricht has recently started with a literature and consumer research.

Interested? Feel free to contact us.

13 and 14 April Brabanthallen Den Bosch

National and international speakers, 100 exhibitors and knowledge institutes will present their ideas on the food production of the future on 13 and 14 April. The exhibition includes subjects such as food innovations, food safety, chain transparency, food and health, the factory of the future and opportunities provided by new technologies. Throughout this show food and high-tech will come together and will help the food industry on its way to 2050!

For people who follow Keep Food Simple, there is a lot to learn and discover. Moreover, Keep Food Simple is holding a seminar. Please join us and click here for free registration and a selection of lectures relevant to you (in Dutch)

Angélique Schmeinck made two taste buds mind maps for Lekker Lupine and Keep Food Simple; one for cold preparations and one for hot preparations. Precisely because flavour is a critical point with pulses, it is very important to learn how we can make tasty products with pulses. These flavour-mind maps are a first aid in this respect. Lupine-MM-koud Lupine-MM-warm

Lekker Lupine and Keep Food Simple are going to work together to get more nutritional value from lupine on the Dutch dinner plates. We do this by combining knowledge about cultivation and properties of the lupine and using it for product development. This will allow a wider range of foods containing lupine to become available on the market. And the knowledge gained can in turn be applied to products with other legumes. In this way we work together on protein-rich, tasty and affordable food of plant origin.

Do you also see opportunities for applications of lupine or other legumes and do you need more scientific or applied knowledge? Contact us!

As from December 31st 2021 Andries Gort has decided to step back as a member of the Board of Keep Food Simple.

Andries has been a much appreciated source of inspiration and knowledge over the years. He has been with KFS since its start in 2016 and has made contributions, both in science and technology as well as in societal relevance. Even at his age (90), he has never lost his interest in food production, especially the area of bakery products and the utilisation of what nature has to offer. His focus was not just on new developments but also on lessons to be learned from the past.

KFS is extremely grateful for Andries’ contributions, but we are excited to know that he will continue to explore possibilities for healthy and sustainable food, using his wide network in the food industry.

By Peter Folstar, Chairman of the Board of KFS on behalf of all Board Members.

Pulses are a great source of plant-based protein and fibre; they contain several beneficial bio-active compounds like phytosterols, and their cultivation fits perfectly into a sustainable agriculture. In the Netherlands pulses are not frequently grown and consumed, partly because of the negative connotation as “poor man’s food”.

But there is a growing interest in pulse foods since they provide health and environmental benefits. An example is the “Food Lab Pulses” project which resulted in six innovative products.

Research commissioned by Keep Food Simple revealed promising findings in pilot fermentation of the entire Vicia faba bean. Eloïse Jennes, master student in Health Food Innovation Management at Maastricht University, fermented the faba beans with Lactobacillus strains and evaluated the effect on (1) the sensory properties and (2) the bio accessibility of phytosterols and minerals.

Key results included the finding of vinegary and green sorrel aromas in the fermented beans which could mask the ‘beany flavour’. Eloïse found that beta-sitosterol was predominant and there are indications that fermentation increases the presence of other phytosterols and improves the accessibility of iron. In general iron, zinc and magnesium levels are high in pulses.

All in all, fermentation did positively affect the sensory properties of faba beans. The nutritional quality regarding phytosterols and minerals, together with fermentation, seems to positively affect the bio accessibility of these nutrients.

With these promising results, Keep Food Simple eagerly wishes to pursue its quest towards those plant-based and clean label food products that are made from fermented beans and have the potential to be an alternative to some of the meat products in people’s menus.

Note: Eloïse Jennes’ excellent work has been supervised by prof. Koen Venema, Maastricht University.

KFS will hold a seminar at Food Technology on 14 April 2022 with contributions by Onno Franse, Peter Folstar and Fons Voragen. All are involved in KFS from the beginning.

Food Technology is a two-day knowledge and network event about high-tech innovations in the food industry and it takes place on 13 and 14 April in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. For the programme click here.

On the first day Remko Boom is keynote speaker and day two starts with a keynote by Jaap Seidell.
Meet all Food Technology speakers here.

Currently only 10-15% of the artichoke plant is used for consumption. Keep Food Simple has developed a series of pestos using the edible remaining parts of the plant which are high in fibre, folic acid, minerals and phytonutrients.

As a part of his MSc thesis (Maastricht University) Tom Marx reviewed the acceptance of these pestos through a questionnaire with 300 American consumers. The group consisted of 70% of millennials; the majority had a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the annual income was on average in the middle segment. Through theoretical packages, participants were asked to indicate their acceptance and purchase intentions.

Overall there was a very high acceptance of the product; on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 being the best) the product scored a 2. In addition, participants were asked to indicate what they would pay for 100 grams (or 3.5 oz) of the product. Participants were willing to spend (depending on the marketing message on the package) between $4.16 and $4.68. Familiarity with artichokes and health and environmental motivation significantly improved acceptance. Food neophobia had little effect. The only group that did not accept the product were people who had never consumed artichokes.

Additionally participants were asked if health claims such as ‘low in calories’ or ‘good source of dietary fibre’ improved the acceptance, but there was no significant advantage in using these claims. Finally it was concluded that a marketing strategy should be developed to increase familiarity with the product.

More information on our projects can be found here.