EPROMILK · Electrochemical Protease Biosensor for Milk Safety Control
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-10-04 → 2023-10-03
- EU contribution
- €172,932
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Electrochemical Protease Biosensor for Milk Safety Control
The European Union (EU) is a substantial producer of milk and dairy products. Milk production takes place in all EU Countries and represents a significant portion of the value of EU’s agricultural output, being estimated at around 15 million tons per year. Food safety of products produced in or imported into Europe is ensured due to strict European regulations. Dairy industries carry out processes that ensure the quality and safety of their products such as UHT processing. Although UHT milk is bacteriologically stable for months at room temperature, its shelf-life is often compromised by age gelation initiated by the proteolytic activity originated by proteases. The effect of thermostable proteases, resistant to the heating conditions in UHT processing on dairy products, especially on UHT milk quality, is drawing increasing attention worldwide. Residual protease activity can lead to non-desirable effects in milk such as high viscosity, sedimentation, age gelation, fat separation and bitterness, reducing consumer acceptability. The aim of EPROMILK has been to evaluate and demonstrate the feasibility of developing a fast and simple method based on electrochemical biosensors that can be applied for on-site protease activity for the dairy sector. The implementation of EPROMILK has resulted in the definition of a novel biosensing strategy for protease detection in dairy products at the point of need in a fast and reliable way.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
EPROMILK is a career development scientific project aimed at offering an experienced researcher (Dr. Eva González) a high-quality research and training programme in the field of Biosensors for Food Safety monitoring, connecting the knowledge of multidisciplinary fields such as bioelectroanalytical chemistry and advanced manufacturing technologies. Combining the researcher’s previous experience in developing electrochemical biosensing technologies, including protease detection and Point-of-Care diagnostics devices, and the hosting institution (BIOLAN Microbiosensores S.L.) proven expertise in developing electrochemical biosensors for food industry, in the framework of EPROMILK we will work on the design and development of biosensors applied to the detection of protease activity in milk for the prediction of shelf-life of dairy products. This will allow the identification and subsequently recall of Ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk batches showing premature spoilage potential, avoiding their arrival to the consumer. Along with these scientific objectives, the project also focuses on developing the researcher’s transferable skills by strengthening communication, scientific writing, supervision and international mobility, preparing her to become an independent well-established scientist, either in the academic or industrial sector. EPROMILK will link both basic and applied research thanks to the scientific excellence and industrial environment of the hosting organisation and of the technological research centre during the secondment (CNTA). In this sense, the researcher will be given a promising opportunity to transfer knowledge and results between academia and industry. After all, EPROMILK aims at providing excellent working conditions to an ambitious international scientific talent in a high-level industrial and research environment, helping her to build her research career in Europe while contributing to the European Research Area development.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- BIOLAN MICROBIOSENSORES SL · ZAMUDIOCoordinatorSpain
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union