Technology for the analysis of the yeast fermentation capacity

Summary

Profile Type: Technology offer
POD Reference: TOES20240403006
Term of Validity: 3 April 2024 - 3 April 2025
Company's Country: Spain
Type of partnership: Commercial agreement with technical assistanceResearch and development cooperation agreement
Targeted Countries: All countries

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General information

Short Summary: A Spanish research center offers technology for the analysis of the yeast fermentation capacity.
The center offers customized tests for companies, addressing different yeast formats, additives, and gluten-free doughs among others, and an interpretation of results.
Full Description: The research center, based in Palencia (Spain), specializes in providing solutions for food quality analysis. They have extensive experience in developing innovative technologies tailored to the needs of food producers and manufacturers. Their expertise lies in optimizing processes for assessing key parameters in food products, ensuring quality and consistency.

For the bakery sector, it is of great interest to understand the behavior of its raw materials and the influence of processes on the production of its products.
There are a series of quality control equipment capable of simulating in the laboratory the stages to be carried out during a baking process. After the characterization of raw materials, especially flour, as it is one of the main ingredients in bakery, pastry, and biscuit formulas, it is customary to perform rheological control of the dough. In this context, firstly, a control of the kneading stage is carried out, which includes equipment such as the alveograph or farinograph.

Subsequently, fermentation control is performed, a stage in which yeast plays a role. For this purpose, the reofermentometer is used, which allows predicting the behavior of the dough during this stage. The achieved development will depend on both the amount of CO2 produced and the rheological properties of the dough and its ability to retain that generated CO2.

Thanks to the reofermentometer, the following can be measured simultaneously:
- Dough development: the evolution of the rheological properties of the dough during fermentation by following the evolution of its volume.
- Yeast gas production: the potential CO2 release from yeast by measuring the rate of CO2 formation in the fermented dough.
- Dough porosity
- Dough tolerance during fermentation.

Similarly, customized testing protocols can be conducted to meet the special needs of companies that require this service. For example, our technological center has carried out tests tailored to:
- Different yeast formats (liquid, fresh, dry, or lyophilized), and their consistency during use in sector factories.
- Impact of additives and other raw materials on formulations.
- Fermentative capacity of gluten-free doughs.
- The difficulty in conducting these tests lies in result interpretation. To date, previous studies and the experience of researchers within our technological center have allowed us to have extensive expertise both in the analyses to be conducted with these raw materials and in interpreting the results that can be obtained from this equipment.

The technology center is looking for commercial agreements with technical assistance and/or research and development cooperation agreements.
Advantages and Innovations: Being able to understand the behaviors of raw materials as relevant in bakery as yeast, and even anticipating problems with proper characterization of their ingredients or mixtures, would represent significant time and cost savings for companies.

So far, one of the most conducted tests involves a real-time fermentation test by introducing a measuring cup into the fermentation chamber. However, this is a qualitative test that only provides information on dough development and not its gas retention capacity.
Stage of Development: Already on the market
Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and ProductionGoal 3: Good Health and Well-being

Partner Sought

Expected Role of a Partner: This technology is considered highly relevant for the bakery and pastry sector to understand the condition of their raw materials, primarily flour and yeast, and anticipate their behavior during the production process.

Thanks to the obtained results, customers can thoroughly characterize their raw materials, develop specific technical data sheets for them that serve as quality control, compare them with similar ingredients, and adjust, if necessary, the process conditions.
Type and Size of Partner: Big companyR&D InstitutionSME 11-49UniversitySME 50 - 249
Type of partnership: Commercial agreement with technical assistanceResearch and development cooperation agreement

Call details

Coordinator required: Yes

Dissemination

Technology keywords: 08001002 - Food Additives/Ingredients/Functional Food08001005 - Food Technology08002001 - Detection and Analysis methods08002002 - Food Microbiology / Toxicology / Quality Control
Market keywords: 05008002 - Food and feed ingredients05009001 - Food & feed ingredients05009004 - Plant health09005 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Animal Husbandry & Related Products
Sector Groups Involved: Agri-Food
Targeted countries: All countries