Commodities Into Food

It is not surprising that past predictions of the extent of adoption of new technology by the food and agricultural industries have only been partly realized. This is a result of the difficulty of forecasting the take-up of technology that is capable of being transferred from other industries, for example, process control methods and the advent of new packaging materials. Most technology that is adopted is normally incremental over the existing technology and forecasting of this type is best done by specific experts within the industry. Factors which influence uptake of technology in the food industry include not only the available technology, but also the supply of raw materials, economics and disposable income, food habits, health and nutrition and market requirements. In addition to these there is legislation, which imposes compositional, labelling and trade requirements on grower, processor and retailer. New products and processes are determined by all these factors, the overriding influence being the consumer's requirement for palatable and nutritious foods that provide value for money. In the cereals-processing industry significant developments have taken place in the provision of U.K. wheat varieties for breadmaking. The U.K. is now in the position where the bulk of its breadmaking wheats are homegrown. Further advances can be made by investing in applied research into those characteristics of bread wheats which are determinants of good bread flours, that in turn will help in the provision of suitable bread wheat varieties. A less traditional area is that of flour fractionation. With the massive wheat surpluses now available to us there is potential for further uses, both food and non-food, for wheat starch and gluten. An example of the way in which biotechnology will play a role in the 1990s is the use of wheat starch, or other plant starch, as biomass for the conversion of carbohydrate into a protein-rich food - myco-Protein - by using a sophisticated fermentation process. The effects of future requirements of the food industry on primary production will result in greater flexibility and in crops that are of consistently high quality to supply the new computer-controlled food processes under development. To the consumer there will often be little apparent qualitative change: unseen technology will enable the production and distribution of foods which have a much greater perceived freshness and lower real cost than at present. The 1990s will bring new pressures on farmer and food manufacturer alike, in the form of increased competition both nationally and internationally. It is necessary to follow up government initiatives already made to ensure a collaborative effort by producers and food manufacturers to identify the optimal balance of primary production; also to support research to identify and apply new technology to the efficient and competitive conversion of commodities into food products.