FKII newsletter vol.7（Date 3/6/2024）
◆Contents◆
1. Rapid development of Japanese foods tailored to the tastes of anticipated export foreign countries through precise instrumental analysis and sensory evaluation
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1. Rapid development of Japanese foods tailored to the tastes of anticipated export foreign countries through precise instrumental analysis and sensory evaluation
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Yoshinari Takeoka,
Platform Manager, Evidence-Based High Added-Value Japanese Food and Food Industry Research and Development Platform
Promoting local food industries in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake through collaboration between industry and academia
The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 inflicted major damage on the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and food industries of Miyagi Prefecture. In March 2014, Tohoku University Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, and Miyagi Food Industry Council signed an agreement to collaborate on the evidence-based development of new food products with high added value. A feature of the agreement that has proved popular with the private sector is the provision of intellectual property strategy support through Tohoku Techno Arch (TTA), a technology transfer and licensing organization. The first product to emerge from the agreement was a salt-free version of Shiroishi hot noodles, a local specialty of Shiroishi City in Miyagi Prefecture; this product was created by the Hatakenaka noodle manufacturing company using a salt-free manufacturing method developed under the agreement. (Result of the Reconstruction Agency New Tohoku Model Project, see Figure 1.)
Aiming for global rollout through an R&D platform for the national program "Field for Knowledge Integration and Innovation"
In 2016, Tohoku University joined the Council of Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration's Field for Knowledge Integration and Innovation (FKII) project to further drive the development and global rollout of products through collaboration between industry and academia. Together with like-minded food companies and other research organizations who are also FKII members, Tohoku University has also established the Evidence-Based High-Value-Added Japanese Food and Food Industry Research and Development Platform (= Japanese Food Platform). With the TTA president as its organizer, the Japanese Food Platform has served as a forum for supporting the launch of R&D consortia and planning intellectual property strategies in line with advances in development. The first consortium to be launched was the Consortium for the Development and Global Rollout of High Value-Added Japanese Food (referred to hereafter as the First Consortium).
Integrated analysis of the tastiness of traditional Japanese food through instrumental analysis and sensory evaluation, and application of findings to overseas food culture
The First Consortium has sought to drive the rapid global popularization of the tastes of traditional Japanese cuisine cultivated and handed down over the centuries (mirin: 4 centuries, sake: 13 centuries, fish cake (called kamaboko in Japan): over 9 centuries, fermented fish sauce: over 30 centuries) through the development of products tailored to overseas food cultures. Specifically, it has focused on the development of (1) high value-added fermented rice foods (seasonings and beverages), (2) high value-added sake, (3) technologies to control the physical properties of gel-like foods and extend shelf life, and (4) high value-added fermented north pacific krill (called isada in Japan) products.
(This research was carried out with support from the NARO Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution R&D matching funds on the FKII). Visit the following NARO's web page for an overview of the research plan (Japanese only): https://www.naro.go.jp/laboratory/brain/knowledge/adopted_subject/files/adopted_subject_summary_3.pdf）
Integration of advanced metabolomics into quantitative sensory evaluation and recruiting international students at Tohoku University for preference surveys to develop Japanese sake tailored to overseas markets
The First Consortium's first product was released by Ichinokura, a sake brewery based in the city of Ōsaki in Miyagi Prefecture. Japanese sake is normally evaluated using a qualitative sensory evaluation process to judge how a brew measures up to the target sake quality. The First Consortium succeeded in halving the time normally required to develop prototypes using qualitative sensory evaluation by adopting a method that integrates quantitative sensory evaluation (evaluation in which sensory judgments are quantified) with metabolome analysis. Prototypes were subjected to preference surveys among international students at Tohoku University (Figure 2), with the survey results being fed back into further development and prototyping to create a sake for overseas markets named Ichinokura Sake + (Sake Plus) (https://ichinokura.co.jp/pickup-product/sakeplus-en) (Figure 2). The new product's release was delayed by the Covid 19 pandemic, but it went on sale in Japan in 2022, and exports to the USA and other overseas destinations began in 2023. Leveraging lessons learned through its participation in the First Consortium, Ichinokura is continuing to propose sake products tailored to foreign tastes and cuisine.
We believe that these activities can contribute to the development of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food industries and the creation of a sustainable society. The Japanese Food Platform will continue its efforts to develop and export high value-added Japanese food products. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more.
Contact
Yoshinari Takeoka, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University
E-mail: yoshinari.takeoka.d6@tohoku.ac.jp
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