Talk with the food in the mouth!

Aim and goal

To combine materials science, electronics, sensor technology, food science and physics to develop remote sensing of texture in oral processing through the use of food with magnetic iron oxide particles.

Challenge

The main oral processing activities are chewing, production of saliva and transportation of the food and drink including the prepared bolus, within the mouth. During the short time it takes to carry out these activities the receptors of various senses in the oral cavity and in the nose are stimulated, ideally to give us a pleasurable food experience. However, we know very little of this and therefore many new products fail on the market, which is neither sustainable nor economically satisfactory for the producers. Only 20% of the 20 000 new products launched every year remain after one year.

Solution

We can use magnetic particles in the food, such as iron oxide, to capture the food oral processing responsible for the perception, thus allowing us to predict and design succulent new food products. The project utilizes the expertise of RISE specialists in food science, magnetic sensor technology and material science to design a completely new measurement technology for food oral processing.

Effect

The new technology will result in more efficient product development for succulent products and a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and processes occurring in our mouth. This in turn will decrease the number of new products failing on the market.