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Das historische Metzgerhandwerk
No full textDas Metzgerhandwerk entwickelte sich von Zünften der Frühen Neuzeit über die Industrialisierung mit Schlachthöfen, Kühlung und Massenproduktion bis zur Nachkriegszeit, in der Fleischkonsum Wohlstandssymbol war. Seit 2000 sinkt der Konsum, Metzgereien verschwinden, während Tierwohl, Nachhaltigkeit und alternative Proteine wichtiger werden
Neue Technologien der kunststofffreien Folienherstellung
No full textDie Präsentation behandelt neue Technologien zur Herstellung kunststofffreier Folien und Beschichtungen.
Im Fokus stehen biobasierte Materialien wie Proteine, Polysaccharide und Lipide, die oft aus Nebenströmen der Lebensmittelproduktion stammen. Diese können als Alternativen zu Kunststoffen genutzt werden und bieten je nach Material gute Sauerstoff-, Fett- oder Wasserdampfbarrieren.
Die Herstellung erfolgt hauptsächlich über Lösungsmittel-Gießverfahren oder Rolle-zu-Rolle-Beschichtungsverfahren. Vorteile sind die Nutzung nachwachsender Rohstoffe und die Entwicklung funktionaler Verpackungslösungen. Herausforderungen bestehen jedoch in der Prozessoptimierung, Wasserbeständigkeit, mechanischen Stabilität und den hohen Investitionskosten für die Anlagen.
Ziel ist es, nachhaltige, kreislauforientierte Verpackungskonzepte ohne petrochemische Kunststoffe zu entwickeln
Textil als Querschnittstechnologie – Forschung an Verpackungskonzepten
No full textDas SPI forscht an nachhaltigen Verpackungen, die Produkte schützen, Lebensmittelabfälle vermeiden und so Ressourcen schonen.
Konzepte: Kreislaufwirtschaft, Bioökonomie und deren Kombination (KreislaufwirtschaftPLUS) sollen fossile Rohstoffe ersetzen und Recycling verbessern.
Forschungsprojekte entwickeln biobasierte, abbaubare Materialien (z. B. Folien, Schalen, Teebeutel) mit optimierten Barriereeigenschaften.
➡️ Ziel: funktionale, kreislauffähige Verpackungen für eine nachhaltige Zukunft
Consumer perception and acceptance of bio-based packaging: Insights from a qualitative study
Get PDFIn the face of growing resource scarcity and socio-environmental concerns, more sustainable packaging solutions are becoming increasingly important, especially under the European Green Deal and the new Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). Although consumers are showing a growing interest in recycling and environmentally friendly packaging, they often find it difficult to properly assess sustainability. Most of them cannot distinguish between materials such as recycled, biodegradable, and bio-based plastics, because they are not always visually recognizable. This qualitative study, namely focus group discussions, investigates consumer perception and acceptance of bio-based packaging, underlining the importance of acceptance for successful market introduction. An extensive literature review was carried out to develop the discussion guideline and to identify keywords, which were used as anchor points for the analysis. In addition, product samples were presented to the participants to assess their perception of sustainable packaging. The results show that consumers evaluate sustainable packaging mainly based on color and material. Although they appreciate sustainability claims, consumers want them to be easy to understand. The design should not be too novel and should align with brand recognition, as well as price and quality of the product. Overall, consumers are still reluctant to pay significantly more for sustainable packaging. This is why clearly communicating the added value is essential for achieving wider acceptance. Based on these findings, the study provides recommendations for design and consumer communication to foster acceptance of bio-based packaging and support a successful market launch
Transforming Agricultural Waste from Mediterranean Fruits into Renewable Materials and Products with a Circular and Digital Approach
Get PDFThe Mediterranean area is one of the major global producers of agricultural food. However, along the entire supply chain—from farming to food distribution and consumption—food waste represents a significant fraction. Additionally, plant waste residues generated during the cultivation of specific fruits and vegetables must also be considered. This heterogeneous biomass is a valuable source of bioactive compounds and materials that can be transformed into high-performance functional products. By analyzing technical and scientific literature, this review identifies extraction, composite production, and bioconversion as the main strategies for valorizing agricultural by-products and waste. The advantages of these approaches as well as efficiency gains through digitalization are discussed, along with their potential applications in the Mediterranean region to support new research activities and bioeconomic initiatives. Moreover, the review highlights the challenges and disadvantages associated with waste valorization, providing a critical comparison of different studies to offer a comprehensive perspective on the topic. The objective of this review is to evaluate the potential of agricultural waste valorization, identifying effective strategies while also considering their limitations, to contribute to the development of sustainable and innovative solutions in Mediterranean bioeconomy
A didactic intervention to strengthen critical thinking in the interpretation of visualized data
Get PDFBackground: Visualized data are central to economic decision-making. A key educational challenge is fostering related competencies from school to higher education. Research on cognitive competencies and their assessment in data literacy remains scarce. This study examines the effects of an eight-week intervention based on a cognitive model, aiming to enhance learners’ critical engagement with and evaluation of visualized data.
Methods: Using a design-based research approach, a cognitive model was implemented as an instructional intervention and iteratively refined through multiple design cycles. A pre-post comparison was conducted within the experimental group (N = 40). The model emphasizes a backward-oriented interpretation of data visualizations, guiding learners from analysis to mental reconstruction of the underlying data structure and the data collection process. To enhance acceptance, learners were involved in model development from the outset.
Results: There were changes in perceived ability to critically evaluate visualized data over time (p = 0.011, d = 1.72). In addition, the usefulness of the intervention is evaluated positively (M = 3.76, SD = 1.09). The model underwent several rounds of revision before being implemented in the main study during the winter 2025/26 as part of a statistics course for undergraduate students. These are therefore preliminary results in the context of this study.
Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first instructional intervention based on a cognitive model to foster critical evaluation of visualized data. The backward-oriented approach guided learners’ step by step – from analyzing visualizations to mentally reconstructing the underlying data structure and drawing conclusions about the data collection process. Extending the intervention duration may further enhance its effectiveness. Overall, the cognitive-model-based intervention shows potential to improve data literacy competencies in higher education
A mobile robot bridging manual and automated bioscientific workflows by applying the Swiss army knife principle
Get PDFThe complexity and diversity of bioscientific research laboratories, creates significant challenges for automation. Their varying workflows, personnel, and instruments, often hinder smaller research laboratories to benefit from automated processes, as existing systems seem unsuitable due to low flexibility. Therefore, we developed a versatile robotic system designed to automate a broad range of bioscience laboratory processes. Central to our system and novel, compared to all other kinds of laboratory automation concepts, is a multifunctional end effector, inspired by the Swiss-army-knife, capable of executing multiple tasks, including an operating finger, a camera system, a gripper, and a pipette. This end effector is mounted on a 6-axis robotic arm, supported by a mobile base, enabling easy transport across different bioanalytical laboratory environments. Utilizing windows manipulating scripting routines, allows the automation of diverse software programs including software-based laboratory devices. We demonstrate the capabilities of the Laboratory Automation Robotic System (LARS) by automating the pH buffer adjustments, showcasing its potential to improve efficiency and reproducibility in bioscience research. The resulting prototype allows the integration of any laboratory instrument into a desired automation routine without limitations concerning device interfaces, while using a highly flexible multifunctional end-effector as a replacement of the human hand and eye
Association between hand grip strength and mortality: The North West, South Africa Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study.
Get PDFHand Grip Strength (HGS) is employed in epidemiological contexts to measure muscle strength because it’s inexpensive, easy to perform and interpret. Population-based investigations use protocols that incorporate HGS measurements in health-status evaluations. Our aim was to investigate the association of HGS with all-cause mortality in a South African population. Methods This study was based on the South African leg of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study; a community-based, prospective cohort study. This work was based on baseline HGS collected in 2005. Deterministic linkage to the mortality was performed using death status in 2018. The Cox regression was applied to investigate all-cause mortality risk in relation to HGS tertiles. A non-linear dose response analysis has been applied to investigate the shape of the relation between HGS and all-cause mortality risk. All the results have been validated by numerous sensitivity analyses. Results Our work included 1 251 participants with a median age of 47 years (5th95th quantile range 36, 67) and 59.6% (n 746) of participants were women. During a median follow-up of 13.2 years, 374 deaths from all causes occurred. We observed a 25% (HR 0.80; 95% CI 0.61, 1.05) and a 63.9% (HR 0.61; 95% CI 0.44, 0.85) decreased risk of all-cause mortality for the 2nd and 3rd tertiles of dominant hand grip strength compared to the 1st. A similar risk reduction was observed for the nondominant hand. A linear monotone decreasing relation between HGS and all-cause mortality risk was reported. Conclusions HGS is inversely associated with mortality risk and can be used to predict mortality risk in the South African populatio
Nachhaltig, praxisnah, zukunftsfähig – Verpackungsstrategien für die Fleischwirtschaft im Wandel
No full textVerpackungen sind für Fleischprodukte entscheidend, da sie Haltbarkeit sichern und Lebensmittelabfälle stark reduzieren. Ihr ökologischer Nutzen ist meist deutlich größer als ihre Umweltbelastung.
Zukünftig müssen Verpackungen recyclingfähig, materialeffizient und funktionsgerecht sein.
Biobasierte Kunststoffe haben Potenzial, sind aber noch eingeschränkt nutzbar.
Für vegane Alternativen reichen oft einfachere Verpackungen mit geringeren Barriereanforderungen.
Fazit: Produktschutz hat oberste Priorität – Nachhaltigkeit gelingt durch optimierte, kreislauffähige Verpackungskonzept
Potato peel-based barrier layers for packaging materials suitable for protein-rich foods
No full textFood packaging plays a crucial role in preserving and protecting food products. In response to growing environmental challenges, there is increasing interest in replacing fossil-based materials with more sustainable, bio-based alternatives, particularly in the case of petrochemical-derived oxygen barrier layers, such as ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), commonly used in multilayer packaging. Within the framework of a circular bioeconomy, the utilization of agro-industrial side streams for packaging applications is gaining considerable interest. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the potential of potato peel, an agro-industrial side stream, to serve as a suitable and sustainable oxygen barrier material in food packaging, especially for applications involving protein-rich foods. Notably, the potato peel side stream was fully utilized without the need for further purification. The freshly obtained potato peel side stream was processed into a powder, and two different methods for converting this powder into polymer films were explored: a thermal approach and a solvent-based approach. The latter, which involved solubilizing the potato peel in water to then obtain films and coatings, proved superior in terms of the application potential as a high oxygen-barrier layer in multilayer packaging. Based on a comprehensive review, various physical, chemical, and biochemical modification techniques were assessed for their potential to enhance the mechanical and barrier properties of potato peel-based films. Among these, citric acid modification was subsequently selected for further investigations. This thesis examined citric acid’s dual role as a cross-linking agent and plasticizer in potato peel-based films and coatings. Additionally, the effects of key formulation parameters, such as citric acid concentration, pH, and drying/curing temperature were systematically assessed. Building on these findings, optimized formulations were applied onto polypropylene- and poly(lactic acid)-based plastics to create bi-layer and, subsequently multilayer structures suitable for food packaging. The practical applicability of these multilayer structures was assessed through storage trials with vacuum-packed raw pork meat. In conclusion, this research project demonstrated that a barrier coating derived from potato peel can effectively replace EVOH in multilayer packaging. Given EVOH’s leading role as an oxygen barrier in flexible food packaging, the potato peel-based coating shows great promise, particularly for packaging applications involving protein-rich foods. This highlights its potential as a sustainable and functional alternative in the development of bio-based food packaging solutions