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Over the last decade, transparency schemes have started to undergo a radical transformation. This transformation is driven by advancements in cloud computing, cryptography and automated measurement technology, which have made it possible to develop shared information management systems (SIMS). These SIMS form the backbone of the latest, state-of-the-art in the transparency space: hyper-transparency schemes. These new transparency schemes and associated SIMS offer companies, both small and large, the opportunity to redesign their supply chains and to establish more direct relationships with their second- and third-tier trading partners, as well as with the consumer. However, the companies also face various challenges in implementing and operating such hyper-transparency schemes. There are legitimate concerns about privacy, ownership and access to data and, related to this, who controls the SIMS. The present paper discusses the ongoing development of a SIMS. The objective of this SIMS is to: (1), help empower smallholders in agri-food supply chains to establish more direct connections with the consumer; and (2), help empower consumers to get more direct insight into the manner in which their food stuff is being produced. The paper presents the design of the SIMS and discusses its transdisciplinary development processes.

International audience; The diffusion of gastric juice within solid food matrices is one of the main mechanisms underlying food disintegration and nutrient release during gastric digestion. Understanding how the initial composition and structure of food influence the diffusion of gastric juice during digestion is essential to the design of novel products with enhanced functionalities. Using sweet potatoes and egg white gels as carbohydrate and protein based food models, the current work investigated the possibility of using hyperspectral imaging technology to characterize the diffusion of acid and moisture within different products and structures during gastric digestion. Cylindrical samples (2cm diameter, 3cm length) of two different sweet potato structures (steamed and fried), and two different egg white gels (granular-spongy pH5 and smooth-rigid pH9) were prepared and exposed to in-vitro oral-gastric digestion. Samples were removed at different gastric digestion times (0 to 240 min) and two slices (5mm thickness) were obtained from their central parts. The spatial distribution of moisture and acid within the digested samples were determined by scanning each of the slices with a hyperspectral imaging system. After that, each corresponding slice was used to determine (using gravimetric analytical methods) the total amount of moisture or acid present in it for calibration purposes. The experimental acid and moisture values were related with the hyperspectral information by partial least-squares (PLS) regression models. The coefficient of determination obtained by PLS models indicated that the full-wavelength spectral range (550–1700 nm) had a good ability to predict the spatial distribution of acid (R2>0.82) and moisture (R2>0.89) in the selected product models. Moreover, the generated gastric juice visualisation maps provided a rapid way to estimate the gastric juice diffusivity of food products during simulated gastric digestion.

Reduzir o teor de monômero residual é uma preocupação de qualquer produtor de polímeros, pois produtos sem, ou com teores muito baixos de monômero residual, apresentam um apelo comercial diferenciado. Neste trabalho são apresentadas e testadas experimentalmente diversas estratégias para reduzir o teor de monômero residual de copolímeros estireno/acrilato de butila produzidos em reações semicontínuas de polimerização em emulsão, que são amplamente utilizados nas indústrias de papel e tintas. Estas estratégias envolvem a adição contínua de iniciador e/ou o aumento da temperatura do reator durante a última etapa da reação, além da adição de um agente redutor e/ou de um iniciador solúvel na fase orgânica. Verificou-se que a combinação adequada de diferentes técnicas pode levar a uma redução significativa no teor residual de monômeros no látex. Reducing the residual monomer content is a major concern of every polymer producer, as products with no, or very low levels of residual monomer have a marked commercial appeal. Styrene / butyl acrylate copolymers produced in emulsion polymerization reactions are widely applied in paper and paint industries. In this work, several strategies to reduce the residual monomer content of styrene and butyl acrylate copolymers produced in semicontinuous emulsion polymerization reactions are presented and tested. These strategies involve the continuous addition of initiator, increasing the reaction temperature during the last stage of the reaction, and adding a reducing agent or an initiator that is soluble in the organic phase at this last stage. The adequate combination of some of these techniques may result in a significant reduction of the residual monomer content in the final latex.