Abertay University is one of the leading centres for acrylamide research in the UK and approached local company Taylors Snacks, famous for producing Mackie's of Scotland crisps, to propose a collaboration to research and develop an online monitoring system to measure and manage acrylamide levels in crisp production in real time. This will be an industry first. Taylors Snacks, which changed its name from Mackies Crisps earlier this year, produces more than two million packs of crisps, popcorn and other snacks each month for retail, export, wholesale and foodservice customers from its base in Errol.
"In the home, acrylamide would be found in burnt toast or chips left in the oven too long, but in manufacturing it's more nuanced. Working with industry in this way is essential for our work to have a real impact," says Professor Fiore. "We can come up with the perfect solution in the lab, but it's when we take it out of the control situation and into real life that we see the impact and where we can make improvements. Working with Taylors Snacks will provide us with valuable insights and live scenarios that will have a positive impact on wider industry research and development." The project has been made possible by funding from Innovate UK's Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme. It will build on the extensive work that Taylors Snacks has already undertaken to minimise acrylamide levels in its products, taking a holistic approach and analysing every stage from raw materials to processes and the final product. The project illustrates the value of science at every stage of food production, and the two-way advantage of introducing lab research into real life processes. It is when academia joins with industry so closely and constructively that both enterprise and science progress.