Uni food dept chases dream of guiltfree hot potato chip

THE basic chip is in for a hightech makeover, courtesy of scientists at the University of Otago.

The department of food science today began trialling a Pulsed Electric Field processing machine, which it hopes will turn French fries into a healthier, environmentally friendly snack option.

The PEF machine uses microsecondlong pulses of electricity to alter the microstructure of uncut potatoes.

This results in a more controlled release of sugar, a reduction in oil uptake, and softening of the potato texture, which makes potatoes easier to cut, leading to reduced waste production, head of department Prof Indrawati Oey said. ‘‘Everyone eats potatoes.

‘‘If you can reduce the waste, we can increase the efficiency.

‘‘It has quite a big impact in business performance, but more importantly, for the consumer, you can also reduce oil.

‘‘It is already enough for us to have the fat content in the potato chips itself because we use quite a lot, and we eat quite a lot.’’

Prof Oey said the PEF machine could enhance the quality of other foods.

‘‘This application for softening, you can also use for carrots, parsnips, all of the vegetables we can use.

‘‘We have other applications for wine for the maceration times we can shorten.’’

However, seasonal difficulties surrounding wine production has made potatoes and other vegetables a priority for testing, she said.

The machine in use at the University of Otago is a smallscale version of the Germanimported industrial machine that will be used at McCain Foods in Timaru.