No more rancid hazelnuts: a research team at the URV has developed a method that can identify nuts that have gone bad due to oxidation. The technique uses infrared light to determine the chemical composition of hazelnuts without even removing them from their shells. The new system overcomes the limitations of traditional methods and makes it possible to identify the condition of all the hazelnuts in a packet in a single analysis, without the need to prepare or destroy the sample. The authors argue that the application of this technology would help to improve packaging techniques and distribution systems and significantly reduce losses in the nut trade, while offering new quality standards to the sector.

Around the world, millions of tons of small fish are processed into fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) each year—key ingredients in aquaculture that helps farmed fish, like salmon, grow. A new University of British Columbia (UBC) study has revealed the global distribution of FMFO factories for the first time, shedding light on a critical area of the aquaculture supply chain, identifying where these ingredients are being produced, and who controls the industry’s footprint.