SCIENCE AND BUSINESS HAVE EXISTED INSEPARABLY FOR A LONG TIME: NEW TECHNOLOGIES MUST ATTRACT THE FINANCIAL AND INVESTMENT SECTOR TO MOVE HUMANITY FORWARD. A VIVID EXAMPLE OF THE SYMBIOSIS OF PHYSICISTS AND ... NO, NOT LYRICISTS, BUT FINANCIERS, IS OOO "NEW FOOD TECHNOLOGIES", WHERE THEY CAME UP WITH A NEW METHOD OF FREEZING, CHANGING THE ENTIRE SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION, DELIVERY AND STORAGE OF FOOD. REPRESENTATIVES OF COMPANY "NEW FOOD TECHNOLOGIES" IGOR KUDRYAKOV AND IGOR DUBOVSKY TALK ABOUT THEIR INVENTION AND RELATED GLOBAL PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOOD SECTOR.
– Mr. Kudryakov, did you come up with a new freezing technology?
– Yes, I am the author of the method of preserving objects of biological origin, primarily food. This method allows us to bring the aspect of food safety of the regions to a completely different level and, in fact, it is a new way of preserving the harvest. The existing traditional methods of preservation work fine, but using them we lose up to 40% of the product in the "collection – procurement – transportation – storage" chain. These are huge losses, which in monetary terms can amount to several trillion dollars in developed countries.
If we use our method of preserving crops and food raw materials, we can seriously reduce these losses and even reformat the entire food industry and the concept of consumption.
– How do you imagine it? What will the whole process and logistics look like?
I.K.: Our technology assumes the presence of freezing centers, which are located in the places of harvest and food raw materials. And this changes the whole usual scheme and schedule of workpieces. If now vegetables and fruits are harvested "green" in advance, and they ripen in refrigerators during transportation, then, with our method, it is possible to harvest in season at the peak of freshness, which means the preservation of taste and vitamins.
After collection and freezing, the product is moved to the distribution centers of consumption. With this approach, losses are minimized, it is impossible to disrupt logistics, everything is stored "on demand". And reducing losses reduces the load on the earth and the planet as a whole… But this is already a global task, and now we want to show the work of our technology on the example of a specific country – Russia.
– Can we talk about freezing semi-finished products and ready meals?
– Sure. It doesn't matter what to freeze here. You can cook food in factories under the guidance of chefs, freeze it with our method without loss of quality and then deliver it to cafes and restaurants with robotic kitchens, where dishes will only need to be properly heated.
All stages and processes for harvesting, transportation and storage of products, semi-finished products and ready meals can be combined into food aggregators under the control of an information system that will "direct" the entire movement of the inventory to the end consumer. According to our calcu lations, the savings with this method of harvesting products and organizing production will amount to 50% of current costs.
I.D.: Our technology is a response to global challenges, for example, in the field of logistics, which exist now. In addition, we offer a solution to the issue of food security in Russia and the CIS countries.
– What other advantages does technology have that it is changing globally in the field of food production and catering?
I.D.: Potentially, we can change the configuration of the food market – that part of it where the preservation of the product is critically important. This is a complete transformation of the entire structure of production, transportation and storage. In addition, we are creating a new ecosystem for producers and suppliers, because the food aggregators we are talking about are huge nodes where producers, suppliers, and other participants in the food and grocery turnover "from the garden to the dining table" can integrate.
– It turns out that we are also talking about attracting investments?
I.D.: Certainly. Changing the technology of processing and processing products, even at the level of one country, is a global investment. The organization of production, storage, and distribution centers is a decentralized system that includes, for example, leasing, subsidies, and bank financing.
– And can I tell you more about the technology itself, how does your freezing differ from the usual one?
I.K.: In short, the essence of our technology is that when frozen, we get not crystalline ice, but so-called solid water. – Can you explain it in a way that is understandable to an ordinary person, not a physicist?
I.K.: I will try. From the school physics course, everyone knows that water increases in volume when it freezes. If you pour water into a glass bottle, close it and put it in a regular freezer, the bottle will crack. This is due to the fact that when water freezes, it forms crystals, or more precisely, crystal cells. Inside each cell there is a void equal in size to about one molecule of water, that is, ice is more voluminous than water precisely because of these voids.
By the way, it is for this reason that the process of long-term storage of organs during transplantation is difficult. Ice deforms and breaks the structures of the body – vessels, capillaries. Therefore, in addition to the food industry, our technology may have other applications. Let’s go back to the products.
Further to the fact that freezing water forms ice crystals, all previously bound water molecules from the product structure, which, for example, proteins covered before freezing, begin to dock to these crystals. That is, in the process of storage, already formed crystals continue to grow. Thus, when you take a semi-finished product or ready-made food out of the freezer after six months and warm it up, you get the product itself and the puddle of water that was in it separately, which can no longer connect into a single whole. We make sure that when defrosting, the consumer gets a juicy product.
– Does it turn out that your technology prevents the formation of crystals?
I.K.: That's right. This is the essence of our technology – to prevent water from crystallizing. We can say that water solidifies, but it does not form a crystal lattice. This is the so-called amorphous state, and it is achieved due to the special effect of an electric field, which, as it were, mixes the water inside the product and does not allow the molecules to be attracted to each other and combine into crystals.
– Will the difference between products frozen in the traditional way and through your method be noticeable to the end consumer?
I.D.: It will be very noticeable. When we talk about the technology, we use the terms: "crystal lattice", "amorphous ice"… But for the end user, it doesn't matter. And the important thing is that by purchasing products frozen using our method, the buyer receives delicious and juicy food in which useful substances are preserved. Therefore, the market will change, including the end consumer. What's the point of buying tasteless if you can buy tasty and healthy at about the same price?
– Then it's surprising that no one has come up with this technology before. What do you think?
I.K.: The technology of conventional freezing itself was invented a long time ago. And, of course, the peoples of the northern regions were the first here. And fifty years ago, forced freezing was invented, they accelerated the freezing process. At the same time, people found the way to reduce the size of ice crystals during freezing. Accordingly, the smaller their size, the longer they grow together, thereby increasing the storage period. That is, scientific thought has gone in the direction of finding ways to reduce ice crystals.
And about amorphous ice, it was only known that it could be obtained at a pressure of over 100 thousand atmospheres. No one seemed to think about whether it was possible to get it in another way. We applied an electric field, began to develop and cooperate with the Institute of Solid State Physics. The scientists we work with publish scientific articles where they indicate that for the first time in all the time of research in this direction, the influence of electric fields on the change in the density of the resulting ice is being studied.
– Can we say that you have made a scientific breakthrough in the field of freezing?
I.K.: Strictly speaking, our technology is not even freezing, because we do not turn water into crystal ice. It hardens, and this is another process for which we have not yet come up with a name. Scientifically speaking, this is the amorphization of water.
In general, there are three methods in the field of food preparation, and all of them work with water – this is sublimation, preservation, freezing. And the fourth is ours.
– Yes, I am the author of the method of preserving objects of biological origin, primarily food. This method allows us to bring the aspect of food safety of the regions to a completely different level and, in fact, it is a new way of preserving the harvest. The existing traditional methods of preservation work fine, but using them we lose up to 40% of the product in the "collection – procurement – transportation – storage" chain. These are huge losses, which in monetary terms can amount to several trillion dollars in developed countries.
If we use our method of preserving crops and food raw materials, we can seriously reduce these losses and even reformat the entire food industry and the concept of consumption.
– How do you imagine it? What will the whole process and logistics look like?
I.K.: Our technology assumes the presence of freezing centers, which are located in the places of harvest and food raw materials. And this changes the whole usual scheme and schedule of workpieces. If now vegetables and fruits are harvested "green" in advance, and they ripen in refrigerators during transportation, then, with our method, it is possible to harvest in season at the peak of freshness, which means the preservation of taste and vitamins.
After collection and freezing, the product is moved to the distribution centers of consumption. With this approach, losses are minimized, it is impossible to disrupt logistics, everything is stored "on demand". And reducing losses reduces the load on the earth and the planet as a whole… But this is already a global task, and now we want to show the work of our technology on the example of a specific country – Russia.
– Can we talk about freezing semi-finished products and ready meals?
– Sure. It doesn't matter what to freeze here. You can cook food in factories under the guidance of chefs, freeze it with our method without loss of quality and then deliver it to cafes and restaurants with robotic kitchens, where dishes will only need to be properly heated.
All stages and processes for harvesting, transportation and storage of products, semi-finished products and ready meals can be combined into food aggregators under the control of an information system that will "direct" the entire movement of the inventory to the end consumer. According to our calcu lations, the savings with this method of harvesting products and organizing production will amount to 50% of current costs.
I.D.: Our technology is a response to global challenges, for example, in the field of logistics, which exist now. In addition, we offer a solution to the issue of food security in Russia and the CIS countries.
– What other advantages does technology have that it is changing globally in the field of food production and catering?
I.D.: Potentially, we can change the configuration of the food market – that part of it where the preservation of the product is critically important. This is a complete transformation of the entire structure of production, transportation and storage. In addition, we are creating a new ecosystem for producers and suppliers, because the food aggregators we are talking about are huge nodes where producers, suppliers, and other participants in the food and grocery turnover "from the garden to the dining table" can integrate.
– It turns out that we are also talking about attracting investments?
I.D.: Certainly. Changing the technology of processing and processing products, even at the level of one country, is a global investment. The organization of production, storage, and distribution centers is a decentralized system that includes, for example, leasing, subsidies, and bank financing.
– And can I tell you more about the technology itself, how does your freezing differ from the usual one?
I.K.: In short, the essence of our technology is that when frozen, we get not crystalline ice, but so-called solid water. – Can you explain it in a way that is understandable to an ordinary person, not a physicist?
I.K.: I will try. From the school physics course, everyone knows that water increases in volume when it freezes. If you pour water into a glass bottle, close it and put it in a regular freezer, the bottle will crack. This is due to the fact that when water freezes, it forms crystals, or more precisely, crystal cells. Inside each cell there is a void equal in size to about one molecule of water, that is, ice is more voluminous than water precisely because of these voids.
By the way, it is for this reason that the process of long-term storage of organs during transplantation is difficult. Ice deforms and breaks the structures of the body – vessels, capillaries. Therefore, in addition to the food industry, our technology may have other applications. Let’s go back to the products.
Further to the fact that freezing water forms ice crystals, all previously bound water molecules from the product structure, which, for example, proteins covered before freezing, begin to dock to these crystals. That is, in the process of storage, already formed crystals continue to grow. Thus, when you take a semi-finished product or ready-made food out of the freezer after six months and warm it up, you get the product itself and the puddle of water that was in it separately, which can no longer connect into a single whole. We make sure that when defrosting, the consumer gets a juicy product.
– Does it turn out that your technology prevents the formation of crystals?
I.K.: That's right. This is the essence of our technology – to prevent water from crystallizing. We can say that water solidifies, but it does not form a crystal lattice. This is the so-called amorphous state, and it is achieved due to the special effect of an electric field, which, as it were, mixes the water inside the product and does not allow the molecules to be attracted to each other and combine into crystals.
– Will the difference between products frozen in the traditional way and through your method be noticeable to the end consumer?
I.D.: It will be very noticeable. When we talk about the technology, we use the terms: "crystal lattice", "amorphous ice"… But for the end user, it doesn't matter. And the important thing is that by purchasing products frozen using our method, the buyer receives delicious and juicy food in which useful substances are preserved. Therefore, the market will change, including the end consumer. What's the point of buying tasteless if you can buy tasty and healthy at about the same price?
– Then it's surprising that no one has come up with this technology before. What do you think?
I.K.: The technology of conventional freezing itself was invented a long time ago. And, of course, the peoples of the northern regions were the first here. And fifty years ago, forced freezing was invented, they accelerated the freezing process. At the same time, people found the way to reduce the size of ice crystals during freezing. Accordingly, the smaller their size, the longer they grow together, thereby increasing the storage period. That is, scientific thought has gone in the direction of finding ways to reduce ice crystals.
And about amorphous ice, it was only known that it could be obtained at a pressure of over 100 thousand atmospheres. No one seemed to think about whether it was possible to get it in another way. We applied an electric field, began to develop and cooperate with the Institute of Solid State Physics. The scientists we work with publish scientific articles where they indicate that for the first time in all the time of research in this direction, the influence of electric fields on the change in the density of the resulting ice is being studied.
– Can we say that you have made a scientific breakthrough in the field of freezing?
I.K.: Strictly speaking, our technology is not even freezing, because we do not turn water into crystal ice. It hardens, and this is another process for which we have not yet come up with a name. Scientifically speaking, this is the amorphization of water.
In general, there are three methods in the field of food preparation, and all of them work with water – this is sublimation, preservation, freezing. And the fourth is ours.
