Managing Bioplastics Business Innovation in Start Up Phase

Fostering innovation in a mature company can often seem like a swim upstream—the needs of the existing business often overwhelm attempts to create something new. Mature companies understand that to compete today they need to innovate. But finding sources of innovation while still paying attention to the current business can be a struggle. Open innovation has played an important role to drive the new business in 21th century. Academic research commercialization may be challenged by the faculty members’ academic routines, institutional priorities, and faculty retention. In order to undertake applied research, university scientists must spend a certain amount of time each period to keep up with the latest scientific developments and absorb new ideas. Because almost all faculty members have teaching responsibilities, many of them fear that participation in the protection and commercialization of Intellectual Property Rights is time consuming. There are lots of basic researches focuses on polylactic acid (PLA), the most promising bioplastics, however that is still far behind the commercialization step. The close innovation system may take longer time to achieve excellence in its technology under fierce competition environment. This study illuminates the complexities and challenges involved in managing innovation toward specific results. These challenges seem to result, in part, from the multidisciplinary nature of R&D work, it associated with risks, uncertainty and non-linear processes. One of the finding in this study is that many of the factors that drive innovative bioplastic industry are derived in collaboration with technology push and demand pull. The study’s findings contribute to our understanding of consumer attitudes towards ‘Green’ products such as bioplastics. Most critical in this respect is whether such products make economic sense for a company. This study may provide some guidelines to support development of a concrete direction for PLA under open innovation atmosphere

Microbiological safety and microbiota of Kapi, Thai traditional fermented shrimp paste, from different sources

Kapi is traditional Thai shrimp paste and is usually used as a seasoning. Traditional fermented foods are considered safe due to their long-standing consumption history, despite not having been evaluated for hygiene and microbiologically safety. Since Kapi is produced by natural fermentation, the microbiota differs depending on the raw material and production method. To control the quality of Kapi to a certain level, it is important to understand the microbiota of the product. In the present study, 27 Kapi samples purchased from wet markets and supermarkets were evaluated for microbiological safety and their microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis. From the physicochemical analysis, the Kapi sample purchased at the wet market had a larger variation in pH and sodium chloride. Moreover, Kapi purchased from the wet market had a higher detection rate of E. coli, coliforms, and Bacillus group than those purchased from the supermarket. Salmonella, Listeria sp., and Vibrio sp. were not detected in any sample. The results of 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis revealed that the microbiota differed for each sample regardless of the place of purchase, with Lentibacillus sp., Tetragenococcus sp., Salinicoccus sp., and Alkalibacillus sp. as the predominant groups

Flavor Profile in Fresh-squeezed Juice of Four Thai Lime Cultivars: Identification of Compounds that Influence Fruit Selection by Master Chefs

The flavor and sensory profiles that influenced the selection of 4 commercial Thai lime cultivars (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle cv. ‘Pan Rumpai’, ‘Pan Puang’, and ‘Pan Pijit’ and Citrus latifolia Tanaka cv. ‘Tahiti’) by Thai chefs were examined. Twenty-eight volatiles (7 monoterpenes, 13 sesquiterpenes, 4 monoterpene alcohols, 1 aldehyde, 2 monoterpene aldehydes, and 1 monoterpene ester) and 9 non-volatiles (citric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, ascorbic acid, sucrose, fructose, glucose, limonin, and naringin) contributing to the flavor of Thai lime juice were identified using dynamic headspace-gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. An interview of master chefs and an acceptance test of culinary students revealed that Pan Puang was the most preferred lime cultivar owing to its moderate sour taste and its unique floral aroma contributed by terpinolene and linalool, along with its low content of β-myrcene, which contributes to balsamic and pungent aroma notes