Jaap Nijsse studied Biology at Wageningen University, and got fascinated by electron microscopy at a traineeship in the USDA Beltsville Electron Microscopy Lab. He obtained his PhD in Wageningen in 2001 with a study of water uptake in cut flowers, by mapping the vascular architecture in chrysanthemum and localizing air emboli in cut flower stalks with cryo-SEM. After a Post-doc on water dynamics in tropical seeds, also in Wageningen, he joined Unilever R&D Vlaardingen in 2004. At Unilever he had the chance to learn about creation and investigation of microstructures of a large variety of soft materials, including shampoos, ice cream, margarines, powders, gels, etc. In 2018 he started his own lab in Barendrecht, hosting cryo-SEM, CLSM, and many types of LM. The expertise of Consistence is mainly in soft/hydrated materials such as foods, consumer products, greases, medical/biological materials etc. Especially by using the complementary methods of cryo-SEM and CLSM, theyoffer deep microstructural insights of any material from visual scale to nanoscale, mainly to R&D groups in (food) industry.

About the lecture

Microscopic techniques for microstructural analysis of chocolates and fillings

Most standard imaging methods used in biology and food research cannot be used for chocolate products, because of the fat continuous and dehydrated nature of these materials. Still many options are available, ranging from light microscopical analysis of melted/resolidified material between glass slides, to analysis of ingredient powders, to advanced Confocal and cryo-SEM imaging of fat crystal network in finished products. We will discuss the opportunities and challenges, trying to cover the field of multiscale chocolate product imaging. Examples from own work and from literature will be discussed, also in terms of practical applicability, artifacts, expenses, and alternatives.