Scientists at the universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde have developed an artificial tongue which can taste subtle differences between whiskies and will help tackle the counterfeit alcohol trade.

This is the first product of its type to use two different types of nanoscale metal ‘taste buds’, which provides more information about the ‘taste’ of each sample and allows a faster and more accurate response.

With the increasing demand for products with strong provenance, manufacturers and retailers must be able to ensure full traceability. Scottish expertise in blockchain technology is now being applied to this area. The aim is to ensure a transparent food supply chain in Scotland and to help protect and authenticate national food and drink brands.

Edinburgh Napier University has recently joined forces with Glasgow-based leading data and analytics provider Eyecademy, to use blockchain to overcome difficulties around the provenance of organic produce, by tracking down the food supply chain of ethically sourced food.

A new digital dairy project involving a consortium of research partners, dairy-processors and enabling technology companies is seeking to develop a Digital Dairy Value Chain in Scotland.

By using digital twinning, combining digital communications and high-value manufacturing, it will enable the tracing of milk, cheese and other products and provide assurance to buyers.

Researchers at the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) have devised a digital whisky cask filling process that could save the industry millions of pounds each year. The digital approach is set to revolutionise industry equipment, allowing it to offer a high degree of repeatability, with additional improvements to health and safety of operators and enhanced environmental impact due to reduced waste.

Several partners collaborated in the project to create an industry demonstrator, complete with innovative whisky cask filling test rig and cyber-physical system,. It also includes a digital twin that replicates the physical process in a virtual environment.

A range of organisations have come together on a mission to establish the UK as an international centre of excellence for the farming of black soldier flies and the development of related technologies.

A large-scale industrial insect farm will help the aquaculture and agriculture sectors by recycling food waste into insect-based animal feed and bio-fertiliser.

Dutch multinational Royal DSM is investing £100 million in a large-scale production facility in Scotland to manufacture its new product Bovaer®, a methane reducing feed additive for cattle.

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Ardagh Group – a world-leader in glass packaging – recently announced a £15 million investment which will see its Ayrshire plant become one of the most advanced and efficient in Europe. It will use environmentally efficient end-fired technology and state of the art inspection equipment to produce glass which is infinitely recyclable.

CuanTec – a blue biotechnology company – is creating a circular economy where waste from processing of the fisheries industry is being put to good use as biodegradable food packaging which actually extends the shelf life of the fresh food it protects.

Discover how Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) is taking vertical farming to new heights, as the world grasps the environmental impact of traditional food cultivation.

Instead of planting seasonal crops in fields, IGS has invented a way to grow a year-round supply in vertical towers - producing a harvest that's organic, reliable and sustainable.

Celtic Renewables is a global biotech company based in Scotland making use of whisky by-products to make sustainable biofuel.

MiAlgae is another biotech company in Scotland producing high-quality, Omega-3 rich algae from whisky by-products that can be used as a nutrient source in aquaculture and pet food.