Despite its relatively low environmental impact within the livestock sector, the poultry sector still faces its own environmental challenges that need to be addressed. The present paper uses life cycle assessment to quantify greenhouse gas emissions, from cradle to slaughterhouse gate, of four chicken meat products: whole carcass, wings, breast fillets, and leg quarters. The main contribution of the present study is that it provides a detailed analysis of different chicken meat cuts, testing mass and economic allocation choices and showing that economic allocation better reflects the causality of the cutting process. We recommend that a distinction should be made between whole carcass and meat cuts, as there are significant differences in meat content and climate change results between these two categories. This is not so clear in the literature, nor in the LEAP guideline for the poultry sector. The study was performed by using disaggregated inventory data from Spain, for the first time. Results show that the major contributors to environmental impact are feed production (>70%), electricity use (10.2%), and fossil fuel combustion (8.1%). Packaging did not significantly contribute to the climate change impact of the chicken products evaluated (0.4–3.4% contribution, depending on the type of packaging and product considered). Full article

Gannan navel orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck cv. Newhall) is an economically important fruit, but postharvest loss occurs easily during storage. In this study, the effects of different temperatures, light illuminations, and low-temperature plasma treatments on the water loss and quality of the Gannan navel orange were investigated. The fruit began to rot after 90 d of storage at 5 °C and 20–45 d at 26 °C. Navel oranges stored at 26 °C had 7.2-fold and 3.1-fold higher rates of water loss at the early and late storage stages, respectively, as compared with those stored at 5 °C. Storage at 5 °C decreased the contents of total soluble solids at the early storage stage and the contents of titratable acids at the late storage stage, whereas storage at 26 °C decreased the contents of total soluble solids at the late storage stage and the contents of titratable acids at the early storage stage, respectively. Application of low-temperature plasma produced by air ionization for 6 min, or continuous blue or red light illumination significantly inhibited water loss within 7 and 21 d of storage at 22 °C, respectively, but exhibited no significant effect on fruit quality. Furthermore, the low-temperature plasma treatment protected against fruit rot. Thus, treatment with low-temperature plasma followed by storage at a low temperature under continuous red or blue light illumination was of potential value as a green technology for preserving Gannan navel orange during storage. Full article

In this study, chitosan particles were used to encapsulate marjoram phenolic compounds as colon-specific drug-delivery systems. The microparticles were prepared by ionic gelation and spray-drying techniques and varying amounts of polymer and extract, along with different method conditions. The spray drying of microparticles (0.75% low molecular weight chitosan dissolved in 0.4% of acetic acid) presented the best encapsulation efficiency (near 75%), with size ranges from 1.55 to 1.68 µm that allowed the encapsulation of 1.25–1.88 mg/mL of extract. Release studies of individual marjoram phenolic compounds at pH 2 and 7.4 showed that most of the compounds remained encapsulated in the microparticles. Only arbutin and vicenin II presented a high initial burst release. As the polarity of the compounds was reduced, their initial release decreased. In addition, after gastrointestinal digestion, most of marjoram phenolic compounds remained encapsulated. These results prove that chitosan microparticlescould protect the marjoram phenolic compounds during gastrointestinal digestion, specifically those related to anticancer activity, which enables their application as colon-specific delivery systems. Full article

Fish processing generates many by-products, which are mainly destined for aquaculture feed. However, these by-products have interesting nutritional properties and could still be used for human consumption, thus promoting circular economy. Therefore, this study focused on evaluating the shelf life of mechanically deboned and dried meat (MDDM) of sea bass based on the lipid oxidation criterion (TBARS). The effect of a tocopherol-based antioxidant was also evaluated, and changes in the fatty acid profile were studied. For that, samples with and without antioxidant were stored at three temperatures (37, 55, and 65 °C) for 50 days. This allowed its modelling according to the Arrhenius model. The results showed a shelf life for MDDM of 220 days at 20 °C without the addition of antioxidant. When antioxidant was added, a high protective effect against oxidation and preservation of unsaturated fatty acids was perceived, avoiding nutritional losses and negative sensory effects, reducing EPA and DHA losses by 75% and 72%, respectively. In conclusion, the stability of MDDM from sea bass was demonstrated, making possible its incorporation into other food matrices. Full article

The taste of meat is the result of complex chemical reactions. In this study, non-target metabolomics was used to resolve the taste differences in muscle tissue of four major livestock species (chicken, duck, pork, and beef). The electronic tongue was then combined to identify the major taste contributors to meat. The results showed that the metabolism of chicken meat differed from that of duck, pork, and beef. The multivariate statistical analysis showed that the five important metabolites responsible for the differences were all related to taste, including creatinine, hypoxanthine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, L-glutamic acid, and L-aspartic acid. These five key taste contributors acted mainly through the amino acid metabolic pathways. In combination with electronic tongue (e-tongue) analysis, inosine monophosphate was the main contributor of umami. L-Glutamic acid and L-aspartic acid might be important contributors to the umami richness. Creatinine and hypoxanthine contributed more to the bitter aftertaste of meat. Full article

Salted duck egg white (SDEW), as the main by-product in the production process of salted egg yolk, has not been effectively used as a food resource because of its high salt concentration. This study creatively used isoelectric point precipitation, ultrafiltration, and cation exchange to separate and purify lysozyme from SDEW and preliminarily explored the enzymatic properties of lysozyme. The results showed that the relative molecular weight of lysozyme was about 14 KDa, and the specific activity of lysozyme reached 18,300 U/mg. Lysozyme had good stability in the temperature range of 30 °C to 60 °C and pH of 4 to 7. Metal ions, Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺, strongly inhibited lysozyme activity. Different surfactants showed certain inhibition effects on lysozyme from SDEW, among which glycerin had the strongest inhibitory effect. This study aimed to provide a theoretical reference for industrial purification and production of lysozyme from SDEW. Full article

The addition of textured soy protein (TSP) to surimi products extends the supply of fish protein and improves nutritional and sensory properties, which has attracted considerable research interest. In this study, a single-factor experiment and orthogonal experiment were used to determine the optimal process conditions and to assess the quality indicators of fish sausages during frozen storage. The results indicated that the optimal process conditions were as follows: the addition of 15% TSP, 8% potato starch, and 5% lard oil, resulting in a gel strength of 1894.32 g·cm. During storage of the formulation-optimized fish sausages for 180 days, the water-holding capacity, whiteness, texture properties, and gel strength of the fish sausages all decreased, whereas cooking loss, thawing loss, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances value, and total volatile base nitrogen value all increased. Consequently, TSP is beneficial to improve the gel strength and sensory score of fish sausages. The quality of fish sausages with added TSP was acceptable after storage at −18 °C, for 120 days. Full article

Texture and aroma are two important attributes for the eating quality of cooked rice, but their mutual relations are not clear. Cooked rice with a desirable texture might suffer from a deteriorated aroma property. To better understand the relations between texture and aroma, six different rice varieties with desirable eating qualities have been selected, with their texture and aroma profile characterized by a texture analyzer and gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry, respectively. A large variance of textural attributes and a total number of 39 major volatile organic components were observed for these cooked rice varieties. Pearson correlation showed that the hardness of cooked rice was positively correlated with the content of E-2-hexenal, 2-hexanol-monomer, 1-propanol, and E-2-pentenal, while stickiness was positively correlated with 5-methyl-2-furanmethanol and dimethyl trisulfide. Possible underneath mechanisms were discussed for these relations. These results could help the rice industry to develop rice products with both desirable texture and aroma property. Full article

In order to avoid hemolysis caused by direct dietary of kidney tea saponin, complex gels based on gellan gum (GG) and soybean isolate protein (SPI) loaded with saponin were created in the present study by using a self-assembly technique. Studies were conducted on the rheological characteristics, encapsulation effectiveness, molecular structure, microstructure, and hypoglycemic activity of GG/SPI-saponin gels. Increasing the concentration of SPI helped to enhance the strength and energy storage modulus (G′) of the gels, and the incorporation of high acylated saponin allowed the whole gel to undergo sol–gel interconversion. The encapsulation efficiency showed that GG/SPI-saponin was 84.52 ± 0.78% for saponin. Microstructural analysis results suggested that GG and SPI were bound by hydrogen bonds. The in vitro digestion results also indicated that saponin could be well retained in the stomach and subsequently released slowly in the intestine. In addition, the in vitro hypoglycemic activity results showed that the IC₅₀ of encapsulated saponin against α-glucosidase and α-amylase were at 2.4790 mg/mL and 1.4317 mg/mL, respectively, and may be used to replace acarbose for hypoglycemia. Full article

Novel environmentally friendly pretreatments have been developed in recent years to improve biomass fractionation. Solid-state fermentation (SSF) and treatment with ionic liquids show low environmental impact and can be used in biorefinery of biomass. In this work, these processes were assessed with brewery spent grain (BSG). First, BSG was used as a substrate to produce cellulases and xylanases by SSF with the fungi Aspergillus brasiliensis CECT 2700 and Trichoderma reesei CECT 2414. Then, BSG was pretreated with the ionic liquid [N₁₁₁₂OH][Gly] and hydrolyzed with the crude enzymatic extracts. Results showed that SSF of BSG with A. brasiliensis achieved the highest enzyme production; meanwhile, the pretreatment with ionic liquids allowed glucan and xylan fractions to increase and reduce the lignin content. In addition, a mixture of the extracts from both fungi in a ratio of 2.5:0.5 Aspergillus/Trichoderma (v/v) efficiently hydrolyzed the BSG previously treated with the ionic liquid [N₁₁₁₂OH][Gly], reaching saccharification percentages of 80.68%, 54.29%, and 19.58% for glucan, xylan, and arabinan, respectively. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that the BSG biorefinery process developed in this work is an effective way to obtain fermentable sugar-containing solutions, which can be used to produce value-added products. Full article

Background: Traditional thermal processing is a widely used method to ensure food safety. However, thermal processing leads to a significant decline in food quality, especially in the case of fruits and vegetables. To overcome this drawback, researchers are extensively exploring alternative non-thermal High-Pressure Processing (HPP) technology to ensure microbial safety and retaining the sensory and nutritional quality of food. However, HPP is unable to inactivate the spores of some pathogenic bacteria; thus, HPP in conjunction with moderate- and low-temperature is employed for inactivating the spores of harmful microorganisms. Scope and approach: In this paper, the inactivation effect of high-pressure and high-pressure thermal processing (HPTP) on harmful microorganisms in different food systems, along with the bactericidal kinetics model followed by HPP in certain food samples, have been reviewed. In addition, the effects of different factors such as microorganism species and growth stage, process parameters and pressurization mode, and food composition on microbial inactivation under the combined high-pressure and moderate/low-temperature treatment were discussed. Key findings and conclusions: The establishment of a reliable bactericidal kinetic model and accurate prediction of microbial inactivation will be helpful for industrial design, development, and optimization of safe HPP and HPTP treatment conditions. Full article

Exploring new sources of natural antioxidants is of great interest to edible oil producers, in line with the toxicological problems generated by the use of synthetic antioxidants. This study assesses the potential of lyophilized Pinot Noir grape pomace extract (GPE) to enhance the sunflower oil stability against thermo-oxidative damage compared to BHT during a prolonged exposure to convective heat at 185 °C. Oil thermo-oxidation was monitored based on specific indices such as peroxide value (PV), para-anisidine value (p-AV), inhibition of oil oxidation (IO), total oxidation (TOTOX) value, conjugated dienes and trienes (CDs, CTs), but also by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), where absorbance ratios A 3009 cm⁻¹/A 2922 cm⁻¹ (RI), A 3009 cm⁻¹/A 2853 cm⁻¹ (RII), A 3009 cm⁻¹/A 1744 cm⁻¹ (RIII) and RIV = A 1744 cm⁻¹/A 2922 cm⁻¹ (RIV) were investigated. GPE showed a significant inhibitory effect on oil thermo-oxidation and this response was concentration-dependent. Substantial decreases in the investigated indices, compared to the control without added antioxidants, were obtained after 4 h and 8 h of heat exposure of the 800 ppm GPE sample: PV (47%; 42%), p-AV (38%; 33%), IO (54%; 46%), TOTOX (41%; 37%), CDs (46%; 39%), CTs (44%; 29%). Oil exposure to heat resulted in changes in RI–RIV attributed to the reduction in the degree of unsaturation, in response to primary and secondary lipid oxidation. FTIR spectroscopy can be used to differentiate untreated and heat-treated oils based on the absorbance ratios. An inhibitory effect close to that of BHT was achieved by 500 ppm GPE, while a dose of 800 ppm provided greater protection against thermo-oxidation. Our results promote GPE as a natural additive to limit the thermo-oxidative damage of plant oils. Full article

In the present study, protein-polysaccharide Maillard conjugates were used as novel emulsifiers and bioactive carriers. Effects and potential mechanisms of zeaxanthin dipalmitate (ZD)-enriched emulsion stabilized with whey protein isolate (WPI)-gum Arabic (GA) conjugate (WPI-GA-ZD) and ZD-free emulsion (WPI-GA) on gut microbiota and inflammation were investigated using a model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. As a result, supplementation with WPI-GA and WPI-GA-ZD improved the serum physiological and biochemical indicators, decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and related mRNA, as well as increased the tight junction proteins to a certain extent. 16S rDNA sequencing analyses showed that supplementation with WPI-GA and WPI-GA-ZD presented differential modulation of gut microbiota and played regulatory roles in different metabolic pathways to promote health. Compared with WPI-GA, the relative abundances of Akkermansia, Lactobacillus and Clostridium_IV genera were enriched by the intervention of WPI-GA-ZD. Overall, the designed carotenoid-enriched emulsion stabilized with protein-polysaccharide conjugates showed potential roles in promoting health. Full article

Durum semolina spaghetti is known to have a low-moderate glycaemic index but the impact of various processing variables during the manufacture and cooking of pasta does affect pasta structure and potentially could alter starch digestion. In this study, several process variables were investigated to see if they can impact the in vitro starch digestion in spaghetti while also monitoring the pasta’s technological quality. Cooking time had a large impact on pasta starch digestion and reducing cooking from fully cooked to al dente and using pasta of very high protein content (17%), reduced starch digestion extent. The semolina particle size distribution used to prepare pasta impacted pasta quality and starch digestion to a small extent indicating a finer semolina particle size (<180 µm) may promote a more compact structure and help to reduce starch digestion. The addition of a structural enzyme, Transglutaminase in the pasta formulae improved overcooking tolerance in low protein pasta comparable to high protein pasta with no other significant effects and had no effect on starch digestion over a wide protein range (8.6–17%). While cold storage of cooked pasta was expected to increase retrograded starch, the increase in resistant starch was minor (37%) with no consequent improvement in the extent of starch digestion. Varying three extrusion parameters (die temperature, die pressure, extrusion speed) impacted pasta technological quality but not the extent of starch digestion. Results suggest the potential to subtly manipulate the starch digestion of pasta through some processing procedures. Full article

In light of the current debate on the impact of our current food system on climate change and related mitigation strategies, addressing the acceptance of sustainability aspects within consumer behavioral issues is of vital importance. However, the field remains mute on how those strategies can be designed and employed effectively to stimulate sustainable food consumption behavior. Immersive narrative design is a promising approach to engaging consumers in this context. Within this study, we shed light on how to create immersive, impactful, interactive narratives in augmented reality (AR) together with consumers. We propose a novel approach to how those stories can be planned, utilizing participatory design methods. Within a step-wise process, we develop the storyboard together with consumers. In the next step, we evaluate multiple approaches with AR application developers on how this storyline can be enhanced in AR considering the perspective of various stakeholders like developers, behavioral scientists, and consumers. Finally, we propose a conceptual framework for how immersive narratives can be designed and validated in a collaborative, multidimensional approach for impactful AR narrative content designs to stimulate sustainable food behavior for consumers. Full article