Foods, Volume 8, Issue 6 (June 2019) – 48 articles

Food preservatives are compounds that are used for the treatment of food to improve the shelf life. In the food industry, it is necessary to monitor all processes for both safety and quality of the product. An electronic nose (or e-nose) is a biomimetic olfactory system that could find numerous industrial applications, including food quality control. Commercial electronic noses are based on sensor arrays composed by a combination of different sensors, which include conductometric metal oxide devices. Metal oxide nanowires are considered among the most promising materials for the fabrication of novel sensing devices, which can enhance the overall performances of e-noses in food applications. The present work reports the fabrication of a novel sensor array based on SnO₂, CuO, and WO₃ nanowires deposited on top of μHPs provided by ams Sensor Solutions Germany GmbH. The array was tested for the discrimination of four typical compounds added to food products or used for their treatment to increase the shelf life: ethanol, acetone, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone. Results are very promising; the sensors array was able to operate for a long time, consuming less than 50 mW for each single sensor, and principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed that the device was able to discriminate between different compounds. Full article

One of the biggest challenges facing the food industry is assuring food integrity. Dealing with complex food integrity issues requires a multi-dimensional approach. Preventive actions and early reactive responses are key for the food supply chain. Information sharing could facilitate the detection and prevention of food integrity issues. This study investigates attitudes towards a food integrity information sharing system (FI-ISS) among stakeholders in the European food supply chain. Insights into stakeholders’ interest in participating and their conditions for joining an FI-ISS are assessed. The stakeholder consultation consisted of three rounds. During the first round, a total of 143 food industry stakeholders—covering all major food sectors susceptible to food integrity issues—participated in an online quantitative survey between November 2017 and February 2018. The second round, an online qualitative feedback survey in which the findings were presented, received feedback from 61 stakeholders from the food industry, food safety authorities and the science community. Finally, 37 stakeholders discussed the results in further detail during an interactive workshop in May 2018. Three distinct groups of industry stakeholders were identified based on reported frequency of occurrence and likelihood of detecting food integrity issues. Food industry stakeholders strongly support the concept of an FI-ISS, with an attitude score of 4.49 (standard deviation (S.D.) = 0.57) on a 5-point scale, and their willingness to participate is accordingly high (81%). Consensus exists regarding the advantages an FI-ISS can yield towards detection and prevention. A stakeholder’s perception of the advantages was identified as a predictor of their intention to join an FI-ISS, while their perception of the disadvantages and the perceived risk of food integrity issues were not. Medium-sized companies perceive the current detection of food integrity issues as less likely compared to smaller and large companies. Interestingly, medium-sized companies also have lower intentions to join an FI-ISS. Four key success factors for an FI-ISS are defined, more specifically with regards to (1) the actors to be involved in a system, (2) the information to be shared, (3) the third party to manage the FI-ISS and (4) the role of food safety authorities. Reactions diverged concerning the required level of transparency, the type of data that stakeholders might be willing to share in an FI-ISS and the role authorities can have within an FI-ISS. Full article

The domestic processing methods, soaking, cooking (traditional, microwave, pressure), and baking and the industrial processing, autoclaving, baking, and extrusion are used to improve consumption of legumes. The growing awareness of both health and sustainability turns the focus on protein (bio)availability. This paper reports the effect of these processing methods on the legume protein digestibility. Overall, the protein digestibility increases after processing by the different methods. However, since both the type of legume and the applied methods differ it cannot be concluded which specific method is best for the individual legume type. Full article

The level of variation in lipids and their fatty acids was determined in the grains of 10 popular durum wheat cultivars commercially grown in Central and Southern Italy. Samples were harvested for two consecutive years to account for differences due to changes in climatic conditions. Total fat content was determined by means of the International Association of Cereal Science and Technology (ICC) Standard Method No. 136, whereas the fatty acid profile was determined by gas chromatography. Total lipid content ranged from 2.97% to 3.54% dry basis (d.b.) in the year 2010 and from 3.10% to 3.50% d.b. in the year 2011, and the average value was 3.22% d.b. considering both years together. Six main fatty acids were detected in all samples in order of decreasing amounts: linoleic (C18:2) > palmitic (C16:0) ≈ oleic (C18:1) > linolenic (C18:3) > stearic (C18:0) > palmitoleic (C16:1). Significant variations in the levels of single acids between two years were observed for three samples. These results will be very useful in the updating of food composition databases in general and will help authorities to set proper quality standards for wholegrain flours and products where the germ should be preserved, considering also the recent interest of industry and consumers for these kinds of products. Full article

This study aimed to evaluate the biological activities of two Allium species (garlic and onion) as well as diallyl disulphide (DADS) and dipropyl disulphide (DPDS) as their representative bioactive compounds in a multi-assay experimental design. The genotoxic, antigenotoxic, and lifespan effects of garlic, onion, DADS, and DPDS were checked in Drosophila melanogaster and their cytotoxic, pro-apoptotic, and DNA-clastogenic activities were analyzed using HL60 tumoral cells. All compounds were non-genotoxic and antigenotoxic against H₂O₂-induced DNA damage with a positive dose-response effect and different inhibition percentages (the highest value: 95% for DADS) at all tested concentrations. Daily intake of Allium vegetables, DADS, or DPDS had no positive effects on flies’ lifespan and health span. Garlic and DADS exerted the highest cytotoxic effects in a positive dose-dependent manner. Garlic and DADS exerted a DNA-internucleosomal fragmentation as an index of induced proapoptotic activity on HL60 cells. Allium vegetables and DADS were able to induce clastogenic strand breaks in the DNA of HL60 cells. This study showed the genomic safety of the assayed substances and their protective genetic effects against the hydrogen peroxide genotoxine. Long-term treatments during the whole life of the Drosophila genetic model were beneficial only at low-median concentrations. The chemo-preventive activity of garlic could be associated with its distinctive organosulfur DADS. We suggest that supplementary studies are needed to clarify the cell death pathway against garlic and DADS. Full article

Child malnutrition remains a major public health problem in low-income African communities, caused by factors including the low nutritional value of indigenous/local complementary porridges (CP) fed to infants and young children. Most African children subsist on locally available starchy foods, whose oral texture is not well-characterized in relation to their sensorimotor readiness. The sensory quality of CP affects oral processing (OP) abilities in infants and young children. Unsuitable oral texture limits nutrient intake, leading to protein-energy malnutrition. The perception of the oral texture of selected African CPs (n = 13, Maize, Sorghum, Cassava, Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP), Cowpea, and Bambara) was investigated by a trained temporal-check-all-that-apply (TCATA) panel (n = 10), alongside selected commercial porridges (n = 19). A simulated OP method (Up-Down mouth movements- munching) and a control method (lateral mouth movements- normal adult-like chewing) were used. TCATA results showed that Maize, Cassava, and Sorghum porridges were initially too thick, sticky, slimy, and pasty, and also at the end not easy to swallow even at low solids content—especially by the Up-Down method. These attributes make CPs difficult to ingest for infants given their limited OP abilities, thus, leading to limited nutrient intake, and this can contribute to malnutrition. Methods to improve the texture properties of indigenous CPs are needed to optimize infant nutrient intake. Full article

White and three types of black garlic (13, 32, and 45 days of aging, named 0C1, 1C2, and 2C1, respectively) were selected to study possible differences in their nutraceutic potential. For this purpose, garlic were physicochemically characterized (Brix, pH, aW, L, polyphenol, and antioxidant capacity), and both in vivo and in vitro assays were carried out. Black garlic samples showed higher polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity than the white ones. The biological assays showed that none of the samples (neither raw nor black garlic) produced toxic effects in the Drosophila melanogaster animal genetic model, nor exerted protective effects against H₂O₂, with the exception of the 0C1 black garlic. Moreover, only white garlic was genotoxic at the highest concentration. On the other hand, 0C1 black garlic was the most antigenotoxic substance. The in vivo longevity assays showed significant extension of lifespan at some concentrations of white and 0C1and 1C2 black garlic. The in vitro experiments showed that all of the garlic samples induced a decrease in leukemia cell growth. However, no type of garlic was able to induce proapoptotic internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. Taking into account the physicochemical and biological data, black garlic could be considered a potential functional food and used in the preventive treatment of age-related diseases. In addition, our findings could be relevant for black-garlic-processing agrifood companies, as the economical and timing costs can significantly be shortened from 45 to 13 days of aging. Full article

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of sugar content (0, 0.30, and 0.60%) on quality attributes and shelf-life of dry-fermented sausages stored for 66 days containing free or immobilized Lactobacillus casei ATCC 393 on wheat. For comparison, dry-fermented sausages with no starter culture were also produced. Physicochemical characteristics ranged within the levels usually observed in fermented sausages, while a drastic decrease was recorded in numbers of enterobacteria, staphylococci, and pseudomonads during ripening in all cases. Noticeably, sugar addition and the probiotic culture resulted in significant increase of shelf-life, whereas levels of L. casei ATCC 393 after 66 days of ripening persisted above 6 log cfu/g. Sugar addition had a positive effect on sensory attributes; although all products were of high quality, the immobilized cells provided a distinctive characteristic aroma and a fine taste. Full article

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system and possesses various physiological functions. GABA production can be obtained thanks to lactic acid bacteria activity in different foods such as sourdoughs. Recently, breads made from blends of pseudocereals and wheat flours have attracted much attention. Amaranth is especially interesting because of its high nutritional value, having a high protein content and containing different antioxidant compounds. Therefore, this study aimed to obtain sourdough breads enriched with GABA thanks to bacterial activity and to investigate the effect of amaranth flour addition on the antioxidant and sensorial properties of bread. Eighteen lactobacilli strains were assayed for GABA production in amaranth and wheat flour liquid sourdoughs. Two strains, Lactobacillus brevis A7 and Lactobacillus farciminis A11, demonstrated high GABA producing capability; hence, they were used to prepare breads containing 20% amaranth flour. The results confirmed the capability of the two strains to increase GABA concentrations (up to 39 mg/kg) in breads. Samples with amaranth addition showed a significantly higher total phenolic content compared to the control bread (more than 15 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹ dwb); sensory analysis showed that breads with amaranth were moderately acceptable. Nevertheless, their general liking evaluation was significantly lower compared to the control bread. The addition of pseudocereal to traditional wheat sourdough and selection of lactobacilli allowed the production of baked goods with enhanced GABA content and antioxidant capacity, but recipes have to be developed to increase the organoleptic acceptability of the final products. Full article

Studying consumers’ implicit emotions has been always described as a difficult and a complicated mission due to the emotions being of a non-cognitive nature. This research aims to develop a new method based on emotion-color association (ECA) to detect consumer’s implicit food-elicited emotions using an eye-tracker tool. The study was accomplished in two experiments. The first experiment intended to build a new color scale based on the emotion-color association using the eye-tracking method and a self-reported questionnaire (SRQ). The results showed that people tend to express their evoked positive emotions by choosing mostly the light colors, and favor to choose dark colors to reveal their evoked negative emotions. In the second experiment, a sensory evaluation was conducted employing the developed color scale in addition to verbal emotion-based questionnaire (VEQ) to detect the participants’ food-elicited emotions with different samples. The sensory evaluation consisted of taste, smell, and vision tests. The study demonstrated a consistency between the results of the verbal emotion questionnaire and the new color scale method. This consistency may refer to the capability of the developed scale, as a non-intrusive method that obtains prompt responses and avoids deliberate action, to rapidly detect the implicit emotions in a sensory evaluation for a better understanding of the consumer’s behavior. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the effect of different drying methods, namely ultrasound-assisted vacuum drying (USV), vacuum drying (VD), and freeze-drying (FD), on the drying kinetics and some quality parameters of dried minced meat. In this study, USV was for the first time applied to the drying of minced meat. The USV and VD methods were conducted at 25 °C, 35 °C, and 45 °C. The different drying methods and temperatures significantly affected the drying time (p < 0.05). The USV method showed lower drying times at all temperatures. The rehydration values of the freeze-dried minced meat samples were higher than those obtained by the USV and VD techniques. The samples prepared using USV showed higher rehydration values than the vacuum dried samples for all temperatures. The effects of the different drying techniques and drying conditions on the microstructural properties of the minced meat samples were investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The USV method resulted in higher porosity and a more open structure than the VD method. Total color differences (ΔE) for VD, USV, and FD were 8.27–20.81, 9.58–16.42, and 9.38, respectively, and were significantly affected by the drying methods and temperatures (p < 0.05). Higher drying temperature increased the ΔE value. Peroxide values (PV) significantly increased after the drying process, and samples treated with USV showed lower PV values than the VD treated samples. This study suggests that USV could be used as an alternative drying method for minced meat drying due to lower drying times and higher quality parameters. Full article

Carotenoids and folate are two mandatory supplying micronutrients for children or pregnant women. Inadequate intake of these two nutrients was relevant to a higher mortality of both children and pregnancies. This study is intended to investigate the thermal impact on the changes of carotenoids and folate in sweet potato roots (SPRs). Carotenoids were identified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) while the folate was estimated using a microbial assay. An obvious decline was observed in total carotenoids after heating. Nevertheless, the content of provitamin compound β-carotene exhibited incredible stability during steaming and α-carotene multiplied in certain varieties, evidencing that SPRs could be an efficient way for addressing Vitamin A deficiency (VAD). As for the total folate contents, two varieties were found no significant loss after thermal process while the others showed a significant decrease. The results indicated that steaming process led to generally loss of both carotenoids and folate while the α-carotene and β-carotene were well preserved. The information provided by this study might help with enhancing the food quality in processing industry and the understanding in the nutrition changes during steaming. Full article

A fermented beverage was developed using breadfruit flour as a substrate by optimising sucrose, inoculum concentrations, and fermentation temperature in the formulation by utilising the D-optimal mixture design. The optimisation was carried out based on CFU counts, pH, titratable acidity, lactic acid, and sugar concentration of the different fermented breadfruit substrate formulations. Results showed that the optimised values based on the contour plots generated were: 7% breadfruit flour, 1% inoculum, and 15% sugar after fermentation at 30 °C for 48 h. Sensory projective mapping results showed that the fermented breadfruit substrate beverage was characterised by a pale-yellow appearance, fruity flavour, and sweet and sour taste. The hedonic test was not significantly different (p > 0.05) for almost all formulations except for formulation 4 (5% sugar, 3% inoculum, 7% breadfruit flour at 30 °C), which was described as bitter and had the lowest acceptance rating. This study successfully demonstrated the development of a novel fermented breadfruit-based beverage with acceptable sensory characteristics and cell viability using a mixture strain of L. acidophilus and L. plantarum DPC 206. Full article

Biodegradable materials made from cereal arabinoxylan could provide an alternative source of packaging to replace current nonbiodegradable plastics. The main purpose of this research was to determine how arabinoxylan (AX) films made from wheat bran (WB) AX, maize bran (MB) AX, and dried distillers grain (DDG) AX made with either glycerol or sorbitol at varying levels (10, 25 or 50%) interacts with soil and water. The biodegradability of all films ranged from 49.4% biodegradable (DDG AX with 10% sorbitol) to 67.7% biodegradable (MB AX with 50% glycerol). In addition, the MB AX films with 25% sorbitol had the lowest moisture content at 9.7%, the MB AX films with 10% glycerol had the highest water solubility at 95.6%, and the MB AX films with 50% glycerol had the highest water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) at 90.8 g h⁻¹ m⁻². Despite these extreme trends in the MB AX films, the WB AX films were the least hydrophilic on average while the DDG AX films were the most hydrophilic on average. The 18 materials developed in this research demonstrate varying affinities for water and biodegradation. These materials can be used for many different packaging materials, based on their unique characteristics. Full article

Pomegranate juice is one of the most popular fruit juices, is well-known as a “superfood”, and plays an important role in healthy diets. Due to its constantly growing demand and high value, pomegranate juice is often targeted for adulteration, especially with cheaper substitutes such as apple and red grape juice. In the present study, the potential of applying a metabolomics approach to trace pomegranate juice adulteration was investigated. A novel methodology based on high-resolution mass spectrometric analysis was developed using targeted and untargeted screening strategies to discover potential biomarkers for the reliable detection of pomegranate juice adulteration from apple and red grape juice. Robust classification and prediction models were built with the use of unsupervised and supervised techniques (principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA)), which were able to distinguish pomegranate juice adulteration to a level down to 1%. Characteristic m/z markers were detected, indicating pomegranate juice adulteration, and several marker compounds were identified. The results obtained from this study clearly demonstrate that Mass Spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics have the potential to be used as a reliable screening tool for the rapid determination of food adulteration. Full article

When it comes to eating and drinking, multiple factors from diverse sensory modalities have been shown to influence multisensory flavour perception and liking. These factors have heretofore been strictly divided into either those that are intrinsic to the food itself (e.g., food colour, aroma, texture), or those that are extrinsic to it (e.g., related to the packaging, receptacle or external environment). Given the obvious public health need for sugar reduction, the present review aims to compare the relative influences of product-intrinsic and product-extrinsic factors on the perception of sweetness. Evidence of intrinsic and extrinsic sensory influences on sweetness are reviewed. Thereafter, we take a cognitive neuroscience perspective and evaluate how differences may occur in the way that food-intrinsic and extrinsic information become integrated with sweetness perception. Based on recent neuroscientific evidence, we propose a new framework of multisensory flavour integration focusing not on the food-intrinsic/extrinsic divide, but rather on whether the sensory information is perceived to originate from within or outside the body. This framework leads to a discussion on the combinability of intrinsic and extrinsic influences, where we refer to some existing examples and address potential theoretical limitations. To conclude, we provide recommendations to those in the food industry and propose directions for future research relating to the need for long-term studies and understanding of individual differences. Full article

Asfaka, fir, flower, forest flowers and orange blossom honeys harvested in the wider area of Hellas by professional beekeepers, were subjected to mineral content analysis using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The main purpose of this study was to characterize the mineral profile and content of toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and chromium, and investigate whether specific minerals could assist accurately in the botanical origin discrimination with implementation of chemometrics. Twenty-five minerals were identified (Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Si, Ti, Tl, V, Zn) and quantified. Results showed that the mineral content varied significantly (p < 0.05) according to honey botanical origin, whereas lead, cadmium, and chromium contents ranged between 0.05–0.33 mg kg⁻¹, <0.05 mg kg⁻¹, and in the range of <0.12 to 0.39 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. Fir honeys from Aitoloakarnania region showed the highest mineral content (182.13 ± 71.34 mg kg⁻¹), while flower honeys from Samos Island recorded the highest silicon content (16.08 ± 2.94 mg kg⁻¹). Implementation of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), factor analysis (FA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) led to the perfect classification (100%) of these honeys according to botanical origin with the use of Al, As, Ca, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Si, Zn and total mineral content. However, the higher lead content in the majority of samples than the regulated upper limit (0.10 mg kg⁻¹), sets the need for further improvements of the beekeepers’ practices/strategies for honey production. Full article

Advances in the adoption of technological innovations represent a great driver to improve the competitiveness of the Italian extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) industry. This work assesses the efficiency of an innovative extraction plant (with low oxidative impact, heating of paste before malaxation and a special decanter that avoids the final vertical centrifugation) in terms of oil yield and quality, and economic and environmental impacts. Economic and environmental impacts were evaluated by using both life cycle costing and life cycle assessment methodologies. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to highlight the uncertain factors that may strongly affect the results. Findings showed that olive milling with the innovative plant resulted in olive oil with a significant increase in quality, although the extraction yield was significantly higher when using conventional technology. In terms of environmental results, an average growth of 4.5% of the impacts in all categories was reached. The economic results revealed the highest extraction cost for the innovative scenario as well as the lower profitability, although a positive return in investment feasibility can be achieved due to an increase in the olive oil selling price. These findings could be useful to highlight the main hotspots in EVOO production and to suggest improvements for more sustainable management. Full article

Interest in gluten-free grains is increasing, together with major incidences of celiac disease in the last years. Since to date, knowledge of the nutritional and bioactive compounds profile of alternative gluten-free grains is limited, we evaluated the content of water-soluble (thiamine and riboflavin) and liposoluble vitamins, such as carotenoids and tocols (tocopherols and tocotrienols), of gluten-free minor cereals and also of pseudocereals. The analysed samples showed a high content of bioactive compounds; in particular, amaranth, cañihua and quinoa are good sources of vitamin E, while millet, sorghum and teff (Eragrostis tef, or William’s Lovegrass) are good sources of thiamine. Moreover, millet provides a fair amount of carotenoids, and in particular of lutein. These data can provide more information on bioactive compounds in gluten-free grains. The use of these grains can improve the nutritional quality of gluten-free cereal-based products, and could avoid the monotony of the celiac diet. Full article

The loss of color pigment is an important quality factor of food products. This work aimed to systematically study, in purified model systems, the influence of anthocyanins’ structure (by increasing the size of the conjugated sugar) and the presence of ascorbic acid on their stability and spectral properties during storage at two pH levels relevant to medium and high acid foods (6.5 and 4.5, respectively). Anthocyanins (cyanidin (Cy), cyanidin 3-O-β-glucoside (Cy3G) and cyanidin 3-O-β-rutinoside (Cy3R)) displayed first-order degradation rates, presenting higher stability in acidic medium and enhanced stability with increasing size of conjugated sugar. The addition of ascorbic acid resulted in significantly enhanced degradation. Changes in ultra violet visible (UV-VIS) spectral properties presented a decrease in typical color intensity and pointed towards formation of degradation products. Identification and kinetics of formation for cyanidin degradation products were obtained by high performance liquid chromatography system-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Full article

For several years, studies conducted for discovering tenderness biomarkers have proposed a list of 20 candidates. The aim of the present work was to develop an innovative methodology to select the most predictive among this list. The relative abundance of the proteins was evaluated on five muscles of 10 Holstein cows: gluteobiceps, semimembranosus, semitendinosus, Triceps brachii and Vastus lateralis. To select the most predictive biomarkers, a multi-block model was used: The Data-Driven Sparse Partial Least Square. Semimembranosus and Vastus lateralis muscles tenderness could be well predicted (R² = 0.95 and 0.94 respectively) with a total of 7 out of the 5 times 20 biomarkers analyzed. An original result is that the predictive proteins were the same for these two muscles: µ-calpain, m-calpain, h2afx and Hsp40 measured in m. gluteobiceps and µ-calpain, m-calpain and Hsp70-8 measured in m. Triceps brachii. Thus, this method is well adapted to this set of data, making it possible to propose robust candidate biomarkers of tenderness that need to be validated on a larger population. Full article

In this study, natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) were used as both the extraction and dilution matrix in static headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SHS-GC-MS) for the analysis of volatile components in Ipomoea cairica (L). Sweet (ICS) leaves. Six NADESs were prepared and the NADESs composed of choline chloride and glucose with a 1:1 molar ratio containing 15% water were preferred due to the better peak responses. A total of 77 volatiles in ICS leaves were detected and tentatively identified by mass spectral matching with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, 2014) Mass Spectral Library and the retention index-assisted qualitative method. These 77 volatile components were mainly terpenoids, aromatics, and aliphatics. Among them, β-elemene, β-caryophyllene, α-humulene, and 2, 4-di-tert-butylphenol were found to be the main components. This investigation verified that the use of NADESs is an efficient green extraction and dilution matrix of the SHS-GC-MS method for direct volatile component analysis of plant materials without extra extraction work. Full article

This paper examines the effects of the incorporation of denatured whey proteins along with salting in NaCl/KCl brine on the characteristics and ripening of sheep milk reduced-fat (RF), semi-hard cheese. Incorporation of denatured whey proteins was carried out by: i. adding commercial microparticulated whey protein (MWP) in reduced-fat cheese milk (RFM), or ii. by ‘in situ’ heat-induced partial denaturation of whey proteins of reduced-fat cheese milk (RFD). The implemented cheesemaking conditions included curd washing, moderate clotting, scalding temperatures, and ripening of cheeses packed in plastic bags under vacuum at 10 °C. Full-fat cheeses (FF) were manufactured in parallel. Physicochemical composition, textural profile, and proteolysis were assessed throughout 60 days of ripening. The mean moisture, fat on dry matter (FDM), moisture on non-fat substances (MNFS), protein on dry matter (PDM), salt, and salt-in-moisture (S/M) content of the RF cheeses were 47.4%, 32.8%, 57.3%, 54.3%, 1.63%, and 3.36%, respectively; pH ≈ 5.0, a_w ≈ 0.977, Ca ≈ 1000 mg/100 g cheese. The MNFS of FF and RF cheeses were similar. Proteolysis indices were not affected by any of the treatments, and they were similar to the FF counterparts. The applied cheesemaking technology was adequate for the production of semi-hard reduced-fat and reduced-sodium cheeses. Ripening under packaging hindered moisture loss without impairing the evolution of proteolysis and textural parameters. The same holds true for salting in NaCl/KCl brine. The high pasteurization of cheese milk was more effective for the increase of moisture and MNFS than the addition of MWP, without exhibiting any adverse effects. Full article

Water loss, gain or transfer results in a decline in the overall quality of food. The aim of this study was to form a uniform layer of sodium alginate-based edible coating (1.25% sodium alginate, 2% glycerol, 0.2% sunflower oil, 1% span 80, 0.2% tween 80, (w/w)) and investigate the effects on the water barrier characteristics of fresh-cut cantaloupe and strawberries. To this end, a uniform and continuous edible film formation was achieved (0.187 ± 0.076 mm and 0.235 ± 0.077 mm for cantaloupe and strawberries, respectively) with an additional immersion step into a calcium solution at the very beginning of the coating process. The coating application was effective in significantly reducing the water loss (%) of the cantaloupe pieces. However, no significant effect was observed in water vapor resistance results and weight change measurements in a climate chamber (80%→60% relative humidity (RH) at 10 °C). External packaging conditions (i.e., closed, perforated, and open) were not significantly effective on water activity (a_w) values of cantaloupe, but were effective for strawberry values. In general, the coating application promoted the water loss of strawberry samples. Additionally, the water vapor transmission rate of stand-alone films was determined (2131 g·100 µm/(m²·d·bar) under constant environmental conditions (23 °C, 100%→50% RH) due to the ability to also evaluate the efficacy in ideal conditions. Full article

Data on variations in amino acid compositions and protein profiles among white and brown teff, a grain of growing interest, is either limited or contradicting at the moment. In this study, three white (Addis-W, Mekel-W and Debre-W) and three brown (Addis-B, Mekel-B and Debre-B) teff seed samples were used for whole flour amino acid analysis and protein fractionation with three different methods. White and brown seed types showed different physical changes during protein extraction. Brown teff displayed higher essential amino acid content than white with lysine present in high concentration in both seed types. Extraction with tert-butanol increased prolamin yields in teff compared to ethanol. The major protein fraction in teff was glutelin with white teff containing higher glutelin proportion than brown. Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis revealed clear genetic variability between white and brown teff seed types. Full article

Lycopene is more bioavailable in processed tomato products than in raw tomatoes, since arrangement of cis-isomers of lycopene during food processing and storage may increase its biological activity. The aim of the study is evaluate the influence of lycopene content from different tomato-based food products (extract, paste, ketchup and sauce) on cell proliferation, cell cycle, and rate of apoptosis of human prostate cancer cell lines. DU-145 and PC-3 cell lines were treated with lycopene content from different tomato-based food products (500–5000 μg/mL) for 96 h. The data showed a decrease in cell viability in both DU-145 and PC-3 cells after treatment with all lycopene extracts from tomato-based food products. Analysis of cell cycle revealed a decrease in the percentage of prostate cancer cells in G₀/G₁ and G₂/M phases after 96 h of treatment when using lycopene content from tomato paste and tomato extract. However, lycopene extracted from tomato sauce and ketchup promoted a decrease in the percentage of cells in G₀/G₁ phase and an increase in S and G₂/M phases after 96 h of treatment. Lycopene content from all of those tomato-based food products also increased apoptosis in both prostate cancer cell lines. In this regard, lycopene has proved to be a potent inhibitor of cell viability, arrest cell cycle and increase the apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells, suggesting an effect in the balance of human prostate cancer cell lines growth. Full article

In this work, we report the potency of enzymatic hydrolysates of pea proteins against trypsin and chymotrypsin. Pea protein concentrate was digested with each of alcalase, chymotrypsin, pepsin, and trypsin, followed by membrane separation of the protein hydrolysates into peptide fractions (<1, 1–3, 3–5, and 5–10 kDa). Peptide size profiling with size-exclusion gel chromatography indicated the narrowest size range (0.85–4.98 kDa) for alcalase. Trypsin activity was strongly (p < 0.05) inhibited by the ultrafiltration fractions (mean IC₅₀ = 2.2 mg/mL) obtained from the trypsin hydrolysate when compared to the unfractionated hydrolysate (IC₅₀ = 6.8 mg/mL). Similarly, ultrafiltration also enhanced trypsin inhibition by the alcalase-digested peptides with an IC₅₀ of 21.4 mg/mL for the unfractionated hydrolysate in comparison to 3.1–4.7 mg/mL for the fractions. However, ultrafiltration did not enhance trypsin inhibitory activity of chymotrypsin-digested peptides, while the peptide separation reduced efficacy of pepsin-digested peptides. In contrast, chymotrypsin inhibition by all the enzymatic digests was significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced by ultrafiltration, especially peptide sizes >3 kDa. Kinetics of enzyme inhibition indicate peptides were bound to the enzyme active site in a competitive mode that led to reduced catalysis. We conclude that the pea peptides could function as useful tools to promote human health and as a preservative during food processing and storage. Full article

Protein digestibility is currently a hot research topic and is of big interest to the food industry. Different scoring methods have been developed to describe protein quality. Cereal protein scores are typically low due to a suboptimal amino acid profile and low protein digestibility. Protein digestibility is a result of both external and internal factors. Examples of external factors are physical inaccessibility due to entrapment in e.g., intact cell structures and the presence of antinutritional factors. The main internal factors are the amino acid sequence of the proteins and protein folding and crosslinking. Processing of food is generally designed to increase the overall digestibility through affecting these external and internal factors. However, with proteins, processing may eventually also lead to a decrease in digestibility. In this review, protein digestion and digestibility are discussed with emphasis on the proteins of (pseudo)cereals. Full article

Ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) are widely-used technologies to standardize the protein content of cheesemilk. Our previous work demonstrated that protein retention of a 0.1-µm MF spiral-wound membrane (SWM) was lower, but close to that of a 10 kDa UF one. Considering that the permeability of MF membranes is expected to be higher than that of UF ones, it was hypothesized that the former could improve the efficiency of the cheesemaking process. Consequently, the objectives of this work were to compare 0.1-µm MF and 10 kDa UF spiral-wound membranes in terms of (1) hydraulic and separation performance, (2) energy consumption and fouling behavior, (3) cheesemaking efficiency of retentates enriched with cream, and (4) economic performance in virtual cheesemaking plants. This study confirmed the benefits of using MF spiral-wound membranes to reduce the specific energy consumption of the filtration process (lower hydraulic resistance and higher membrane permeability) and to enhance the technological performance of the cheesemaking process (higher vat yield, and protein and fat recoveries). However, considering the higher serum protein retention of the UF membrane and the low price of electricity in Canada, the UF scenario remained more profitable. It only becomes more efficient to substitute the 10 kDa UF SWM by the 0.1-μm MF when energy costs are substantially higher. Full article

The beef cattle industry is facing multiple problems, from the unequal distribution of added value to the poor matching of its product with fast-changing demand. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the interactions between the main variables, evaluating the nutritional and organoleptic properties of meat and cattle performances, including carcass properties, to assess a new method of managing the trade-off between these four performance goals. For this purpose, each variable evaluating the parameters of interest has been statistically modeled and based on data collected on 30 Blonde d’Aquitaine heifers. The variables were obtained after a statistical pre-treatment (clustering of variables) to reduce the redundancy of the 62 initial variables. The sensitivity analysis evaluated the importance of each independent variable in the models, and a graphical approach completed the analysis of the relationships between the variables. Then, the models were used to generate virtual animals and study the relationships between the nutritional and organoleptic quality. No apparent link between the nutritional and organoleptic properties of meat (r = −0.17) was established, indicating that no important trade-off between these two qualities was needed. The 30 best and worst profiles were selected based on nutritional and organoleptic expectations set by a group of experts from the INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research) and Institut de l’Elevage (French Livestock Institute). The comparison between the two extreme profiles showed that heavier and fatter carcasses led to low nutritional and organoleptic quality. Full article