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Dear Colleagues,

Food processing is driven by the need to meet consumer demands for food safety, fresh and nutritious products, and the goals of value and minimal health and environmental impact. Research for environmentally friendly technologies such as new thermal processing (e.g., ohmic heating, dielectric or ultraviolet radiation) should be encouraged to respond positively to these demands. Exploration and knowledge development of alternative technologies applied in different food matrices to improve quality and extend shelf life should be intensified and disseminated. This Special Issue aims to provide an overview of new thermal technologies that ensure all these concerns. It also focuses on optimisation studies of the different technologies per se or in combination with traditional ones, promoting synergistic effects on the desired inactivation of microorganisms (food safety) and enzymes, avoiding adverse effects on functional, structural, nutritional, and sensory characteristics of foods that may occur when using these emerging technologies.

Dr. Elsa Margarida Gonçalves
Dr. Marta Maria Moniz Nogueira de Abreu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

novel thermal technologies
food innovation
food processing
process impact assessment
food quality and safety
environmental impact
health benefits
consumer perception
kinetic modelling
technology transfer and dissemination

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Target Alternative Approaches to Promoting Fresh-Cut Carrots’ Bioactive and Fresh-like Quality

Carla Alegria

Elsa M. Gonçalves

Margarida Moldão-Martins

and

Marta Abreu

Foods 2022, 11(16), 2422; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11162422 - 12 Aug 2022

Viewed by 1073

Abstract

Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, as near-fresh foods, are a quick and easy solution to a healthy and balanced diet. The rapid degradation of nutritional and sensory quality during the processing and storage of a product is critical and plant-type-dependent. The introduction of disruptive technological solutions in fresh-cut processing, which could maintain fresh-like quality with less environmental impact, is an emerging research concept. The application of abiotic stress treatments (heat shock and UV-C) induces metabolic responses and microbial effects in plant tissues, potentially slowing down several quality senescence pathways. The previously selected combined and single effects of heat shock (100 °C/45 s; in the whole root) and UV-C (2.5 kJ/m²) treatments and two packaging conditions (oriented polypropylene (OPP) vs. micro-perforated OPP films) on controlling critical degradation pathways of fresh-cut carrots and on promoting bioactive and sensory quality during storage (5 °C, 14 days) were studied. Among the tested combinations, synergistic effects on the quality retention of fresh-cut carrots were only attained for applying heat shock associated with micro-perforated OPP film packaging. Its effects on reducing (3.3 Log₁₀ CFU/g) the initial contamination and controlling microbiological spoilage (counts below the threshold limit of 7.5 Log₁₀ CFU/g), increasing the bioactive content (38% and 72% in total phenolic content and chlorogenic acid, respectively), and preserving fresh quality attributes prove to be a viable alternative technology for shredded carrot processing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Thermal Processing and Effects on the Foods Properties)

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Open AccessArticle

Effect of High Pressure on the Properties of Chocolate Fillings during Long-Term Storage

and

Foods 2022, 11(7), 970; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11070970 - 27 Mar 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1306

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of high-pressure processing (HPP) on the long-term storage of chocolate fillings at room temperature, compared with conventional storage at lower temperatures. Dark chocolate fillings were treated at different pressure levels, holding times and stored at 20 °C for 12 months. Unprocessed batches were stored at 4 °C and at −12 °C. Moisture, water activity (aw), pH, colour, G′_1Hz and indigenous microflora were measured at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of storage. Results showed that 600 MPa/20 min processing was the most effective controlling mesophilic group, presenting 3.8 log cfu/g after 12 months of storage, and inactivating moulds and yeasts after HPP treatment. Colour was affected by storage, including a reduction in the L* parameter in all conditions to final values between 37.8 and 39.3, while the a* parameter increased during storage time at −12 °C and 4 °C to final values of around 12, and parameter b* decreased at storage temperature 20 °C to 5.3. Storage time affected the rheological behaviour of HPP-treated samples, increasing G′_1Hz from the 2nd to 12th month of storage time to the final values between 1603 kPa and 2139 kPa. Moisture, aw and pH were not affected by HPP treatment nor storage time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Thermal Processing and Effects on the Foods Properties)

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