Journal of Food Process Engineering最新文献

This study aims to develop a novel microwave integrated-swirling flow-fluidized bed drying system. In this regard, for better understanding the drying performance and energy consumption of this novel system and its effect on the product quality parameters, the experiments were performed by using green tea leaves. Also, mathematical modeling and energy analysis was performed for this novel system. Drying experiments were carried out for 100, 300, 600, and 800 W microwave powers and some critical drying parameters such as dimensionless moisture ratio, moisture content, and drying rate were computed. Moreover, specific energy consumption (SEC), specific moisture extraction rate, and thermal efficiency of the system were estimated. Accordingly, the best drying curve equation was obtained as Improved Midilli-Kucuk model for all microwave powers. Moreover, the highest water extract, the maximum caffeine, and the minimum total ash of the product were determined to be 43.83%, 2.2%, and 5.94%, respectively, at 800 W power. Minimum SEC, maximum specific moisture extraction rate, and maximum energy efficiency of the system were estimated as 11.4 KWh kg⁻¹, 0.088 kg KWh⁻¹, and 23.7% at 800 W, respectively.

Flos sophorae immaturus (FSI) is rich in polyphenols and has been consumed as a health food. This study aimed to explore the impacts of dry heating (DH) and hydrothermal treatment (HT) on the phenolic content of FSI and their degrading kinetics, thereby elucidating the phenolic conversion patterns during processing at different temperatures. Results showed that DH led to a substantial decrease in total flavonoids and total phenols in FSI from 5 to 60 min at a maximum of 210°C. Conversely, FSI subjected to HT exhibited an opposing trend at a maximum of 90°C. Moreover, the highest rutin content (170.2 mg/g) was observed in HT-FSI at 90°C for 120 min, whereas quercetin exhibited the lowest content (5.4 mg/g), indicating a potential termination of conversion. Correspondingly, the rutin-degrading enzyme (RDE) activity of HT-FSI (0.814 U) decreased beginning at 50°C for 120 min and reached the lowest level (0.015 U) when treated at 90°C for 60 min. In contrast, the RDE of DH-FSI (0.463 U) was inactivated under the same processing conditions, yet its lowest level (0.041 U) remained significantly higher than that of HT-FSI. Furthermore, the first-order kinetics revealed that the activation energy of rutin extracted from the HT-FSI (63.15 kJ/mol) was higher than that of the DH-FSI (26.97 kJ/mol), suggesting that rutin conversion was much more difficult during HT. Overall, treating FSI with HT at 90°C for 60 min might be an effective method for rutin retention by inactivating RDE activity.

Milk protein-rich, orally self-disintegrating puffs were designed utilizing supercritical fluid extrusion (SCFX) to address the needs of both infants and the elderly who require high protein foods and suffer from swallowing difficulties. The physio-mechanical properties of the puffs need to be accurately evaluated as the physiological processes occurring in the mouth are quite complex. Generally, mastication is simulated through a compressive test that utilizes a constant contact area which does not well simulate the oral environment. Most snacks do not have a uniform shape and undergo a change in contact area during compressing leading to inaccurate predictions of the sample's response in the mouth. The objective of this study was to quantify the change in the contact area and its effect on compressive properties. Variable contact area was experimentally measured to provide an accurate estimation of the sample stress during testing. The sample's mean variable yield contact area was 43.1 mm² while the constant yield contact area was significantly higher at 100.5 mm² (p < 0.05). The relationship between the variable contact area and deformation was determined by fitting the data to a polynomial model (R² = 0.99). From this relationship, Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio were evaluated. The Young's modulus values determined with variable contact area correlate well with each puff's corresponding disintegration time. The puffs have soaked Poisson's ratio values close to 1.00 indicating that these sample are deforming more like a liquid than a solid. Overall, the results showed that the variable contact area should be utilized when analyzing compressive properties to form accurate predictions of oral disintegration for extruded puffs to meet the needs of those who have difficulty swallowing.

To improve the drying efficiency and quality of purple sweet potatoes after blanching pretreatment, this study employed three methods: hot water blanching (HWB), microwave blanching (MB), and vacuum steam pulsed blanching (VSPB). The impact of different blanching methods on the microstructural parameters and macroscopic performance of purple sweet potatoes was investigated using techniques such as paraffin sectioning, microscopic observation, and image processing. The results indicated that, at the microscopic level, the proportion of large cells after VSPB was significantly higher than that after hot water and MB, being 15.81%, 5.15%, and 25.68%, respectively. At the macroscopic level, samples pretreated with VSPB had the shortest drying time (210 min), the highest rehydration ratio (RR) (3.988), and the best chewiness (2095.44 g). Further studies explored the effects of blanching vacuum degree, blanching time, and blanching frequency on the distribution of various microstructural parameters of purple sweet potato tissue cells. Through nonlinear polynomial fitting, a fitting equation was established between the microstructural parameters after VSPB and the macroscopic RR and browning index. The determination coeffi cients R² of the established mathematical models and the predicted results were all greater than 0.8. The findings of this study provide an important reference for exploring the mechanism of the impact of VSPB pretreatment on the microstructural parameters and macroscopic performance of purple sweet potatoes and offer a theoretical basis for the design of drying equipment.

Pomelo is prone to juice sac granulation during ripening and storage, resulting in decreased moisture content, hard flesh, and bland flavor, which affects market value and consumer experience. Due to the complexity of the causes of juice sac granulation, coupled with the thick peel of pomelo, the detection means of pomelo is lacking and difficult to detect. In order to solve the shortcomings of the traditional granulation rate calculation, which has an error and cannot realize non-destructive detection. This study proposes a non-destructive detection of pomelo juice sac granulation and the calculation of granulation rate based on the nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology combined with the computer vision technology. Based on the strong analytical power of the MRI technology for moisture and the change of moisture in the granulated juice sac of pomelo, in this study, the cross section of pomelo was scanned by MRI scanner to obtain the corresponding MRI images. The MRI images of the cross section of pomelo were segmented using the threshold segmentation method to realize the calculation of the percentage of granulated pulp. The experimental results show that the segmentation threshold T1 = 102 can effectively segment the pulp from the peel, and the segmentation threshold T2 = 175 can effectively segment the granulated pulp from the normal pulp. The granulation rate of pomelo pulp can be calculated by calculating the ratio of the granulated pulp area to the total pulp area. Therefore, based on the MRI technology can be used for the detection of the granulation rate of pomelo juice sac, which provides a certain reference value for the subsequent non-destructive detection of the internal quality of large melons and fruits.

Tilapia are easily prone to degradation during the cold chain process, which is an urgent need for a transparent, efficient, and trustworthy traceability system. This paper designed and implemented a tilapia-blockchain IoT traceability system (T-BITS) based on Hyperledger Fabric. Intelligent sensing device and smart contracts were developed for traceability modeling and consensus optimization. Furthermore, a machine-learning approach was used to achieve quality grading evaluation for tilapia cold chain. The GWO-LSTM-based key parameters prediction and PSO-SVM-based quality grading model were established. The results show that the T-BITS system is more effective to capture and trace the critical ambient and quality information for tilapia cold chain. PSO-SVM model accuracy for quality coupling grading reaches 93.33%. This work can provide decision-making reference for tilapia quality control.

To improve the adsorption effect of air suction sorting equipment, in this study, flexible blades were used as test materials, and porous turntables with circular holes (A), rectangular holes (B), and rectangular-circular holes (C) were designed. Fluent software was used to simulate and analyze the aerodynamic characteristics of the flow field at the porous turntable, and the blade falling adsorption bench test was built. Under the same test conditions, the adsorption blades of the porous turntable were photographed by a high-speed camera. Based on the C-hole turntable and the tuyere air pressure of 380 Pa, it is verified by a single-factor test that the blade falling in the distance of the porous turntable, the rotating speed of the turntable, and the number of blades extending perpendicular to the direction of movement have a direct effect on the blade adsorption of the porous turntable. To obtain the optimum adsorption conditions for the bench test, an orthogonal test was used, and a certain number of leaves were used for the test while the adsorption efficiency was considered; it is found that when the distance from the porous turntable is 40 mm, the rotation speed of the turntable is 60 r/min and the number of transverse blades of the conveyor belt is 4, and 100% adsorption can be achieved. In summary, the research results and methods of this experiment can provide reference and guidance for the research group to carry out the follow-up research and development of multi-stage air suction sorting equipment.

Non-centrifugal sugars (NCS), traditionally obtained through open pan evaporation of cane juice, typically possess a moisture content ranging from 7% to 10% (wet basis). This study introduces a dehumidified drying technique aimed at significantly reducing moisture content, enhancing flow properties, minimizing antioxidant losses, increasing the glass transition temperature, and improving both the crystallinity and surface morphology of NCS. Two drying methods were evaluated: a solar dryer, with no control over temperature and humidity, and a refrigerated adsorption dehumidified dryer (RADD) with precise control of both parameters. The RADD achieved a substantial reduction in moisture content to 4.05% ± 0.2%, leading to markedly improved flow properties and a higher retention of phenolic content (82% ± 3.05%) compared to the solar dryer (71% ± 3.83%). Additionally, the RADD resulted in enhanced crystallinity, with a percentage of 83.5%, exceeding the 70%–75% range observed in solar-dried samples. Surface morphological analysis revealed that RADD-dried samples exhibited a uniform crystalline structure, whereas solar-dried samples displayed lumps and irregular particle shapes due to retained moisture. These findings highlight the practical implications of adopting dehumidified drying techniques for improving the quality of NCS. Future research should focus on exploring the scalability and energy efficiency of these techniques for industrial applications.

Apples have been constantly damaged in collecting, transporting, and processing, leading research focus on apples' mechanical-structural damage behavior. To research apples' mechanical-structural damage behavior during collision, a dropping collision damage testing device was self-established, with PLC control, data acquisition-processing, in situ high-speed observation. The effect of impact material, drop height, impact orientation on apple deformation and bruise area was investigated with self-established device, considering three typical kinds of apples. The results indicated that apple dropping collision can be divided into two stages: dropping down contact deformation stage and recovering contact deformation stage. Three kinds of apples demonstrate the largest deformation and bruise area when the impact material is steel and acrylic plate. The deformation is similar when apples collide with soil and foam, apples have no bruise area when the impact material is foam. The correlation between apple deformation, bruising area, and drop height was established, reflecting the relationship between drop height and apples' mechanical-structural damage behavior. Yellow Marshal apple deformation is the largest compared to other two kinds of apples under the same collision condition. Red Fuji apple bruise area is the largest compared to other two kinds of apples. The largest bruise area of Yellow Marshal apple and Guoguang apple are in apple transverse, and Red Fuji apple is in apple top. The study can provide basic theoretical and practical guidance for apples postharvest work.

Extrusion-based 3D printing technology has emerged as a promising method for developing soy protein-based meat analogs, addressing the urgent demand for sustainable and nutritious alternatives to traditional meat sources. There is a growing global interest in soy protein-based diets, driven by environmental sustainability, health, and animal welfare concerns. Extrusion-based 3D printing involves pushing soy protein pastes through a nozzle to develop layers that build up into three-dimensional objects and enable the production of structures closely mimicking the texture and appearance of real meat. Soy proteins, characterized by their high protein content and balanced amino acid profile, are ideal for producing meat-like textures and flavors. This review explores the application of extrusion and 3D printing technologies in soy protein-based meat analog production, emphasizing their potential to replicate the sensory qualities of animal meat. It discusses the advantages and challenges associated with these technologies, including the optimization of printing parameters for consistency and quality. Rheological studies are conducted to achieve smooth extrusion and proper layer formation whereas integrating fats, fibers, and natural flavors to enhance texture and taste. The review provides an overview of extrusion processes, highlighting rheological studies optimizing the flow behavior of soy protein pastes for effective 3D printing. Additionally, it examines textural studies aimed at mimicking the mouthfeel and bite of real meat, as well as printing performance evaluated through shape retention, layer resolution, structural strength, and printing accuracy. Consumer acceptance of soy protein-based meat analogs is also discussed, highlighting the familiarity with soy products and the increasing demand for plant-based alternatives. The review concludes by considering prospects for these technologies, focusing on innovations in extrusion and 3D printing, market trends, and evolving consumer preferences.