Journal of Food Quality最新文献

Grain is extremely vulnerable to external loads during production and processing, resulting in the deterioration of grain quality. Deteriorated grain not only affects the economic value of grain but also affects the safety of storage. This has a very important relationship with the biomechanical properties of grains. It is of great significance to explore the mechanical properties of grain under different conditions and analyze the relationship between its physical and chemical properties and mechanical properties for improving its processing and eating quality. In this paper, the research methods of the mechanical properties of grains are reviewed. Various factors influencing the mechanical properties of cereals were analyzed. The relationship between the internal organizational structure of grain and its mechanical properties was discussed. This paper puts forward the shortcomings in the current research on the mechanical properties of grains and puts forward the prospect and analysis of its importance in future development in order to provide a reference for reducing crushing in the grain processing process.

Honey bees are renowned for producing a remarkable substance known as bee honey, which stands as a functional food celebrated for its numerous health benefits. This natural wonder possesses a spectrum of advantageous properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, antibacterial, and wound-healing qualities. However, in our modern era of heightened utilization of bee products, a new and pressing global health concern has emerged—the contamination of honey with pesticides, antibiotics, microorganisms, and heavy metals. The consumption of beekeeping products containing pesticide residues has been linked to a range of health issues, including genetic malformations, cellular degradation, allergic reactions, and even potential carcinogenic effects. Troublingly, documented cases exist of botulism in newborns resulting from the ingestion of contaminated honey. Additionally, the use of antibiotics in beekeeping practices has been associated with the concerning emergence of antibiotic resistance. This comprehensive review sheds light on the substantial consequences of honey contamination for human health. It underscores the urgent need for the establishment of a rigorous monitoring system, the validation of minimum acceptable pollutant levels, and, at the very least, the regulation of maximum residue limits for bee products, with a particular emphasis on bee honey.

The nutritional value and flavor and texture characteristics of fruits from different Actinidia argute resources were scientifically evaluated and compared. Using 35 A. arguta fruits as materials, the amino acid composition and content were determined by an automatic amino acid analyzer, and differentiation analysis, amino acid nutritional value evaluation, TAV flavor analysis, correlation analysis, PCA comprehensive evaluation, and cluster analysis were conducted to clarify the diversity of A. arguta resources in terms of amino acid content, composition, and flavor characteristics. Analysis of differential results showed that the A. arguta resource fruits contained 17 amino acids with a total amino acid content of 384.20∼2590.56 mg/100 g. The results of the nutritional value evaluation showed that the Leu of the fruits of the A. arguta resources all conformed to the ideal model proposed by FAO/WHO, and the Leu content of all the resources exceeded the human body’s needs, and it was also found that the first limiting amino acid of the Actinidia argute resources was Ile and the second limiting amino acid was Lys. TAV of the flavor-presenting amino acids was calculated to evaluate the flavor-presenting taste characteristics, and the amino acids that influenced the flavor of A. arguta fruit were Glu and Cys. PCA showed that the 2 principal components could better reflect the comprehensive information of amino acids in A. arguta, and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 87.88%, which could represent the main trend of amino acids in A. arguta. A comprehensive amino acid evaluation model was established, and the composite scores indicated that the top 5 excellent resources were S4, S10, S18, S25, and S30. Hierarchical cluster analysis classified the 35 A. arguta resources into 4 categories, which better reflected the differences in amino acid content and composition, nutritional value, and taste characteristics among A. arguta fruits from different collection sites.

The food industry has extensively explored postharvest microbial control, seeking viable technologies to ensure food safety. Although numerous chlorine-based commercial sanitizers serve this purpose, many are plagued by constraints such as instability and diminished disinfectant efficacy. These issues arise from exposure to organic matter in wash water, light, or air. As an innovative and promising alternative, slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) has emerged, captivating attention for its robust sterilization potential and eco-friendliness in agricultural and food sectors. SAEW generated via electrolysis of a diluted hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution with concentrations ranging from 2 to 6% or aqueous solution of sodium chloride (NaCl) in a nonmembrane electrolytic chamber is reported to possess equivalent antimicrobial properties as strong acidic electrolyzed water (StAEW). In contrast to traditional chlorine sanitizers, SAEW leaves less chlorine residue on sanitized foods such fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, meat, poultry, and aquatic products due to its low available chlorine concentration (ACC). Its near neutral pH of 5 to 6.5 not only renders it environmentally benign but also mitigates the production of chlorine gas, a contrast to low pH conditions seen in StAEW generation. The bactericidal effect of SAEW against various strains of foodborne pathogens is widely believed and accepted to be due to the combined action of high oxidation-reduction-potential (ORP) reactions and undissociated hypochlorite/hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Consequently, a burgeoning interest surrounds the potential of SAEW for sanitation in the food industry, offering an alternative to address shortcomings in sodium hypochlorite solutions and even StAEW. It has been hypothesized from a number of studies that SAEW treatment can increase the quality and nutritional value of harvested fruits, which in turn may enhance their ability to be stored. Therefore, SAEW is not only a promising sanitizer in the food industry but also has the potential to be an efficient strategy for encouraging the accumulation of bioactive chemicals in plants, especially if it is used extensively. This review encapsulates the latest insights concerning SAEW, encompassing its antimicrobial effectiveness, sanitization mechanism, advantages vis-à-vis other sanitizers, and plausible applications across the food industry.

Edible coatings and active packaging have become more prevalent in response to changing consumption patterns and market trends to enhance the quality and safety of fresh products. In this work, we investigated the effect of aloe vera gel (AVG) coating and paraffin wax-coated paperboard (PWB) packaging on the postharvest quality attributes of both grapes and apples during storage. The fruits were coated with 50% AVG concentrations, and the inner wall of the corrugated paperboard was coated with paraffin wax emulsion. The grapes and apples were stored for 12 and 35 days, respectively, at ambient conditions (25 ± 3°C and 80–85% relative humidity). The physicochemical properties, microbiological attributes, and decay incidence of the fruits were analyzed at intervals during storage. Both fruits treated with AVG and PWB packaging retained better qualities than the control at the final day of the storage period. Particularly, PWB packaging provided considerably superior quality from the control sample in terms of weight loss (≈54% and 32%), firmness (≈48% and 68%), and color difference (≈30% and 28%) for both grapes and apples. These findings would introduce a novel approach for preserving the quality attributes of both climacteric and nonclimacteric fruits for a prolonged storage period at ambient temperature by PWB packaging and AVG coating.

The present study investigates the characteristics of freeze-dried bovine colostrum powder prepared from the first three milkings of Karan fries cattle at different intervals. Bioactive components of bovine colostrum are heat sensitive, and therefore, in order to retain the biological activity of different components, it should be subjected to minimal nonthermal treatment. In this study, the optimum temperature/time combination of 60°C/45 min was used for the processing of cow colostrum. At this temperature, the microbial count significantly decreased as compared to raw colostrum. In freeze-dried bovine skimmed colostrum powder (BSCP) and bovine colostrum whey powder (BCWP), IgG emerged as the highest fraction among immune factors, whereas in growth factors, insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF1) and transforming growth factor β2 (TGFβ2) were found in large proportion as compared to insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1). The IgG content (per 100 g) of BSCP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 36.62, 27.87, and 20.51 g, respectively, whereas IgG content (per 100 g) of BCWP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 33.32, 24.53, and 16.81 g, respectively. The IGF1 content (per 100 g) of BSCP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 921.6, 741.2, and 617.2 μg, respectively, whereas IGF1 content (per 100 g) of BCWP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 869.8, 688, and 454.4 μg, respectively. The TGFβ2 content (per 100 g) of BSCP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 1278, 1076, and 856.8 μg, respectively, whereas TGFβ2 content (per 100 g) of BCWP prepared from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd milking was found to be 1167, 950.2, and 769.2 μg, respectively. The microstructure of freeze-dried cow colostrum whey powder revealed that its pore size was more than that of skimmed colostrum powder. BCWP exhibited lower phagocytic activity as well as lymphocyte proliferation index as compared to BSCP which was carried out in vitro. The observations of the study provide an insight about the components present in BCWP and BSCP apart from the physical characteristics of the products which might pave the way for its utilization in various food formats.

Objective. Ferroptosis, a form of programmed cell death, is considered a novel target for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). The aim of this study was to explore whether modified Gegen Qinlian decoction (MGQD) ameliorates UC in mice via mediating ferroptosis. Methods. Mice with dextran sulfate sodium- (DSS-) induced colitis were administered with MGQD for seven days. Subsequently, iron, malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured. ELISA and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and tight junction proteins, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy was used to reveal mitochondrial morphology. Western blot and qRT-PCR analyses were used to assess the expression levels of the proteins of Nrf2/GPX4 pathway. The docking affinity of MGQD and Nrf2 was assessed using AutoDock Vina 1.1.2. Results. Ferroptosis was identified in mice with UC, as demonstrated by mitochondrial disruption, MDA and ROS production, iron overload, decrease in GSH level, and abnormal expression of core marker proteins of ferroptosis. After MGQD treatment, these characteristic changes of ferroptosis were significantly reversed, along with concomitant activation of the Nrf2/GPX4 pathway. Furthermore, molecular docking analysis revealed that MGQD had a high affinity for Nrf2. Conclusion. MGQD may ameliorate UC by inhibiting ferroptosis via the activation of Nrf2/GPX4 pathway. This study provided new insights into the application of MGQD complementary therapy for UC.

The ecological habitats of Chinese quince (Chaenomeles speciosa Nakai) fruits affect their phenotype. Currently, limited or no rapid method exists for classifying Chinese quince fruit from different ecosystems. This study developed a partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) classification model to effectively and nondestructively classify 663 Chinese quince fruit samples from six environments in 2020. PLS-DA models and other variable selection approaches were used in this study. The near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRs) absorption spectra of raw Chinese quince fruit samples from six habitats showed a similar shape. The spectra of each environment showed little variance. The raw fruit spectra varied significantly among habitat categories after the first derivative preprocessing phase. The uninformative variable elimination (UVE) variable selection approach had greater calibration and validation set specificity of 0.93 and 0.98. This study found the best classification specificity using the UVE variable selection approach compared to other methods including the PLS-DA model without variable selection. The UVE approach improved Yunnan habitat categorization specificity from 86% to 88% when integrated with PLS-DA. Additionally, the validation set for quinces originating from Anhui, Chongqing, Hubei, Shandong, and Zhejiang achieved an ideal classification score of 100%. The findings of the study indicated that PLS-DA can serve as an alternative approach for classifying the habitats of Chinese quince fruits. When used in conjunction with other methods, this technique can assist researchers, scientists, and industry professionals in identifying the main factors responsible for significant variations in the habitats, composition, and quality of Chinese quince fruits.

Accurate identification of apple leaf diseases is of great significance for improving apple yield. The lesion area of the apple leaf disease image is small and vulnerable to background interference, which easily leads to low recognition accuracy. To solve this problem, a lightweight bilinear convolutional neural network (CNN) model named BLSENet based on attention mechanism is designed. The model consists of two subnetworks, and each subnetwork is embedded with a Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) module. By using the feature extraction ability of the two subnetworks and combining the bilinear feature CONCAT operation, the multiscale features of the image are obtained. Compared with the unimproved model LeNet-5 (84.63%), BLSENet has higher accuracy in the test set, which indicates that SE module and bilinear feature fusion have a positive effect on the performance of the model, and BLSENet has the ability to identify apple leaf diseases. The model has achieved the expected goal and can provide technical support for accurate identification and real-time monitoring of apple disease images.

A method for the rapid screening and confirmation of 60 food-borne stimulants in animal-derived foods was developed using the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/Orbitrap HRMS). After enzymatic hydrolysis at 37°C for 16 h, the samples were extracted with acetonitrile solution. The extraction solution was purified by PRiME HLB pass-through solid-phase extraction cartridge and redissolved by nitrogen blowing. The target compounds of reconstitution fluid were separated by Hypersil GOLD™ VANQUISH column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.9 μm). The raw data were collected for the target compounds in Full Scan-ddMS² mode, and then the Quan Browser module under Xcalibur software can be used to analyze the quantitative results of the samples. The combination of Tracefinder and mzVault software can realize the qualitative screening and confirmation of the samples. The results showed that the relative deviation of the exact mass of the 60 food-borne stimulants was less than 5.0 × 10⁻⁶, which had a good linear relationship in the corresponding concentration, and the correlation coefficient (R²) was greater than 0.9966. The detection limit ranged from 0.05 to 0.5 μg/kg. The quantification limit ranged from 0.1 to 1 μg/kg. The method recoveries ranged from 70.2% to 111.9% with relative standard deviations of 0.05% to 9.00% (n = 6). The method is easy to operate, covers a wide range of targets, and has high efficiency and accuracy. It is suitable for rapid screening and confirmation of various food-derived stimulants in animal-derived foods and provides assistance for food safety in the major events.