Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies最新文献

Marination is an important part of meat processing, the disadvantage is that the process of marinating is slow and prone to losing nutrients. In this study, pork tenderloins were pretreated with pulsed electric field (PEF) before being immersed in the marinade at 4 °C. The aim was to investigate the effect of PEF pretreatment (PEFP) on the marination process, specifically mass transfer and the quality of the pork. Additionally, the response surface method (RSM) was employed to explore the optimal conditions for PEFP. Results showed that under the best condition (2 kV/cm, 141.2 Hz and 2.3% duty cycle), the NaCl content of pork cured for 6 h reached 3.31%, which could effectively shorten the marinating time of pork (up to 40%). After marinating for 6 h with PEFP, the weight, moisture, and salt changes increased significantly. The effective diffusion coefficient (De) was raised to 1.71 × 10⁻¹⁰ (PEFP) from 1.36 × 10⁻¹⁰ (control) and the kinetic model of mass transfer over time has good linear correlation. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicate that PEFP altered the muscle fibre structure of pork to some extent, resulting in loosely arranged muscle fibre bundles. The total bacterial colony count results showed that PEFP had a good sterilization effect on microorganisms in pork. Furthermore, PEFP does not alter the colour or pH of marinated pork while improving its tenderness. These results showed that PEFP could effectively promote salt diffusion to shorten marinating time and improve meat tenderness.

The study explored the impact of multilayer nano/mini furcellaran/chitosan emulsions containing oregano essential oil and LL37 and RW4 bioactive peptides on the texture, pH, colour, sensory, and retrogradation of salmon sushi. A triple-layer nano/miniemulsion system was applied by electrospraying onto salmon nigiri and hosomaki sushi, stored at 4 °C for 14 days and − 20 °C for six months. The analyses included starch retrogradation enthalpy, textural profile, colour, sensory, and pH analysis of the samples. The electrosprayed coatings significantly reduced starch retrogradation compared to the uncoated sample. Moreover, statistically significant lower hardness was observed in all coated nigiri samples throughout the entire storage period at −20 °C (p < 0.05). Hence, these findings suggest that coatings have the potential to serve as effective anti-retrogradation agents for cooked rice. As a result, coatings have emerged as promising natural alternatives for enhancing the quality and nutritional characteristics of starch-based foods.

The modern consumer increasingly prefers those products offering utility that are also healthy, safe, pleasant, and at a convenient price. Kashkavals, made of cow or sheep milk since olden times, pertain to this food category. Kashkavals are a type of semi-hard yellow cheese originally from Balkan countries, such as Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Kosovo, and Serbia, marked by various aromas, tastes, textures, flavors, and shapes depending on their geographical area. Kashkaval cheese producers are increasingly more interested in finding solutions from the dairy industry to prolong the shelf durability of the product, to improve its flavor and taste characteristics, while reducing the risks impeding product quality due to various types of bacteria and molds. A possible solution to reduce risks is to include essential oils in the milk used to produce Kashkaval cheese. If manufacturing such cheese does not involve significant technological challenges, a producer must identify clients' willingness to choose and purchase a product like Kashkaval cheese with a natural thyme flavor from essential oil.

The aim of the research is to study the consumers' purchase intention towards Kashkaval cheese, by relying on the Stimulus-Organism Response model (SOR). Therefore, the authors develop a conceptual model based on the literature. The relations of the conceptual model are then empirically tested among 458 respondents from an emerging market. The conceptual model considers the price, as well as the utilitarian, hedonic, and authentic attributes of the Kashkaval cheese as stimuli, while the uniqueness and image are considered mental processes exerted by the organism. Finally, the impact of stimuli and the organism in generating consumer purchase intention (response) is further analyzed. Data are collected through a quantitative-based survey and later analyzed by using structural equation modeling with SmartPLS. The findings suggest that the purchase intention of Kashkaval cheese depends mainly on its image among consumers and its uniqueness. At the same time, its hedonic and utilitarian characteristics along with price and local/regional character of the thyme-flavored kashkaval decisively determine customer preference.

Continuous thermal processing (CTP) is a common method for sterilizing food. However, it can result in an uneven temperature distribution, which can lead to a varying degree of processing intensity. Ohmic heating (OH) can be advantageous in this regard, as it enables volumetric heating for more homogenous treatments. However, evaluating the processing intensity distribution inside the equipment for OH is challenging due to the complex interaction between electrical, mechanical and thermal phenomena. Furthermore, the comparison of OH and conventional heating treatments often lack a profound basis of comparable treatment intensity considerations. To gain a deeper mechanistic understanding of the technology, a numerical computational fluid dynamics model for the OH sterilization of a clear carrot juice from the heating region to the cooling process was developed. The model was validated with thermal and electrical measurements and showed an error rate below 2.5% in its prediction capacities. Moreover, the model was implanted for the validation of the products sterilization and compared to a conventional validation approach, reviling a 33.3% underestimation of the thermal load by conventional manners, which can lead to faulty sterilization of the food product. Additionally, the model was expanded to also be able to predict the microbial inactivation ratio of the system with an average error of $1.10\pm 0.74\%$. In addition, results indicate that the numerical calculation of the F₀ values and their validation with the microbial inactivation ratio have a notable potential for localization and evaluation of hotspots in OH simulations. Therefore, it can be seen as a promising step for establishing a foundation for computer-assisted optimization of CTP and targeted processing.

This study investigated the microbial inactivation performance of a novel CO₂-based method for food applications on a wide range of process conditions using LB agar cubes. Four different microbial strains, Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were homogenously inoculated on the surface of an agar cube and treated with the novel method. The initial microbial loads were 7.46 ± 0.27, 7.38 ± 0.24, 7.47 ± 0.24, and 5.13 ± 0.18 Log CFU/g, respectively. Results showed a similar trend to that of traditional High-Pressure Carbon Dioxide (HPCD) processes in terms of inactivation degree as a function of time and temperature. Notably, greater microbial inactivation occurred at subcritical or near-critical pressure values. Specifically, for P. fluorescens and S. cerevisiae the inactivation rates increased from −0.039 and − 0.094 Log CFU/g/min at 12 MPa to 0.029 and 0.046 Log CFU/g/min at 6 MPa, respectively. At 45 °C and 6 MPa, P. fluorescens and S. cerevisiae were inactivated to undetectable levels after 40 min, while a 60-min treatment was needed for E. coli. L. innocua was more resistant, achieveing after 60 min at 45 °C only 1.32 Log CFU/g inactivation, and requiring a higher temperature to achieve a significant inactivation. Moreover, the gas-to-product volume ratio was proven to affect the inactivation efficiency, a low ratio could represent a limit for achieving high inactivation levels. Future studies will explore the impact of the product's nature, volume and shape, and the use of antimicrobial substances to enhance process performance and apply it to food products, mainly fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, and meat.

Industrial relevance

High-Pressure Carbon Dioxide (HPCD) processes have shown considerable potential in enhancing food safety and shelf life while preserving nutritional and sensory qualities. However, the industrial implementation of HPCD for solid food processing presents some challenges, especially regarding the potential risk of post-process contamination. This study presents a novel patented process that aims at exploiting the power of HPCD on pre-packed solid food products, facilitating the industrialisation of the method.

Due to its high casein content, micellar casein concentrate (MCC) is a stable protein currently used for various product applications. Our objective was to reduce the viscosity of MCC using a pulsed electric field (PEF) processing which is one of the non-thermal technologies researched in the market. In this study, the effect of processing conditions for PEF treatment, such as temperature (15–45 °C), electric field strength (EFS) (4–20 kV/cm), and frequency on the viscosity (30–300 Hz) of MCC was investigated and optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The analysis resulted in a quadratic prediction model with R² = 0.91. The optimized conditions were 35 °C, EFS at 4 kV/cm and frequency at 63 Hz. The optimized consistency coefficient was predicted to be 1440.57 Pa sⁿ which was 46% less than control at 30 °C. Temperature and EFS were found to be the most critical parameters that affect the functionality.

Industrial relevance

This study provides the optimized process conditions for reducing the viscosity of MCC using PEF, which would benefit the application of MCC in various end-product applications. The results indicate the relevance of using PEF as a treatment through an inline process during the manufacturing of MCC which will in turn allow the dairy industry to fine tune the ingredients and lead to the production of novel ingredients with enhanced functionality.

Punicalagin (PUN), as a natural antimicrobial agent, is the most abundant phenolic compound in pomegranate peel. In this study, the bactericidal effect of PUN concentrations, high pressure conditions and their combination on E. coli O157: H7 were investigated. The bacteria were suspended in physiological saline solution with PUN concentrations of 1–3 mg/mL and treated by high pressures of 100–300 MPa for 2–10 min. The synergistic effect of the combination treatment was demonstrated with the maximum enhancement value of 4.10. Cell morphology changes, membrane permeability enhancement and swimming motility inhibition were observed in the combination treatment. Adenosine, adenine, cyclic GMP in purine metabolism and glutathione in glutathione metabolism pathways were differential metabolites with content changes, which were related with treatment methods (HPP or PUN) but not the degree of bacteria inactivation. This study provided a more effective and innovative method for killing E. coli in simulation system.

Industrial relevance

HPP was the most commercialized emerging non-thermal processing technology and PUN was the natural antibacterial agent from pomegranate peel waste. The combination of HPP and PUN had synergistic bactericidal effect on E. coli with less processing intensity, which was very suitable for the products those contained thermosensitive components with maximum sensory characteristics preserved and less preservative added.

This study focused on enhancing the drying process of coffee by introducing an innovative device called as roto-aerated dryer. Traditional methods often result in prolonged drying times and undesirable degradation, prompting the exploration of alternative techniques. The research involves evaluating drying performance, establishing correlations between physical-chemical attributes and coffee quality, and determining optimal operating conditions to achieve a balance between drying efficiency and product quality. The Central Composite Design was employed, varying air velocity (v_f), air temperature (T_f), and solid feed rate (W_s). The results demonstrated increased drying efficiency while preserving key quality parameters, including acidity, water activity, sugars, and organic acids. The desirability function identified the optimal levels of the operational variables as v_f = 2.7 m·s⁻¹, T_f = 81.8 °C, and W_s = 40 g·min⁻¹. This study introduced an innovative approach to enhance the drying efficiency of coffee while ensuring exceptional product quality, providing valuable insights for the coffee industry.

Industrial relevance

Coffee, one of the most important global commodities, undergoes ongoing enhancements in post-harvest processing to achieve exceptional quality, particularly in specialty coffee. Conventional methods face challenges related to processing time and the potential compromise of quality. These challenges are effectively addressed through the adoption of innovative technologies such as the use of the roto-aerated dryer, as proposed in this work.

Fruits contain a variety of beneficial components such as carotenoids, anthocyanins, vitamins, fiber, polyphenols, and flavonols, which play crucial roles in cellular regeneration, detoxification, and the treatment of numerous diseases. Consequently, nutritionists often recommend incorporating fruits into a healthy lifestyle, which can be done by consuming fresh fruit beverages. However, preserving this kind of product to extend its shelf life typically involves heat treatments, which can adversely affect their nutritional and sensory properties, leading to the degradation of functional compounds. As an alternative approach, recent years have seen the exploration of various green technologies in beverage processing. These technologies include electrical pulses, high pressure, ultrasound, ohmic heating, microwaves, and hydrodynamic cavitation. This review aimed to provide insights into the different emerging technologies for processing fruit-based beverages, with a particular focus on hydrodynamic cavitation. It explores the mechanism, configuration, evolution in fruit processing, and advantages of this innovative technology. By delving into these aspects, we can better understand how hydrodynamic cavitation impact on particle size, enzymes, and microbial inactivation, preserving the nutritional integrity of fruit-based beverages.

Rice dough is a good source of digestible protein due to its advantages of being gluten-free and hypoallergenic compared to wheat dough, but the poor elasticity, low elongation and adhesion of rice dough limit its application. The effect of heating treatment with different temperature (40–100 °C) on processing characteristics of rice dough was explored. The results of fermentation characteristics showed that the best gas production and gas retention properties of rice dough were achieved at 70 °C. The rheological properties demonstrated a certain degree of deformation resistance at 85 °C, which resulted in the rice dough system exhibiting a tendency to flow at this temperature. Consequently, the blanching dough below 85 °C was deemed preferable for blanching. In addition, with the increase of temperature during blanching., the strength of the rice dough gel network increased. The results of proton distribution showed some of the emi-bound and free water in the rice dough was bound to bound water by exposed hydroxyl groups, leading to an increased bound water content, a decreased adsorbed and free water content. The degree of gelatinization of the rice dough increased gradually with increased blanching temperature, and the stability and resilience of rice dough reached the best at 70 °C. The thermal stability demonstrated that the ungelatinized portion of the rice dough exhibited enhanced structural stability, with the optimal thermal stability attained at 70 °C. It can therefore be concluded that the scalded dough made at 70 °C exhibits superior performance in all aspects and is suitable for subsequent processing of rice dough, which suggests a novel approach to the utilisation of rice dough in the future.