Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies最新文献

Freezing treatment can prolong the shelf life of surimi products, but it will lead to deterioration of surimi gel quality. This study compared the effects of three different processing methods — non-freezing processing (control), conventional air freezing (CAF), and pressure-shift freezing (PSF) — on the three-dimensional (3D) network structure of grass carp surimi gel. After PSF treatment, the pores in the 3D gel network structure were denser compared to the control group which facilitates interaction of water and network structure. Furthermore, the ultraviolet and fluorescence spectral analysis indicated that PSF treatment mitigates the decline in stability of the tertiary structure of myofibrillar protein (MP) during freezing. The microstructure of MP showed that PSF treatment promotes the cross-linking of MP to form protein aggregates and then promotes the gelation of MP.

Industrial relevance

PSF can increase the commodity value of low-value freshwater fish products and has potential in the development of new products of surimi gels. This study reported a novel idea and theoretical basis for the application of PSF technology in the frozen food and aquatic product processing industry.

This study aimed to design and evaluate orally self-disintegrating puffs that are nutritionally enhanced via in-process polymerization of galactose into galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS). Lactose hydrolyzed (LHSMP) or unhydrolyzed skim milk powder (SMP) was combined with 80% protein milk protein concentrate (MPC) powder and a calcium chelator, then processed using supercritical fluid extrusion (SCFX) with carbon dioxide (CO₂) to produce protein-rich orally self-disintegrating puffs. Disintegration results indicate the MPC90 and MPC70-SMP20 puffs had faster disintegration rates (3.20 and 3.84%/sec) than the commercial puffs (3.12%/sec). Galactose in LHSMP as a precursor to formation of polymeric GOS during extrusion was also investigated. The low pH and controlled temperature minimize Maillard browning and enhanced the polymerization of galactose into GOS. The MPC60-LHSMP30 puffs had the highest content of short chain GOS (2.3 wt%). The current study provides first valuable insights for the utilization of LHSMP to produce orally self-disintegrating GOS enriched protein puffs.

The effect of pore size and type of material on the separation of fat from raw milk using hydrophilic silicon carbide (SiC) support ceramic membranes has not previously been reported in literature. The separation performance of the fat globules (MFGs) showed 98% for SiC 0.5 μm, 92% for SiC 1.4 μm, 90% fat for ZrO₂-SiC 0.06 μm, while the permeate had a fat % ranging from 0.1 to 0.6% (w/w). The MFGs were kept highly intact with well distributed proteins and phospholipids in the MFG membrane. The total filtration time at 50 °C to reach maximum VCR was 134 min for ZrO₂ (VCR 3), 148 min for SiC 0.5 μm and 16 min for SiC 1.4 μm (VCR4). Further, all membranes showed a fully recoverable water permeability indicating no irreversible fouling.

Industrial relevance

Microfiltration may be an alternative process to fat separation from raw milk. In this study, for the first time was demonstrated that effective milk fat separation, and retentate and permeate streams with variable characteristics, in terms of composition and integrity of the milk fat globules can be obtained by using silicon carbide support membranes with different sizes and materials. The results obtained, provide new insights for industrial use of membrane technology to separate milk.

This study aimed to evaluate the inactivation efficacy of ultra-high irradiance blue (405 nm) LED treatments against Salmonella spp. in paprika powder and develop an alternative Weibull model to describe the inactivation kinetics. Paprika samples were inoculated with a Salmonella cocktail at a ratio of 1 mL/100 g (∼8.7 log CFU/g), acclimated for 7 days at 22 °C, and irradiated with blue LED at a fixed distance (5 cm) using different irradiances (548, 697, and 842 mW/cm²) and exposure times (60, 120, 180, and 240 s). Sterilization-like temperatures of up to 131.7 °C were observed in paprika after 240 s at 842 mW/cm². Reduction levels in Salmonella counts ranged from 2.1 to 7.8 logs after 240 s. A modified Weibull model satisfactorily described the Salmonella inactivation kinetics ($R_{\mathrm{adj}}^2$ > 0.98). Compared to control samples, a significant decrease in redness (a* values) and higher DPPH scavenging activity were observed in treated paprika powders.

Industrial relevance: The obtained results indicated that UHI LED technology could serve as an alternative dry pasteurization method to improve the microbiological safety of spices. This would open further possibilities, including the use of this technology to disinfect food-contact surfaces in dry operations. These findings are thus important in supporting the development and optimization of LED technology for food safety applications in the food industry. Blue light has a shorter penetration depth, which may limit the size and shape of products that can be pasteurized with UHI blue LED technology.

Public health concern on carcinogenic residue from chlorine-based disinfectant-by-product on ready-to-eat fresh/fresh-cut produce, and the increase in microbial resistance to chlorine disinfection, has heightened the need for alternative water-based microbial decontaminant. Activated water systems are emerging as alternatives to chlorine-based disinfectants in the fresh/fresh-cut produce industry for the cleaning and decontamination. This review provides a comprehensive description of the micro-nano bubble (MNBs) technology. This includes discussion on variety of existing generation methods of MNBs and the physico-chemical properties of MNBs. The factors affecting MNBs efficacy and stability in solution (such as gas source/type and bubble sizes) were discussed. In addition, recent postharvest applications of MNBs in fruits and vegetables (FVs) and the impact on overall quality attributes were summarized. The need for more MNBs investigations for postharvest management of FFVs quality and safety was highlighted to encourage the scale up and commercial application of the technology in the fresh/fresh-cut produce industry.

The turntable has been used in conventional magnetron-based microwave ovens to improve the heating uniformity. Meanwhile, with the emerging solid-state technique, well-designed frequency-shifting strategies also show promise in achieving improved microwave outcomes without a rotating turntable. This study used modeling tools to comprehensively assess the turntable function under various conditions, where the affecting factors included vertical and horizontal positions of food, rotation status of the turntable, frequency-shifting strategy, and food configurations. Results illustrated that the elevation of food by the turntable is more critical to power efficiency and heating uniformity, while rotation mainly works to narrow the temperature difference between hot and cold spots. Moreover, the complementary-shifting strategy lessened the rotation function of the turntable. Hence, in a solid-state microwave system embedded with a proper frequency-shifting strategy, a simpler supporting component shall replace the current rotating turntable, streamlining the oven design without compromising the microwave performance.

Industrial relevance

This study comprehensively evaluated functions of the turntable, a conventional component, inside a novel microwave system design utilizing solid-state instead of the magnetron as its power source. Based on the evaluation, the well-implemented frequency strategies hold promise to achieve improved microwave performance with a simpler supporting component to elevate the food, rather than relying on a rotating turntable. These findings provide novel insights for designing the next-generation microwave ovens.

This study investigates the viscosity and creep behavior of peanut protein isolate (PPI) paste incorporated with rice starch (RS) for potential applications in 3D printing. The change in flow properties during the 3D printing was also studied by numerical simulation. The paste exhibited shear-thinning behavior with yield stress. The pressure predicted from the Herschel-Bulkley model showed higher values than those derived from the Power-Law model. The PPI and RS levels had negligible influence on velocity and shear rate; however, they showed greater dependence on the inflow rate. The fractional element model described the creep data well (R² > 0.9). The addition of PPI resulted in increased viscosity, simulated pressure, and mean extrusion force, with similar effects observed for RS, except at higher PPI levels. Furthermore, the 3D-printed objects revealed that deformations were pronounced at low concentrations of PPI and RS, while resolution suffered when employing higher concentrations of PPI and RS.

Industrial relevance

Using peanut protein isolate, a plant-based high protein ingredient in 3D printing, reduces energy consumption, thereby reducing carbon footprints, offers improved functional properties, and diversifies dietary options by offering an alternative protein source from peanuts. The printing is influenced by the rheological properties of food ink. Thus, knowing the rheological properties of food ink can help researchers and industries to prepare food inks with desired properties. The observations of numerical simulation of this work have the potential to offer practical insights for designing 3D printing systems. In summary, this work has the potential to aid in improving and developing food ink for 3D printing, hence enhancing the performance of extrusion-based 3D food printers.

Toroidal cans have been presented recently to improve the canning process efficiency, and previous studies focused on static and axial rotational processes. End-over-End (EoE) rotation is a significant agitation approach to increase the temperature uniformity of liquid canned products, and it would be important to observe the effect of this process combined with the toroidal cans. Therefore, in this study, this combined effect was considered to improve the process in the view of temperature uniformity. For this purpose, a computational numerical model was developed using - Star CCM+, and this model was validated with experimental data. Then, the rotational rate and headspace amount effects in a toroidal can geometry, including a liquid, were determined using this validated model. The numerical results indicated that these parameters influenced the heat transfer process with a resulting uniform temperature distribution through the EoE processing.

This study investigated the effects of low-temperature and high-pressure collaborative and conventional air freezing (CAF) on myofibrillar protein (MP) characteristics from grass carp. Turbidity, solubility, and particle size analysis showed that the pressure shift freezing (PSF) treatment could inhibit the formation of large MP aggregates to a certain extent during freezing. Chemical interaction studies unveiled that PSF treatment not only mitigates damage to the inherent structure of MP during freezing but also enhances its crosslinking ability. Microstructure analysis revealed a densely woven fibrous protein network structure within the MP gel in the PSF group. MP gel with fiber shape network structure in the PSF group exhibited stronger water-holding capacity and mechanical properties compared to the CAF group having an incomplete protein network structure. This suggests that the combined application of low-temperature and high-pressure treatment holds promising potential for utilization in the surimi gel processing industry and aquatic products processing.

Industrial relevance: The quality and safety of food are closely related to the commodity value of food. Combined low-temperature and high-pressure treatment can enhance the commodity value of low-value freshwater fish products and has potential in surimi gel new product development. This study provides theoretical guidance for high-pressure and low-temperature collaborative processing and industrial production of related aquatic products.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) had been considered as a promising Pickering stabilizer for its non-toxicity, high purity, and biocompatibility. The electron beam irradiation (EBI) technology had gained significant attention in the field of cellulose degradation due to its operational convenience and mild reaction conditions. Pickering emulsions using BC degraded by EBI as Pickering stabilizers were successfully prepared. Irradiated bacterial cellulose nanofibers (IBCNFs) exhibited a high aspect ratio(30–80 μm in length and 21–109 nm in width) and high absolute zeta potential (-50 mV). The optimal emulsification performance of IBCNFs was observed at an irradiation dosage of 100 kGy (IBC-100). The emulsions based on IBC-100 achieved an EI value of 96.15 ± 0.19%, while those based on IBC-500 obtained an EI value of 59.93 ± 1.47%. Stable Pickering emulsions were prepared when the concentration of IBC-100 stabilizer exceeded 0.3 wt% with a fixed oil phase of 30%, or when the rapeseed oil phase was below 50% while maintaining a fixed suspension of 0.5 wt% IBCNFs. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) demonstrated that IBCNFs facilitated the formation of a dense interfacial layer at the oil-water interface and formed a three-dimensional network within the water phase. Which effectively hindered the aggregation and flocculation between individual oil droplets. Furthermore, rheological findings demonstrated that emulsions possessed primarily exhibited properties of elasticity, and their gel strength could be enhanced by adjusting the irradiation dosages of IBCNFs. Moreover, environmental stability experiments indicated that IBCNFs-based emulsions exhibited exceedingly high temperature (20–80 °C) and pH tolerance (4–12). Flocculation occurred under high acid (pH = 2) conditions and at high ionic levels (≥ 40 mM NaCl), without causing disruption to the emulsion droplet structure. This study provided an innovative approach to preparing cellulose nanofibers with high aspect ratio, which could be utilized as emulsion stabilizers. The study also demonstrated that Pickering emulsions based on IBCNFs exhibit excellent stability and rheological properties. IBCNFs have promising potential to serve as a natural Pickering emulsifier for stabilizing oil-in-water emulsions in various food applications, cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations.