Journal of Agriculture and Food Research最新文献

The physicochemical properties and oxidative stability of encapsulated fish oil in a matrix formed by the reaction of crude de-oiled soy lecithin and dextrose following a Maillard reaction path were investigated. The effects of sugar content in formula (4, 8 %) and temperature (25 °C, 80 °C, and 100 °C) on the moisture content, water activity, encapsulation efficiency (EE), and oxidative stability were studied. Oxidative stability was measured over a 90-day testing period at 25 °C. Samples achieved an encapsulation efficiency in the range 50–70 %, low moisture content (<1 %), and low water activity (<0.7). After 90 days of storage, the encapsulated fish oil samples remained within the rancidity limits defined by the peroxide and p-anisidine values, whereas unprotected/free fish oil (control) significantly exceeded those limits. Samples prepared at 100 °C showed the greatest encapsulation efficiency and oxidative stability among the treatments (p < 0.05). The presence of Maillard Reaction Products (MRP) in the encapsulating material was also assessed.

The COVID-19 pandemic had global reach and widespread effect, particularly concerning food security. As food supply chains become disrupted, food producers struggle to access markets. Thus, there is a need to examine the factors affecting the food security of agri-food system actors, particularly smallholder farmers in the Philippines. Utilizing the eight-question survey module of the FAO's Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) and questions regarding their socio-demographic profile, 215 agri-food system actors including smallholder farmers, processors, logistic providers, and traders were surveyed from February to May 2021. An ordered probit regression was used to determine the factors affecting the severity of the food insecurity of agri-food system actors. Smallholder farmers, larger households, and Indigenous Peoples' groups experience an increase in food insecurity. Conversely, the determinants of reduced severity of food insecurity include other agri-food system actors, reporting profitability during the COVID-19 lockdown period, older age, being married, having more employed household members, and having savings. Results reflect farmers being among the severely impacted sectors during the pandemic. The findings shed light on several resilience and post-pandemic implications to sustainable development, such as designing resilient food systems by securing farmers' access to inputs and markets and improving their profitability. Furthermore, there is a need to transform current food systems into being more inclusive by targeting younger farmers, Indigenous Peoples' groups, and poor farmers having limited means to increase their financial capital to improve food security in rural communities. This study is the first empirical evidence documenting the extent of food insecurity among agri-food system actors during extreme shocks.

Nitrogen is the most important nutritional element during the vegetative growth phase of the pineapple crop; however, its presence in the soil is insufficient to meet plant demands. In this study, nine machine learning techniques were validated to estimate the total nitrogen (TN) content in MD2 pineapple crops from data from multiple sources. These sources included multispectral images captured by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); in situ sensors, which collected information on ecological factors such as pH, temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, soil moisture, wind speed and direction, as well as SPAD values indicating leaf chlorophyll content.

Total nitrogen (TN) values were taken from leaf tissue samples, which were then analyzed in a laboratory. To introduce nitrogen variability, a complete randomized block experimental design was implemented, applying five different treatments in five blocks, each with 12 replications, during a 6-month period in a pineapple crop located in Tauramena, Colombia. To address the inherent variability in the agricultural and environmental data, dimensionality was reduced using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). In addition, regularization techniques were applied, including cross-validation, feature selection, boost methods, L1 (Lasso) and L2 (Ridge) regularization, as well as hyperparameter optimization. These strategies generated more robust and accurate models, with the multilayer perceptron regressor (MLP regressor) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithms standing out. On the first sampling date, XGBoost achieved an R² of 86.98 %, being the highest. On the following dates, MLP achieved a R² of 59.11 % on the second date; XGBoost achieved a R² of 68.00 % on the third date, and on the last date, MLP achieved a R² of 69.4 %. These results indicate that the integration of data from multiple sources and the use of machine learning models could greatly improve the precision of nitro-gen (N) diagnostics in pineapple crops, especially in real-time applications. These findings highlight the promising potential of developing machine learning models that integrate multisensor data fusion for various applications in agriculture.

Globally produced whey volume is estimated at more than 10 billion tons per year, and only 50 % of the total amount is processed and turned into products that are safe for the environment. In addition, whey entering wastewater treatment plants leads to disruption of the facilities' operation and further pollution of the environment, particularly water resources. In contrast, whey is the main source of whey protein and contains other valuable components for the human organism. Therefore, our target was to review recent studies to analyse whey as a component of wastewater from cheese factories and its impact on the treatment processes and as a valuable resource for further processing. Review results indicated the need for individual treatment processes for highly concentrated streams containing whey and alternative processing methods. The importance of avoiding whey entering treatment plants with the main wastewater stream and redirecting it for further processing was identified. Nevertheless, results showed that whey has a high nutritional value by all indicators: energy value (low-calorie product), biological value (a wide range of irreplaceable substances), physiological value (provides comprehensive support of most body systems and anti-infective action), and physiological activity (rich content of lactic acid bacteria). Further research on the possibilities of fractional extraction of whey's valuable components and the development of technologies that would allow for the complex processing of dairy raw materials is considered reasonable and prospective from the current needs and trends point of view.

Currently, “being alive but not fresh” is a common problem existing in the aquatic products and no guiding prediction can be given for the quality of the shelf life due to the lack of systematic studies. In this connection, the life vitality indication and nutritional quality changes of Patinopecten yessoensis during the period of anhydrous storage and transportation at ice temperatures were probed into in this study, with findings showing that indicators such as the edge shrinkage rate, stimulus response time, and shell closure force can all be used to characterize the post-capture status of scallops and are associated linearly with their shelf life. Specifically, regarding nutritional quality, with the extension of anhydrous storage and transportation at ice temperatures, the water content of soft tissues decreased significantly and water loss became serious, during which glycogen as energy storage material fluctuated greatly. Meanwhile, the bitter amino acid content decreased significantly after scallops were out of water, and the fresh and sweet taste was thus revealed. The brightness of the adductor muscle played a dominant role in the change of color difference, which showed an upward trend within 5 d after leaving water, and decreased with the fluctuation of vitality in the later period. In addition, electronic nose and electronic tongue can effectively distinguish scallop samples with different shelf life based on differences in odor and taste. The main aroma sources of fresh seafood, that is, aldehydes (trans-2-octenal and trans-2-undecylenic aldenyde) and esters (methyl butyrate) showed a downward trend, while the contents of non-pleasant flavor substances (ethanethiol, methanethiol, isopropanol, n-propanol, etc.) showed an upward trend. In terms of taste, CTS (salty), ANS (sweet), and SCS (bitter) taste values were negatively correlated with storage and transportation time. It is concluded that the quality of the Patinopecten yessoensis can be maintained within 5 days of anhydrous storage and transportation at ice temperatures.

Background

Olive oil consumption and production are evident among Lebanese households, yet little is known about the knowledge, perceptions, and practices of Lebanese consumers of olive oil.

Methods

A total of 610 adolescents and adults who consume olive oil were surveyed using a semi-qualitative questionnaire comprising 47 questions between August 2022 and May 2023. Descriptive analyses of knowledge, perceptions, and practices were conducted in addition to a regression analysis of the predictors of higher knowledge.

Results

610 participants were included (61.0 % aged <25 years, and 71.5 % females; 53.8 % olive oil producers). Mainly, participants bought their olive oil once (37.0 %) and in bulk (52.8 %), utilized olive oil daily (55.1 %), and used approximately 2 teaspoons per day (27.4 %). In addition, 29.5 % of the participants’ households consumed more than 30 L per year. Most participants described olive oil as ‘fresh’ (66.1 %), expressed a strong preference for domestic olive oil over imported varieties (66.1 %), believed that olive oil is good for consumption without cooking, other oils/fats are better to cook (53.4 %), and 53.1 % favored olive oil based on its color. Regarding storage, 76 % stored olive oil in a closed cabinet, and 36.6 % used tinplate containers. Half the participants were not concerned about the oil being adulterated (50.2 %); 73.4 % trusted olive mills, and 33.1 % had no trust at all in public food safety authorities concerning olive oil and table olives. Finally, 37.2 % considered that the price of olive oil was high relative to other fats and oils. The mean knowledge score ± standard deviation (SD) was 7.33 ± 2.71 over 10. Higher age than 25 years, male gender, living in the South or Bekaa, being married, having a higher reported BMI, obtaining olive oil from self/family/known sources and olive oil mills, purchasing in bulk, and storing in opaque glass containers colored green, or brown were positively associated with knowledge of olive oil.

Conclusion

Our study reveals high consumption of olive oil but poor related knowledge and practices among consumers. Consumer education programs on olive oil and relevant practices are warranted, especially for young, female, people living in Beirut, single, and lean individuals. Addressing consumer concerns regarding adulteration and strengthening trust in public food safety authorities are needed.

In food distribution, trends are emerging that seek to reduce the number of agents involved, promoting short supply chains (SFSCs). In response to that, the objective of this research is double: analysing the level of consumer awareness, use and willingness to pay for products being distributed through SFSCs and on the basis of the information obtained, analysing the issues that producers employing these channels are facing with the aim of using this information to design strategies to help the production sector. We have employed a qualitative approach and organised 12 focus groups including consumers and producers from various Spanish towns, with discussions being carried out between March and July 2022. The outcomes reveal that, producers and consumers recognize benefits in these channels but note barriers like lack of consumer information and access inconveniences. Consumers show less inclination for SFSC purchases, especially for delicate (meats) or infrequent (wine) products, preferring supermarkets. Finally, the participants highlight price and online channel inconvenience as main limitations, echoed by producers. In order to promote short food supply chains, it would be essential to overcome the barriers identified in this study by implementing strategies focused on information, accessibility, price competitiveness and optimisation of the purchasing process. These actions will not only offer advantages to both consumers and producers, but will also boost the local economy. In addition, this study's findings can help in the design of public policies that promote SFSCs and encourage their adoption.

Carissa carandas (C. carandas), an Apocynaceae family member, fruit bearing crop is locally known as karonda in Asia, grown wild has gained attention owing to impressive nutritional composition and health benefits. A 100–200 g serving size of C. carandas meets 100 % recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of iron, zinc, manganese, copper, chromium, and vitamin C in all age groups, making it a promising candidate for addressing nutrient deficiencies across all age groups. Other than that it also contains significant amount of carbohydrates (61–67 %) sugars (4.7–13 % mainly reducing), fats (4.5–19 % mainly PUFA_S), and protein (1.6–3.2 %) despite remaining underutilized. C. carandas extracts reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-tyrosinase potential comparable to the commercially available synthetic drugs. Therefore, this review aims to consolidate current knowledge on the nutritional profile and bioactive components of C. carandas, and to explore its importance in food technology sector. The study provides novel insights about the potential of C. carandas to address micronutrient deficiencies, boost local economies, and provide income for farmers. It also highlights its potential for sustainable agriculture, functional food development, and innovative products due to its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Phenolic compounds (total polyphenol content – TPC, chlorogenic acid – CGA, neochlorogenic acid – neoCGA, cryptochlorogenic acid – cryptoCGA) and the antioxidant activity (AA) by DPPH and FRAP methods were determined in raw peel and flesh of sweet potatoes (white cv. Japanese, orange cv. Beauregard), and in heat-treated flesh (steamed, boiled, microwaved, baked). The TPC in raw orange-fleshed sweet potatoes ranged from 1126 (Croatia – Beauregard) to 3248 (Austria – Beauregard) mg/kg dry weight. Heat treatment significantly increased the CGA and neoCGA content. CryptoCGA in heat-treated samples varied from 5.53 (microwaved Croatia – Japanese) to 119 (steamed Austria – Beauregard) mg/kg dry weight. Higher AA-DPPH was observed in all heat-treated samples, except for microwaved Egypt – Beauregard and Austria – Beauregard, boiled Egypt – Beauregard, and baked Austria – Beauregard samples. The AA-FRAP levels in the Croatia -Japanese, USA – Beauregard, Austria – Beauregard samples increased after all heat treatments. The amount of bioactive compounds and their antioxidant properties in sweet potatoes were both significantly increased by heat treatments.

This study aimed to investigate the potential of sappan heartwood extract as an inhibitor of foodborne pathogenic bacteria in beetroot juice. The extract was obtained using an accelerated solvent extraction process (using an ethanol/water solvent mixture (3:1 w/w) at 120 °C and 1500 psi for 5 min), yielding 10.04 g per 73.6 g of dried sappan heartwood powder, with a percentage yield of 13.64 and 2.69 % brazilin. The extract was combined with pulsed electric fields (PEF) at different strengths and tested against Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Bacillus cereus (B. cereus), and Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium). Results showed that the combination of sappan heartwood extract and PEF at 15 kV/cm and concentrations of 3.91, 5.86, and 11.73 mg/mL effectively reduced the total plate count and coliform bacteria count, and completely eliminated B. cereus and S. typhimurium during 7 days of storage at 4 °C. Furthermore, this combination was found to be more efficient in bacterial elimination compared to thermal pasteurization and potassium sorbate addition. These findings suggest that sappan heartwood extract can be used as a natural antimicrobial agent in food products, especially in beetroot juice, where regulatory standards restrict the addition of preservatives. Using sappan heartwood extract in combination with PEF is highly effective in killing foodborne pathogens, reducing the risk of consumer harm and ensuring food safety.