Advances in Food and Nutrition Research最新文献

Every year, 1 in 10 people suffers from food poisoning, and in recent years, the highest number of foodborne outbreaks has been attributed to roots/underground vegetables and fresh produce. Major pathogens include as Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes, Human Norovirus, Hepatitis A virus and Cyclospora. The primary sources of contamination for agriculture products stem from uncontrolled exposure to soil, water, and animal waste. Contamination can occur in various ways during food cultivation, harvesting, processing, and distribution. Mechanical washing and disinfection are primarily employed as practices to control biological contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Current practices may encounter challenges such as microbial resistance to disinfectants or antibiotics, and the cleaning effectiveness could be compromised due to the internalization of bacteria and viruses into some plants. High-pressure processing, pulse electric fields, and cold plasma are environmentally friendly technologies, albeit with associated costs. Low-temperature sterilization technologies capable of controlling biological contaminants, such as bacteria and viruses, play a crucial role in preventing food safety issues. Compared to conventional cleaning methods, these technologies are effective in controlling microorganisms that are strongly attached to the food surface or internalized due to damage. Periodic surveillance is essential to ensure the overall microbiological safety of fresh produce and root vegetables.

Although diet in space has relied on the sterilized products transported from earth, on-site space food production (e.g., farming, nutritional bioregeneration, bioculture foods, cooking) have been suggested to establish sustainable food supply system. This book chapter describes the key consideration for the design of hazard analysis and critical control points plan optimized for food produced and prepared in outer space. Technical advances in the food production during spaceflight were summarized to categorize the types of on-site space food production. Overall results of previous research regarding microbial monitoring of contaminants onboard the habitat of astronauts (single bacterial isolation and community analysis) and the alteration of physiological characteristics of host-pathogen-food in microgravity were analyzed to suggest information required for hazard analysis. Pathogen control strategies which can be set as critical control points were also designed from raw materials to consumption followed by the waste recycling.

In the modern age of heightened food consumption, consumers are increasingly focused on the safety and quality of the products they consume. Consequently, food regulatory authorities are rigorously overseeing the industry to ensure compliance with established quality standards. Evaluating food properties involves a broad range of factors, including chemical and physical characteristics, sensory evaluation, authenticity verification, traceability, production processes, storage conditions, and the detection of microbes and contaminants. While traditional analytical methods have been the cornerstone of such evaluations, they are often destructive, resource-intensive, time-consuming, costly, and environmentally unfriendly. On the other hand, advanced spectroscopic techniques present a highly efficient and non-invasive alternative for food analysis. Spectroscopy, as a versatile analytical tool, plays a critical role in advancing the understanding of food functionality and ensuring food safety. This chapter explores the application of spectroscopic techniques in characterizing food components, monitoring quality, detecting contaminants, and assessing safety. By combining technical insights with practical applications, the chapter provides a roadmap for integrating spectroscopy into contemporary food science research and industry practices.

Milk and dairy products can be spoiled by microorganisms from the raw milk microbiota as well as resident microorganisms in dairy industries, with some being related to more than one type of spoilage due to their metabolic versatility. Different types of spoilage have harmed dairy production, including milk destabilization by enzymatic activity, cheese blowing, discolorations, acidification, off-flavors production, slime formation, and ropiness. Generally, the compounds most associated with these problems are enzymes, secondary metabolites, biogenic amines, lactic acid, volatile compounds, polysaccharides, among others. Additionally, many microorganisms that are beneficial in some dairy products also have the potential to cause spoilage. Here, the main groups of microorganisms associated with the spoilage of milk and dairy products are described, and measures for their control and prevention are presented.

The past decades have seen major advances in the understanding of the role of phase and state transitions of food carbohydrates on the behavior during processing and on product characteristics. Specifically, the awareness of the importance of the glass transition temperature and the plasticization by water and its study for a variety of food system is having major impact on the formulation and processing of foods, and in defining shelf-life conditions. This has led to the use of phase and state diagrams in the analysis and prediction of the behavior of food systems during processing and storage. This review first summarizes the current understanding of the food carbohydrate phase behavior and rheology, with emphasis on the concentrated states close to the glass transition and in the glassy state. Several pertinent topics, including the modeling of the rheological properties close to the glass transition, the strongly non-linear diffusion of water in the rubbery and glassy states, the aging and antiplasticization of glassy carbohydrate matrices, and consequences of amorphous-amorphous phase separation for the behavior of carbohydrate blends in concentrated states are discussed. Applications in food processing and product development are discussed, including the spray drying and freeze drying, powder agglomeration of food powders, powder caking, encapsulation, baked goods, crystallization and extrusion.

Non-thermal technologies (NTT) have been primarily studied for obtaining animal-origin products with improved bacteriological stability, aiming to eliminate the main foodborne pathogens associated with outbreaks, e.g., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus spp., and Clostridium perfringens, but avoiding the use of heat, leading to energy savings. On the other hand, due to the novelty of these technologies, there is a lack of standardization in their use and, consequently, a reduction in the process efficiency and undesirable changes in the physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory characteristics of food. Therefore, there is a need to utilize mathematical approaches for developing the modeling, validation, and optimization of NTT aiming the pathogen inactivation. In this context, the Box-Behnken design (BBD) and the central composite rotatable design (CCRD) have been severely explored due to the possibility of developing second-order polynomial models based on the linear, quadratic and interaction behaviors of the independent variables, but with a lower number of experiments. In this chapter, we summarized the principles and fundamentals of pathogen inactivation using the main NTT, e.g., high-pressure processing (HPP), ultraviolet C radiation (UV-C), high-intensity ultrasound (HIUS), cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) and pulsed electric field (PEF), as well as the principles of use of BBD and CCRD and their recent application for modeling and optimization of the NTT.

The marine environment is teeming with a diverse array of algae, dinoflagellates and phytoplankton. These organisms possess the remarkable capacity to produce toxic compounds that can be passed to humans through the ingestion of seafood, resulting in potential health risks. Similarly, seafood can be susceptible to contamination from various microorganisms, viruses and parasites, thereby, potentially compromising food safety. Consuming seafood that contains toxins or pathogenic microorganisms may have serious health consequences, including the potential for severe illness or even fatality. This chapter delves into the various hazards that arise from biochemical and microbiological factors, with particular emphasis on the Mediterranean region. In addition, it provides a succinct analysis regarding the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on the safety of seafood.

Food processing is the set of operations that transforms the raw ingredients into a finished product, which is fit and safe for human consumption. Advanced food processing technology are continuously evolving to produce abundance of healthy, nutritious, safe and cost-effective foods. Understanding the nutritional consequences of advanced processed food is necessary to develop more sustainable food processing methods. Processed food containing additives like preservatives, food colors, flavoring agents may have health impact on the long term. Processed foods, often high in calories and lacking satiety, can contribute to overeating, weight gain, and increase the risk of obesity-related health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. Advantages and challenges associated with emerging food processed foods needs to be balanced by further research in order to create safe, suitable, cost effective and sustainable processed foods.

This chapter provides a comprehensive understanding of the formation, prevalence, and analytical methods of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in processed foods, as well as insights into effective reduction strategies to enhance food safety. PAHs are a group of carcinogenic compounds, and their dietary intake contributes to most of the human exposure, which can be formed during food thermal processing or storage. Although the European Commission has set regulations for PAHs in processed foods, many food categories are still not covered, such as alcoholic beverages. The selection and optimization of analytical methods for PAHs, including extraction, clean-up, and instrumental detection, are crucial for accurate identification and quantification of these compounds in food matrices. Given that dietary intake is the primary source of human exposure to PAHs, it is essential to implement effective mitigation measures to ensure food safety.

The agricultural waste and wild plants of the Mediterranean region offer significant nutraceutical potential, rich in bioactive compounds such as phenolics, carotenoids, lipids and volatile organic compounds. These compounds exhibit health-promoting properties, including antioxidant, neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. Advanced analytical techniques such as HPLC, GC-MS and NMR are essential for the accurate chemical characterization of these bioactives. Green extraction methods, including ultrasound-assisted, enzyme-assisted and cold plasma-assisted extractions, provide efficient and environmentally friendly alternatives to classical techniques for the isolation of bioactive compounds. The valorization of Mediterranean agricultural by-products, such as olive pomace, grape seeds, and citrus peels, exemplifies sustainable approaches to the utilization of these underutilized resources. This chapter explores the bioactive characterization and green extraction methods that contribute to unlocking the nutraceutical potential of Mediterranean plant waste and wild plants, highlighting their role in the development of functional foods and natural health products.