Current Opinion in Food Science最新文献

Food design is often done based on a trial-and-error basis, using structure properties as an indicator of product quality. Although this has led to many good products in the market, this ‘cook and look’ approach could benefit from insights into dynamic processes as they occur during food formation, storage, and digestion. Currently microfluidic devices are being developed to allow these types of observations, and here we show the latest examples in the field of emulsions and foams, including effects that occur during digestion. We expect that these techniques will supply a stepping stone to thorough understanding at various length and timescales that are all instrumental in designing high-quality food products, and ultimately creating foods with health benefits.

Is any specific structural trait that makes food proteins resistant or sensitive to proteolytic degradation in the gastrointestinal tract? In principle, elements at various hierarchical levels of protein structure may confer stability or susceptibility to hydrolysis. However, based on a critical revision of the recent literature, we emphasize the impossibility of providing absolute answers because protein digestion is affected by a complex series of factors ascribable to the food micro-/macrostructure and the intricacy of human digestion. Taking into consideration the uncertainty associated with the current in vitro models of food digestion/absorption and the capability offered by recent analytical advancements, we emphasize the need for suitable in vivo readouts for improving the comprehension of the fate of dietary proteins in our body and their effects on human health.

The restructured functional foods have different bioactive components and nutritional value from the natural form of foods. It is of scientific significance to detect the restructured foods' bioactive ingredients and nutritional characteristics. The traditional methods of detecting components are mainly destructive testing, which is time-consuming, inefficient, and tedious in operation. Nondestructive testing (NDT) has become an emerging technology due to its rapidity and simplicity. This paper reviews NDT methods for restructured functional foods in terms of bioactivities and nutritional value, as exemplified by compounded foods, printing foods, and artificial meat. Last, a summary is given of the challenges and future research directions for NDT methods in restructured functional foods.

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have come of age. They have been increasingly used by scientists and engineers over the last two decades, and have attracted attention also in the field of food science, namely to address topics involving enzymes, carbohydrates, or cryoprotectants. This review focuses on the latter topic, more specifically on the application of MD to the study of lactic acid bacteria (cryo)preservation and the protective action operated by fructo-oligosaccharides. The lack of fundamental research on the subject and possible ways of filling this gap are discussed.

Aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) are widely known for their enhanced biocompatibility and selectivity in downstream processes. Hence, being a key tool for the extraction/separation of innumerous biomolecules. This is particularly important for the food industry considering the higher consumers’ awareness for the health hazards associated with chemicals used in food processing and applications, as well as the replacement of synthetic food additives such as pigments and preservatives. Therefore, this mini-review offers a critical perspective on the progress done over the last three years regarding the application of ABS i) for the extraction of food-related biomolecules, ii) as analytical tools in food processing, iii) as in situ bio-based platforms, iv) for the valorization of food waste, and v) to shed some light on how molecular simulation approaches may be a key element in this framework.

Increased awareness of health and wellness drives demand for sustainable food, creating opportunities to develop new products. Chocolate is a very popular treat worldwide, therefore, enriching recipes that lead to chocolate-based functional foods is an attractive option. As a result, in the last years, scientists and industrial companies have made increasing efforts to modify formulations to improve chocolate nutritional profile, by reducing the content of sugars and saturated fats or by adding components with well-defined physiological effects without affecting the sensory and texture properties. In this paper, we present how different modification strategies were reconciled with manufacturing process, bloom resistance, and heat stability to maintain consumer acceptability, which still remains a major challenge to be faced by the food industry.

In infants, gastric digestion is a crucial step for the digestion and absorption of nutrients from infant formula, human milk, or any other milk substitutes. Critical understanding of the dynamics and biochemical conditions of the infant stomach is essential to improving the accuracy and reliability of in vitro models and guide the development of infant formulae that match the functional performance of human milk. This review discusses the current knowledge about infant gastric digestion gained from in vitro, in vivo, and human studies and learning from the digestion behavior of infant formulae. In particular, the current challenges when mimicking the gastric digestion processes in healthy infants are highlighted.

Fermented foods are consumed throughout the world and substantially contribute to food security. Many fermented products rely on the participation of Bacillus species, but their contribution to food quality is not well documented. The purpose of this review is to highlight metabolic properties that relate to food quality and food safety. Most fermented foods that include Bacillus species use legumes or tubers as substrate and are traditionally prepared in East Asia, Africa, and South America. In food fermentations, Bacillus species produce amylases and proteases, extracellular polysaccharides and polypeptides, and lipopeptides with antimicrobial activity. The metabolic traits of bacilli also provide opportunities for use in food fermentations in which they do not traditionally occur.

The lipophilic bioactive compounds (LBC) in food are sensitive to degrade by the effects of stimuli environments during processing, storage, and passage through gastrointestinal tract. The digestibility and oral bioavailability of these lipophilic bioactive components are poor. Colloid-based delivery systems can enhance the solubility, stability, and bioavailability of those LBC. This review article represents the recent studies reported on the development of biopolymeric emulsions as delivery vehicles for encapsulation, protection, and enhancement of bioaccessibility and bioavailability of LBC. The applications of proteins, polysaccharides, and their conjugates used as emulsifiers to develop stable emulsions are also highlighted.

Plant-based foods are ubiquitous and ancient. But if we disregard high-starch ingredients (rice, etc.) and soy-based foods then we find fewer consumer products. In a world focused on sustainability there is a growing list of companies designing plant protein-based ‘analogues’ of meat or dairy products (e.g. nut-based yogurts, cheeses, vegan hamburgers). These analogues suffer a common problem, however: be it the marbling of fat in steak or the stretch of cheese, plant-based foods lack some key textural attributes. Overcoming this deficiency will require crafting rational design rules based on structure–function relationships. This current opinion will cover the manufacturing and oral processing of plant-based foods and ingredients with the aim of initiating the conversation around how the fields might better integrate these different disciplines and, ultimately, build design rules.