Food Engineering Reviews最新文献

The persistence of pathogenic microorganisms in low-moisture foods (LMFs) poses a public health concern, as they can survive under dry conditions and resist conventional heat treatments. Despite the fact that LMFs do not support microbial growth, outbreaks and recalls have demonstrated their vulnerability to contamination. Conventional decontamination methods, such as fumigation and thermal treatments, have been widely used; however, these techniques may lead to undesirable effects, including toxic residues in the former and nutrient loss and quality degradation in the latter. To address these challenges, a range of novel thermal and non-thermal technologies have been explored for their potential to inactivate pathogens in LMFs. This review provides a critical assessment of studies evaluating decontamination methods applied to LMFs, considering their microbial inactivation mechanisms, effectiveness, and impact on product quality properties. Comparisons between various technologies are drawn, highlighting their advantages and limitations. Additionally, the concept of hurdle technology, which involves the combination of multiple treatments to enhance microbial control while preserving food integrity, is discussed as a promising approach for improving LMF safety.

The extensive use of synthetic non-biodegradable plastics in food packaging has led to substantial environmental pollution. This has created an imperative need to develop sustainable and eco-friendly packaging materials capable of undergoing timely biodegradation. Biodegradable polymers such as polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, polycaprolactone, polybutylene succinate, polybutylene adipate terephthalate, polyglycolic acid, starch, cellulose, gluten, gelatin and collagen show promise as potential alternatives to replace non-biodegradable plastics. However, enhancements in the properties of these biopolymers are obligatory to meet the demanding requirements of food packaging. In this regard, nanotechnology offers an exciting prospect to develop biopolymer-based nanocomposites with remarkable improvements in mechanical, thermal, barrier and functional properties through incorporation of nanoscale fillers. This review highlights recent advances based on sustainable polymer nanocomposite materials for functional food packaging applications. Additionally, it discusses the various challenges involved in commercialization of biopolymer along with a discussion on potential risks associated with certain fillers and strategies for safer material development. Taken together, this comprehensive review emphasizes the ongoing research and progress in the field of sustainable, biodegradable and eco-friendly polymer nanocomposites for food packing applications.

In recent years, driven by demand for functional foods and ingredients, early-harvested barley grass has gained growing scientific attention for its nutritional value and bioactive compounds with potential health benefits. This review systematically summarizes current advancements in processing methods for barley grass, including drying, grinding, sterilization, extraction, and fermentation.It highlights innovative techniques such as freeze drying, ultra-fine grinding, non-thermal sterilization, and assisted extraction methods, as well as their effects on product quality, yield, and functional properties.The development of various barley grass-based products, such as powders, juices, and extracts, is also discussed, along with their applications in functional food formulations. Despite substantial progress, there are still challenges in scaling up processing technologies and enhancing product stability. This review offers academic and industrial researchers in barley grass functional food development a comprehensive reference, clarifying processing technology potential and limitations, guiding future innovations, and providing theoretical and technical support for resource development and agricultural product value enhancement.

As the world’s population grows, it is becoming more and more challenging for people to access safe and nutritious food due to contamination issues. Decontamination of foods, water/wastewater, packaging materials, and contact surfaces are essential to eliminate the harmful microorganisms. Furthermore, conventional decontamination technologies lead to some problems in the targeted food product, such as loss of nutrients, chemical residues in the foods, chemical wastes affecting natural sources, and an increase in energy consumption. Therefore, novel decontamination technologies are needed. Especially, non-thermal, innovative, and emerging decontamination technologies are getting significant attention. Among these techonologies, Pulsed UV light (PUV) is one of the non-thermal technologies used for decontamination purposes. PUV consists of a broad spectrum from ultraviolet to infrared range, and is rich in the highly germicidal UV-C light range. In the PUV system, high-intensity electromagnetic energy is stored and emitted as short-duration, high-intensity light pulses. The PUV decontamination technique is more sustainable and environmentally friendly than conventional techniques due to its fast decontamination time, no chemical residues, and lower energy requirements. Furthermore, it has less negative impact on the quality characteristics and nutritional values of the targeted product compared to traditional decontamination techniques. Therefore, this review presents recent PUV applications for the decontamination of solid and liquid foods, water/wastewater, food packaging materials and contact surfaces. In particular, the generation of PUV, the advantages and limititations of PUV applications, decontamination mechanisms throughout the target material, and the effect of PUV application on the product quality have been discussed.

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Research and business interest in creating plant-based meat (PBM) substitutes have increased significantly in recent years. Numerous production techniques have been investigated, each with unique benefits and drawbacks. Mimicking the texture and functionality of conventional meat remains the biggest challenge. However, achieving fibrous anisotropy that resembles animal muscle tissue is crucial for consumer acceptance. Electrospinning is an electrohydrodynamic approach with diverse applications in the food and nutraceutical industry. This review explores its scope for producing NFs for developing PBM analogues. The underlying physics is explained, highlighting the role of different ingredients and process variables. Specifically, the mechanisms for texturization during electrospinning are elaborated. Furthermore, hybrid approaches that integrate other food processing operations with electrospinning for PBM applications are also presented. Overall, the electrospinning approach can effectively design PBM analugues mimicking conventional meat. An optimized process can produce nanofibers (NFs) that are ultrafine and interconnected, matching the microstructure of meat at a fundamental level. NFs with controlled morphology, while also being capable of encapsulating flavors and micronutrients, are key highlights. Certainly, challenges exist, but there are ample avenues for research and development for improvement and commercialization.

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Oil-in-water nanoemulsions are colloidal systems created by the dispersion of two immiscible liquid phases. However, because of the coexistence of polar and non-polar components, these mixtures are thermodynamically unstable and, therefore, prone to physical instability. Fortunately, the use of surfactants helps reducing the interfacial tension between the phases and thereby increase their kinetic stability. Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery Systems (SNEDDS) stand out among the low-energy methods to prepare such systems. These structures utilize the internal energy of an anhydrous isotropic mixture composed of oils and surfactants, capable of spontaneously prepare a nanoemulsion upon contact with an aqueous medium with minimal agitation. SNEDDS represent a promising strategy in the food industry to develop functional foods, as they allow the encapsulation and delivery of lipophilic bioactive compounds, thereby improving their bioavailability. However, the complete mechanism underlying the formation of these nanosystems is not yet fully understood, which is crucial for their effective formulation. This work depicts the most recent findings that contribute to elucidating the SNEDDS formation mechanism and their latest applications for the encapsulation of natural bioactive molecules.

Cocoa bean shells (CBS) represent up to 20% of the waste from roasted beans in emerging countries, such as Peru, one of the leading producers of fine-aroma cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) in the world. Due to the high phenolic and theobromine concentrations in agricultural residues such as cocoa bean shells (CBS), multidisciplinary research is focused on optimizing the extraction, characterization, and evaluation of phenolic compounds present in CBS. To provide a complete guide for the extraction of theobromine from CBS, we present here the main methods of extraction and stabilization (encapsulation) of theobromine present in CBS, moving from conventional techniques to others considered “green,” such as ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), even deep eutectic solvent extraction (DES), hydrodynamic cavitation reactors (HCR), pulsed electric field (PEF), and high-voltage electric discharge extraction (HVED), pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) and subcritical water extraction (SCE), among others. Here, the significant increase in theobromine concentration of the extracts is highlighted, as well as the importance of microencapsulation and nanoencapsulation in protecting their bioactivity. The UAE and MAE methods are more effective for theobromine extraction, respectively. On the other hand, encapsulations have been evaluated primarily with maltodextrin mixed with gum Arabic, chitosan, and whey protein by spray drying or freeze-drying. It is concluded that obtaining a nutraceutical product from CBS in a sustainable circular agricultural economy requires optimizing scalable green extraction processes, such as US, and exploring new encapsulated materials and their mixtures to stabilize bioactive compounds, taking advantage of synergistic protection effects.

Microwave (MW) heating has transformed food processing due to its rapid, volumetric, and energy-efficient capabilities. However, achieving uniform heating remains a major challenge, often resulting in quality inconsistencies and safety concerns. This review explores the fundamental principles of MW heating and the intrinsic causes of non-uniform heating in food materials. Key influencing factors include dielectric properties, food composition, sample geometry, and dryer design. We examine current strategies to improve heating uniformity, such as modifications to MW oven design, incorporation of stirring mechanisms, and the development of hybrid heating methods. While these approaches show promise, their scalability is hindered by high costs, technological constraints, and variability in food properties. The review also highlights future directions, emphasizing the importance of advanced modelling, real-time monitoring, and innovative material engineering to enhance uniformity. By addressing these challenges, the food industry can improve product quality, safety, and energy efficiency in MW drying processes.

Fruits and vegetables quality has great importance for human health, providing nutrition security. Rapid and non-destructive assessment of fruits and vegetables quality detection methods must therefore be necessary for the agriculture industry. This review focuses primarily on nondestructive techniques, namely, spectroscopy (Vis/NIR, Raman, Fluorescence), and imaging techniques (Machine vision, Hyperspectral imaging, Fluorescence imaging) for assessing the quality of major fruits and vegetables. In the review, the principles of spectroscopy and imaging techniques, and the performance accuracy for internal and external properties of fruits and vegetables were discussed. The summary of these techniques was discussed, and some viewpoints about future trends were also presented.

Adequate nutrition is essential to human health, significantly influencing both individual well-being and global public health outcomes. As the prevalence of undernutrition, obesity, and digestive disorders increases, there is an urgent need to deepen our understanding of the digestive processes that facilitate nutrient absorption. The small intestine is central to this process, where mechanical movements and biochemical reactions work together to break down and absorb nutrients. In recent years, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become a powerful tool for modeling transport phenomena in complex biological systems such as the small intestine. CFD enables high-resolution modeling of intestinal flow dynamics, mixing behavior, and nutrient transport mechanisms under physiologically relevant conditions, providing valuable insight that complements traditional experimental approaches. This paper reviews the current state of CFD-based research on intestinal flow, mixing, digestion and absorption, emphasizing both scientific progress and engineering relevance. Particular attention is given to the challenges of modeling peristaltic flow, heterogeneous reaction environments, and multiscale transport. We also identify opportunities for advancing CFD applications in digestive modeling, with potential benefits for bio-inspired reactor design, pharmaceutical delivery, and food engineering.