Modeling inactivation of Clostridium botulinum and vitamin destruction of non-Newtonian liquid-solid food mixtures by convective sterilization in cans

Binding mechanism and safety assessment of BADGE from epoxy-coated cans and protein

Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) from the epoxy coating can migrate to food and react with the protein, but the safety of these adducts formed is unknown, besides, after being consumed in large quantities, BADGE may also combine with other proteins supplemented, posing a potential hazard to human health. The binding mechanism and the possible binding products of BADGE and protein were explored by a series of liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods. Results showed BADGE can modify a variety of amino acid residues with two modification modes, of which the largest number of modifications were cysteine (Cys) and lysine (Lys). Some adducts formed had shown potential toxicity by in-silico toxicity evaluation and needed to be concerned, which provided a new perspective on the safety of epoxy coating. The molecular docking simulation revealed that hydrophobicity and hydrogen bond interactions are the main intermolecular forces in complex formation.

Effects of Microfluidization on the Physical and Storage Stability of Walnut Protein Emulsion and Beverages

Walnut meal is a by-product produced during the production of walnut oil and is often treated as a waste. However, the nutrients in walnut meal mean it has significant potential for development as a plant-based milk. This study investigated the effect of microfluidization on the stability of walnut protein emulsion (WPE) and walnut protein beverage (WPB) produced from walnut meal, compared with conventional homogenization. The particle size, zeta potential, rheological properties, and stability of WPE all significantly improved after microfluidization. The mean particle size and zeta potential of the microfluidized WPE significantly decreased (p < 0.05). The rheological properties demonstrated that the viscosity of the microfluidized WPE decreased by 80%, and that the shear force increased 4.5 times as the shear rate increased. This gave the resulting product the characteristics of non-Newtonian fluid. LUMisizer stability demonstrated that microfluidization improves stability through protein absorption on the oil-water interface. Microfluidization increased the denaturation temperature (Tm) of WPE from 135.65 to 154.87℃. Moreover, microfluidization improved the color, centrifugal precipitation rate, and viscosity in WPB compared to the control at all studied temperatures. The Arrhenius approach was used to establish a shelf-life model, which predicted that microfluidized WPB could be stored for 175 d at 4℃. This study provided a new reference for the widespread application of microfluidization in the production of food-based emulsion and beverage products.

Simulation and optimization of the thermal sterilization process of puree cans using the production of chestnut puree as an example

In the production process of puree cans such as chestnuts cans, it is easy to browning due to excessive heating, which causes a lot of waste every year. The heat and mass transfer model of Chinese Chestnut Puree was established through the finite element method. The model simulated the change process of the temperature field, heat flow velocity field and F value during the production of Chinese Chestnut Puree. After comparing and confirming the effectiveness of the model through the thermal penetration test, the model was used to adjust and optimize the production process. For #9121 cans, the two-stage sterilization method was adopted. Through the sterilization method at 10-65-48-14/118-110°C, a sterilization effect equivalent to that of the original process at 10-86-24/121°C was achieved, the browning problem of the product was alleviated, and the product quality was improved. This practice can also provide a reference for canning enterprises to adjust their production processes in the future.