Packaging Design Using Mustard Seeds as a Natural Antimicrobial: A Study on Inhibition of Pseudomonas fragi in Liquid Medium

Health Benefits, Applications, and Analytical Methods of Freshly Produced Allyl Isothiocyanate

Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is a low-molecular-weight natural chemical predominantly obtained from the autolysis of sinigrin, a glucosinolate found in cruciferous vegetables like mustard, horseradish, and wasabi. AITC has sparked widespread interest due to its various biological actions, which include strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anticancer capabilities. This compound offers promising potential in several fields, particularly in food preservation, medicine, and enhancing food quality through natural means. AITC's effectiveness against a broad spectrum of microorganisms, including foodborne pathogens and spoilage agents, makes it an attractive natural alternative to synthetic preservatives. The potential to extend the shelf life of perishable foods makes AITC an important tool for food production, meeting rising customer demand for natural additives. In addition to its antimicrobial effects, AITC demonstrates significant anti-inflammatory activity, reducing levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and modulating key signaling pathways, which could make it valuable in managing chronic inflammatory conditions. Furthermore, emerging research highlights its potential in cancer prevention and treatment, as AITC has been demonstrated to induce apoptosis and inhibit cell increase in several cancer cell lines, offering a natural approach to chemoprevention. This review delves into the chemical structure, metabolism, and bioavailability of freshly produced AITC, providing a comprehensive overview of its beneficial properties. Challenges related to AITC's volatility, dosage optimization, and regulatory considerations are also discussed, alongside future research directions to enhance the stability and efficacy of AITC-based formulations. The findings underscore AITC's role as a versatile bioactive compound with known potential to support human health and the sustainable food industry.

Food packaging technology considerations for designers: Attending to food, consumer, manufacturer, and environmental issues

Food packaging is essential for preserving food safety and quality while also addressing environmental concerns. Designers are at the forefront of developing packaging solutions that not only meet functional requirements but also align with evolving consumer preferences and sustainability concerns. To inform designers, this paper discusses fundamental principles of food packaging technology, encompassing aspects such as food preservation, distribution, marketing, usability, and disposal. It provides examples of innovations in active and smart packaging, nanotechnology, material biodegradability, and recyclability, as well as strategies to reduce packaging waste. By providing future food packaging designers with this essential knowledge and these insights, we hope to encourage them to contribute to future innovations that meet the needs of consumers and the environment.

Volatilome Analysis and Evolution in the Headspace of Packed Refrigerated Fish

Fresh fish is a perishable food in which chemical (namely oxidation) and microbiological degradation result in undesirable odor. Non-processed fish (i.e., raw fish) is increasingly commercialized in packaging systems which are convenient for its retailing and/or which can promote an extension of its shelf-life. Compared to fish sent to its retail unpackaged, fish packaging results in a modification of the gaseous composition of the atmosphere surrounding it. These modifications of atmosphere composition may affect both chemical and microbiological degradation pathways of fish constituents and thereby the volatile organic compounds produced. In addition to monitoring Total Volatile Basic Nitrogen (TVB-N), which is a common indicator to estimate non-processed fish freshness, analytical techniques such as gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry or techniques referred to as "electronic nose" allow either the identification of the entire set of these volatile compounds (the volatilome) and/or to selectively monitor some of them, respectively. Interestingly, monitoring these volatile organic compounds along fish storage might allow the identification of early-stage markers of fish alteration. In this context, to provide relevant information for the identification of volatile markers of non-processed packaged fish quality evolution during its storage, the following items have been successively reviewed: (1) inner atmosphere gaseous composition and evolution as a function of fish packaging systems; (2) fish constituents degradation pathways and analytical methods to monitor fish degradation with a focus on volatilome analysis; and (3) the effect of different factors affecting fish preservation (temperature, inner atmosphere composition, application of hurdle technology) on volatilome composition.

Antibacterial Mechanism of Linalool against Pseudomonas fragi: A Transcriptomic Study

Pseudomonas fragi is the dominant spoilage bacterium that causes the deterioration of chilled meat. Our previous study showed that linalool has potent antibacterial activity against P. fragi, but its antibacterial mechanism is unclear. To explore the antibacterial mechanism of linalool against P. fragi, this study used RNA-seq technology to perform transcriptome analysis of P. fragi samples with or without linalool treatment (1.5 mL/L) for 2 h. The results showed that linalool treatment disrupted the extracellular lipopolysaccharide synthesis pathway in P. fragi and activated fatty acid metabolism and ribosomal function to compensate for cell membrane damage. The energy metabolism of P. fragi was severely disturbed by linalool, and multiple ATP synthases and ATP transportases were overexpressed in the cells but could not guarantee the consumption of ATP. The simultaneous overexpression of multiple ribosomal functional proteins and transporters may also place an additional burden on cells and cause them to collapse.

A Review on Biodegradable Packaging Films from Vegetative and Food Waste

Plastics around the globe have been a matter of grave concern due to the unavoidable habits of human mankind. Taking waste statistics in India for the year 2019-20 into account, the data of 60 major cities show that the generation of plastic waste stands tall at around 26,000 tonnes/day, of which only about 60 % is recycled. A majority of the non-recycled plastic waste is petrochemical-based packaging materials that are non-biodegradable in nature. Vegetative/food waste is another global issue, evidenced by vastly populated countries such as China and India accounting for 91 and 69 tonnes of food wastage, respectively in 2019. The mitigation of plastic packaging issues has led to key scientific developments, one of which is biodegradable materials. However, there is a way that these two waste-related issues can be fronted as the analogy of "taking two shots with the same arrow". The presence of various bio-compounds such as proteins, cellulose, starch, lipids, and waxes, etc., in food and vegetative waste, creates an opportunity for the development of biodegradable packaging films. Although these flexible packaging films have limitations in terms of mechanical, permeation, and moisture absorption characteristics, they can be fine-tuned in order to convert the biobased raw material into a realizable packaging product. These strategies could work in replacing petrochemical-based non-biodegradable packaging plastics which are used in enormous quantities for various household and commercial packaging applications to combat the ever-increasing pollution in highly populated countries. This paper presents a systematic review based on modern scientific tools of the literature available with a major emphasis on the past decade and aims to serve as a standard resource for the development of biodegradable packaging films from food/vegetative waste.

Consumer acceptability of plant-, seaweed-, and insect-based foods as alternatives to meat: a critical compilation of a decade of research

There is a growing criticism of meat-based products over environment, animal welfare, and public health. Meat lovers are keeping and adapting their habits, while other consumers are increasingly shifting toward meat alternatives considered as healthier and more sustainable options to replace the animal-based products. This transition gives room in the market to plant-, seaweed-, and insect-based meat products alternatives. Nevertheless, these emerging markets are still facing the challenge of consumers' acceptance and the uncertainty in terms of preferences. This paper focuses on in-depth understanding of consumer perception and acceptability of plant-, seaweed-, and insect-based meat products to get insights on their current situation and future implementation. The main factors and motives influencing the consumer perceptions toward meat alternative products are reported. Further, the consumers' motives and drivers to consume alternative products were highlighted. This review, provides a better understanding of motives and drivers of consumers' acceptance to improve the acceptability of meat alternatives, considering product and country origin of the consumers of meat alternative foods.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2036096.

Application of White Mustard Bran and Flour on Bread as Natural Preservative Agents

In this study, the antifungal activity of white mustard bran (MB), a by-product of mustard (Sinapis alba) milling, and white mustard seed flour (MF) was tested against mycotoxigenic fungi in the agar diffusion method. The results obtained were posteriorly confirmed in a quantitative test, determining the minimum concentration of extract that inhibits the fungal growth (MIC) and the minimum concentration with fungicidal activity (MFC). Since MF demonstrated no antifungal activity, the MB was stored under different temperature conditions and storage time to determine its antifungal stability. Finally, an in situ assay was carried out, applying the MB as a natural ingredient into the dough to avoid P. commune CECT 20767 growth and increase the bread shelf life. The results demonstrated that the antifungal activity of MB was dose-dependent. The higher assayed dose of MB (10 g/kg) reduced the fungal population in 4.20 Log CFU/g regarding the control group. Moreover, the shelf life was extended four days compared to the control, equaling its effectiveness with the synthetic preservative sodium propionate (E-281). Therefore, MB could be an alternative to chemical additives in bread formulations since it satisfies consumer requirements. Also, the formulation of bread with MB valorizes this by-product generated during mustard seed milling, thereby helping the industry move forward sustainably by reducing environmental impact.