Simultaneous Determination of 12 Preservatives in Pastries Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

(1) Background: Preservatives may pose a potential threat to human health. To ensure food safety, this study has devised a method that concurrently detects a dozen preservatives (acetic acid, propionic acid, dehydroacetic acid, benzoic acid, sorbic acid, dimethyl fumarate, methyl parahydroxybenzoate, ethyl parahydroxybenzoate, propyl parahydroxybenzoate, isopropyl parahydroxybenzoate, butyl parahydroxybenzoate, and isobutyl parahydroxybenzoate) in pastry, utilizing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. (2) Methods: The pastry samples were acidified with hydrochloric acid, extracted with acetonitrile via vortexing, purified by hexane and saturated with sodium chloride solution to remove lipids and impurities, and then concentrated via nitrogen blowing. The method was then quantitatively analyzed using GC-MS with the internal standard method after methanol re-dissolution. (3) Results: The results showed that the content of the 12 preservatives had good linearity within the range of 1.0-50 μg/mL, with correlation coefficients all greater than 0.99. The method detection limit was 0.04-2.00 mg/kg and the quantification limit was 0.12-6.67 mg/kg. The average recovery rates of the samples at three different spiked concentrations of low, medium, and high were 70.18-109.22%, and the relative standard deviations were 1.82-9.79% (n = 6). (4) Conclusions: This method requires a small amount of sample, has high sensitivity, and is simple and fast to operate, making it suitable for the simultaneous determination of 12 preservatives in pastry. This approach contributes to the effective surveillance and regulation of preservative usage in pastries, thereby safeguarding public well-being.

Hazelnut Skin Waste as a Functional Ingredient to Nutritionally Improve a Classic Shortbread Cookie Recipe

Hazelnut skin (HS) is a byproduct of hazelnut processing (2.5% of total kernel) and becomes a food waste despite its high content of antioxidants, unsaturated fats, and fibers. Classic shortbread cookies have a large worldwide market, even if their nutritional composition does not meet nutritional guidelines due to the high content of saturated fats. In the present study, after the nutritional evaluation of four different HS varieties, 5% and 10% ratios of HS of the Tonda Gentile Romana variety were integrated into a classic shortbread cookie recipe, proportionally replacing the butter amount with the unsaturated fats naturally present in HS. The 10% HS addition determined a 20% increase in the monounsaturated oleic acid and a 15.7% decrease in the saturated palmitic acid, in addition to a significant ash increase. The sensory analysis revealed higher consumer acceptance of the 5% formulation, with scores comparable to the control. Although the 10% formulation obtained lower scores for consumer acceptance, 35% of the interviewed population said they would purchase it, indicating that this product, beyond the ethical dimension of using a food waste matrix to promote the circular economy, can attract the commercial interest of part of the population.

Physiochemical and Sensory Properties of Bread Fortified with Wheat Bran and Whey Protein Isolates

This study investigated the effect of fortifying baked goods with wheat bran (WBPI) and whey protein isolates (WPI) on their physicochemical and sensory properties. The aim was to enhance the nutritional value by incorporating high-protein ingredients. WBPI and WPI, which are rich in essential amino acids, were chosen to create high-protein flour blends. The main advantage of WBPI is that it is derived from readily available and inexpensive wheat bran. High-protein flour blends fortified with substitutions of 5%, 10%, and 15% flour with WBPI and WPI were subjected to chemical and rheological analysis. WBPI substitution slightly increased water binding and softening, but it resulted in a decrease in dough quality. In contrast, WPI substitution prolonged dough development time, improved dough stability, and enhanced farinographic quality. WBPI-substituted dough exhibited comparable extensographic properties to the reference flour, with 5% WBPI substitution leading to improved energy and dough resistance. However, as the level of WBPI flour substitution increased, extensographic parameters gradually declined without further enhancing the dough's mechanical properties. Samples with 5% WPI substitution demonstrated superior mechanical properties compared to the reference sample. Baguette with high WBPI substitution was associated with reduced overall acceptance due to a bitter taste caused by the presence of small peptides, ferulic acid, and tannins, as confirmed by correlation analysis.

Changes of body composition among university students depending on the consumption frequency of selected bakery products

Background. Bakery products such as bread, rolls, croissants and others are an important part of eating habits. Recently, their consumption has been associated with an undesirable increase and prevalence of overweight or obesity.

Objective. The aim of the work was to analyze the influence of the consumption frequency of selected types of bread / bakery products on anthropometric parameters in a group of university students.

Material and Methods. The group was composed of 120 volunteers consuming different types of bread / bakery products with different consumption frequencies during the week. The anthropometric parameters were measured by InBody 720. To obtain information on the frequency of consumption we used the questionnaire method.

Results. The results suggest that in most cases it is not the type of product that is decisive, but its quantity consumed and frequency of consumption supported by low daily physical activity, resp. sedentary lifestyle. We found similar results of the influence of the consumption frequency on anthropometric parameters for all types of bread. Low levels of physical activity, basal metabolism and consumption of selected types of bakery products (wheat bread, wheat rolls, sweet pastries and gluten-free variants) can cause an increase in visceral as well as total body fat, weight gain, BMI, at the expense of fat-free mass. Our results showed that the groups of participants who did not consume a certain type of bread at all, rarely or 1 to 3 times a week, showed higher values of the examined parameters (BMI, body weight, body fat percentage, WHR) compared to the group which consumed a particular type of bakery products on average 4 to 7 times a week. The parameter´s values were largely influenced by the levels of physical activity.

Conclusions. Based on the results it is possible to assume that if the bakery products are the part of a balanced diet with regard to the individual energy needs, it should not be the main cause of overweight / obesity in humans.

Reformulation of Pastry Products to Improve Effects on Health

Obesity is increasing at an alarming rate and has been described as a global pandemic. This increase has several explanations, including an increase in caloric intake, low levels of physical activity and the nutritional composition of our diets. In addition to public health policies based on healthy dietary patterns and recommendations based on the Mediterranean and other healthy diets, food reformulation, especially of commonly consumed processed foods, such as bakery products and pastries, is needed in the fight against obesity. Among nutritional reformulation strategies, reductions in caloric density, salt, added sugar, saturated and trans-fats are important in order to reduce the associated risk of developing chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer.

Development of a capillary zone electrophoresis method to determine natamycin in food and a comparison with a liquid chromatography method

BACKGROUND

Natamycin is often added to pastries, cheeses, and beverages. The residual amount of natamycin should be less than 10 mg kg^-1 . The current method for its determination in various foodstuffs is high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a simple, fast, and environmentally friendly method with low reagent consumption and comparable separation performance. However, no reports were found on the determination of natamycin in foods by CE. A CE method to determine natamycin is therefore sought.

RESULTS

Natamycin in foods was determined by the capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method with ultraviolet-visible (UV) detection. Separation conditions were optimized as 20 mM Na₂ HPO₄ , pH 9.2, with 25 kV applied voltage, and UV detection at 306 nm. Under optimal conditions, electrophoretic analysis was completed in less than 4 min, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.065 μg mL^-1 and limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.22 μg mL^-1 . A good linear relationship (r² = 0.999) was obtained at the range of 0.1-25 μg mL^-1 . A comparison with the HPLC-UV method was also carried out according to the National Standards of the People's Republic of China.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained by the CZE and HPLC methods are comparable but the proposed CZE method can help us obtain a shorter detection time at low cost. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Identification of suspected hazardous chemical contaminants in recycled pastry packaging

BACKGROUND

The safe use of recycled paper and cardboard material for food packaging applications is     an important area of investigation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine which hazardous chemi- cal pollutants were found in paper and cardboard samples used for pastry packaging, and to measure the migration of pollutants over time into the pastries.

METHODS

In this study, the presence of some organic pollutants in common confectionery packaging, and the effects of storage time and type of pastry on pollutant migration, were investigated.

RESULTS

The results of the study indicate that harmful compounds such as benzophenone, pentachlorophenol, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and dibutyl phthalate are present at high concentrations in most recycled boxes used for pastry packaging.

CONCLUSIONS

Since the migration of some of the hazardous compounds from the packaging materials into the pastries under normal conditions was indicated, it is recommended that the procedure for preparing pastry packaging materials should be reconsidered and improved.