Improving fried burger quality and modulating acrylamide formation by active coating containing Rosa canina L. extract nanoemulsions

During the frying of foods, undesirable reactions such as protein denaturation, acrylamide formation, and so on occur in the product, which has confirmed carcinogenic effects. The use of antioxidants has been proposed as an effective solution to reduce the formation of these compounds during the process. The current study aimed to assess the impact of an edible coating holding within chia seed gum (CSG) and Rosa canina L. extract (RCE) nanoemulsions on the physicochemical properties, oil uptake, acrylamide formation, 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF) content, and sensory characteristics of beef-turkey burgers. The RCE-loaded nanoemulsions were prepared using the ultrasonic homogenization method, and different concentrations (i.e., 10%, 20%, and 40% w/w) were added to the CSG solutions; these active coatings were used to cover the burgers. CSG-based coatings, especially coatings containing the highest concentration of nanoemulsions (40%), caused a significant decrease in the oil uptake and moisture retention, acrylamide content, and HMF content of fried burgers. The texture of coated burgers was softer than that of uncoated samples; they also had a higher color brightness and a lower browning index. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that RCE concentration less than 40% should be used in CSG coatings because it will cause minor cracks, which is an obvious possibility of failure of coating performance. Coating significantly (4-10 times) increased the antioxidant activity of burgers compared to the control. In conclusion, it is suggested to use the active coating produced in this study to improve fried burger quality and modulate acrylamide formation.

Production and Characterization of a Novel Symbiotic Plant-based Beverage Rich in Antioxidant Phenolic: Mung Bean and Rye Sprouts

There is an increasing demand for non-dairy probiotic food due to the constraints associated with dairy probiotics. In this study, a co-culture synbiotic beverage was prepared using a mixture of mung bean and rye sprouts inoculated with Lactobacillus plantarum (B-28) and Lactobacillus casei (B-29), along with inulin and oligofructose as prebiotics. The effects of prebiotic addition and starter culture on the survival of probiotics during cold storage and simulated gastric conditions were examined. Additionally, titratable acidity, pH, phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and sensory characteristics were evaluated over a 28-day period. The resulting product demonstrated good survival for L. casei (107 CFU.ml-1) and L. plantarum (106 CFU.ml-1) after 4 weeks under refrigeration with no significant changes in quality. The samples exhibited significantly high total phenolic content (TPC), ranging from 19.18 to 25.75 mg GAE/100 mL, which L. casei-containing drinks exhibited the highest TPC activity (p < 0.05). All treatments showed a significant reduction in probiotic survival during gastrointestinal digestion in the laboratory conditions (p < 0.05), although more than 50% survival was observed for all strains. The addition of prebiotics to the beverages led to a significant decrease in phenolic content (p < 0.05), but improved sensory scores. The highest turbidity was observed in the sample containing both probiotics and inulin on the 28th day at 38.1 (NTU). In general, the synergistic effect of probiotics was more pronounced when used together with both prebiotics in the beverages compared to their individual use. The results suggest that the production of this beverage could serve as a nutritious alternative to lactose-sensitive dairy beverages and contribute to the development of future probiotic food products.

Investigating the microbial properties of sodium alginate/chitosan edible film containing red beetroot anthocyanin extract for smart packaging in chicken fillet as a pH indicator

The current trend in the production of smart films involves the use of pH-responsive color indicators derived from natural sources. In line with this trend, the aim of this research is to produce edible films from sodium alginate (A) and chitosan (Ch) incorporating red beet anthocyanin (Ac) extract, and to assess the properties of these films and their use as coatings for chicken fillets. The study employed a factorial design to evaluate the effects of treatments C (control), A25%-ch75% (films consisting of 25% sodium alginate and 75% chitosan), and A25%-ch75%-Ac (films consisting of 25% sodium alginate, 75% chitosan, and red beet anthocyanin). The findings indicate that the inclusion of red beet anthocyanin extract did not result in any discernible differences in the FTIR spectra of the film samples. Analysis of the XRD results revealed that the addition of the extract led to a reduction in the crystal structure of the film. Moreover, SEM results demonstrated that the extract caused alterations in the polymer chains and an increase in the porosity of the film matrix. With regard to the chicken fillet samples coated with the film, over time, there was an increase in microbial analysis (total microorganism count and Staphylococcus aureus coagulase-positive) and chemical properties (pH, peroxide, thiobarbituric acid, and nitrogen compounds) for all samples. However, this trend was significantly lower in the samples coated with the Ac extract (P < 0.05). Texture analysis results revealed that the hardness parameter of all samples decreased over the storage period, while the samples containing the Ac extract demonstrated a significant increase in this parameter (P < 0.05). Additionally, the color changes of the pH sensor corresponded to the anthocyanin structure. Based on the results, the smart film composed of sodium alginate/chitosan incorporating red beet anthocyanin extract has the potential to enhance the quality, prolong the shelf life, and decrease the microbial load of chicken fillet when used as a coating. Furthermore, red beet anthocyanin can serve as a suitable indicator for spoilage changes in packaged food products.

Modeling and Optimization of Alpha-Amylase and Phytase Microencapsulation Process in Beeswax and Evaluation of Bread Quality Attributes

Due to the significant role of bread in the food basket of people in the world, it is necessary consider its quality and nutritional attributes. Due to the significance of alpha-amylase and phytase enzymes in bread quality and the sensitivity of these enzymes to some environmental conditions, it was attempted to optimize and model the encapsulation conditions of the combination of two enzymes in beeswax. The parameters of amylase and phytase, beeswax amount, tween 20, and mixing speed were regarded as independent parameters and their effect on the encapsulation efficiency of alpha-amylase and phytase enzymes was studied. The results indicated that the concentration of enzymes and the amount of beeswax had a direct and inverse effect on the encapsulation efficiency of both enzymes, respectively. The proposed model for the encapsulation efficiency of type 2 alpha-amylase and phytase and the fitting coefficients of the models were reliable. Finally, the optimal encapsulation conditions due to the maximum encapsulation efficiency were 156.53 μL of alpha-amylase enzyme, 178.28 mg of phytase enzyme, 1.87 g of beeswax, 1.19% by weight/ volume of tween 20 and mixing speed of 1081-89 r/min were determined with a utility factor of 0.897.

Optimization of process conditions for effective ohmic heating of greater lizardfish () sausage via response surface methodology

In current research, the optimization of ohmic heating on greater lizardfish (Saurida tumbil) sausage variables was carried out using response surface methodology-central composite design (RSM-CCD). The effect of process variables including voltage gradient (15-60 V/cm), time (1-15 min), and temperature (60-90^°C) on the microbial properties, pH, peroxide value, water holding capacity (WHC), and cooking loss of the sausages was evaluated. The results showed that the characteristics of the sausages were dependent on the ohmic heating conditions and these properties can be modulated. As per the results, the voltage gradient and temperature has a significant effect on the total plate count (p < 0.05). The increase in voltage gradient was the most effective on pH (5.63-6.91). The interaction terms of all items had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on the peroxide value of the fish sausages. Higher amount of temperature and process time were resulted in the more cooking loss. Increasing the voltage gradient was more effective on WHC compared to the temperature. Finally, the process was optimized and the optimized condition was achieved by setting the voltage gradient at 30 V/cm, process time at 4 min, and temperature at 66°C. Also, it was compared with conventional heating. The results were shown that the differences between the mean values of all responses were statistically significant (p < 0.05) except for pH. Therefore, ohmic method was carried out faster, with lower temperature and obtaining the highest WHC and lowest total plate count, peroxide value, cooking loss, and optimized pH. Generally, this study suggested that the ohmic heating can be used as a rapid and homogeneous cooking method for the preparation of sausages from greater lizardfish as a commercial low-valued fish.

Investigation of dual modification on physicochemical, morphological, thermal, pasting, and retrogradation characteristics of sago starch

The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of dually modified sago starch by acid hydrolysis (AH)‐hydroxypropylation (HP). For this purpose, sago starch was modified with the combination by AH (5–20 h hydrolysis times) followed by HP (5%–25% ratio of propylene oxide) processes. The results showed that the dual modification of the sago starch structure didn't have a significant effect on the size of starch granules, and the granule size was in the range of 0.005–0.151 µm; however, the pasting properties and the glass transition temperature decreased significantly (p < .05). Increasing the level of propylene oxide from 5% to 25% caused a significant increase in the substitution degree (DS) and swelling ability of starches and reduced the syneresis, while with increasing acid hydrolysis time from 5 h to 20 h, starch swelling decreased and syneresis increased (p < .05). AH process at high hydrolysis times (20 h) increased the gelatinization temperatures and decreased retrogradation temperatures. Increasing the level of propylene oxide in both single and dual modification reduced the temperatures and enthalpy of gelatinization and retrogradation of sago starch. In summary, dually modified sago starch has a great potential to use in specific food products such as frozen dough or frozen bakery products.

Application of genetic algorithm and multivariate methods for the detection and measurement of milk-surfactant adulteration by attenuated total reflection and near-infrared spectroscopy

BACKGROUND

The adulteration of milk by hazardous chemicals like surfactants has recently increased. It conceals the quality of the product to gain profit. As milk and milk-based products are consumed by many people, novel analytical procedures are needed to detect these adulterants. This study focused on Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy equipped with an attenuated total reflection (ATR) accessory, and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for the determination of milk-surfactant adulteration using a genetic algorithm (GA) coupled with multivariate methods. The model surfactant was sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and its concentration varied from 1.94-19.4 gkg^-1 in adulterated samples.

RESULTS

Prominent peaks in the spectral range of 5500-6400 cm^-1 , 1160-1260 cm^-1 and 1049-1080 cm^-1 may correspond to the sulfonate group in SDS. A genetic algorithm could significantly reduce the number of variables to almost one third by selecting the specific wavenumber region. Principal component analysis (PCA) for ATR and NIR data indicated separate clusters of samples in terms of the concentration level of SDS (P ≤ 0.05). Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to determine the maximum R² value for ATR and NIR data for calibration, cross-validation and prediction, which were 0.980, 0.972, 0.980, and 0.970, 0.937, and 0.956 respectively. The results showed apparent differences between unadulterated and adulterated samples using partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), which was validated by the permutation test.

CONCLUSION

The results clearly show the successful application of the proposed methods with multivariate analysis in the selection of variables, classification, clustering, and identification of the adulterant in amounts as low as 1.94 gkg^-1 in milk. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Combined infrared-vacuum drying of pumpkin slices

Infrared-vacuum dehydration characteristics of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) were evaluated in a combined dryer system. The effects of drying parameters, infrared radiation power (204-272 W), system pressure (5-15 kPa), slice thickness (5 and 7 mm) and time (0-220 min) on the drying kinetics and characteristics of pumpkin slices were investigated. The vacuum pressure, lamp power and slice had significant effect on the drying kinetics and various qualities of the dried pumpkin. Moisture ratios were fitted to 10 different mathematical equations using nonlinear regression analysis. The quadratic equation satisfactorily described the drying behavior of pumpkin slices with the highest r value and the lowest SE values. The effective moisture diffusivity increased with power and ranged between 0.71 and 2.86 × 10(-9) m(2)/s. With increasing in infrared radiation power from 204 to 272 W, β-carotene content of dried pumpkins decreased from 30.04 to 24.55 mg/100 g. The rise in infrared power has a negative effect on the color changes (ΔE). The optimum condition was determined as power, 238W, pressure, 5 kPa and slice thickness, 5mm. These conditions resulted into dried pumpkin slices with maximum B-carotene retention.