Improvement of the drying quality of blueberries by catalytic infrared blanching combined with ultrasound pretreatment

This paper investigated the effect of catalytic infrared blanching combined with ultrasound pretreatment on quality and waxy structure of blueberries. Different blueberry samples were prepared, including control (untreated) and samples treated by hot water blanching (HB), catalytic infrared blanching (CIB), ultrasound-catalytic infrared blanching (US-CIB), and catalytic infrared blanching-ultrasound (CIB-US). The effect of different pretreatments on the microstructure of blueberry epidermis was studied. The drying time of blueberries after HB, US-CIB, and CIB-US was decreased by 11.61%, 17.54%, and 17.27%, respectively, compared with control (33.75 h), and drying efficiency was significantly improved. Blueberries after pretreatments had higher content of polyphenol and anthocyanin, with an increase of 29.51-44.21% in phenol and 8.81-20.80% in anthocyanin, the antioxidant capacity of blueberries was also better than control and CIB enhanced the antioxidant capacity of blueberries. CIB-US can be used as an efficient pretreatment method for blueberry drying.

Determination of performance response of broilers to fermented tropical leaf meal supplementation using meta-analytical method

Fermented tropical leaf meals (FTLM) are currently added to chicken feed to improve chicken productivity due to their reported nutritional and medicinal benefits. However, the effects of FTLM on broiler productivity and health are less clear. Thus, this meta-analysis was designed to assess the effects of FTLM on the performance outcomes of broilers Eleven controlled studies were retrieved and used to explore the impacts of dietary FTLM supplementation on growth performance [feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), average daily gain (ADG)], blood lipids, slaughter performance (abdominal fat, breast and thigh muscles weight), meat quality [pH, drip loss, shear force, lightness (L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*)], and intestinal histomorphology [villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD) and VH/CD values] of broilers. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses of the effects of moderators (i.e., leaf meal type, supplementation level, broiler strains, rearing phase, and fermentation microbes) on the growth performance of broilers were also assessed. Results show that dietary FTLM supplementation increased FI [standardised mean difference (SMD) = 0.11; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.02, 0.20; P < 0.0001], improved ADG (SMD = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.43; P < 0.0001) and FCR (SMD =  - 0.21; 95% CI: - 0.30, - 0.11; P < 0.0001) in broilers. In addition, FTLM enhanced slaughter performance, meat quality, and intestinal histomorphology of broilers. Broilers fed 0-5 g/kg feed FTLM had better FI, FCR, and ADG than the controls taking significant heterogeneity into account. Meta-regression revealed that analysed moderators influenced growth performance results and accounted for some of the sources of heterogeneity. It can be concluded that up to 5 g/kg of FTLM can be added to broiler feed to improve growth performance, intestinal histomorphology, slaughter performance, and meat quality without adverse effects on dressing percentage and blood lipid profiles.

Carbon tax vs. carbon trading in China: which is better for promoting sustainable development of remanufacturing companies?

To accelerate achieving carbon neutrality, the promotion of low-carbon development in the manufacturing industry has been facilitated by the government's implementation of policies such as carbon taxation and carbon emissions trading. These measures have been put in place to reduce carbon emissions and enhance sustainability within the manufacturing sector. Remanufacturing is an important direction for the low-carbon transformation of enterprises, and improving remanufactured product quality is crucial to the sustainability of remanufacturing enterprises. To elucidate the influence of policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions on the quality of remanufactured products, we developed a game model involving three key players: the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the remanufacturer (IR), and retailers. This model was constructed based on the heterogeneous consumer demand for both new and remanufactured products. The study delved into the effects of various governmental policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions on the quality-related decisions made by remanufacturing enterprises. Our primary focus was on the implementation of two specific policies: a high-level carbon taxation policy and a carbon trading policy characterized by elevated carbon pricing. These policies create a favorable environment for remanufacturers (IR) to enhance the quality of their products. The sales of remanufactured products are influenced by the purchasing preferences of consumers, and carbon reduction policies can be effective in reducing the total environmental impact of manufacturing. Carbon trading policy is most conducive to environmental protection and achieves a win-win situation for economic and environmental benefits for OEMs and IRs when the carbon tax per unit is compared with the carbon trading price. Hence, this situation is favorable for the sustainable growth of existing remanufacturing businesses. Consequently, the government's requirement for subsidies to enhance the quality of remanufactured products and boost the competitiveness of IRs in the market becomes less pronounced.

Potential use of garlic products in ruminant feeding: A review

The addition of antibiotics as growth promoters to ruminant feed can result in bacterial resistance and antibiotic residues in ruminant products. Correspondingly, there is serious public concern regarding the presence of antibiotic residue in ruminant products and the consequent threat to human health. As a result, the addition of plants and their products to ruminant feeds, as an alternative to antibiotics, has received much attention recently. Garlic and its products are rich in organosulphur compounds, which have a variety of biological activities and have been widely used as natural additives in animal production. This review presents recent knowledge on the addition of garlic products (powder, skin, oil, leaf and extracts) to the diets of ruminants. In this paper, garlic products are evaluated with respect to their chemical composition, bioactive compounds, and their impacts on the rumen ecosystem, antioxidant status, immune response, parasitic infection, growth performance and product quality of ruminants. This review provides valuable guidance and a theoretical basis for the development of garlic products as green, highly efficient and safe additives, with the aims of promoting ruminant growth and health, reducing methane emissions and improving ruminant product quality. Garlic extracts have the potential to control parasite infections by decreasing the faecal egg count. Garlic powder, oil and allicin are able to reduce the methane emissions of ruminants. Organosulphur compounds such as allicin, which is present in garlic products, have the potential to inhibit membrane lipid synthesis of the archaeal community, thus influencing the population of methanogenic archaea and resulting in a reduction in methane emissions. Some garlic products are also able to increase the average daily gain (garlic skin, water extract, and leaf) and the feed conversion ratio (garlic skin and leaf) of ruminants. Garlic stalk silage fed to sheep has the potential to improve the nutritional value of mutton by increasing the concentrations of linoleic and linolenic acids and essential amino acids. Sheep fed a diet containing garlic powder or oil are able to produce milk with higher concentrations of the conjugated linoleic acids and n-3 fatty acids, which has health benefits for consumers, due to the widely recognized positive impact of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids on human heart health, improving platelet aggregation, vasodilation and thrombotic tendency. Overall, garlic products have the potential to enhance growth performance and product quality and reduce parasite infections, as well as methane emissions of ruminants.

Mono-frequency ultrasonic-assisted thawing of frozen goose meat: Influence on thawing efficiency, product quality and microstructure

This study aimed to investigate the influences of mono-ultrasound assisted thawing on the thawing efficiency, product quality and conformational characteristics of frozen goose meat. The thawing time, thawing loss, muscle quality, and microstructure of frozen goose meat were studied. The results displayed that ultrasonic-assisted thawing effectively reduced the thawing time by 45.37-57.58% compared with non-sonicated group, and significantly decreased the thawing loss. For the quality properties of goose meat tissue, ultrasound-assisted thawing with single-frequency of 50 kHz indicated a lower protein turbidity; meanwhile, hardness values were also significantly increased, and displayed a higher springiness, gumminess and chewiness of goose meat tissue. The microstructure analysis exhibited that the conformation of goose myofibrillar protein (MP) was modified following ultrasonic-assisted thawing, and became closer and more irregular. Therefore, ultrasound-assisted thawing treatments at 50 kHz mono-frequency (temperature 25℃) have a high potential application value in the thawing research of frozen goose meat, and lay a theoretical foundation for use in the meat process industries.

Spray dried date fruit extract with a maltodextrin/gum arabic binary blend carrier agent system: Process optimization and product quality

Bioactive compounds can be protected from degradation through encapsulation, increasing their bioavailability and shelf life. Spray drying is an advanced encapsulation technique mainly used for the processing of food-based bioactives. In this study, Box-Behnken design (BBD)-based response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study the effects of combined polysaccharide carrier agents and other spray drying parameters on encapsulating date fruit sugars obtained from a supercritical assisted aqueous extraction. The spray drying parameters were set at various levels: Air inlet temperature (150-170 °C), feed flow rate (3-5 mL/min), and carrier agent concentration (30-50 %). Under the optimized conditions (inlet temperature of 170 °C, the feed flow rate of 3 mL/min, and carrier agent concentration of 44 %), a maximum sugar powder yield of 38.62 % with 3.5 % moisture, 18.2 % hygroscopicity and 91.3 % solubility was obtained. The tapped density and particle density of the dried date sugar were estimated as 0.575 g cm-3 and 1.81 g cm-3, respectively, showing its potential for easy storage. In addition, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed better microstructural stability of the fruit sugar product, which is essential for commercial applications. Thus, the hybrid carrier agent system (maltodextrin and gum arabic) can be considered a potential carrier agent for producing stable date sugar powder with longer shelf-life and desirable characteristics in the food industry.

Changes in physicochemical properties and lipid oxidation lead to the formation of mud on salted egg yolks during storage

Salted egg yolk (SEY) becomes easily "muddy" during storage, leading to a decrease in the quality of salted eggs. The mechanism of SEY mudding was studied in this paper. The results showed that SEY hydrogen proton binding decreased, and SEY water and lipid fluidity increased during storage. In addition, the degree of lipid oxidation and monounsaturated fatty acids in salted egg yolk lipids (SEYL) increased, and primary oxidation products and secondary oxidation products were formed. Moreover, the structure of SEY was degraded to release lipids and proteins, and these proteins and lipids were re-emulsified to form new aggregates. Finally, by PLS-DA modeling analysis, it was found that the content of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and phospholipids changed significantly after SEY became muddy. These results suggest that the muddiness of SEY can primarily be attributed to higher fluidity and protein-lipid re-emulsification, and secondarily to the oxidation of SEYL.

Generative machine learning-based multi-objective process parameter optimization towards energy and quality of injection molding

The high energy intensity and rigorous quality demand of injection molding have received significant interest under the background of the soaring production of global plastic industry. As multiple parts can be produced in a multi-cavity mold during one operation cycle, the weight differences of these parts have been demonstrated to reflect their quality performance. In this regard, this study incorporated this fact and developed a generative machine learning-based multi-objective optimization model. Such model can predict the qualification of parts produced under different processing variables and further optimize processing variables of injection molding for minimal energy consumption and weight difference amongst parts in one cycle. Statistical assessment via F₁-score and R² was performed to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. In addition, to validate the effectiveness of our model, we conducted physical experiments to measure the energy profile and weight difference under varying parameter settings. Permutation-based mean square error reduction was adopted to specify the importance of parameters affecting energy consumption and quality of injection molded parts. Optimization results indicated that the processing parameters optimization could reduce ~ 8% energy consumption and ~ 2% weight difference compared with the average operation practices. Maximum speed and first-stage speed were identified as the dominating factors affecting quality performance and energy consumption, respectively. This study could contribute to the quality assurance of injection molded parts and facilitate energy efficient and sustainable plastic manufacturing.

The influence of online customer reviews on two-stage product strategy in a competitive market

We investigate quality and pricing decisions for two competing firms in an e-marketplace with online customer reviews. Through developing two-stage game-theoretical models and comparing the equilibriums, we examine the optimal choice among different alternative product strategies: static strategy, adjusting the price, adjusting the quality level, and adjusting both the quality and price dynamically. Our results show that the existence of online customer reviews tends to encourage firms to increase quality and charge low prices in the early stage, and decrease quality and raise prices in the later stage. Moreover, firms should choose the optimal product strategies depending on the impact of customers' private assessment of product quality from the product information disclosed by firms on the overall perceived product utility and customer uncertainty about the perceived degree of product fit. After our comparisons, the dual-element dynamic strategy is more likely to outperform other strategies financially. Furthermore, we extend our models to examine how the optimal choice of quality and pricing strategies will change if the competing firms have asymmetric initial online customer reviews. From the extended analysis, a dynamic pricing strategy may generate better financial performance than the dynamic quality strategy, which is different from the finding in the basic scenario. Firms should choose the dual-element dynamic strategy, the dynamic quality strategy, the dual-element dynamic strategy coupled with dynamic pricing, and the dynamic pricing strategy in sequence as the impact of customers' private assessment of product quality on the overall perceived product utility and the weight that the second-stage customers place on their private assessment increase.

Steric accessibility of the N-terminus improves the titer and quality of recombinant proteins secreted from Komagataella phaffii

BACKGROUND

Komagataella phaffii is a commonly used alternative host for manufacturing therapeutic proteins, in part because of its ability to secrete recombinant proteins into the extracellular space. Incorrect processing of secreted proteins by cells can, however, cause non-functional product-related variants, which are expensive to remove in purification and lower overall process yields. The secretion signal peptide, attached to the N-terminus of the recombinant protein, is a major determinant of the quality of the protein sequence and yield. In K. phaffii, the signal peptide from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha mating factor often yields the highest secreted titer of recombinant proteins, but the quality of secreted protein can vary highly.

RESULTS

We determined that an aggregated product-related variant of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain is caused by N-terminal extension from incomplete cleavage of the signal peptide. We eliminated this variant and improved secreted protein titer up to 76% by extension of the N-terminus with a short, functional peptide moiety or with the EAEA residues from the native signal peptide. We then applied this strategy to three other recombinant subunit vaccine antigens and observed consistent elimination of the same aggregated product-related variant. Finally, we demonstrated that this benefit in quality and secreted titer can be achieved with addition of a single amino acid to the N-terminus of the recombinant protein.

CONCLUSIONS

Our observations suggest that steric hindrance of proteases in the Golgi that cleave the signal peptide can cause unwanted N-terminal extension and related product variants. We demonstrated that this phenomenon occurs for multiple recombinant proteins, and can be addressed by minimal modification of the N-terminus to improve steric accessibility. This strategy may enable consistent secretion of a broad range of recombinant proteins with the highly productive alpha mating factor secretion signal peptide.

Review: Pork quality attributes from farm to fork. Part II. Processed pork products

Pork is often consumed in a very wide variety of products, processed from integral cuts or minced meat using different conservation methods (curing, smoking, cooking, drying, fermenting). Quality of pork products results from a combination between the properties of the raw material and the processing conditions to elaborate the final products. The influence of primary production factors, slaughtering and carcass processing on the quality of fresh pork has been reviewed (part 1), considering quality as an integrative combination of various attributes: commercial, organoleptic, nutritional, technological, convenience, and societal image, the latter denotes cultural, ethical (including animal welfare) and environment dimensions related to the way pork is produced, processed, and its geographical origin. This review (part 2) focuses on the influence of primary production factors and processing techniques on the quality of two important and economically significant processed pork products issued from contrasting processing techniques: cooked ham and dry-cured ham. As with fresh pork, many factors influence the quality of processed products, and one factor can affect several attributes. Moreover, in the case of processed products, numerous factors in both animal production and processing steps interact to determine their quality attributes. The quality of cooked ham depends on the properties of the raw material (in particular pH, colour, water holding capacity, presence of destructured meat defect, etc.) which are determined by pig husbandry practices (especially the genotype), pre-, postslaughter and processing conditions including the composition of curing mixture (ingredients, additives), salting, mixing and heat treatment. Processing techniques of cooked ham aim at homogenising the product quality within a given quality category (e.g. 'standard' or 'superior') or brand. Therefore, the variability of raw material is problematic for the cooked ham processing industry, which generally seeks uniformity and homogeneity of fresh hams. Likewise, pig husbandry conditions exert even greater impact on dry-cured ham quality. Indeed, the properties of raw material (including weight of fresh ham, fat thickness, pH, intramuscular fat and antioxidants content, fatty acid profile, etc.) that result from combined effects of primary production factors (genotype, feeding, production system, etc.) interact with processing conditions (salting, drying, ripening conditions and duration, etc.) to elaborate the quality attributes of the final products. Synergies can be sought between the primary production factors and processing techniques leading to specific organoleptic characteristics (texture, taste, aroma, flavour, etc.) that can be valued by quality labels. Quality of products is thus built along the whole chain from farm to fork.

Creation of monoclonal antibody expressing CHO cell lines grown with sodium butyrate and characterization of resulting antibody glycosylation

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the primary mammalian cell lines utilized to produce monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The upsurge in biosimilar development and the proven health benefits of mAb treatments reinforces the need for innovative methods to generate robust CHO clones and enhance production, while maintaining desired product quality attributes. Among various product titer-enhancing approaches, the use of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) such as sodium butyrate (NaBu) has yielded promising results. The titer-enhancing effect of HDACi treatment has generally been observed in lower producer cell lines but those studies are typically done on individual clones. Here, we describe a cell line development (CLD) platform approach for creating clones with varying productivities. We then describe a method for selecting an optimal NaBu concentration to evaluate potential titer-enhancing capabilities in a fed-batch study. Finally, a method for purifying the mAb using protein A chromatography, followed by glycosylation analysis using mass spectrometry, is described. The proposed workflow can be applied for a robust CLD process optimization to generate robust clones, enhance product expression, and improve product quality attributes.

The airline on-time performance impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on flight delays in the U.S. airline industry. Using daily data on COVID-19 cases and flight on-time performance, and controlling for product, carrier and market characteristics, we find that increases in reported COVID-19 cases are associated with reductions in both departure and arrival delays. Specifically, a standard deviation increase in COVID-19 cases reduces arrival delay by 1 min 42 s and departure delay by 2 min, on average. Our results suggest that despite the economic fallout from the pandemic, a silver lining emerges-flights are departing and arriving with less delay amid the pandemic.

Effects of chitosan coating on freeze-drying of blueberry enhanced by ultrasound pre-treatment in sodium bicarbonate medium

Sodium bicarbonate medium ultrasound pre-treatment can enhance the freeze-drying process of blueberries, but the quality of dried products cannot meet the actual production needs. To yield higher quality products, chitosan coating was applied in blueberry sodium bicarbonate medium ultrasound pre-treatment enhanced freeze-drying process. The improvement effect of different chitosan coating methodologies on the procedure of blueberry freeze-drying, enhanced by ultrasound pre-treatment in sodium bicarbonate medium, was investigated. These include: chitosan solution soaking alone (CH-A), chitosan medium ultrasound treatment (US-CH), first sodium bicarbonate medium ultrasound treatment then chitosan solution soaking (US-NaHCO₃ + CH) and first sodium bicarbonate soaking followed by chitosan medium ultrasound treatment (NaHCO₃ + US-CH). While the treatments that presoaking in sodium bicarbonate solution (NaHCO₃-A), water medium ultrasound treatment (US-W) and sodium bicarbonate medium ultrasound treatment (US-NaHCO₃) were used as the control groups. Results demonstrated that ultrasound treatment and sodium bicarbonate soaking have positive effect on improving the freeze-drying characteristics of blueberries, while chitosan coating has a negative effect. Chitosan coating has a significant effect on strengthening limit effect of blueberry skin on juice overflow and weakening moisture absorption capacity of dried blueberry. US-NaHCO₃ + CH pretreatment yielded the best results for blueberry freeze-drying.

Growing pains: An overview of cannabis quality control and quality assurance in Canada

In the past decade, the predominant prohibition model for cannabis use has shifted towards a regulated legal model, most widely in the context of medical purposes. In 2018, Canada became the first G7 country to legalize cannabis for adult use, implementing a two-phase roll-out of cannabis regulations. A stated goal of the new legal framework is to minimize harms by providing a safe supply of cannabis to Canadian consumers. One way that this can be achieved is through appropriate Quality Control and Quality Assurance (QC/QA) measures. Canada has implemented stringent QC/QA measures for all classes of cannabis, which include requirements such as labelling THC and CBD content per product and limiting THC doses. This paper will provide an overview of the current QC/QA measures in Canada, highlighting differences based on class of cannabis and consider the strengths and weaknesses of the current standards. QC/QA standards represent a key safety feature that can enable informed purchasing and provide consumers with necessary information about various cannabis products. As Canada continues to progress its cannabis policies, QC/QA measures provide a key consideration for ensuring Canada meets its objective of providing a safe supply of cannabis to Canadian consumers.

Metabolomic and quality data for early and late passages of an antibody-producing industrial CHO cell line

In this article, we provide four data sets for an industrial Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line producing antibodies during a 14-day bioreactor run. This cell line was selected for further evaluation because of its significant titer loss as the cells were passaged over time. Four conditions that differed in cell bank ages were run for this dataset. Specifically, cells were passaged to passage 12, 21, 25, and 37 and then used in this experiment. Once the run commenced the following datasets were gathered: 1). Glycosylation data for each reactor 2). Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC) data for the antibodies produced which allowed for the identification of high and low molecular weight species in the samples (N-Glycan and SEC data was taken on day 14 only). 3/4). Metabolites levels measured using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) for all reactors over the time course of days 1, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 14. We also provide a graph of the glutamine levels for cells of different ages as an example of the utility of the data. These metabolomics data provide relative amounts for 36 metabolites (NMR) and 109 metabolites (LC-MS) over the 14-day time course. These data were collected in connection with a co-submitted paper [1].

Application of non-isothermal simulation in optimization of food drying process

The application of numerical methods on one hand and simulation of various food processing techniques on the other hand could be effective methods in the process optimization such as reducing energy consumption and processing time and increasing product quality. The objective of this study was to apply variable air temperatures during drying process of garlic slices while reducing the drying time and maintaining the highest possible quality of the dried product. Therefore, drying process was simulated based on the numerical methods, and the proper time to change the air temperature was predicted using the product temperature profile. A high air temperature was applied at the beginning of the drying process (70 °C) and then during the process the temperature was decreased (50 °C) in a way that that the product surface temperature was never increased more than the critical temperature of 50 °C. The result of simulation was validated based on experiments at various drying conditions such as air temperature of 50, 60 and 70 °C and slice thickness of 2.5 mm. Based on the results of the study, by applying the variable air temperatures during drying process on samples, the drying time was reduced by 24% and the color quality of the samples was preserved. The final product produced by this method had higher quality (total color changes is 3.278) compared to the products dried at the higher constant temperature of 70 °C (total color changes is 6.71).

Effect of raw material variability of glipizide on the in vitro dissolution rate and in vivo bioavailability performance: The importance of particle size

The objective of this study was to understand the impact of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) particle size on a re-developed generic product of glipizide and to improve its formulation so that it exhibits bioequivalent to that of the reference listed drug (RLD). Two commercial batches of APIs (API-1 and API-2) with the same polymorphism and one batch of home-made APIs (API-3) with super-small particle size were used in the present study. The in vitro dissolution profiles of the tested formulations were compared with the RLD in a series of dissolution media. Then, the impact of particle size on in vivo absorption was evaluated in Beagle dogs. Compared with the RLD, formulation A with larger API size showed slower dissolution in pH 6.0 and 7.4 medium, resulting bioinequivalent with the RLD. Conversely, formulation B with smaller API size demonstrated similar in vitro dissolution profiles with the RLD and thus exhibited bioequivalent in the present study. Furthermore, formulation C with super small particle size still exhibited identical oral absorption although rapid dissolution was observed in the tested condition. Herein, it indicated that 2-5 µm might be defined as the "inert size range" of glipizide for ensuring the bioequivalence with the RLD. The results in the present study might help to obtain a better understanding of the variability in raw materials for oral absorption, develop a bioequivalent product and thus post-market quality control.

Production routing in perishable and quality degradable supply chains

Generally, the major goal in perishable supply chains is preserving the product's quality along with improving its logistic performance. In this regard, temperature seems to be the most important and most sensitive factor, since uncontrolled temperature has shown to have great impact on reducing product quality. In this study, an integrated production routing model for a perishable product was developed; considering the production, inventory, storage temperature, routing and vehicle temperature. To solve the problem, a hybrid search algorithm combining the variable of neighborhood search algorithm and the mechanism of the simulated annealing algorithm was designed. In order to evaluate the validity of the proposed algorithm, its results were compared with that of the CPLEX solver in the GAMZ software environment. Comparison of the results of the two methods shows the efficiency of the proposed algorithm to solve this problem. As a case study, the proposed model was also applied in a real industrial case. According to the results, this company can greatly reduce its distribution and inventory costs and also avoid waste by using this program.

High-Throughput Quantification and Glycosylation Analysis of Antibodies Using Bead-Based Assays

A novel version of bead -based assays with fluorescence detection enables the high-throughput analysis of antibodies and proteins. The protocols are carried out in special 384-well plates, require very few manual interventions, and are easy to automate. Here we describe how the technology can be used to determine antibody titers and screen for product glycosylation, a critical quality attribute, early in cell line and bioprocess development.

Effect of the grain-growing purpose and farm size on the ability of stable land property rights to encourage farmers to apply organic fertilizers

The application of organic fertilizer by farmers is an important method for promoting the transition of agricultural production from increasing the yield to improving the quality and safety of agricultural products and realizing the green development of agriculture. The behavior of farmers can have a direct impact on organic fertilizer application, and the active participation of farmers can effectively reduce moral hazards and improve governance efficiency. A consensus appears to have been reached regarding the importance of land property rights stability (LPRS) for farmers' organic fertilizer application (FOFA) in China; however, few studies have focused on the conditions under which LPRS exerts an effect or the extent of the effect. Moreover, the grain-growing purpose and farm size are rarely included as driving factors underlying the impact of LPRS on FOFA; thus, biased estimations are easily formed. This study analyzed the influence mechanism of LPRS on FOFA and its dependent conditions using the 2017 China Rural Household Panel Survey from Zhejiang University and conducted an empirical analysis via a logit model. The results showed that LPRS could enable farmers to apply organic fertilizer, although the degree of its impact will vary due to differences in the grain-growing purpose and farm size. Currently, selling products is not conducive to the application of organic fertilizer and will reduce the positive impact of LPRS on the application of organic fertilizer by farmers, whereas expanding the farm size will enhance the positive impact of LPRS. The government should constantly improve the methods and channels for realizing high-quality and high-priced agricultural products and fully acknowledge the role of market demand in guiding farmers' agricultural production, which will increase their enthusiasm for organic fertilizer application. The government should also improve the contract management system for land transfer to strengthen the ability of farmers to expand their farm size to fully demonstrate the role of large-scale farmers.

Control Strategy Approach for a Well-Characterized Vaccine Drug Product

Trumenba (MenB-FHbp; bivalent rLP2086), the first meningococcal serogroup B vaccine approved in the United States and subsequently approved in Europe, Canada, and Australia, is well-characterized. Pfizer devised a control strategy approach by using a simplified control strategy wheel for Trumenba based on International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) Q8 (R2), Q9, Q10, and Q11 guidelines, which provide complementary guidance on pharmaceutical development, quality risk management, quality systems, and development and manufacture of drug substances, respectively. These guidelines ensure product quality using a scientific and risk-based approach. Trumenba contains two factor H binding proteins (FHbps), one from each of the two FHbp subfamilies (A and B), adsorbed onto aluminum phosphate. Trumenba manufacturing processes are complicated by the recombinant protein expression of Subfamily A and B proteins and the nature of the drug product (suspension in syringes); the latter also introduces challenges in controlling product critical quality attributes during the development process. In such complex systems, the control strategy is critical to ensuring consistent desired product quality; it also supports the regulatory requirement of continued improvement through continuous process verification and aids regulatory filing. This article describes Pfizer's approach toward robust control strategy development, built on product and process understanding, and links control strategy to regulatory document sections and flow of controls. Specifically, an approach is presented on product quality attribute criticality determination based on safety and efficacy and on an understanding of process parameter criticality. This was achieved by studying the impact of the approach on product quality attributes to define process parameter and in-process controls. This approach is further explained through Trumenba case studies, highlighting specific quality attributes and the associated controls implemented, and provides a holistic view of controls employed for both drug substance and drug product.

Quantitative evaluation of the thallium binding of soluble and insoluble Prussian blue hexacyanoferrate analogs: A scientific comparison based on their critical quality attributes

There has been a long-standing discussion in the scientific literature on the thallium (Tl) binding capacity of ferric hexacyanoferrate (insoluble) and potassium hexacyanoferrate (soluble) forms of Prussian blue (PB). The literature sometime suggests that the soluble form of PB should be used to treat thallium poisoning, instead of the FDA approved insoluble form of PB. The literature debate is further complicated by the lack of fundamental characterization data such as critical quality attributes (CQAs) that clearly define the analog forms. The purpose of this study is to compare, the binding capacity of soluble and insoluble PB analogs with the same CQAs (particle size/distribution and water content). Water content and particle size/particle distribution were determined by TGA, and solid-state laser diffraction particle sizing. Thallium binding studies were conducted at physiological pH to determine the maximal binding capacity (MBC) at equilibrium. Multiple linear regression and principal component analysis was also used for multivariate data analysis. Results indicate that insoluble and soluble analogs, with similar quality attributes, have nearly identical, MBC binding capacities of (441.5 mg/g) for insoluble vs soluble (458.4 mg/g). However, when both analog forms with different CQAs such as water, particle size were compared, results indicated significantly higher or lower thallium binding levels. In conclusion, it is essential that the FDA approved iron form with well-defined CQAs is used to treat thallium poisoning and radioactive thallium metal contamination for consistent therapeutic outcomes.

Impact of mammalian cell culture conditions on monoclonal antibody charge heterogeneity: an accessory monitoring tool for process development

Recombinant monoclonal antibodies are predominantly produced in mammalian cell culture bioprocesses. Post-translational modifications affect the micro-heterogeneity of the product and thereby influence important quality attributes, such as stability, solubility, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. The analysis of the surface charge distribution of monoclonal antibodies provides aggregated information about these modifications. In this work, we established a direct injection pH gradient cation exchange chromatography method, which determines charge heterogeneity from cell culture supernatant without any purification steps. This tool was further applied to monitor processes that were performed under certain process conditions. Concretely, we were able to provide insights into charge variant formation during a fed-batch process of a Chinese hamster ovary cell culture, in turn producing a monoclonal antibody under varying temperatures and glucose feed strategies. Glucose concentration impacted the total emergence of acidic variants, whereas the variation of basic species was mainly dependent on process temperature. The formation rates of acidic species were described with a second-order reaction, where a temperature increase favored the conversion. This platform method will aid as a sophisticated optimization tool for mammalian cell culture processes. It provides a quality fingerprint for the produced mAb, which can be tested, compared to the desired target and confirmed early in the process chain.

Phosphorous recovery through struvite crystallization: Challenges for future design

Phosphorous (P) is an essential element for living organisms and is predicted to be depleted within the next 100 years. Across the world, significant phosphorous losses due to its low utilization efficiency become one of the main reasons for water pollution. Struvite crystallization has been found to be a promising recovery technique to mitigate these problems, as the recovered precipitate can be used as a slow release fertilizer or raw material for chemical industry. Although this technique has been widely investigated over the past two decades, there are currently few real applications in industry. This paper addresses this issue by reviewing key aspects relevant to process design to pave the way for future application. It will help to narrow down struvite process design options and thus reduce the voluminous calculations for a detailed analysis. Struvite process development, research trend, product application and process economics are reviewed and a conceptual process design is provided. This analysis provides comprehensive information that is essential for future industrial struvite crystallization process design.

Differential gene expression of a feed-spiked super-producing CHO cell line

Feed supplements are concentrated cell culture media that contain a variety of nutrients, which can be added during a bioprocess. During fed-batch cultivation, feed media are typically added to a growing cell culture to maximize cell and product concentrations. In this study, only a single shot of feed medium was added on day 0 to a basal cell culture medium and compared to non-supplemented basal medium (feed-spiked at day 0 versus control experiments) by cultivation of a recombinant mAb expressing CHO cell line in batch mode under controlled conditions in a bioreactor. Since the feed-spike at day 0 was based on existing medium components without introducing additional supplements, a desirable process with decreased complexity was generated. Unlike cells in basal medium, feed-spiked cultures reached almost 2× higher peak cell concentrations (10 × 10⁶ c/mL vs. 18 × 10⁶ c/mL) and 3× higher antibody concentrations (0.8 g/L vs. 2.4 g/L). Batch process time and the integral over the viable cell count were similar for both process types. Constantly high cell-specific production rates in feed-spiked cultures (70 pg/cell/day) compared to continuously declining rates in basal medium (from 70 to 10 pg/cell/day) were responsible for an overall 70% higher cell-specific production rate and the higher product concentrations. To associate gene expression patterns to different process proceedings, transcriptome analysis was performed using microarrays. Several transcripts that are involved with glutamine de novo synthesis and citric acid cycle were significantly upregulated on several days in feed-spiked cultures. The top identified gene ontology (GO) terms related well to cell cycle and primary metabolism, cellular division as well as nucleobase formation or regulation, which indicated a more active proliferative state for feed-spiked cultures. KEGG biochemical pathway analysis and Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) further confirmed these findings from a complementary perspective. Moreover, several interesting gene targets, which have not yet been associated with recombinant protein expression, were identified that related to a higher proliferative state, growth, protein synthesis, cell-size control, metabolism, cell survival as well as genes that are associated with the control of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in feed-spiked cultures. Analysis of critical product quality attributes (i.e. glycosylation, charge variants and size distribution) showed that feed-spiking did not change antibody quality.

Impact of pre-slaughter transport conditions on stress response, carcass traits, and meat quality in growing rabbits

In growing rabbits (n = 320; 84 d of age), an increase in the journey duration to the slaughterhouse from 1 h to 3 h under mild climatic conditions (10-13 °C; 75-90% relative humidity) affected several stress indicators in the plasma and muscle collected at slaughter (cortisol; corticosterone; lactate dehydrogenase, LDH; lactate; heat shock protein 70 kDa, HSP70; osmolality, and Na) (0.001 < P < .05), reduced muscle L*, b* (P < .01), and meat shear force (P < .05), and increased the dressing out percentage and muscle pH (P < .01). An increase in the lairage duration before slaughtering from 30 min to 3 h affected muscle cortisol and plasma creatinine kinase, LDH, lactate, and HSP70 (0.001 < P < .05), increased dressing out percentage and muscle pH (P < .05), but decreased meat shear force (P < .001). The interaction between journey and lairage duration was significant for several stress indicators and meat quality.

Quality of irradiated and non-irradiated plateletpheresis concentrates stored in platelet additive solution

INTRODUCTION

Platelet additive solutions (PAS) allow to maintain platelet storage properties in platelet concentrates (PCs). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in-vitro quality of irradiated and non-irradiated PCs, suspended in PAS, over a storage period of 6 days.

METHODS

Plateletpheresis donors fulfilling current eligibility criteria underwent plateletpheresis with the MCS+ blood cell separator. The PAS SSP+ was used to store platelets (PLT) for up to 6 days. Aliquots were drawn from the PCs after collection, at day 4, 5 and 6 of storage. A battery of tests was performed to analyse the quality of the PCs: PLT count, mean PLT volume (MPV), PLT activation marker CD 62, swirl, RBC and WBC contamination, pH, citrate, glucose, lactate and lactate dehydrogenase.

RESULTS

An average of 2.53 ± 0.21 × 10¹¹ PLT were collected in a product volume of 231 ± 5 mL in irradiated and 233 ± 6 mL in non-irradiated PCs, respectively. RBC- and WBC-contamination were within the allowed ranges. Δ CD62 steadily decreased in irradiated and non-irradiated PCs while the pH was well maintained over storage time. Glucose and lactate levels of irradiated and non-irradiated PCs showed characteristic pattern of PC storage within acceptable ranges.

CONCLUSION

Our data demonstrate that parameters of PC quality were well maintained over a storage period of 6 days using PAS. Irradiation had no impact on the quality of PCs. The product quality of irradiated and non-irradiated PCs met national and European guidelines.

Can we improve the nutritional quality of meat?

The nutritional value of meat is an increasingly important factor influencing consumer preferences for poultry, red meat and processed meat products. Intramuscular fat content and composition, in addition to high quality protein, trace minerals and vitamins are important determinants of nutritional value. Fat content of meat at retail has decreased substantially over the past 40 years through advances in animal genetics, nutrition and management and changes in processing techniques. Evidence of the association between diet and the incidence of human non-communicable diseases has driven an interest in developing production systems for lowering total SFA and trans fatty acid (TFA) content and enrichment of n-3 PUFA concentrations in meat and meat products. Typically, poultry and pork has a lower fat content, containing higher PUFA and lower TFA concentrations than lamb or beef. Animal genetics, nutrition and maturity, coupled with their rumen microbiome, are the main factors influencing tissue lipid content and relative proportions of SFA, MUFA and PUFA. Altering the fatty acid (FA) profile of lamb and beef is determined to a large extent by extensive plant and microbial lipolysis and subsequent microbial biohydrogenation of dietary lipid in the rumen, and one of the major reasons explaining the differences in lipid composition of meat from monogastrics and ruminants. Nutritional strategies can be used to align the fat content and FA composition of poultry, pork, lamb and beef with Public Health Guidelines for lowering the social and economic burden of chronic disease.

Cell culture media supplemented with raffinose reproducibly enhances high mannose glycan formation

Glycosylation plays a pivotal role in pharmacokinetics and protein physiochemical characteristics. In particular, effector functions including antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) can be desired, and it has been described that high-mannose species exhibited enhanced ADCC. In this work we present the trisaccharide raffinose as a novel cell culture medium supplement to promote high mannose N-glycans in fed-batch cultures, which is sought after in the development of biosimilars to match the quality profile of the reference medicinal product (RMP) also. Up to six-fold increases of high mannose species were observed with increasing raffinose concentrations in the medium of shaken 96-deepwell plates and shake tubes when culturing two different CHO cell lines in two different media. The findings were confirmed in a pH-, oxygen- and CO₂-controlled environment in lab-scale 3.5-L bioreactors. To circumvent detrimental effects on cell growth and productivity at high raffinose concentrations, the media osmolality was adjusted to reach the same value independently of the supplement concentration. Interestingly, raffinose predominantly enhanced mannose 5 glycans, and to a considerably smaller degree, mannose 6. While the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood, minor effects on the nucleotide sugar levels have been observed and transcriptomics analysis revealed that raffinose supplementation altered the expression levels of a number of glycosylation related genes. Among many genes, galactosyltransferase was downregulated and sialyltransferase upregulated. Our results highlight the potential of cell culture medium supplementation to modulate product quality.

Electrofiltration improves dead-end filtration of hyaluronic acid and presents an alternative downstream processing step that overcomes technological challenges of conventional methods

Hyaluronic acid (HA) dispersion obtained from the bacteria Streptococcus equi was concentrated by electrofiltration. In the conventional downstream processing of HA, extraction and precipitation lead to increase in environmental issues, structural changes, and time and energy related costs. Using electrofiltration as an alternative technology delivers solutions to these limitations. Experiments were conducted in order to test the applicability of electrofiltration to downstream processing of the negatively charged HA. The structural changes and molecular weight distributions, often a consequence of the employed separation method, were tested by analysis of the initial dispersions and final products. In comparison to the conventional filtration, concentration factors were increased up to almost four times without any detectable structural change in the final product.

Concentrated fed-batch cell culture increases manufacturing capacity without additional volumetric capacity

Biomanufacturing factories of the future are transitioning from large, single-product facilities toward smaller, multi-product, flexible facilities. Flexible capacity allows companies to adapt to ever-changing pipeline and market demands. Concentrated fed-batch (CFB) cell culture enables flexible manufacturing capacity with limited volumetric capacity; it intensifies cell culture titers such that the output of a smaller facility can rival that of a larger facility. We tested this hypothesis at bench scale by developing a feeding strategy for CFB and applying it to two cell lines. CFB improved cell line A output by 105% and cell line B output by 70% compared to traditional fed-batch (TFB) processes. CFB did not greatly change cell line A product quality, but it improved cell line B charge heterogeneity, suggesting that CFB has both process and product quality benefits. We projected CFB output gains in the context of a 2000-L small-scale facility, but the output was lower than that of a 15,000-L large-scale TFB facility. CFB's high cell mass also complicated operations, eroded volumetric productivity, and showed our current processes require significant improvements in specific productivity in order to realize their full potential and savings in manufacturing. Thus, improving specific productivity can resolve CFB's cost, scale-up, and operability challenges.

Soft sensor for real-time cement fineness estimation

This paper describes the design and implementation of soft sensors to estimate cement fineness. Soft sensors are mathematical models that use available data to provide real-time information on process variables when the information, for whatever reason, is not available by direct measurement. In this application, soft sensors are used to provide information on process variable normally provided by off-line laboratory tests performed at large time intervals. Cement fineness is one of the crucial parameters that define the quality of produced cement. Providing real-time information on cement fineness using soft sensors can overcome limitations and problems that originate from a lack of information between two laboratory tests. The model inputs were selected from candidate process variables using an information theoretic approach. Models based on multi-layer perceptrons were developed, and their ability to estimate cement fineness of laboratory samples was analyzed. Models that had the best performance, and capacity to adopt changes in the cement grinding circuit were selected to implement soft sensors. Soft sensors were tested using data from a continuous cement production to demonstrate their use in real-time fineness estimation. Their performance was highly satisfactory, and the sensors proved to be capable of providing valuable information on cement grinding circuit performance. After successful off-line tests, soft sensors were implemented and installed in the control room of a cement factory. Results on the site confirm results obtained by tests conducted during soft sensor development.

Value added products with popular low grade rice varieties of Andhra Pradesh

Eight Popular Low Grade Rice Varieties (PLRVs) MTU 3626, MTU 1001, MTU 1010, MTU 4870 and NLR 145, NLR 34242, NLR 30491, NLR 34449, (developed and released by ANGR agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh) having poor cooking quality were selected for the study. ANGRAU variety BPT 5204 popularly consumed as staple rice was used as check. Eight products of traditional/commercial importance were standardized incorporating PLRVs as a major ingredient in the form of rice flour (burfi, noodles and extruded snack product and vennaundalu (butter coated balls), palathalikalu (dough rolled into strips, steamed/cooked in milk); rice semolina (instant kheer mix and instant upma mix), and flaked rice (nutritious bar). The products were evaluated for nutritional, cooking quality characteristics, consumer acceptability and shelf-life. Consumer acceptability of the PLR products was carried out with 60 farm women based on 9 point hedonic scale. Shelf-life of the products (packed in both metalized PP and PE pouches) was evaluated monthly for chemical, microbiological and sensory parameters. Energy values of control and PLR products showed no significant difference. Upon cooking, PLR Noodles showed no significant difference with water absorption and volume but more (p < 0.05) solid loss and cooked weight. Utilization of PLR flakes in nutritious bar resulted in highly crispy and crunchy texture, enhanced flavor and taste as compared to control. The percent total solids and suspended solids were more (though not significant) in PLR kheer and palathalikalu. Extruded product (control and PLR) showed no significant difference with length, diameter, weight and volume expansion ratio and water absorption index (WAI). Consumer acceptability was high for PLR products palathalikalu (95%), instant kheer mix (92%) and extruded product (88%). As per sensory scores, all the PLR products were well accepted with no observable changes in flavor or taste upon storage. PLR products showed increased (P < 0.05) trend for moisture and FFA content from initial to 90 days of storage. The lowest TPC was observed for noodles and highest for burfi (though in safe limits). Extruded snacks (control and PLR) showed no microbial growth during the entire storage period. Considering the poor marketability of PLRVs for consumption as staple rice, the study signifies the utilitarian value of PLRVs in making products of convenience/commercial importance.

Long-term stability study of Prussian blue - a quality assessment of water content and thallium binding

The purpose of this study is to assess the long-term stability of Prussian blue (PB) drug product (DP) and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) under laboratory storage conditions by monitoring the loss in water content and the corresponding change of the in vitro thallium binding capacity that represents product performance. The bound water content and the in vitro thallium binding capacity of PB DPs and APIs were measured in 2003 and 2013, respectively. Water content, a critical quality attribute that directly correlates to the thallium (Tl) binding capacity was measured by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The thallium binding study was conducted by testing PB in buffered solutions over the human gastrointestinal pH range with thallium concentrations ranging from 600 to 1,500 ppm. Samples were incubated at physiological temperature of 37°C in a shaking water bath to mimic gastric flux and intestinal transport. The binding equilibrium was reached at 24h. Following incubation, each sample was filtered and the free thallium was analyzed using a validated inductively coupled plasma spectroscopic method (ICP). The Langmuir isotherm was plotted to calculate maximum binding capacity (MBC). Compared with 2003, the water content of DP-1 decreased by about 14.1% (from 15.6 to 13.4 mol), and the MBC of DP-1 decreased by about 12.5% (from 714 to 625 mg/g) at pH 7.5. When low concentration of thallium (600 ppm) was used at pH 7.5, the Tl binding remained comparable for both API-1 (286 vs 276 mg/g) and DP-1 (286 vs 268 mg/g). Similarly, the Tl binding remained unchanged for both API-1 (237 vs 255 mg/g) and DP-1 (234 vs 236 mg/g) at pH 5.0. However, at pH 1.0 the binding was reduced 32.3% and 25.9% for API-1 and DP-1, respectively. Since the majority of binding takes place in the upper GI tract where pH around 5 can be expected, and therefore, the Tl binding capacity of PB should be comparable for new and aged samples. The findings that Tl binding changes with the water loss of PB and pH conditions are consistent with our previously published data. The study also represents the first quantitative assessment of the long-term stability of PB. Over last 10 years, PB DPs and APIs have lost about 20% water under ambient laboratory storage conditions which are consistent with a controlled warehouse environment. While the maximum binding capacity of PB to thallium was decreased after about 10 years of long-term storage, it is still very effective, suggesting that the shelf life of PB should be much longer than the manufacturer ascribed expiration date of 2008 under proper storage conditions.

Characteristics of chicken nuggets as affected by added fat and variable salt contents

Several studies have been conducted in many countries on how to increase the per capita consumption of poultry meat. With the growing demand for poultry meat, the development of value added product, such as chicken nuggets has been identified as the best way to increase poultry meat consumption. Apart from this allowing for the flourishing growth of fast food industries; chicken nuggets needs to be produced in higher quantity and to reduce cost, there is increasing interest in using of various meat additives. Though, chicken fat are edible, it is important to evolve production processes for gainful utilization of this part. So the main objective of this work was to study the effect of the addition of chicken fat and various salt contents on the physicochemical, proximate composition and sensory characteristics of chicken nuggets. Based on the results it is concluded that, even up to 5% level of chicken fat with 1.5-2% added salt there is no adverse effect in terms of physico-chemical, proximate composition and sensory qualities of cooked chicken nuggets. Even, at this fat and salt level product was more preferred by panellist than no fat-no salt chicken nuggets.

Nutritional, microbial and organoleptic qualities of fish patties prepared from carp (Cyprinus carpio Linn.) of three weight groups

Fish patty from common carp (Cyprinus carpio Linn.) which has low consumer preference due to the presence of intramuscular spines was developed and the effects of fish weight and the type of extender on product quality were determined. Six different types of fish patties were prepared by using the fish belonging to 3 weight groups (250-500 g, 501-750 g, and 751-1,000 g) and using 2 extenders (boiled potato and corn flour). Patties containing potato had higher moisture (70.6-73.3%), protein (31.5-32.7%) and lipid (3.3-4.6%) contents than those with corn flour (60-65.2, 27.8-33.3, 2.6-3.8%, respectively). Cooking decreased protein but increased lipid, soluble sugars, and gross energy contents of patties. Corn flour used patties gave higher cooking yield than those with boiled potato. These also had higher fat retention capacity and gross energy values. The 501-750 g group patties containing boiled potato had significantly higher scores for texture and overall acceptability.

Quality of products containing defatted groundnut cake flour

Defatted groundnut cake obtained from commercial oil processing units and that prepared in laboratory oil expeller (LOE) were analyzed for quality parameters. Defatted groundnut cake flour (DGCF) was incorporated at 15-100% levels in laddoo, chutney powder, fryums (deep fried crisp and crunchy item), biscuits, noodles and extruded snacks. The products were studied for sensory, physico-chemical and shelf-life quality. DGCF was creamish white with bulk density of 0.55 ± 0.03 g/ml, water absorption capacity 135.6 ± 1.97 ml %, oil absorption capacity 100.3 ± 1.16 ml % and foam capacity 33 ± 1%. Protein, fat and ash contents were 51.6 ± 0.06, 4.5 ± 0.05 and 4.2 ± 0.11%, respectively. Tannins and aflatoxin B1 were not detected. The increase of protein due to incorporation of DGCF into the products ranged from 5.5 to 21.9%. Shelf-life studies indicated the maximum storability for 90 days for all the products except laddoo, which could be stored for 30 days at ambient temperature (28 ± 2°C). All the products were acceptable and the order of preference for the products as indicated by adults (fryums, chutney powder, extruded snacks, noodles, biscuits and laddoo) and children (biscuits, laddoo, extruded snacks, fryums, noodles and chutney powder) varied.

Effect of storage on quality of fortified Bengal gram sattu

Fortified Bengal gram sattu was prepared following standardized sattu making procedure and fortified as per FDA using wheat flour with thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Ca and Fe and stored at 25°C, 65% RH and 35°C, 65% RH and at ambient condition (16-39°C, 18-98% RH) in low density polyethylene and laminated aluminum foil pouches. Alcoholic acidity increased by 0.04% in different sattu samples during 180 days storage but was within the acceptable limit as per BIS standard. Free fatty acids content (as oleic acid) also increased from 0.06% (in fresh) to 0.14%; however it did not affect sensory acceptability of sattu stored under different conditions. Protein digestibility, Ca and Fe contents in fortified samples were 80.6%, 170.1 and 12.5 mg/100 g, as against 80.6%, 69.5 and 10.2 mg/100 g, in control sample respectively. Storage temperatures and packaging materials did not affect the overall quality of fortified sattu except moisture content and total microbial load during 6 months storage. Fortified Bengal gram sattu, both fresh and stored, were within the acceptable sensory quality when used in the drink form.