Journal of Food Biosciences and Technology
Volume:14 Issue: 2, Spring 2024

This study aimed to optimize the extraction of aspartic acid from sugar beet molasses using an ultrasound-assisted extraction method and its use as a green anti-scaling agent in the evaporator tubes of the sugar industry. The results of ultrasound-assisted extraction showed that the linear model is the best model to describe the behavior of aspartic acid extraction. It was determined that the optimal conditions for extracting aspartic acid using the ultrasound-assisted method include an extraction temperature of 25.09 °C, pH of 7.00, ultrasound power of 69.99%, and no ethanol. The extracted aspartic acid under optimal conditions was applied with various concentrations (10, 25, and 50 mg/100g) and temperatures (60, 90, and 120 °C) on the scales of the sugar industry evaporators. The highest anti-scaling efficiency for all three processes was related to the treatment performed at 90 °C with a concentration of 50 mg/100 g. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images showed that by increasing temperature up to 90 °C and increasing concentration up to 50 mg/100g, the scales formed on the evaporator tube changed from crystalline and uniform state to porous with fine particles. Energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis showed that by increasing the temperature to 90 °C and increasing the concentration to 50 mg/100g, the calcium and silica content in the scales of the evaporator tubes decreases. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed that by applying aspartic acid as an anti-scaling of stable crystals, the scales become smaller and more unstable crystals.

Identification of volatile contaminants migrating from packaging materials that might affect the quality of packaged food and might cause problems to consumer health is great importance. Soft cheeses can undergo such migration and contamination during storage. This study aimed to exclusively identify abnormal volatile compounds in Iranian cheeses that likely originated from contamination and packaging rather than endogenous components using HS-SPME GC-MS. White brine and ultrafiltrated (UF) cheeses in packages were stored for 90 days at 4 degrees Celsius (°C). Headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) using polysulfone and mesoporous carbon nitride (MCN/Polysulfone) fiber coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to extract and analyze volatile compounds. Migration-based contaminants exclusively present in stored versus fresh cheeses were identified through National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) library matching. In total 23 unwanted volatile contaminants originating from contamination/packaging were identified, including 19 compounds in white brine` cheese (phthalates, benzenecarboxylic acids, etc.) and 13 compounds in UF cheese (phthalates, benzenecarboxylic acids, triazenes, oximes, etc.). More migrants were observed in white brine cheese. Compounds also differed based on SPME extraction method. Prolonged storage induced migration of volatile contaminants from probable packaging sources into soft cheeses. Future research should focus on refining volatile organic compound (VOC)-based detection methods to enhance early identification of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms in cheese production.

In contemporary confectionery industry, manufacturing of dietary and low-calorie products, notably in the realm of chewing gum production, stands as a significant challenge. Sweeteners are integral components in confectionery products, with applications extending to chewing gum as well. This research utilizes the established advantageous characteristics of dates to investigate the potential use of date juice as a replacement for sugar in the manufacturing of dietary gum. The substitution ratios tested in the experiment are, 10, 20, and 30%. The findings of the experiment indicated that the gum supplemented with date juice at a substitution rate of 20% exhibited superior quality and shelf life, as evidenced by its enhanced moisture retention, texture, and sensory attributes, particularly taste. Conversely, a higher substitution rate of 30% led to a decline in both quality and sensory characteristics, with values falling below those of the control treatment. The study encompassed physicochemical and sensory examinations, encompassing the analysis of gum content, determination of reducing sugars following hydrolysis, measurement of ash content, assessment of texture, evaluation of sensory attributes, and investigation of colorimetric properties. The findings indicated that the quantity of gum and sugar obtained following the hydrolysis of the product was consistent across all experimental treatments, displaying no statistically significant variance as compared to the control treatment. Additionally, there was a notable increase in the ash percentage index with higher levels of date juice replacement. The adhesion indices demonstrated a notable increase, while both chewability and springiness exhibited a decrease.

Maintenance and quality of fresh cherry fruit during storage is important therefor the aim of present study is to estimate the effects of post-harvest thyme, basil and mint (TEO, BEO and MEO) essential oils (EOs) on the biochemical traits and shelf life of cherry fruit during storage at 1±0.5 ℃ and 90 to 95% humidity. Fruit were dipped in deionized water (control), (EOs) at 250 and 500 μl l-1 concentrations for 5 min and evaluation of traits were performed on 0, 5, 10 and 15 days after harvest. All treatments had a significant effect on the measured variables. Firmness, anthocyanins and superoxide dismutase activity were improved with 500 μl l-1 MEO treatment. Fruit treated with 500 μl l-1 TEO exhibited the highest cell membrane stability index, phenol, vitamin C, catalase, polyphenol oxidase activity during the storage period. The maximum TSS and pH was observed at 500 μl l-1 BEO. At the end of the storage period, the lowest fresh weight loss and relative fresh weight were observed in the 500 μl/l TEO and Total acidity was in 250 μl l-1 MEO treatment, respectively. Over the cold storage, 500 μl l-1 TEO was found to be the best treatment to maintain fruit quality in terms of postharvest life with 21 days. This experiment revealed that post-harvest treatment with 500 μl l-1 thyme, basil and mint essential oil prolonged the storage-life and preserved the valuable marketing characteristics of cherry fruit.

The increasing demand for pharmaceutical sugar requires higher quality (specifically microbial level) of standards compared to the sugar commonly used in the food industry. While different thermal processes are applied for microbial decontamination of crystal sugar, they usually destruct and degrade its bio-active compounds, that are undesirable. This research was conducted to evaluate the effects of freeze-drying (at – 42oC, and pressure of 0.1 mbar) on crystal sugar contaminated highly with heat resistant bacteria of G. stearothermophilus (9×105) and also most common fungi of A. niger (9×104 CFU/g). The results of this study showed that the non-thermal process of freeze-drying could eliminate > 99% of its original Gs and An microorganisms successfully. Physicochemical tests have indicated that the freeze-dryer process has made 10.4% decrease in crystal size and 23.5% decrease in ash content, that brings the characteristics of sugar crystals closer to international pharmaceutical standards. Furthermore, the microbial load of crystal sugar after freeze-drying process were below the permissible levels identified in European Pharmacopeia. In fact, there is a potential to use freeze-drying technique to decontaminate the conventional crystal sugar and make it appropriate for using (as ingredient) in pharmaceutical products.

The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of olive leaf extracts on the quality characteristics and shelf-life of chicken nuggets .Chicken nuggets were treated with aqueous and ethanolic extract of olive leaves (at two levels: 0.25 and 0.35%) and the results were compared with chicken nuggets without additives (control). The treatments were stored in the freezer for 6 months and on days 0, 45, 90, 135 and 180, physicochemical characteristics (pH, moisture content, cooking efficiency and color indicators) and microbial qualities (total count, salmonella and total Forms ) of the samples were evaluated. The addition of ethanolic extract to nugget formulation increased the pH during storage, and the pH values of all tests gradually increased. By increasing the concentration of olive leaf extract in the samples, the moisture content and cooking efficiency increased significantly. During storage, moisture content and cooking efficiency of nugget samples decreased. By the addition of olive leaf extracts to the nuggets, the color indices were improved. Microbial tests revealed that the salmonella and coliforms in all the tested samples were discent. The addition of aqueous and ethanol extracts of olive leaves to the nugget formulation reduced the microbial load, therefore the bacterial count of the samples containing the extracts was essentially lower than the control. Sensory evaluation showed that the lowest sensory score was related to the sample containing 0.35% ethanol extract, but there was no noteworthy distinction between other tests. It can be concluded that olive leaf extract can be utilized as a normal preservative in chicken nugget formulation.