Nutritional Quality and Safety Characteristics of Imported Biscuits Marketed in Basrah, Iraq
, Saher S. George 1, Ahmed Adel Baioumy 3, Ahmed Ali Abd El-Maksoud 4, Antonella Pasqualone 5 and Tarek Gamal Abedelmaksoud 3Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The work was carried out to investigate the quality characteristics of commercial biscuits, namely cookies, crackers and digestive obtained in Basrah, Iraq. This is an interesting study, and the authors have collected a unique dataset using the appropriate methodology. The paper is generally well written and structured. However, in my opinion, the paper has some shortcomings in regards to some data analyses and text. Specific comments are given below.
Line 2 – 3: Specify the location of the study in the title.
Line 24 – Should use lowercase for ‘Country’.
Line 28 - Should use lowercase for ‘Acrylamide’.
Line 33 – Include a general conclusion to the abstract.
Line 37 - Should use lowercase for ‘Biscuit’.
Line 59 - Sentence needs to be improved.
Line 76 – Correct the spelling for Commission.
Line 80 - Should use lowercase for ‘Study’.
Line 84 – Typo error
Line 85 - Should use lowercase for ‘Market’.
Line 101 - Should use lowercase for ‘The’.
Line 106 - Please improve the sentence.
Line 124 – Typo error.
Line 128 - Please improve the sentence.
Line 145 – Type error.
Line 152 – Use subscript for chemical formula (throughout the manuscript).
Line 165 - Please improve the sentence.
Line 167 – 1 min.
Line 174 – Type error.
Line 177 – For both the sample – Please improve the sentence.
Line 182 – Include the brand name of the AAS.
Line 183 – Reference is required for the AOAC method.
Line 187 – The sentence is unclear.
Line 194 – The name of the bacteria species need to be italicized (check throughout the manuscript)
Line 216 – Sample 25 g was… Please improve the sentence.
Line 219 – Should use lowercase for ‘Potato Dextrose’.
Line 222 – Any phytochemical and enzymatic activities measured in this study?
Line 230 – No data presented (in Table) for total carbohydrates. Please include.
Line 234 - Why specifically compared to Brazilian law? How about other countries or regions?
Line 245 - Should use lowercase for ‘A’.
Line 281 – 284 – What are the reasons for the variation found?
Tables 1 to 4 – No statistical analysis is shown for all tables. Please include significant differences for all the values reported.
Tables 1 to 4 – Standardized the decimal point of the results and SD.
Figure 1 - What is WFP?
Line 358 – Include value for BSC2-1.
Line 367 – 369 – Is this a good comparison? The biscuits studied by Volkova et al. are not commercially produced.
Line 396 - Should use lowercase for ‘Peroxide’.
Line 398 – Please avoid repeating the origin of the biscuits.
Line 399 – 400 – Discuss factors contributing to the difference between countries.
Table 7 – No statistical analysis is shown for all tables. Please include significant differences for all the values reported.
Line 576 - Please avoid repeating the origin of the biscuits.
Line 586 - Please avoid repetition of the origin of the biscuits.
Line 595 - Please avoid repeating the origin of the biscuits.
Line 640 – 641 – The information has been mentioned in Materials and Methods.
Line 643 - Please avoid repeating the origin of the biscuits.
Table 8 - Standardized the decimal point of the results and SD.
Line 666 - Please avoid repeating the origin of the biscuits.
Conclusion – Some information is repeated from the abstract. Please re-write.
Author Response
Reviewer 1
The work was carried out to investigate the quality characteristics of commercial biscuits, namely cookies, crackers and digestive obtained in Basrah, Iraq. This is an interesting study, and the authors have collected a unique dataset using the appropriate methodology. The paper is generally well written and structured. However, in my opinion, the paper has some shortcomings in regards to some data analyses and text. Specific comments are given below.
Line 2 – 3: Specify the location of the study in the title.
Response: Thanks for suggesting, the location of the study has been added. The title has been modified also to make it more specific.
Line 24 – Should use lowercase for ‘Country’.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 28 - Should use lowercase for ‘Acrylamide’.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 33 – Include a general conclusion to the abstract.
Response: It has been enhanced
Line 37 - Should use lowercase for ‘Biscuit’.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 59 - Sentence needs to be improved.
Response: It has been removed because it not necessary
Line 76 – Correct the spelling for Commission.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 80 - Should use lowercase for ‘Study’.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 84 – Typo error
Response: It has been corrected
Line 85 - Should use lowercase for ‘Market’.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 101 - Should use lowercase for ‘The’.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 106 - Please improve the sentence.
Response: It has been improved
Line 124 – Typo error.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 128 - Please improve the sentence.
Response: It has been improved
Line 145 – Type error.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 152 – Use subscript for chemical formula (throughout the manuscript).
Response: It has been corrected
Line 165 - Please improve the sentence.
Response: It has been improved
Line 167 – 1 min.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 174 – Type error.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 177 – For both the sample – Please improve the sentence.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 182 – Include the brand name of the AAS.
Response: It has been added
Line 183 – Reference is required for the AOAC method.
Response: It has been added
Line 187 – The sentence is unclear.
Response: It has been removed because it not necessary
Line 194 – The name of the bacteria species need to be italicized (check throughout the manuscript)
Response: It has been corrected
Line 216 – Sample 25 g was… Please improve the sentence.
Response: It has been improved
Line 219 – Should use lowercase for ‘Potato Dextrose’.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 222 – Any phytochemical and enzymatic activities measured in this study?
Response: Yes, we determined, but we dot not include it in this manuscript. So, I removed it
Line 230 – No data presented (in Table) for total carbohydrates. Please include.
Response: It has been listed
Line 234 - Why specifically compared to Brazilian law? How about other countries or regions?
Response: It has been improved and the results compared with the FAO/WHO World Food Program (WFP)
Line 245 - Should use lowercase for ‘A’.
Response: It has been corrected
Tables 1 to 4 – No statistical analysis is shown for all tables. Please include significant differences for all the values reported.
Response: The statistical analysis is shown at the bottom of every table as least significant test (L.S.D) to evaluate differences between treatments at levels of significance (p≤0.05)
Tables 1 to 4 – Standardized the decimal point of the results and SD.
Response: It has been standardized
Figure 1 - What is WFP?
Response: It stands for World Food Program, and it has been added
Line 358 – Include value for BSC2-1.
Response: It has been added
Line 367 – 369 – Is this a good comparison? The biscuits studied by Volkova et al. are not commercially produced.
Response: We did this comparison even are not commercially produced because water activity has to be within a range to avoid any contamination.
Line 396 - Should use lowercase for ‘Peroxide’.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 398 – Please avoid repeating the origin of the biscuits.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 399 – 400 – Discuss factors contributing to the difference between countries.
Response: It has been disccued and ascribed as peroxide value (PV) was affected by the fat content , therefore it will be reflected positively or negatively on PV.
Table 7 – No statistical analysis is shown for all tables. Please include significant differences for all the values reported.
Response: The statistical analysis is shown at the bottom of every table as least significant test (L.S.D) to evaluate differences between treatments at levels of significance (p≤0.05)
Line 576 - Please avoid repeating the origin of the biscuits.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 586 - Please avoid repetition of the origin of the biscuits.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 595 - Please avoid repeating the origin of the biscuits.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 640 – 641 – The information has been mentioned in Materials and Methods.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 643 - Please avoid repeating the origin of the biscuits.
Response: It has been corrected
Table 8 - Standardized the decimal point of the results and SD.
Response: It has been standardized
Line 666 - Please avoid repeating the origin of the biscuits.
Response: It has been corrected
Conclusion – Some information is repeated from the abstract. Please re-write.
Response: The conclusions have been re-written.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The topic of the paper is interesting even if the study is performed analysing commercial samples of unknown origin and processing conditions. In this type of research, the number of the samples considered is of main importance. If I correctly understood, the materials are 12 cookie samples, 12 cracker samples and 12 digestive samples for a total of 36 samples. For each product type three samples were produced in Spain, three in Iran, three in UAE and three in Turkey. I think that the Authors should clearly define these materials in the abstract, aim, and materials and methods. A table with the samples information and codes could be added. The presentation of the results should be separated by type of product and not by country of production, in this way it will be easier to compare the samples and the provenience within each type of product.
Minor comments:
Abstract. Define ND
Lines 85-86. Indicate the type of biscuits and the number of samples.
Line 114. The determination of fat content in cereal products must be performed by a previous acid hydrolysis of the sample, otherwise the values are not valid, they are underestimated in a variable way.
Line 126. The 6.25 factor for protein determination is not correct for cereals.
Figure 4. Change the color of the background
Figure 4 and 5 should be presented as Supplementary material.
Tables 5 and 6 could be merged into one table. Remove the retention time and the area %
The Authors should compare their results other studies, e.g.:
Santa Cruz Olivos et al. (2021). Phenolic acid content and in vitro antioxidant capacity of einkorn water biscuits as affected by baking time. European Food Research and Technology, 247, 677–686.
Hidalgo and Brandolini (2011). Heat damage of water biscuits from einkorn, durum and bread wheat flours. Food Chemistry, 128, 471-478.
The paper is full of typewriting mistakes. Please correct the whole text, also using the orthography and grammar corrector embedded in Word. Some examples are given below:
Lines 54-56. Correct the number
Linee 76. Correct "Commission"
Line 84. Correct "physico-chemical"
Lines 85-86. Aims or objectives
Line 122. The compounds should be correctly written.
Line 194. Scientific names should be written in italics.
Line 233. Correct the number
Author Response
Reviewer 2
The topic of the paper is interesting even if the study is performed analysing commercial samples of unknown origin and processing conditions. In this type of research, the number of the samples considered is of main importance. If I correctly understood, the materials are 12 cookie samples, 12 cracker samples and 12 digestive samples for a total of 36 samples. For each product type three samples were produced in Spain, three in Iran, three in UAE and three in Turkey. I think that the Authors should clearly define these materials in the abstract, aim, and materials and methods.
Response: Yes, you have correctly understood. As suggested, the sampling plan has been clearly defined in the abstract, aim and methods.
A table with the samples information and codes could be added. The presentation of the results should be separated by type of product and not by country of production, in this way it will be easier to compare the samples and the provenience within each type of product.
Response: The results were already separated by type of product. For example, the symbol BS-C-S refers to biscuit-cookies- Spain. So, we can easily do the comprehension among the types of product and the country as well. Four tables with the samples information and codes have been added as Supplementary material (Table S1-S4).
Minor comments:
Abstract. Define ND
Response: It has been defined
Lines 85-86. Indicate the type of biscuits and the number of samples.
Response: It has been added
Line 114. The determination of fat content in cereal products must be performed by a previous acid hydrolysis of the sample, otherwise the values are not valid, they are underestimated in a variable way.
Response: Fat content was determined according the procedure described by AOAC (2007). A preliminary digestion with hot HCl was made.
Line 126. The 6.25 factor for protein determination is not correct for cereals.
Response: Yes, it has been corrected to be 5.75.
Figure 4. Change the color of the background
Response: The color has been changed to white.
Figure 4 and 5 should be presented as Supplementary material.
Response: We better justified the presence of these figures in the comment of results. If the Reviewer will not agree, we will move them to the Supplementary materials.
Tables 5 and 6 could be merged into one table. Remove the retention time and the area %
Response: It has been merged and retention time and Area% removed.
The Authors should compare their results other studies, e.g.:
Santa Cruz Olivos et al. (2021). Phenolic acid content and in vitro antioxidant capacity of einkorn water biscuits as affected by baking time. European Food Research and Technology, 247, 677–686.
Hidalgo and Brandolini (2011). Heat damage of water biscuits from einkorn, durum and bread wheat flours. Food Chemistry, 128, 471-478.
Response: Hidalgo and Brandolini (2011) has been added
The paper is full of typewriting mistakes. Please correct the whole text, also using the orthography and grammar corrector embedded in Word.
Response: Yes, sorry, the whole text has been checked and revised.
Some examples are given below:
Lines 54-56. Correct the number
Response: It has been corrected
Linee 76. Correct "Commission"
Response: It has been corrected
Line 84. Correct "physico-chemical"
Response: It has been corrected
Lines 85-86. Aims or objectives
Response: It has been corrected
Line 122. The compounds should be correctly written.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 194. Scientific names should be written in italics.
Response: It has been corrected
Line 233. Correct the number
Response: It has been corrected
Reviewer 3 Report
In my opinion the manuscript has no scientific value.
No new or interesting information is presented.
Author Response
Reviewer 3
In my opinion the manuscript has no scientific value. No new or interesting information is presented.
Response: We are sorry we were not able to clearly highlight the justification of the study and the novelty of the info contained therein.
There is currently an increase of the consumption of biscuits as popular snacks, especially in the developing countries. However, there is a limited knowledge on the nutritional, physic-chemical and microbiological characteristics of biscuits marketed in these countries, where poor economy and harsh climatic conditions can make it difficult to comply with hygiene requirements during processing, marketing and storage. It would be advisable, therefore, to have more data on biscuit quality and safety in developing countries.
In Iraq, biscuit imports are increasing every year, with the highest share of imports from Turkey. The different ingredients used and the preparation methods influence biscuit quality and safety characteristics. However, except a single study, which evaluated the microbial contamination of biscuits, no other information is available in scientific literature on the quality and safety of im-ported biscuits marketed in Iraq.
Our findings filled this knowledge gap.
To improve clarity, these considerations have been added to the abstract and to the Introduction, in its final part where study aims are presented.
Reviewer 4 Report
The manuscript entitled “Comparative study on quality characteristics of commercial
brands of biscuits sold in local markets” is an interesting contribution to evaluating the market of biscuits by several quality characteristics. The introduction is well written, objectives need to be clarified, the discussion needs some polish, and limit the cites number along the manuscript.
Comments
General
Please be aware of the use of scientific notation i.e P2L54-55. “the lowest number was 14.3 × 103 cfu/g in local biscuit No.1. The highest number of fungi was 16×103 colony/g”
Introduction
P2L55 Please use cfu instead colony
Usually, the introduction section, has the highest number of cites, however, only 18 cites of 105 were used, in my opinión 18 cites in the introduction section is Ok, 105 cites for a research manuscript is very high.
Material and methods
Section 2.1
Please add more details i.e buy date, lot, package weight
Section 2.2
I think that cite 19 is not proper
Section 2.3
I think that cite 20 is not proper
Section 2.4
I think that cite 19 is not proper
Section 2.6
I think that cite 19 is not proper
P5L193-194 why use 2 cites (28, 29) to obtain data about aerobic mesophilic bacteria?
Results and discussion
The cite 35 could be deleted and the paragraph re-wrote (P5L232-234)
L240 – 243 The paragraph is a speculation
L279 – 280 Please delete cite 43 and re-wrote paragraph
Please delete cite 47
Line 309 – 312 Please delete “Water activity is an important metric for assessing the quality of bakery products since it is based on balancing the moisture between the microclimate above the sample and the sample itself [51]”.
Please re-wrote L353-368.
I think that cite 57 and 58 are not proper
P11L403-404 Please delete “The packages of biscuits supplied in Iraq, showing fat and other vegetable components, were employed in the production of these biscuits [59].”
I think that cite 60 is not proper
L438 Please delete “These relatively low peroxide values resulted from low-fat content [62].” Also, delete L439 – 441
L487 – 489 Please delete the paragraph
There are several points along the section, similar to the previous, thus is necessary to re-write all sections, without speculation, and use only necessary cites.
Author Response
Reviewer 4
The manuscript entitled “Comparative study on quality characteristics of commercial
brands of biscuits sold in local markets” is an interesting contribution to evaluating the market of biscuits by several quality characteristics. The introduction is well written, objectives need to be clarified, the discussion needs some polish, and limit the cites number along the manuscript.
Comments
General
Please be aware of the use of scientific notation i.e P2L54-55. “the lowest number was 14.3 × 103 cfu/g in local biscuit No.1. The highest number of fungi was 16×103 colony/g”
Response: It has been corrected
Introduction
P2L55 Please use cfu instead colony
Response: cfu has been used instead of colony
Usually, the introduction section, has the highest number of cites, however, only 18 cites of 105 were used, in my opinión 18 cites in the introduction section is Ok, 105 cites for a research manuscript is very high.
Response: The references have been reduced to be 89 instead of 105
Material and methods
Section 2.1
Please add more details i.e buy date, lot, package weight
Response: The buy date has been added in the text, and the package weight has been added to Supplementary tables S1-S4. Sorry the lot was not available anymore (we did not take a note of it).
Section 2.2
I think that cite 19 is not proper
Response: Cite 19 has been removed.
Section 2.3
I think that cite 20 is not proper
Response: Cite 20 has been removed.
Section 2.4
I think that cite 19 is not proper
Response: Cite 19 has been removed.
Section 2.6
I think that cite 19 is not proper
Response: Cite 19 has been removed.
P5L193-194 why use 2 cites (28, 29) to obtain data about aerobic mesophilic bacteria?
Response: The reference number 29 has been deleted.
Results and discussion
The cite 35 could be deleted and the paragraph re-wrote (P5L232-234)
Response: The paragraph has been rewritten, but the reference number 35 was kept in order to compare our results with previous studies
L240 – 243 The paragraph is a speculation
Response: It has been deleted
L279 – 280 Please delete cite 43 and re-wrote paragraph
Response: It has been deleted
Please delete cite 47
Response: It has been deleted
Line 309 – 312 Please delete “Water activity is an important metric for assessing the quality of bakery products since it is based on balancing the moisture between the microclimate above the sample and the sample itself [51]”.
Response: It has been deleted
Please re-wrote L353-368.
Response: It has been rewritten
I think that cite 57 and 58 are not proper
Response: It has been deleted
P11L403-404 Please delete “The packages of biscuits supplied in Iraq, showing fat and other vegetable components, were employed in the production of these biscuits [59].”
Response: It has been deleted
I think that cite 60 is not proper
Response: It has been deleted
L438 Please delete “These relatively low peroxide values resulted from low-fat content [62].” Also, delete L439 – 441
Response: It has been deleted
L487 – 489 Please delete the paragraph
Response: It has been deleted
There are several points along the section, similar to the previous, thus is necessary to re-write all sections, without speculation, and use only necessary cites.
Response: All the required adjustments have been done and all the sections have been extensively rewritten also with the help of a new coauthor.
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Minor correction required as listed below:
Line 160 - K4[Fe(CN)6, change to K4[Fe(CN)6
Lin2 213 - Bacillus Spp, change to Bacillus spp
Line 391 - O2/kg, change to O2/kg
Author Response
Reviewer 1
Line 160 - K4[Fe(CN)6, change to K4[Fe(CN)6
Response: It has been changed
Lin2 213 - Bacillus Spp, change to Bacillus spp
Response: It has been changed
Line 391 - O2/kg, change to O2/kg
Response: It has been changed
Reviewer 2 Report
The paper was improved but the Authors did not follow the suggestion related to the presentation of the results by type of product and not by country of production, in this way it will be easier to compare the samples and their provenience within each type of product. I think that it is an important point since the differences among samples of several types of products within the area of origin are obvious. Differently, it is not obvious a difference among samples of the same type but from different places of production since the products are marketed in the same country (Iraq). Furthermore, this presentation may permit a multifactor ANOVA considering as factors the place of production and/or the type of product.
Author Response
Reveiwer 2
The paper was improved but the Authors did not follow the suggestion related to the presentation of the results by type of product and not by country of production, in this way it will be easier to compare the samples and their provenience within each type of product. I think that it is an important point since the differences among samples of several types of products within the area of origin are obvious. Differently, it is not obvious a difference among samples of the same type but from different places of production since the products are marketed in the same country (Iraq). Furthermore, this presentation may permit a multifactor ANOVA considering as factors the place of production and/or the type of product.
Response: The presentation of the results has been made by type of product and not by country of production, as suggested. This kind of presentation has been adopted in all Tables as well as in the Results and discussion section, and in the abstract. Moreover, all data have been subjected to a different statistical treatment: according to the Reviewer’s suggestion, two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), at a significance level α = 0.05, followed by Tukey’s Honestly Significant Differences (HSD) test for post hoc multiple comparisons, has been made in order to estimate the influence of the variables “biscuit type” and “country”, and of their first-order interaction. Figures, which showed results by Country and not by Biscuit type, have been eliminated.
Reviewer 3 Report
I advise against publishing your manuscript.
Author Response
Reveiwer 3
I advise against publishing your manuscript.
Response: We are sorry for the negative opinion of the Reviewer, but please consider that other three reviewers expressed a positive opinion after the first round of revision and one of them gave also indications for further improvement which has been carefully followed (The Reviewer could re-read and evaluate this newly revised version - R2).
We are more than willing to modify and revise any part of the manuscript which still remains unclear or not scientifically adequate, in view of improving it, but we would need a more detailed statement to have sufficient elements to act in the right direction.
Reviewer 4 Report
The authors introduce suggestions done by reviewers, also, they answered the questions from reviewers, thus, in my opinion, the manuscript is ready to be published
Author Response
Reveiwer 4
The authors introduce suggestions done by reviewers, also, they answered the questions from reviewers, thus, in my opinion, the manuscript is ready to be published
Response: We would want to extend my gratitude for providing a positive feedback on the paper you've been reviewing on.
