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Emerging Processing Technologies: Effects on Improving the Safety and Quality of Food Products

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A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Quality and Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2024) | Viewed by 12003

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Prof. Dr. Carlos Adam Conte Júnior

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Center for Food Analysis (NAL-LADETEC), Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Av. Horácio Macedo, Polo de Química, bloco C, 1281-Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro 21941-598, Brazil
Interests: animal science; molecular biology; biochemistry; molecular techniques; food science; food microbiology; animal-based food; bovine tuberculosis; antimicrobial resistance; analytical method development
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Conventional preservation methods have been used for many years to improve food safety and quality. However, a series of disadvantages and limitations in the efficiency of reducing the microbial load and maintaining food quality have been demonstrated. Significant changes in physical–chemical, nutritional, and sensory quality are undesirable effects associated with conventional preservation methods. In addition, the use of traditional chemical preservatives in food causes a negative perception among consumers due to the possible toxicological effects associated with consumption. Therefore, this Special Issue accepts submissions related to emerging conservation technologies such as ultrasound, high hydrostatic pressure processing, UVC radiation, cold plasma, gamma radiation, nanotechnology, and natural compounds with an emphasis on reducing contamination, deterioration, and the impact on the general characteristics of food.

Dr. Carlos Adam Conte Júnior
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

edible films
ultrasound
high hydrostatic pressure
UVC radiation
cold plasma
natural compounds
nanotechnology
antioxidant activity
antimicrobial activity
mild processing

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 6913 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Coating Chitosan Derivatives (N,O–Carboxymethyl Chitosan/Chitosan Oligomer Saccharide) in Combination with Polyvinyl Alcohol Solutions to Preserve Fresh Ngoc Linh Ginseng Quality

by Ngoc Nguyen, Trieu Nguyen, Phu Le Hong, Thi Kieu Hanh Ta, Bach Thang Phan, Hanh Nguyen Thi Ngoc, Hang Phung Thi Bich, Nhi Dinh Yen, Toi Vo Van, Hiep Thi Nguyen and Diep Tran Thi Ngoc

Foods 2023, 12(21), 4012; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12214012 - 2 Nov 2023

Viewed by 2183

Abstract

The postharvest preservation of Ngoc Linh ginseng (NL ginseng) is essential to retain its quality and sensory values for prolonged storage. In this study, the efficacy of NL ginseng preservation by coating chitosan derivatives in combination with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solutions was investigated under refrigeration conditions (~3 °C; ~40% RH) for 56 days. The effect of the chitosan–based solutions, including N,O–carboxymethyl chitosan (NOCC), chitosan oligomer saccharide (COS), or chitosan (CS), and the blend solutions (NOCC–PVA or COS–PVA) on the coated NL ginsengs was observed during storage. The pH values, viscosity, and film-forming capability of the coating solutions were determined, while the visual appearance, morphology, and mechanical properties of the films formed on glass substrates as a ginseng model for coating were also observed. The appearance, skin lightness, weight loss, sensory evaluation, total saponin content (TSC), total polyphenol content (TPC), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of the coated NL ginsengs were evaluated. The findings showed that the observed values of the coated NL ginsengs were better than those of the non-coated samples, with the exception of the COS–coated samples, which had completely negative results. Furthermore, the NOCC–PVA solution exhibited a better preservation effect compared with the COS–PVA one based on the observed indices, except for TPC and TAC, which were not impacted by the coating. Notably, the optimal preservation time was determined to be 35 days. This study presents promising preservation technology using the coating solution of NOCC–PVA, harnessing the synergistic effect of pH 7.4 and the form–firming capacity, to maintain the shelf life, medicinal content, and sensory attributes of NL ginseng. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Processing Technologies: Effects on Improving the Safety and Quality of Food Products)

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14 pages, 1670 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In Vivo Evaluation of the Potential of Thyme and Lemon Hydrolates as Processing Aids to Reduce Norovirus Concentration during Oyster Depuration

by Roberta Battistini, Chiara Masotti, Daniela Manila Bianchi, Lucia Decastelli, Aitor Garcia-Vozmediano, Cristiana Maurella, Marie-Laure Fauconnier, Antonello Paparella and Laura Serracca

Foods 2023, 12(21), 3976; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12213976 - 30 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1474

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the use of hydrolates, co-products of essential oil distillation, as processing aids to improve the depuration process of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) as a post-harvest method aimed at reducing the norovirus (NoV) viral load. Live oysters were kept in water to which hydrolates of Thymus serpyllum and Citrus limon at 1% were added for 24 h. The concentration of NoV was quantified using the ISO 15216-1 quantitative real-time RT-PCR method in the oyster digestive tissue both before and after the treatment. The results showed a significant reduction of 0.2 log in the NoV GII concentration after 24 h of treatment with 1% C. limon hydrolate. Conversely, treatment with T. serpyllum did not appear to reduce the concentration of NoV compared to the control. Additionally, a sensory analysis was conducted through a blind survey comparing untreated and treated oysters. No changes in the sensory and physical characteristics of the oysters were observed, except for a decrease in the marine flavour intensity, which was positively perceived by consumers. These results indicate that the addition of hydrolates of C. limon at 1% during depuration might represent a promising processing aid for enhancing both the safety and acceptability of live oysters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Processing Technologies: Effects on Improving the Safety and Quality of Food Products)

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13 pages, 3397 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Combining Vis-NIR and NIR Spectral Imaging Techniques with Data Fusion for Rapid and Nondestructive Multi-Quality Detection of Cherry Tomatoes

by Fei Tan, Xiaoming Mo, Shiwei Ruan, Tianying Yan, Peng Xing, Pan Gao, Wei Xu, Weixin Ye, Yongquan Li, Xiuwen Gao and Tianxiang Liu

Foods 2023, 12(19), 3621; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12193621 - 28 Sep 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2265

Abstract

Firmness, soluble solid content (SSC) and titratable acidity (TA) are characteristic substances for evaluating the quality of cherry tomatoes. In this paper, a hyper spectral imaging (HSI) system using visible/near-infrared (Vis-NIR) and near-infrared (NIR) was proposed to detect the key qualities of cherry tomatoes. The effects of individual spectral information and fused spectral information in the detection of different qualities were compared for firmness, SSC and TA of cherry tomatoes. Data layer fusion combined with multiple machine learning methods including principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares regression (PLSR), support vector regression (SVR) and back propagation neural network (BP) is used for model training. The results show that for firmness, SSC and TA, the determination coefficient R² of the multi-quality prediction model established by Vis-NIR spectra is higher than that of NIR spectra. The R² of the best model obtained by SSC and TA fusion band is greater than 0.9, and that of the best model obtained by the firmness fusion band is greater than 0.85. It is better to use the spectral bands after information fusion for nondestructive quality detection of cherry tomatoes. This study shows that hyperspectral imaging technology can be used for the nondestructive detection of multiple qualities of cherry tomatoes, and the method based on the fusion of two spectra has a better prediction effect for the rapid detection of multiple qualities of cherry tomatoes compared with a single spectrum. This study can provide certain technical support for the rapid nondestructive detection of multiple qualities in other melons and fruits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Processing Technologies: Effects on Improving the Safety and Quality of Food Products)

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18 pages, 6009 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Damage Detection of Unwashed Eggs through Video and Deep Learning

by Yuan Huang, Yangfan Luo, Yangyang Cao, Xu Lin, Hongfei Wei, Mengcheng Wu, Xiaonan Yang and Zuoxi Zhao

Foods 2023, 12(11), 2179; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12112179 - 29 May 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2643

Abstract

Broken eggs can be harmful to human health but are also unfavorable for transportation and production. This study proposes a video-based detection model for the real-time detection of broken eggs regarding unwashed eggs in dynamic scenes. A system capable of the continuous rotation and translation of eggs was designed to display the entire surface of an egg. We added CA into the backbone network, fusing BiFPN and GSConv with the neck to improve YOLOv5. The improved YOLOV5 model uses intact and broken eggs for training. In order to accurately judge the category of eggs in the process of movement, ByteTrack was used to track the eggs and assign an ID to each egg. The detection results of the different frames of YOLOv5 in the video were associated by ID, and we used the method of five consecutive frames to determine the egg category. The experimental results show that, when compared to the original YOLOv5, the improved YOLOv5 model improves the precision of detecting broken eggs by 2.2%, recall by 4.4%, and mAP:0.5 by 4.1%. The experimental field results showed an accuracy of 96.4% when the improved YOLOv5 (combined with ByteTrack) was used for the video detection of broken eggs. The video-based model can detect eggs that are always in motion, which is more suitable for actual detection than a single image-based detection model. In addition, this study provides a reference for the research of video-based non-destructive testing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Processing Technologies: Effects on Improving the Safety and Quality of Food Products)

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26 pages, 2828 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microencapsulated and Ready-to-Eat Beetroot Soup: A Stable and Attractive Formulation Enriched in Nitrate, Betalains and Minerals

by Lucileno Rodrigues da Trindade, Diego dos Santos Baião, Davi Vieira Teixeira da Silva, Cristine Couto Almeida, Fernanda Petzold Pauli, Vitor Francisco Ferreira, Carlos Adam Conte-Junior and Vania Margaret Flosi Paschoalin

Foods 2023, 12(7), 1497; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12071497 - 2 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2560

Abstract

Beetroot is a tuber rich in antioxidant compounds, i.e., betanin and saponins, and is one of the main sources of dietary nitrate. The aim of the present study was to microencapsulate a ready-to-eat beetroot soup by lyophilization using different encapsulating agents, which supply the required amount of bioactive nutrients. Particle size distributions ranged from 7.94 ± 1.74 to 245.66 ± 2.31 µm for beetroot soup in starch and from 30.56 ± 1.66 to 636.34 ± 2.04 µm in maltodextrin. Microparticle yields of powdered beetroot soup in starch varied from 77.68% to 88.91%, and in maltodextrin from 75.01% to 80.25%. The NO₃⁻ and total betalain contents at a 1:2 ratio were 10.46 ± 0.22 mmol·100 g⁻¹ fresh weight basis and 219.7 ± 4.92 mg·g⁻¹ in starch powdered beetroot soup and 8.43 ± 0.09 mmol·100 g⁻¹ fresh weight basis and 223.9 ± 4.21 mg·g⁻¹ in maltodextrin powdered beetroot soup. Six distinct minerals were identified and quantified in beetroot soups, namely Na, K, Mg, Mn, Zn and P. Beetroot soup microencapsulated in starch or maltodextrin complied with microbiological quality guidelines for consumption, with good acceptance and purchase intention throughout 90 days of storage. Microencapsulated beetroot soup may, thus, comprise a novel attractive strategy to offer high contents of bioaccessible dietary nitrate and antioxidant compounds that may aid in the improvement of vascular-protective effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Processing Technologies: Effects on Improving the Safety and Quality of Food Products)

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