Slow-release chlorine dioxide gas treatment as a means to reduce Salmonella contamination on spices

Salmonella enterica is a major food safety issue for the spice industry. Slow-releasing chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) gas from self-contained sachets, which can be employed in a small-scale operation, was evaluated for its effectiveness in reducing Salmonella contamination on black pepper, cumin, and sesame seed. Three levels of chlorine dioxide gas (100, 200, or 500 mg ClO₂/kg spice) were applied to Salmonella-inoculated spices. Spices were sampled immediately after treatment, and at 1, 10, and 30-days post-treatment. The combined effect of ClO₂ gas treatment and storage time on Salmonella numbers on spices was evaluated. Salmonella reductions on black pepper, cumin, and sesame seed samples ranged from 0.81 to 2.74 log CFU/g after ClO₂ treatment. Storage time also had a significant impact on Salmonella numbers, as numbers decreased by up to 2.50 log CFU/g over 30 days of storage. Self-contained ClO₂ releasing sachets could provide small food processors a post-lethality treatment alternative for spices.     

Degradation of the natural mutagenic compound safrole in spices by cooking and irradiation

Safrole was determined using gas-liquid chromatography in some common spices as star anise, cumin, black pepper and ginger. Safrole concentration in these spices was 9325, 3432, 955 and 500 mg · kg^?1, respectively. Black pepper was chosen to use in the following experiments. Using Ames-test with Salmonella TA 98 and TA 100 proved high cytotoxic effects due to pure safrole and black pepper volatile oil in both of them. The degradation of safrole was obvious after drying of the washed seeds of black pepper especially at 70 °C for 30 min or with sun-drying. Also, high irradiation doses (20 and 30 kGy) caused high degradation of more than 90% of the initial toxic concentration in black pepper. Whereas, microwave caused same effects at 75 s, but unfortunately, the powder was burned due to moisture absence. Boiling whole seeds or powder of black pepper during cooking for few minutes (1-5 min) were more efficient in decreasing safrole content. Finally, these results proved that the mutagenicity of some spices due to presence of safrole can be destructed during drying of the washed seeds or during cooking either with or without any additional treatment as irradiation. But irradiation of these spices became more necessary for using in some food industries as milk products to get more safe for human consumption.     

Isolation and Identification of Dry Salami Volatiles

The volatile constituents of air-dried, mold-fermented salami sausage were isolated from meat and casing using a dynamic headspace/continuous solvent extraction method. Apolar and polar fractions of the aroma concentrates, and a methylated acidic ether extract of the defatted meat were analyzed by high resolution gas chromatography and coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Most volatiles identified were derived from lipid degradation, from pepper (added as a spice), and from the degradation of pepper terpenes and phenolics. Neither typical intermediates of fatty acid autoxidation nor N-containing volatiles were among the 68 identified compounds. The contribution of lipid precursors was essential to overall flavor as were the microbial activities.     

Processes to Preserve Spice and Herb Quality and Sensory Integrity During Pathogen Inactivation

Selected processing methods, demonstrated to be effective at reducing Salmonella, were assessed to determine if spice and herb quality was affected. Black peppercorn, cumin seed, oregano, and onion powder were irradiated to a target dose of 8 kGy. Two additional processes were examined for whole black peppercorns and cumin seeds: ethylene oxide (EtO) fumigation and vacuum assisted‐steam (82.22 °C, 7.5 psia). Treated and untreated spices/herbs were compared (visual, odor) using sensory similarity testing protocols (α = 0.20; β = 0.05; proportion of discriminators: 20%) to determine if processing altered sensory quality. Analytical assessment of quality (color, water activity, and volatile chemistry) was completed. Irradiation did not alter visual or odor sensory quality of black peppercorn, cumin seed, or oregano but created differences in onion powder, which was lighter (higher L^*) and more red (higher a^*) in color, and resulted in nearly complete loss of measured volatile compounds. EtO processing did not create detectable odor or appearance differences in black peppercorn; however visual and odor sensory quality differences, supported by changes in color (higher b^*; lower L^*) and increased concentrations of most volatiles, were detected for cumin seeds. Steam processing of black peppercorn resulted in perceptible odor differences, supported by increased concentration of monoterpene volatiles and loss of all sesquiterpenes; only visual differences were noted for cumin seed. An important step in process validation is the verification that no effect is detectable from a sensory perspective.     

Validation data for HPLC/FLD determinations of ochratoxin A in red paprika and black pepper adopting a one-step clean-up procedure

Validation data for the determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) in two spice matrices, red paprika and black pepper, were obtained for samples prepared with a simplified single-step clean-up column. Extracts of finely ground samples of red paprika and black pepper were prepared and applied to a Mycosep® 229 Ochra clean-up column. The purified extract was then subjected to HPLC/FLD analysis. The relative standard deviation for repeatability (RSDr) of the method was 11.8% for red paprika and 9.9% for black pepper. The limit of detection (LOD) value (three times the noise) was estimated as corresponding to the response of an extract derived from a blank matrix (previously washed) and spiked at 1.0 µg kg^?1. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) (three times LOD) was 3.0 µg kg^?1. The performance of the one-step column clean-up procedure appears to be a suitable alternative to commonly used clean-up techniques and allows the precise determination of OTA in two complex matrices.     

QUALITY OF POWDERED BLACK PEPPER (PIPER NIGRUM L.) DURING STORAGE. II. PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSES OF GC AND SENSORY PROFILES

Gas chromatographic fingerprinting of stored black pepper powder after extraction, volatiles from the Likens-Nickerson extraction and aroma impact fractions were carried out using packed column, routinely used in the spice growing countries. Sensory quality, volatile oil and moisture content were also analyzed to trace the changes occurring during storage. The data generated were subjected to principal components analyses to reduce dimensionality and arrive at impact attributes. The oxygenated compounds fraction resolved into 25 to 30 peaks from which a group of 6, including small yet important peaks, was selected. These peaks reflected quality as monitored by sensory response, accounting for 93.4% of information, and are more meaningful than terpene hydrocarbon peaks of high resolution. The probable compounds constituting these principal components are discussed.     

Radio-frequency heating to inactivate Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on black and red pepper spice

The efficacy of radio-frequency (RF) heating to inactivate Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on black and red pepper spice was investigated. A 27.12 MHz RF heating system consisted of two parallel-plate electrodes was used, with the sample being placed between them. Black peppers (whole and ground) and red peppers (+ 16 mesh, -16 + 25 mesh, and -25 mesh) inoculated with S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 were treated with RF energy during 50s for black peppers and 40s for red peppers, and color change of samples was evaluated after treatment. RF heating for 50s resulted in 2.80 to 4.29 log CFU/g reductions of S. Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 in black peppers and RF heating of red peppers for 40s reduced pathogens by 3.38 log CFU/g to more than 5 log CFU/g (below the detection limit) without affecting the color quality change. The results suggest that RF heating has the potential for novel thermal process to control foodborne pathogens in spice.     

Improved quality and shelf life of farmed trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by whole processing in a combined ozonised flow ice refrigeration system

A combined refrigeration system consisting of ozone and flow ice was evaluated for the sacrifice, cooling and chilled storage of continental trout. The batch processed in ozonised flow ice exhibited significant ( P  < 0.05) reductions (0.97 and 1.51 log CFU cm⁻²) in skin aerobes and psychrotrophs on days 6 and 9, respectively, and significant ( P  < 0.05) reductions (0.94 log CFU g⁻¹ and 0.96 log CFU g⁻¹) in aerobes, and proteolytic bacteria in muscle on day 13. A significant ( P  < 0.05) inhibition of TMA-N formation after 9 days was also observed, with an average reduction of 28.4% along the storage period, Slight reductions in autolytic breakdown mechanisms were also observed in the ozonised batch, a maximum reduction of 14.82% being reached on day 13. The microbial and biochemical changes were well correlated with the sensory evaluation, which revealed relevant differences between the batches on day 13 and a shelf life extension of the ozonised batch up to day 16.     

Bactericidal activity of ozone against Escherichia coli in whole and ground black peppers

The effects of different ozone concentrations and ozonation times on the inactivation of Escherichia coli and on the organoleptic properties of whole and ground black peppers were determined. Black peppers were exposed to three different ozone concentrations (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 ppm) for different periods (0 to 360 min) at 85% +/- 3% relative humidity (RH) and 25 +/- 0.5 degree C. An approximately 7-log CFU/g reduction of E. coli in whole black peppers was achieved by treating the samples with 0.1, 0.5, or 1.0 ppm of ozone for 360, 240, or 120 min, respectively. E. coli populations in ground black peppers were reduced from an initial count of about 7.5 log CFU/g to 1 log CFU/g after 360 min at 0.1- and 0.5-ppm ozone concentrations, whereas the same microbial reduction was obtained after 240 min at 1.0-ppm ozone concentration. An ozone concentration of 0.1 ppm for 360 min was found to be appropriate to inactivate E. coli in whole and ground black peppers without alteration of the organoleptic properties. No significant differences (P > or = 0.05) were present in the bitterness, flavor, odor, color, or overall acceptability values of the whole and ground black peppers treated with 0.1 ppm of ozone for up to 360 min.     

A Microbial Investigation of Selected Spices, Herbs, and Additives in South Africa

A total of thirty-six spices, herbs and food additives from various sources was investigated. High total viable numbers of sporeformers were present of which a considerable percentage was proteolytic and/or amylolytic. The total number of colony forming units (c.f.u.) varied from several hundred to several million per gram, depending on the source, the manufacturing process, age and type of condiment. Exceptionally high contamination (i.e. > 10⁶ c.f.u./g) was found in black pepper, coriander, paprika, mace, pimento and white pepper from source A. No significant numbers of potentially pathogenic organisms were found except for B. cereus, moulds and faecal streptococci. The presence of B. cereus was confirmed in 7 out of 19 samples from source A. Enterococci were isolated and identified from paprika, white pepper, black pepper, pimento, onion powder and salamita. The need for spice cleanliness, commercial sterilization and subsequent proper storage of condiments is stressed.     

3种脱皮方式对白胡椒品质的影响

以胡椒鲜果为原料,分别采用机械、静水浸泡、换水浸泡3种方式脱皮,探究不同脱皮方式对白胡椒白度值、黑果率、碎果率、堆积密度、水分质量分数、胡椒碱含量、胡椒精油含量等理化指标的影响,利用气相色谱-飞行时间质谱（gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometer,GC-TOF-MS）定性定量分析测定胡椒精油的成分及含量,采用加权分析法进一步评价3种脱皮方式所得白胡椒品质。结果表明：机械脱皮与换水浸泡脱皮生产的白胡椒白度值无显著差异,但高于静水浸泡脱皮法生产的白胡椒。机械脱皮法生产的白胡椒黑果率、胡椒碱含量低于静水、换水浸泡脱皮法生产的白胡椒,但精油含量、碎果率、堆积密度高于后两者。从机械、静水浸泡、换水浸泡脱皮生产的白胡椒精油中共鉴定出33种化合物,其中21种为3种白胡椒精油共有,质量浓度较高的共有化合物有3-蒈烯（41.96、37.77、39.16 mg/mL）、β-石竹烯（36.43、41.57、41.02 mg/mL）、柠檬烯（29.38、23.38、39.38 mg/mL）等。电子鼻分析结果表明3种白胡椒风味差异显著。感官评价证实机...     

Effect of inoculation of vegetable processing wastes with lactobacillus plantarum on silage fermentation

Small amounts (450 g) of experimental silages were prepared from green beans and potato processing wastes. Green bean wastes were dried or mixed with peanut (groundnut) hulls to reduce the percentage of moisture in the silage. Potatoes were not treated to remove moisture. The effects of inoculating these food processing wastes with Lactobacillus plantarum (5 × 10⁶ g^?1 wet weight) on pH decline, microbial populations and volatile and non-volatile fatty acids were determined. The inoculum decreased pH, increased lactic acid and decreased acetic and other volatile acids in some silages. All silages had high numbers of streptococci initially and this population was succeeded by lactobacilli with higher numbers of the latter microflora observed in inoculated silages. Yeasts, moulds and clostridia were recovered in high numbers only in un-inoculated silages prepared with peanut hulls. Although control silages had pH declines probably adequate for preservation, the bacterial additive had an overall beneficial effect on these fermentations.     

Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction for identification of adulteration of black pepper with papaya seeds

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) using carbon dioxide was used to detect the adulteration of black pepper powder with ground papaya seed. Thin‐layer chromatography analysis of the SFE extracts showed a fluorescent band at 366 nm at R_f 0.172 that proved to be a promising marker for the presence of papaya seed powder in black pepper powder even at a level of 20 g kg^?1. The straight‐chain aldehydes n‐nonanal, n‐decanal and n‐dodecanal were tentatively identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis as components of this fluorescent marker and were not present in black pepper extracts. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Detoxification of zearalenone and ochratoxin A by ozone and quality evaluation of ozonised corn

Zearalenone (ZEN) and ochratoxin A (OTA) are secondary toxic metabolites of fungi that can contaminate a wide range of food and feedstuff. In this study, the effects of ozone treatment on ZEN and OTA and the quality of ozonised corn are investigated. Ozone significantly affects ZEN and OTA solutions. ZEN was undetectable 5 s after being treated with 10 mg l^–1 ozone. However, OTA was resistant to ozonation with a degradation rate of 65.4% after 120 s of treatment. Moreover, ZEN and OTA solutions were difficult to degrade after being dried by a nitrogen stream. Results showed that ozone effectively degraded ZEN and OTA in corn. The degradation rates of ZEN and OTA in corn increased with ozone concentration and treatment time. The degradation of ZEN and OTA at different ozone concentrations appropriately conformed to first-order kinetics with an R² value > 0.8749. Furthermore, under the same conditions, corn with increased moisture content (MC) (19.6%) was more sensitive to ozone than corn with a low MC (14.1%). When treated with 100 mg l^–1 ozone for 180 min, ZEN and OTA in corn with 19.6% MC decreased by 90.7% and 70.7%, respectively. To evaluate the quality of ozonised corn, subsequent quality experiments were conducted using corn samples treated at different times with 100 mg l^–1 ozone. The MC of corn decreased after ozone treatment. The whiteness and yellowness of the corn increased and decreased with increasing time, respectively. The fatty acid value of the corn increased significantly (p ≤ 0.05) after 180 min of treatment. This study verified that ozone can effectively degrade ZEN and OTA in corn, but slightly affected corn quality.     

基于GC-IMS技术分析不同香辛料水煮液的风味物质组成差异

为了比较不同香辛料水煮液的挥发性风味物质组成差异,本文基于气相色谱-离子迁移谱（gas chromatography-ion mobility spectroscopy, GC-IMS）技术对香菜籽、陈皮、印度辣椒、八角、香茅草、花椒、良姜、草果、公丁、香叶、白扣、孜然、小茴、桂皮和白芷水煮液的挥发性成分进行了分析。结果表明,不同样品间挥发性风味物质差异明显。丁酸等为香茅草水煮液中的特征风味物质;苯甲酸甲酯、乙酸丁酯等酯类物质在花椒水煮液中含量非常高;异戊酸甲酯等为良姜水煮液中的特征风味物质;E-2-辛烯醛、辛醛、壬醛、己醛等醛类物质在草果中的含量要高于其它样品;庚醛、2-糠醛等为公丁水煮液中的特征风味物质;琥珀酸二乙酯、二丙基二硫等为孜然水煮液中的特征风味物质;小茴水煮液中的特征物质为2-戊酮、3-甲基丁醇等;桂皮水煮液中特征物质为苯甲醛、1-薄荷醇等;1, 3-己二烯、E-2-戊烯醛等为白芷水煮液中的特征风味物质。通过主成分分析可很好区分不同香辛料水煮液的差异,表明GC-IMS为快速判别不同香辛料水煮液提供可能。     

体外亚硝化模拟体系优选阻断NPYR生成的复合香辛料精油配比

为了有效抑制N-亚硝基吡咯烷(N-nitrosopyrrolidine,NPYR)的形成,在体外模拟亚硝化反应体系中,先通过单因素实验研究市售常见的8种超临界萃取香辛料精油(Spices essential oil,SEO),包括花椒精油、八角精油、青花椒精油、丁香精油、迷迭香精油、黑胡椒精油、当归风味姜油、砂仁精油,...     

Effect of ozone and sodium hydroxide treatments on some chemical characteristics of cotton straw

Cotton straw (CS) was treated with ozone or sodium hydroxide, and the effect of treatments on the organic acid and monosaccharide composition and on the chromat-ographic characteristics of alkali lignin was studied. The concentrations of formic and acetic acids in the ozonised CS were 3.98 and 1.36 g 100 g^?1 organic matter (OM) respectively. Oxalic acid was not detected. A high content of uronic acids (9.78 g 100 g^?1 OM) was found in CS. The overall decrease in total monosaccharides in the ozonated CS was very small (5%) with the matrix constituents being principally affected. The 8% sodium hydroxide treatment exerted a very limited effect on the composition of CS cell walls. Ozonation increased the content of soluble carbohydrates from 9.2 to 21.8%; this was contributed mainly by the hemicellulose fraction. Alkali lignin was extracted from CS and was fractionated by gel chromatography. The elution pattern of alkali lignin was very similar for the treated and untreated materials. The three peaks coincided at an average mol. wt of 40 000, as judged from the use of dextran standards.     

A new TLC method to detect the presence of ground papaya seed in ground black pepper

A simple TLC method to detect the adulteration of black pepper powder with ground papaya seed was developed. Ethylene dichloride extracts showed a fluorescent spot at 366 nm at R_f 0.943 that proved to be a promising marker for the presence of papaya seed powder in black pepper powder even at a level of 20 g kg^?1. Partial purification by column chromatography followed by GC/MS analysis indicated that this fluorescent marker was a mixture of aldehydes such as n‐nonanal, 2‐decenal and trans‐2‐undecenal which were absent from black pepper. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

The effect of cryogenic grinding and hammer milling on the flavour quality of ground pepper (Piper nigrum L.)

In this study, we compared the effects of cryogenic grinding and hammer milling on the flavour attributes of black, white, and green pepper. The flavour attributes were analysed using headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS), sensory evaluation and electronic nose (e-nose) analysis. Cryogenic grinding resulted in minimal damage to the colour, flavour, and sensory attributes of the spices. Cryogenic grinding was also better than hammer milling at preserving the main potent aroma constituents, but the concentrations of the main aroma constituents were dramatically reduced after storing the samples at 4 °C for 6 months. Pattern matching performed by the e-nose further supported our sensory and instrumental findings. Overall, cryogenic grinding was superior to hammer milling for preserving the sensory properties and flavour attributes of pepper without significantly affecting its quality. However, we found that the flavour quality of ground pepper was reduced during storage.