Moulds, yeasts and aerobic plate counts in ginseng supplements

Forty six ginseng supplement samples including Siberian ginseng root, Chinese ginseng herb and root, and American ginseng root and extract were purchased from retail in the Washington, DC area and from Penn Herb Co. (Philadelphia, PA) and tested for mould and yeast (MY) contamination and the presence of aerobic mesophilic bacteria (APC). Results indicated that 100% of the Siberian ginseng samples were contaminated with fungi and bacteria. MY counts ranged from 8.0 x 10(2) to 1.4 x 10(3) cfu/g whereas the APCs were between 2.3 x 10(4) and 1.0 x 10(6) cfu/g. Most common fungi encountered in this commodity were Penicillium spp., Eurotium rubrum, E. chevalieri and Rhizopus spp. Seventy-eight percent of the Chinese ginseng herb samples were contaminated with fungi and 89% with bacteria at levels ranging between <100 and 6.0 x 10(4) and <100 and 1.2 x 10(6) cfu/g, respectively. Moulds commonly isolated were Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., E. chevalieri, Penicillium spp. and Rhizopus spp. Fifty six percent of the Chinese ginseng root samples tested contained fungi (A. niger, Rhizopus spp. and yeasts), and 100% contained bacteria. Fungal counts ranged between <100 and 1.4 x 10(3) cfu/g and APCs were between 3.0 x 10(2) and 6.8 x 10(5) cfu/g. Forty-eight percent of the American ginseng root samples contained moulds and 30% showed bacterial contamination. MY counts were between <100 and 4.3 x 10(5) cfu/g whereas APCs were between <100 and 4.5 x 10(4) cfu/g. A. flavus was isolated from 9% and Penicillium spp. were recovered from 39% of the tested samples. This is the first report of A. flavus contamination in ginseng supplements. No moulds or yeasts were found in ginseng extract, but 50% of these samples contained bacteria at levels ranging between <100 and 1.0 x 10(3) cfu/g.     

Freeze concentration of fruit juices

Concentration of aqueous foods such as fruit juices, milk, beer, wine, coffee, and tea, is a major unit operation in the food industry. Technically feasible processes that are commercially available for the concentration of liquid foods include evaporation, freeze concentration, reverse osmosis, and ultrafiltration. Evaporation is considered to be the most economical and most widely used method of concentration. However, it is not suited for food products with very delicate flavors. Commercial processes for the concentration of such products by membrane separation techniques are not yet available. As compared to the conventional evaporation processes, concentration by freezing is potentially a superior and economic process for aroma-rich liquid foods. In the past, the process, however, was seldom used because of the investment cost and the considerable loss of concentrate in the withdrawn ice, and hence, the quality. Recent technological developments have minimized these two drawbacks associated with the earlier freeze concentration processes. In the coming decade, freeze concentration is seen as a potentially attractive method for the concentration of aroma-rich liquid foods, including fruit juices, coffee, tea, and selected alcoholic beverages. In this article, several aspects of the theoretical considerations behind freeze concentration of fruit juices, the development of new and cheaper designs, and commercially available freeze concentration processes are reviewed. The economics of the process and its application to several other areas of the food industry are also discussed.     

Moulds and yeasts in fresh and minimally processed vegetables, and sprouts

A limited survey of fresh and minimally processed vegetables, and sprouts was conducted in the Washington, DC area to determine if potentially toxigenic and pathogenic fungi were present in these commodities. Thirty-nine ready-to-eat salads, 29 whole fresh vegetables and 116 sprout samples (bean, alfalfa, broccoli, crunchy, garlic, spicy, onion, clover, lentil and multi-seed sprouts) were purchased from 13 local supermarkets and tested for yeast and mould counts as well as the presence of toxigenic moulds. Yeasts were the most prevalent organisms found in these samples, at levels ranging from less than 100 to 4.0x10(8) cfu/g. Mould counts generally ranged from less than 100 to 4.0x10(4) cfu/g. Two crunchy sprout samples, however, contained unusually high numbers of Penicillium (1.1x10(8) and 1.3x10(8) cfu/g), two alfalfa sprout samples contained Geotrichum populations about 10(6) cfu/g, and two alfalfa sprout samples had Cladosporium counts higher than 2.5x10(5) cfu/g. The most common moulds found in fresh and minimally processed vegetables were Cladosporium, Alternaria and Penicillium; less common was Geotrichum. The most frequently isolated moulds from sprouts were Alternaria, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Phoma. Phoma was especially common in alfalfa sprouts. Fusarium, Rhizopus, Mucor, and Geotrichum were isolated less often.     

全球果汁及果汁饮料消费状况

来自Euromonitor的资料显示,自1992年至2007年,全球果汁及果汁饮料消费市场大多呈现平稳的增长势头.     

Heat-resistant fungi in Nigerian heat-processed fruit juices

Sixty packaged heat-processed Nigerian fruit juices consisting of 15 each of mango, orange, pineapple and tomato, were screened for the presence of heat-resistant fungi after storage at approximately 28°C for 30 days. The resulting fungal growth was purified on potato dextrose agar. Approximately 17% of all the fruit juice packages and 27% of mango and tomato juices contained heat-resistant fungi. These were identified as Paecilomyces variotii, Aspergillus tamarii, A. flavus and A. ochraceus , the latter being predominant.     

果汁生产中膜技术的应用

膜技术是一种高效、低能耗和易操作的分离技术,在果汁的生产中得到越来越广泛的应用。概述了膜技术在苹果汁、柑桔汁、山楂汁、葡萄汁、草莓汁等果汁生产中的应用和特点,并展望了膜技术在果汁加工中的应用前景。     

Furan formation during UV-treatment of fruit juices

Furan is a suspected human carcinogen and reported to be produced by thermal or ultraviolet light (UV-C) treatment of various foods, such as fruit juices and sugar solutions. This study explores the formation of furan during UV-treatment of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) solution and simulated juices containing it and validates the results with two real juices, apple juice and apple cider. Studies performed on individual components of fruit juices revealed fructose to be the main constituent in fruit juices that is responsible for furan formation during UV-treatment. Furan formation was promoted at acidic pH, yet was suppressed in the presence of ascorbic acid. Furan synthesis is strongly influenced by absorbance of the treated solution, with increasing absorption coefficient leading to reduced furan formation. Formation of furan in fruit juices sweetened with HFCS when subjected to UV-treatment has been firmly established.     

Stability of enterocin AS-48 in fruit and vegetable juices

Enterocin AS-48 is a candidate bacteriocin for food biopreservation. Before addressing application of AS-48 to vegetable-based foods, the interaction between AS-48 and vegetable food components and the stability of AS-48 were studied. Enterocin AS-48 had variable interactions with fruit and vegetable juices, with complete, partial, or negligible loss of activity. For some juices, loss of activity was ameliorated by increasing the bacteriocin concentration, diluting the juice, or applying a heat pretreatment. In juices obtained from cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, green beans, celery, and avocado, AS-48 was very stable for the first 24 to 48 h of storage under refrigeration, and decay of activity was markedly influenced by storage temperature. In fresh-made fruit juices (orange, apple, grapefruit, pear, pineapple, and kiwi) and juice mixtures, AS-48 was very stable for at least 15 days at 4 degrees C, and bacteriocin activity was still detectable after 30 days of storage. Gradual and variable loss of activity occurred in juices stored at 15 and 28 degrees C; inactivation was faster at higher temperatures. In commercial fruit juices (orange, apple, peach, and pineapple) stored at 4 degrees C, the bacteriocin was completely stable for up to 120 days, and over 60% of initial activity was still present in juices stored at 15 degrees C for the same period. Commercial fruit juices stored at 28 degrees C for 120 days retained between 31.5% (apple) and 67.71% (peach) of their initial bacteriocin activity. Solutions of AS-48 in sterile distilled water were stable (120 days at 4 to 28 degrees C). Limited loss of activity was observed after mixing AS-48 with some food-grade dyes and thickening agents. Enterocin AS-48 added to lettuce juice incubated at 15 degrees C reduced viable counts of Listeria monocytogenes CECT 4032 and Bacillus cereus LWL1 to below detection limits and markedly reduced viable counts of Staphylococcus aureus CECT 976.     

水溶性壳聚糖在果汁澄清中的应用研究

研究水溶性壳聚糖对果汁的澄清作用,测定果汁经壳聚糖澄清后主要成分的变化。结果表明,2%壳聚糖水溶液能提高果汁的透光率,且不影响果汁的营养成分,是一种有效的果汁澄清剂。     

Clarification of fruit juices by fungal pectinases

This study analyses the efficiency of fungal pectinolytic preparations produced in laboratory and commercial products used in the clarification process of apple, butia palm fruit, blueberry, and grape juices. Two crude enzymatic extracts, produced by Aspergillus niger T0005007-2 (TE1) and Aspergillus oryzae IPT 301 (TE2), were tested in solid-state and submerse cultures, respectively, in comparison to the commercial preparations Pectinex^®Clear and Pectinex^®BE Colour, used for the clarification of clear (apple, butia palm fruit) and dark (blueberry and grape) juices, respectively. With pectinases total activity at 1 U/mL of fruit juice, reactions were conducted at 30 and 50 °C, for 30 and 60 min. Time increase resulted in an improved clarification, whereas temperature increase could not be clearly linked to a greater clarification. When compared to the commercial products, the use of the crude preparation TE1 resulted in similar clarification of apple and blueberry juices. For butia palm and grape juice, however, TE1 presented the highest clarification results, revealing the potential of A. niger T0005007-2 enzymes for commercial application.     

Survival of Lactobacillus plantarum in model solutions and fruit juices

The aim of the work was to study the survival of Lactobacillus plantarum NCIMB 8826 in model solutions and develop a mathematical model describing its dependence on pH, citric acid and ascorbic acid. A Central Composite Design (CCD) was developed studying each of the three factors at five levels within the following ranges, i.e., pH (3.0-4.2), citric acid (6-40 g/L), and ascorbic acid (100-1000 mg/L). In total, 17 experimental runs were carried out. The initial cell concentration in the model solutions was approximately 1 × 10⁸ CFU/mL; the solutions were stored at 4 °C for 6 weeks. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the stepwise regression demonstrated that a second order polynomial model fits well the data. The results demonstrated that high pH and citric acid concentration enhanced cell survival; one the other hand, ascorbic acid did not have an effect. Cell survival during storage was also investigated in various types of juices, including orange, grapefruit, blackcurrant, pineapple, pomegranate, cranberry and lemon juice. The model predicted well the cell survival in orange, blackcurrant and pineapple, however it failed to predict cell survival in grapefruit and pomegranate, indicating the influence of additional factors, besides pH and citric acid, on cell survival. Very good cell survival (less than 0.4 log decrease) was observed after 6 weeks of storage in orange, blackcurrant and pineapple juice, all of which had a pH of about 3.8. Cell survival in cranberry and pomegranate decreased very quickly, whereas in the case of lemon juice, the cell concentration decreased approximately 1.1 logs after 6 weeks of storage, albeit the fact that lemon juice had the lowest pH (pH ~ 2.5) among all the juices tested. Taking into account the results from the compositional analysis of the juices and the model, it was deduced that in certain juices, other compounds seemed to protect the cells during storage; these were likely to be proteins and dietary fibre In contrast, in certain juices, such as pomegranate, cell survival was much lower than expected; this could be due to the presence of antimicrobial compounds, such as phenolic compounds.     

Mycotoxins in fruits,fruit juices,and dried fruits

This review gives an overview of the presence of mycotoxins in fruits. Although several mycotoxins occur in nature, very few (aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, Alternaria toxins) are regularly found in fruits. It has been shown that the presence of fungi on fruits is not necessarily associated with mycotoxin contamination. The formation of mycotoxins depends more on endogenous and environmental factors than fungal growth does. Mycotoxins may remain in fruits even when the fungal mycelium has been removed. Depending on the fruit and the mycotoxin, the diffusion of mycotoxins into the sound tissues of fruits may occur. The influence of the selection and storage of fruits and the influence of different processing steps involved in the production of fruit juices and dried fruits on possible mycotoxin contamination is described. It is shown that the careful selection, washing, and sorting of fruits is the most important factor in the reduction of mycotoxin contamination during the production of fruit juices. The processing of fruits does not result in the complete removal of mycotoxins.     

Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris in fruit juices and its control by nisin

Summary The acid-tolerant and heat-resistant bacterium Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris is a spoilage problem in pasteurized and heat-treated fruit juices. In this study it was shown to grow in orange juice, grapefruit juice and apple juice to produce detectable taint at levels of about 10⁴–10⁵ c.f.u. ml⁻¹. Decimal reduction times were determined at 80 °, 90 ° and 95 °C in each juice and confirmed the heat-resistant nature of the spores under normal juice pasteurization conditions. They also confirmed that heat sensitivity increased with decreasing pH but that this effect was less pronounced at higher temperatures. The organism was, however, sensitive to the bacteriocin food preservative nisin. The presence of nisin during heating decreased the D value by up to 40% and the MIC for nisin against spores at 25 °C was only 5 International Units (IU) ml⁻¹. The results indicate that use of nisin is a potentially useful way of controlling this organism in fruit juices and fruit juice-containing products.     

超高压技术在果蔬汁杀菌中的应用

文章首先从超高压技术的发展历史、处理机制以及设备应用现状进行介绍,在此基础上阐述了超高压杀菌对果蔬汁品质(理化性质、生物活性、感官品质等)影响的研究进展,进而展望了其未来的发展趋势。大量研究表明,基于果蔬汁中不同微生物种类的差异,超高压联合轻度热处理能有效提高灭活效果,达到热杀菌处理的安全水平;此外,超高压处理能最大限度保留维生素C、花色苷和酚类物质等营养物质及香气物质;同时提升综合感官品质。因此,超高压具备较大的技术优势,有希望替代热杀菌以应用于果蔬汁的工业化生产。     

Antimicrobial activity of Viburnum opulus fruit juices and extracts

The antimicrobial activities of fruit juices and ethanol extracts of Viburnum opulus L. genotypes were compared in this study. These activities were tested against human pathogenic microorganisms using the agar well diffusion method. A total of ten Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial cultures, as well as nine yeast strains, were used for the investigation. The most effective antibacterial activity was exhibited by the fruit juices against Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella agona, and Listeria monocytogenes, with inhibition zones of 23.6, 20.7, and 19.1 mm, respectively. Staphylococcus epidermidis and Micrococcus luteus displayed the highest resistance, with minimal inhibition zones of 14.2 and 15.0 mm, respectively. The fruit juices showed greater antibacterial activity compared to the ethanol extracts. In contrast, the growth of the yeast cultures exhibited little or no sensitivity to the fruit juices and ethanol extracts. The conclusion of this study is that V. opulus fruits are potential antibacterial remedies.     

Enzyme induced loss of sucrose in berry fruit juices

Varied concentrations of sucrose have previously been reported in freshly picked berry fruits. We have observed that sucrose in juice extracts from berries decreased markedly with time. The loss of sucrose added to raspberry and loganberry juice is attributed to the action of the enzyme, invertase. Heat inactivation immediately after picking reduced the loss of sucrose in raspberries and blackberries. Knowledge of these changes might influence the methods of harvesting, storage and processing.     

果蔬汁非热加工技术进展

食品的非热加工技术已成为研究的热点，详细介绍了近年来非热加工技术在果蔬汁中的研究与应用现状。