Effect of drying methods on the physical properties and microstructures of mango (Philippine ‘Carabao’ var.) powder

Mango powders were obtained at water content below 0.05 kg water/kg dry solids using Refractance Window® (RW) drying, freeze drying (FD), drum drying (DD), and spray drying (SD). The spray-dried powder was produced with the aid of maltodextrin (DE = 10). The chosen drying methods provided wide variations in residence time, from seconds (in SD) to over 30 h (in FD), and in product temperatures, from 20 °C (in FD) to 105 °C (in DD). The colors of RW-dried mango powder and reconstituted mango puree were comparable to the freeze-dried products, but were significantly different from drum-dried (darker), and spray-dried (lighter) counterparts. The bulk densities of drum and RW-dried mango powders were higher than freeze-dried and spray-dried powders. There were no significant differences (P ? 0.05) between RW and freeze-dried powders in terms of solubility and hygroscopicity. The glass transition temperature of RW-, freeze-, drum- and spray-dried mango powders were not significantly different (P ? 0.05). The dried powders exhibited amorphous structures as evidenced by the X-ray diffractograms. The microstructure of RW-dried mango powder was smooth and flaky with uniform thickness. Particles of freeze-dried mango powder were more porous compared to the other three products. Drum-dried material exhibited irregular morphology with sharp edges, while spray-dried mango powder had a spherical shape. The study concludes that RW drying can produce mango powder with quality comparable to that obtained via freeze drying, and better than the drum and spray-dried mango powders.     

Application of mid-infrared spectroscopy with multivariate analysis and soft independent modeling of class analogies (SIMCA) for the detection of adulterants in minced beef

Chemometric MID-FTIR methods were developed to detect and quantify the adulteration of mince meat with horse meat, fat beef trimmings, and textured soy protein. Also, a SIMCA (Soft Independent Modeling Class Analogy) method was developed to discriminate between adulterated and unadulterated samples. Pure mince meat and adulterants (horse meat, fat beef trimmings and textured soy protein) were characterized based upon their protein, fat, water and ash content. In order to build the calibration models for each adulterant, mixtures of mince meat and adulterant were prepared in the range 2–90% (w/w). Chemometric analyses were obtained for each adulterant using multivariate analysis. A Partial Least Square (PLS) algorithm was tested to model each system (mince meat + adulterant) and the chemical composition of the mixture. The results showed that the infrared spectra of the samples were sensitive to their chemical composition. Good correlations between absorbance in the MID-FTIR and the percentage of adulteration were obtained in the region 1800–900 cm^− 1. Values of R² greater than 0.99, standard errors of calibration (SEC) in the range to 0.0001–1.278 and standard errors of prediction (SEP estimated) between 0.001 and 1.391 for the adulterant and chemical parameters were obtained. The SIMCA model showed 100% classification of adulterated meat samples from unadulterated ones. Chemometric MID-FTIR models represent an attractive option for meat quality screening without sample pretreatments which can identify the adulterant and quantify the percentage of adulteration and the chemical composition of the sample.     

Effect of salt,kinnow and pomegranate fruit by-product powders on color and oxidative stability of raw ground goat meat during refrigerated storage

Effects of salt, kinnow and pomegranate fruit by-product powders on color and oxidative stability of raw ground goat meat stored at 4 ± 1 °C was evaluated. Five treatments evaluated include: control (only meat), MS (meat + 2% salt), KRP (meat + 2% salt + 2% kinnow rind powder), PRP (meat + 2% salt + 2% pomegranate rind powder) and PSP (meat + 2% salt + 2% pomegranate seed powder). Addition of salt resulted in reduction of redness scores. Lightness increased in control and unchanged in others during storage. Redness scores declined and yellowness showed inconsistent changes during storage. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values were higher (P < 0.05) in MS followed by control and KRP samples compared to PRP and PSP samples throughout storage. The PSP treated samples showed lowest TBARS values than others. Percent reduction of TBARS values was highest in PSP (443%) followed by PRP (227%) and KRP (123%). Salt accelerated the TBARS formation and by-products of kinnow and pomegranate fruits counteracted this effect. The overall antioxidant effect was in the order of PSP > PRP > KRP > control > MS. Therefore, these powders have potential to be used as natural antioxidants to minimize the auto-oxidation and salt induced lipid oxidation in raw ground goat meat.     

Development of a rapid, non-destructive method for egg content determination in dry pasta using FT-NIR technique

A quick, non-destructive method, based on Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy for egg content determination of dry pasta is presented. Multivariate calibration was carried out by using partial least squares (PLS) regression. A calibration set of 108 samples, a validation set of 22 samples and a prediction set of 11 samples of egg pasta were used. The diffuse reflection spectra of different types of pastas were measured by FT-NIR analyzer in the 800-2500 nm spectral range. The optimal results for egg content (root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) = 0.7; R² = 90.7, Rank = 4) were obtained when the spectra were subjected to the first derivation combined with multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) and smoothing. Egg content was determined from FT-NIR results by introducing a mathematical correction step.     

Effect of maltodextrins in the water-content-water activity-glass transition relationships of noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) pulp powder

Water sorption behaviour at 25 °C and the water content (x_w)-glass transition temperature (T_g)-water activity (a_w) relationship was determined for noni pulp powder obtained by spray-drying with and without maltodextrin (DE 9-12), at three different MD/noni solid ratios of 1.17, 1.3 and 2.5, in order to know the effect of MD in the powder stability, preventing powder stickiness. The obtained isotherms were sigmoidal and the Guggenheim-Anderson-deBöer (GAB) model was fitted to the experimental data. The glass transition temperatures (T_g) of the different noni powders and maltodextrin in DE 9-12 were obtained using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The equilibrium water content of noni samples containing maltodextrin at a given water activity was lower than that obtained for the maltodextrin-free noni powder. At 25 °C, the critical water content that ensures the glassy state of the noni pulp during storage increased from 0.047 to 0.06 g water/g product when the maltodextrin/noni ratio was greater than 1.3, while the critical water activity increased from 0.13 to nearly 0.5.     

Irradiation dose detection of irradiated milk powder using visible and near-infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

The objective of this study was to examine the possibility of applying visible and near-infrared spectroscopy to the quantitative detection of irradiation dose of irradiated milk powder. A total of 150 samples were used: 100 for the calibration set and 50 for the validation set. The samples were irradiated at 5 different dose levels in the dose range 0 to 6.0 kGy. Six different pretreatment methods were compared. The prediction results of full spectra given by linear and nonlinear calibration methods suggested that Savitzky-Golay smoothing and first derivative were suitable pretreatment methods in this study. Regression coefficient analysis was applied to select effective wavelengths (EW). Less than 10 EW were selected and they were useful for portable detection instrument or sensor development. Partial least squares, extreme learning machine, and least squares support vector machine were used. The best prediction performance was achieved by the EW-extreme learning machine model with first-derivative spectra, and correlation coefficients = 0.97 and root mean square error of prediction = 0.844. This study provided a new approach for the fast detection of irradiation dose of milk powder. The results could be helpful for quality detection and safety monitoring of milk powder.     

Anti-oxidant effect of extracts of kinnow rind,pomegranate rind and seed powders in cooked goat meat patties

To overcome the disadvantages of using synthetic anti-oxidants in meat products, an investigation was carried out to evaluate the anti-oxidant effect of extracts of fruit by-products viz., kinnow rind powder (KRP), pomegranate rind powder (PRP) and pomegranate seed powder (PSP) in goat meat patties. Total phenolics content, DPPH radical scavenging activity and effect of these extracts on instrumental color, sensory attributes and TBARS values during storage (4 ± 1 °C) of goat meat patties were evaluated. Results showed that these extracts are rich sources of phenolic compounds having free radical scavenging activity. Hunter Lab L value significantly (P < 0.05) lowered in PRP followed by PSP and KRP patties. Sensory evaluation indicated no significant differences among patties. Further, a significant (P < 0.5) reduction in TBARS values (lipid oxidation) during storage of goat meat patties was observed in PRP, PSP and KRP as compared to control patties. Average TBARS values (mg/kg meat) during refrigerated storage (4 ± 1 °C) were significantly lower in PRP, followed by PSP and KRP as compared to control. The overall anti-oxidant effect was in the order of PRP > PSP > KRP. It was concluded that extracts of above fruits by-product powders have potential to be used as natural anti-oxidants in meat products.     

Physicochemical and functional properties of lentil protein isolates prepared by different drying methods

Lentil protein isolate (LPI) extract was converted into powder by freeze drying, spray drying and vacuum drying. Differences in particle size distribution, protein subunit composition and colour and surface morphology were observed amongst the three drying methods. Spray and freeze-dried LPI powders exhibited higher solubility (81% and 78%, respectively) compared to vacuum dried powders (50%). The spray dried powders showed a low water absorption capacity (0.43 ± 0.02 g/g) compared to freeze (0.48 ± 0.02 g/g) and vacuum-dried (0.47 ± 0.01 g/g) LPI powders. Spray and freeze-dried powders displayed better gelation ability and higher gel strength, compared to vacuum-dried powder. Both spray and freeze-dried gels showed typical viscoelastic gel characteristics, with G′ dominating over G″ and very low loss tangent. The holding time required for gelation of vacuum dried powder at 90 °C was significantly longer, compared to spray and freeze dried powders. Hence, drying methods used for preparation of lentil protein isolate powders can affect physicochemical and associated functional properties.     

Monitoring beer during storage by fluorescence spectroscopy

The present study demonstrates the use of fluorescence spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis for monitoring changes in beer during storage. Total luminescence spectra and synchronous scanning fluorescence spectra were recorded for fresh beer and beer samples stored in clear glass vials for three weeks in darkness at 4 °C and at 22 °C, and exposed to light at 22 °C, respectively. A pronounced decrease of fluorescence features ascribed to riboflavin was observed in samples exposed to light as compared to those kept in the dark. Principal component analysis of synchronous scanning fluorescence spectra revealed clear clustering of samples according to storage conditions. Successful classification of differently stored samples was accomplished using both the nearest neighbour method (kNN) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA).     

Development of a dielectric spectroscopy technique for the determination of key biochemical markers of meat quality

Dielectric measurements of different standard solutions (nucleotides, nucleosides, lactic acid and myoglobin) were assayed simulating the concentrations of these substances in early postmortem meat. These assays were performed for considering the potential use of dielectric spectra for the quality control of meat. Good correlations among solutions of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), Inosine Monophosphate (IMP) and lactic acid with loss factor at punctual frequencies (0.5, 0.915 and 1 GHz) were found. The other assayed substances did not present a marked effect over the electromagnetic spectra. Good correlations of dielectric properties with IMP and lactic acid content of real pork meat samples were also found at 0.5 GHz. This work is presenting prospective data of dielectric spectra for certain key biochemical markers in order to consider its potential application as a non-destructive control sensor for the prediction of pork meat quality.     

Prediction of fatty acid content in rabbit meat and discrimination between conventional and organic production systems by NIRS methodology

To investigate the feasibility of using the NIRS methodology to analyse the fatty acid content of rabbit meat and to discriminate between conventional and organic production, the meat of a hind leg of 119 rabbits was scanned between 1100 and 2498 nm and 104 samples were sent to the laboratory for reference analysis of fatty acids by gas chromatography. A commercial spectral analysis program (WINISI-2, v. 1.04) was used to process the data and to develop chemometric models. The better calibration equation for each fatty acid, leading to a higher determination coefficient of cross-validation (r²) and low standard error of cross-validation (SECV) was retained. Prediction of linoleic, palmitic, palmitoleic and oleic acid content was excellent or good (r² between 0.90 and 0.70); prediction of arachidonic, stearic, α-linolenic and eicosatrienoic FA has r² between 0.69 and 0.50. However, miristic, vaccenic, icosaenoic and eicosadienoic FA are problematic to predict. When fatty acids were grouped, the r² of the calibration equations were: 0.85 for saturated FA, 0.83 for MUFA, 0.92 for PUFA and 0.91 for n − 6 FA, indicating excellent or good prediction. Prediction of α-linolenic FA (r² = 0.59) needs more precision. The obtained equations have been applied for predicting meat fatty acid composition of both groups of production systems, conventional and organic, for an other 52 rabbit meat samples (2 × 26). Meat of the organic source had lower (p = 0.000) monounsaturated FA (30.54% vs. 34.64%) and higher (p = 0.019) polyunsaturated FA (27.28% vs. 23.66%) than rabbit meat from the conventional system, while the saturated FA content was similar (42%) in both groups. The discriminant model correctly classified (98%) between conventional or organic produced rabbit meat.     

Changes in the physical properties,solubility, and heat stability of milk protein concentrates prepared from partially acidified milk

A limiting factor in using milk protein concentrates (MPC) as a high-quality protein source for different food applications is their poor reconstitutability. Solubilization of colloidal calcium phosphate (CCP) from casein micelles during membrane filtration (e.g., through acidification) may affect the structural organization of these protein particles and consequently the rehydration and functional properties of the resulting MPC powder. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of acidification of milk by glucono-δ-lactone (GDL) before ultrafiltration (UF) on the composition, physical properties, solubility, and thermal stability (after reconstitution) of MPC powders. The MPC samples were manufactured in duplicate, either by UF (65% protein, MPC65) or by UF followed by diafiltration (80% protein, MPC80), using pasteurized skim milk, at either the native milk pH (~pH 6.6) or at pH 6.0 after addition of GDL, followed by spray drying. Samples of different treatments were reconstituted at 5% (wt/wt) protein to compare their solubility and thermal stability. Powders were tested in duplicate for basic composition, calcium content, reconstitutability, particle size, particle density, and microstructure. Acidification of milk did not have any significant effect on the proximate composition, particle size, particle density, or surface morphology of the MPC powders; however, the total calcium content of MPC80 decreased significantly with acidification (from 1.84 ± 0.03 to 1.59 ± 0.03 g/100 g of powder). Calcium-depleted MPC80 powders were also more soluble than the control powders. Diafiltered dispersions were significantly less heat stable (at 120°C) than UF samples when dissolved at 5% solids. The present work contributes to a better understanding of the differences in MPC commonly observed during processing.     

Non-destructive estimation of ATP contents and plate count on pork meat surface by UV-Vis reflectance spectrum analysis

To develop a real-time and non-destructive sanitation monitoring at a meat processing plant, UV-Vis reflectance spectrum analysis was applied. The sample was the lean part of a pork loin. The UV-Vis reflectance spectra and the factors of microbial contamination (i.e. plate count and ATP content) on the pork meat surface were measured for 3 or 4 days. The 2nd derivative of reflectance at 318 and 578 nm gave a high correlation with log₁₀(plate count) or log₁₀(ATP content), because the reflectance spectrum at 318 nm is probably related to ATP absorption and that at 578 nm is related to myoglobin pigments. Moreover, Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was developed and log₁₀(plate count) and log₁₀(ATP content) were predicted from the 2nd derivative of reflectance. The determination coefficients (R²) for calibration were 0.95-0.99. These results indicate the potential of utilizing UV-Vis reflectance spectrum analysis for cleanness assessment.     

Rehydration kinetics at 5 and 15 °C of dry salted meat

The surface of meat products during intermittent drying is successively subjected to dehydration and rehydration processes. The aim of this paper was to study the rehydration kinetics at two temperatures (5 and 15 °C) of salted ground pork, (2% or 4% NaCl) dried to different water contents, (10%, 20% and 35%) using Peleg and Weibull’s models. Surface structure of dried samples was analyzed with electron microscopy and related to rehydration kinetics. The equilibrium water content decreased with temperature and increased with NaCl, but was not affected by the initial water content. The rehydration rate at the beginning decreased with water content and was significantly higher at 5 °C than at 15 °C, but it was not significantly affected by NaCl content. However, the equilibrium water decreased with temperature and tended to increase with NaCl content, but was not affected by the initial water content. High level of dehydration resulted in a more damaged and porous meat matrix. This microstructure may contribute to accelerating the rehydration process.     

Non-destructive evaluation of ATP content and plate count on pork meat surface by fluorescence spectroscopy

The potential of fluorescence spectroscopy was investigated for the non-destructive evaluation of ATP content and plate count on pork meat surface stored aerobically at 15 °C during three days. Excitation (Ex) Emission (Em) Matrix of fluorescence intensity was obtained and fluorescence from tryptophan (Ex = 295 nm and Em = 335 nm) and NADPH (Ex = 335 nm and Em = 450 nm) was detected. Because tryptophan and NADPH fluorescence changed along with the growth of microorganisms, microbial spoilage on meat could be detected from fluorescence. By applying PLSR (Partial Least Squares Regression) analysis, ATP content and plate count were predicted with good determination coefficient (0.94–0.97 in calibration and 0.84–0.88 in validation).     

Non-destructive prediction of hardening pericarp disorder in intact mangosteen by near infrared transmittance spectroscopy

A non-destructive technique to predict a hardening pericarp disorder in intact mangosteen is proposed by using near infrared (NIR) transmittance spectroscopy in the wavelength range of 660-960 nm. The study found that the spectral features of normal pericarp mangosteen and hardening pericarp mangosteen were different. The averaged spectra and individual spectra of hardening pericarp mangosteen from a calibration set (N = 560) were used to develop classification models, using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). A model based on individual spectra obtained better classification. The overall accuracy of classification for a prediction set (N = 358) was 91%. Out of 179 samples of normal pericarp fruits, 167 were identified correctly, while 159 samples out of 179 samples with hard pericarp were predicted correctly. The results showed that NIR transmittance spectroscopy can be used to predict hard pericarp disorder in intact mangosteen fruit accurately.     

Determination of biogenic amines in foods using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)

A rapid ultra-performance liquid chromatographic (UPLC) method for the determination of biogenic amines (putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, spermine, phenylethylamine, histamine, tyramine and tryptamine) in selected food samples is described. The eight biogenic amines, which are the most important to be determined in food samples, were derivatized with dansyl chloride prior to UPLC separation. The dansylated amines were separated on an Agilent Zorbax Eclipse XDB – C18 column (50 × 4.6 mm ID, 1.8 μm) using gradient elution with a binary system of acetonitrile–water, a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and UV detection at 225 nm. The analysis is very fast, all amines are well resolved and are eluted from the column in less than 6 min. The average repeatability of the method ranged between 1.02% and 2.14%. Limits of detection (LODs) for considered amines ranged between 0.032 and 0.098 μg/l; calibration curves showed very good linearity (r = 0.9994–1.0000). The method was applied to the analysis of amines in pork, beef, chicken and fish meat, cheese and edible mushrooms.     

Determination of carnosine,anserine, homocarnosine,pentosidine and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances contents in meat from different animal species

The aim of this research was to determine the content of the histidinic antioxidants, advanced glycation end products (pentosidine) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) in the meat from different animal species. Carnosine, anserine, homocarnosine and pentosidine were quantified by HPLC/MS, while TBARS was determined by photometric measurements. The total CRCs (carnosine + anserine + homocarnosine) content was in the increasing order: beef < rabbit < pork < horse < chicken < turkey. The analysis showed traces of pentosidine above the instrumental determination limits in all the meat samples, while the susceptibility of these meat to lipid oxidation decreased from beef to chicken, with the exception of turkey meat, which presented a high TBARS content towards even though its total CRCs was the highest. The structure of homocarnosine was elucidated by high resolving power multistage mass spectrometry.     

Production of silver carp bone powder using superfine grinding technology: Suitable production parameters and its properties

Superfine grinding technology is a new type of food processing that is employed to produce powders with outstanding properties such as high solubility, dispersion, adsorption, chemical reactivity and fluidity. The objective of this work was to study the superfine grinding technology on the silver carp bone and to optimize the operational parameters. The optimum processing conditions of superfine grinding were: feeding pressure of 0.85 MPa, grinding pressure of 1.0 MPa, feeding rate of 0.0325 g/s, feeding particle size of 150-300 μm and one pass through the grinder. Silver carp bone powder with average particle size (D₅₀) of 7.65 μm was produced at these conditions. It was found that the smaller particle size of the powder, the higher its fluidity, solubility, solubility of protein, electric conductivity and water holding capacity of the powder were. So the quality of the products produced by the superfine grinding technology was said to be improved.     

Predicting beef cuts composition,fatty acids and meat quality characteristics by spiral computed tomography

The potential of X-ray computed tomography (CT) as a predictor of cuts composition and meat quality traits using a multivariate calibration method (partial least square regression, PLSR) was investigated in beef cattle. Sirloins from 88 crossbred Aberdeen Angus (AAx) and 106 Limousin (LIMx) cattle were scanned using spiral CT. Subsequently, they were dissected and analyzed for technological and sensory parameters, as well as for intramuscular fat (IMF) content and fatty acid composition. CT-PLSR calibrations, tested by cross-validation, were able to predict with high accuracy the subcutaneous fat (R², RMSECV = 0.94, 34.60 g and 0.92, 34.46 g), intermuscular fat (R², RMSECV = 0.81, 161.54 g and 0.86, 42.16 g), total fat (R², RMSECV = 0.89, 65.96 g and 0.93, 48.35 g) and muscle content (R², RMSECV = 0.99, 58.55 g and 0.97, 57.45 g) in AAx and LIMx samples, respectively. Accurate CT predictions were found for fatty acid profile (R² = 0.61–0.75) and intramuscular fat content (R² = 0.71–0.76) in both sire breeds. However, low to very low accuracies were obtained for technological and sensory traits with R² ranged from 0.01 to 0.26. The image analysis evaluated provides the basis for an alternative approach to deliver very accurate predictions of cuts composition, IMF content and fatty acid profile with lower costs than the reference methods (dissection, chemical analysis), without damaging or depreciating the beef cuts.