Stability of electronic nose (e-nose) as determined by considering date-pits heated at different temperatures

Variability and sensitivity of a portable electronic nose (32 sensors) was assessed by considering different variables for measurement (i.e., reference, standard, first and second purges, sample draw time, waiting time for the volatiles released in the headspace, and mass of sample or headspace volume of the jar containing sample). In this study, dried date-pits were used a model sample. The highest stability was achieved when both reference and standard (i.e., dried date-pits, no heating treatment) were used before test sample measurement. Higher sample draw time more than 10 s significantly decreased the stability, whereas optimum second purge was observed at 50 s. Optimum time to generate volatile was observed as 24 h. A sample of 100 g increased the signal intensity compared to the 50 g sample for the 60°C and 100°C treated samples, while an opposite trend was observed for the 150°C treated sample. Finally, the responses of volatile components in date-pits heated at different temperatures (60°C, 100°C, and 150°C) were measured using the optimum operating conditions. Principal component analysis explored the relationships between the volatile features and classified date-pits heated at different temperatures. The results showed that an electronic nose was able to classify date-pits based on their volatile components generated by different degrees of heating (93.3% accuracy).     

Inactivation of Bacillus spores by the combination of moderate heat and low hydrostatic pressure in ketchup and potage

The combination effect of moderate heat and low hydrostatic pressure (MHP) on the reduction of Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus coagulans and Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores in food materials (potage and ketchup) was investigated. These bacterial spores were suspended in potage (pH 7), acidified potage (pH 4), neutralized ketchup (pH 7) and ketchup (pH 4). The suspensions were treated with and without pressure (100 MPa) and temperatures of 65-85 degrees C for 3 to 12 h. The bacterial spores were inactivated by 4-8 log cycles during MHP treatment in potage, acidified potage and ketchup, whereas the spores were highly resistant to long time heat treatment in potage and neutralized ketchup. The degrees of spore destruction were mostly dependent on pH and medium composition during MHP treatment. The inactivation effect in MHP treatment was higher at the pH 7 than at pH 4 both in ketchup and potage. The bacterial spores showed higher inactivation in potage than ketchup during MHP treatment.     

A Rapid Determination of Ergosterol in Grains Using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Method Without Derivatization

Food Analytical Methods - A simple, rapid and sensitive GC-MS method using on-column injection was developed and validated to determine ergosterol (ERG) levels in maize and wheat. In this method,...     

Oil palm bunch ripeness classification using fluorescence technique

Oil palm is Malaysia’s major agriculture product and it covers approximately 5 million hectares of Malaysia’s land. Limited land resources have been an important factor that motivated the need to increase oil extraction rate (OER). OER of oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) depends highly on their maturity stage. The ripe oil palm FFB will produce high OER while the under ripe and over ripe oil palm FFB will produce less oil. Thus, this paper presents a method of classification between oil palm FFB into ripe, under-ripe and over-ripe categories. This research was done at an oil palm plantation in peninsular Malaysia. A total of two-hundred and ten oil palm FFB that consist of seventy bunches for each category of under-ripe, ripe and over-ripe had been used. Each bunch was scanned ten times randomly with a hand-held multi-parameter fluorescence sensor called Multiplex®3. The parameter measured was the Blue-to-Red Fluorescence Ratio (BRR_FRF) obtained from blue-green (447 nm) and far-red (685 nm) emission signal by using ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diode as excitation light source. The novel contribution of this research is to prove that the oil palm FFB maturity can be determined using the Blue-to-Red Fluorescence ratio index. This is based to our finding of a significant difference among the three categories of ripeness based on the parameter. Classification and Regression Tree (C&RT) method was proposed in this paper. Hundred-fifty samples were used to develop the model by trained it using C&RT method and the remaining sixty samples for the test component. By using the C&RT method, the results show the best accuracy of overall testing classification is 90%. This research will be useful for future development of non-destructive, automatic and real time oil palm FFB grading system.     

Stability of low concentration electrolyzed water and its sanitization potential against foodborne pathogens

Low concentration electrolyzed water (LcEW) has been proved to be an effective sanitizer against pathogens in cell suspensions as well as pathogens and spoilage organisms attached to vegetables, poultry and meat. In this study, effect of current, electrolysis time and salt concentration on physical properties (pH, ORP and ACC) and inactivation efficacy of LcEW was monitored. Pure cultures of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes were prepared and exposure treatment was performed for bacteria inactivation study in cell suspensions at room temperature (23 ± 2 °C). Our results showed increased reduction of both pathogens with the increase in current. Changes of current also affected the ACC, pH and ORP values of the tested solution. Values of ACC, pH and ORP were increased with the increase in current. Log reduction of 4.9–5.6 log CFU/mL for both pathogens was achieved when the current was increased from 1.15 to 1.45 A. Electrolysis time and percent of salt concentration also influenced the physical properties of LcEW. Stability of LcEW was also investigated under different conditions and it was observed that LcEW produced with increased electrical current was more stable during storage. Therefore, current might influence the properties and sanitizing effect of LcEW.     

Microbiological spoilage of vacuum and modified atmosphere packaged Vietnamese Pangasius hypophthalmus fillets

This study investigated the identity, growth and metabolite production of micro-organisms causing spoilage of Pangasius hypophthalmus fillets packaged in air, vacuum and modified atmospheres (MAP) (MAP 1: 50%CO(2)-50%N(2) and MAP 2: 50%CO(2)-50%O(2)) during storage at 4 °C. Based on the time it took for psychrotrophic total colony counts to exceed 7 log cfu g(-1), the shelf life of the fillets packaged in air, vacuum, MAP 1 and MAP 2 was estimated to be 7, 10, 12 and 14 days respectively. The longest lag phases were observed in the samples packaged in MAP 2 (50%CO(2)-50%O(2)). In the fillets packaged in air and under vacuum, the dominant flora identified by partial 16S rDNA sequencing at the end of the shelf life generally consisted of Gram-negative bacteria mostly belonging to the genera Serratia and Pseudomonas. In contrast, lactic acid bacteria (Carnobacterium maltaromaticum and Carnobacterium divergens) and Brochothrix thermosphacta were identified as the dominant spoilage flora in the samples packaged under the two MAPs investigated. By means of solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (SPME GC-MS) analysis, volatile organic compounds in the headspace of the samples at the end of the shelf life were identified for each packaging condition. Based on these results, a selective ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) method was developed to quantify the production of volatile metabolites during storage of the fillets. The results of these analyses indicated that several compounds contributed to the bacterial spoilage of Pangasius fillets e.g., ethanol, 2,3-butanediol, diacetyl, acetoin, ethyl acetate, acetic acid and sulfur compounds. It also emerged that the production of these compounds was dependent on the packaging condition applied.     

Chemical composition and inhibitory parameters of essential oil and extracts of Nandina domestica Thunb. to control food-borne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria

The aim of this study was to examine the chemical composition of the essential oil isolated from the floral parts of Nandina domestica Thunb. by hydrodistillation, and to test the efficacy of essential oil and various organic extracts against a panel of food-borne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis ATCC6633, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC19166, Staphylococcus aureus KCTC1916, S. aureus ATCC6538, Pseudomonas aeruginosa KCTC2004, Salmonella typhimurium KCTC2515, Salmonella enteridis KCCM12021, Escherichia coli 0157-Human, E. coli ATCC8739, E. coli 057:H7 ATCC43888 and Enterobacter aerognes KCTC2190. The chemical composition of essential oil was analysed by GC-MS. It was determined that 79 compounds, which represented 87.06% of total oil, were present in the oil. The oil contained mainly 1-indolizino carbazole (19.65%), 2-pentanone (16.4%), mono phenol (12.1%), aziridine (9.01%), methylcarbinol (4.6%), ethanone (3.3%), furfural (2.96%), 3,5-dimethylpyrazole (1.29%) and 2(5H)-furanone (1.32%). The oil (1000 ppm/disc), and various organic extracts of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol (1500 ppm/disc) exhibited promising antibacterial effect as a diameter of zones of inhibition (9-18 and 7-13 mm) and MIC values (62.5 to 1000 and 250 to 2000 microg/ml), respectively against the tested bacteria. Also the oil had strong detrimental effect on the viable count of the tested bacteria. These results indicate the potential efficacy of plant-based natural products such as essential oil and organic extracts of N. domestica to control food-borne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria.     

A comparison of management practices, farmer-perceived disease incidence and winter housing on organic and non-organic dairy farms in the UK

There have been increases in the number of organic dairy farms in the UK in recent years. However, there is little information on the impact of organic regulations on cow welfare. As part of a larger study, we aimed to investigate differences between organic and non-organic farms in management practices and winter housing quality. Forty organic and 40 non-organic farms throughout the UK were visited. Organic and non-organic farms were paired for housing type, and as far as possible for herd size, genetic merit and location. A detailed questionnaire covering key aspects of dairy management was carried out with each farmer. On a subset of twenty pairs, an assessment of the quality of the winter housing for both lactating and dry cows was undertaken, covering the parlour, bedding, loafing and feeding areas. Management practices and building conditions varied greatly within farm types and there was considerable overlap between organic and non-organic farms. Milk yield, level and composition of concentrate feed, management of heifers and calving, and use of 'alternative treatments' to prevent and treat mastitis differed between organic and non-organic farms. In all other respects there were no differences between farm types. Building dimensions per cow did not differ, even though organic recommendations advise greater space per cow than recommended for non-organic farms. The similarity between organic and non-organic farms in most respects indicates that cow housing and health, based on both the described management regimes and the farmers' perceptions of disease incidence, on organic dairy farms is neither compromised by the regulations, nor considerably better than on non-organic farms.     

Putting the poorest farmers in control of disseminating improved wheat seed: a strategy to accelerate technology adoption and alleviate poverty in Bangladesh

This paper reports on a ‘bottom-up’ system of wheat seed technology transfer that was piloted in north–west Bangladesh with 45 mainly marginal (food insecure) farming families during the 2004–2005 wheat season, then scaled out to a further 545 mainly marginal, farming families during the 2006–2007 season. The system was devised following a survey which indicated that such farmers can obtain a 52% increase in wheat grain yield and extra income by switching from the old Kanchan variety to the newer, heat and disease-tolerant Shatabdi variety. The bottom-up wheat seed dissemination system involved the creation of an enabling environment which allowed poor and ultra-poor farmers to store and sell selected seed of recently-released wheat varieties that they produced in 20 decimal (0.08 ha) plots. During the pilot phase of the project in 2005, farmers produced 7, 976 kg of grain and more than 50% of this was selected as high quality seed, stored during the monsoon season and marketed to other farmers just prior to the following wheat season. This seed was sold at Tk25–30/kg and realised profits averaging Tk3,002 (€38.49; exchange rate was 78:1 in October 2005) per household. In 2007, the seed price had risen to Tk33–50/kg and a larger group of farmers produced, stored and marketed 168,800 kg of high quality wheat seed, which realised profits averaging Tk5,080, equivalent to €51 (exchange rate was 99.6:1 in October 2007), per household. This bottom up seed production and dissemination system met the wheat seed requirements of more than 1,400 neighbouring farmers in areas with a deficit of wheat seed for planting, and enabled poor and ultra-poor farmers to earn more than 50% of the income they needed to cross the local poverty line.