Active Packaging Applications for Food

The traditional role of food packaging is continuing to evolve in response to changing market needs. Current drivers such as consumer's demand for safer, “healthier,” and higher‐quality foods, ideally with a long shelf‐life; the demand for convenient and transparent packaging, and the preference for more sustainable packaging materials, have led to the development of new packaging technologies, such as active packaging (AP). As defined in the European regulation (EC) No 450/2009, AP systems are designed to “deliberately incorporate components that would release or absorb substances into or from the packaged food or the environment surrounding the food.” Active packaging materials are thereby “intended to extend the shelf‐life or to maintain or improve the condition of packaged food.” Although extensive research on AP technologies is being undertaken, many of these technologies have not yet been implemented successfully in commercial food packaging systems. Broad communication of their benefits in food product applications will facilitate the successful development and market introduction. In this review, an overview of AP technologies, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant or carbon dioxide‐releasing systems, and systems absorbing oxygen, moisture or ethylene, is provided, and, in particular, scientific publications illustrating the benefits of such technologies for specific food products are reviewed. Furthermore, the challenges in applying such AP technologies to food systems and the anticipated direction of future developments are discussed. This review will provide food and packaging scientists with a thorough understanding of the benefits of AP technologies when applied to specific foods and hence can assist in accelerating commercial adoption.     

Origin and Processing Methods Slightly Affect Allergenic Characteristics of Cashew Nuts (Anacardium occidentale)

The protein content and allergen composition was studied of cashews from 8 different origins (Benin, Brazil, Ghana, India, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Tanzania, Vietnam), subjected to different in‐shell heat treatments (steamed, fried, drum‐roasted). On 2D electrophoresis, 9 isoforms of Ana o 1, 29 isoforms of Ana o 2 (11 of the acidic subunit, 18 of the basic subunit), and 8 isoforms of the large subunit of Ana o 3 were tentatively identified. Based on 1D and 2D electrophoresis, no difference in allergen content (Ana o 1, 2, 3) was detected between the cashews of different origins (P > 0.5), some small but significant differences were detected in allergen solubility between differently heated cashews. No major differences in N‐ and C‐terminal microheterogeneity of Ana o 3 were detected between cashews of different origins. Between the different heat treatments, no difference was detected in glycation, pepsin digestibility, or IgE binding of the cashew proteins.     

Lamb meat--importance of origin and grazing system for Italian and Norwegian consumers

The objective of this study was to evaluate the importance of geographic origin and grazing system for Norwegian and Italian consumers' probability of buying lamb meat. The study consisted of a qualitative part with focus groups followed up with a quantitative survey in each country. Included in the survey was a conjoint design with origin of the meat (Norway, Italy and New Zealand) and pasture (lowland pasture and mountain pasture) as factors, plus questions about consumers' motives underlying selection of food. Results from the study shows that country of origin is important for consumers' buying probability of lamb meat, in both countries domestic meat was preferred. In addition, a higher probability of buying meat from lamb grazing on mountain pasture than from lamb grazing on lowland pasture was identified. It is important for producers of lamb meat to increase the communication of these elements in a competitive national and international food market.     

Test-retest reproducibility of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and estimated effects on disease risk in the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study (NOWAC)

Background  

The Norwegian Women and Cancer Study (NOWAC) is a national population-based cohort study with 102 443 women enrolled at age 30–70 y from 1991 to 1997. The present study was a methodological sub-study to assess the test-retest reproducibility of the NOWAC food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and to study how measurement errors in the data can affect estimates of disease risk.     

Authentication of marine oils using 13C NMR spectroscopy

NMR spectroscopy has been particularly valuable in the study of lipids, since it provides qualititative and quantitative information on chemically diverse compounds in a non‐destructive and non‐selective fashion. NMR gives a fingerprint of the sample analyzed and may be used as a rapid profiling technique. Combined with chemometrics and databases with relevant authentic samples, ¹³C NMR is a powerful tool for authentication of marine oils.     

X-Ray Repair Cross Complementing Protein 1 in Base Excision Repair

X-ray Repair Cross Complementing protein 1 (XRCC1) acts as a scaffolding protein in the converging base excision repair (BER) and single strand break repair (SSBR) pathways. XRCC1 also interacts with itself and rapidly accumulates at sites of DNA damage. XRCC1 can thus mediate the assembly of large multiprotein DNA repair complexes as well as facilitate the recruitment of DNA repair proteins to sites of DNA damage. Moreover, XRCC1 is present in constitutive DNA repair complexes, some of which associate with the replication machinery. Because of the critical role of XRCC1 in DNA repair, its common variants Arg194Trp, Arg280His and Arg399Gln have been extensively studied. However, the prevalence of these variants varies strongly in different populations, and their functional influence on DNA repair and disease remains elusive. Here we present the current knowledge about the role of XRCC1 and its variants in BER and human disease/cancer.     

Nondestructive quantitative determination of docosahexaenoic acid and n−3 fatty acids in fish oils by high-resolution 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

By using a 500 MHz proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectrometer we have developed a quantitative method for determining the contents of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in fish oils (mg/g), the molar proportions (mol%) of DHA to all other fatty acids composing the fish oils, and the molar proportions of total n-3 fatty acids to all other non-n-3 fatty acids in the fish oils. After examining the suitability of ethylene glycol dimethyl ether (EGDM), methanol, and 1,4-dioxane as internal standards, experimental conditions were optimized by mainly using EGDM as an internal standard. By setting the pulse repetition time at 30 s, five times longer than the longest T ₁ of the ¹H NMR signals of fish oils, good reproductibility of data and analytical times less than 10 min were achieved. The use of the internal standard also allowed us to quantify DHA on a weight basis (mg/g). Verification of the method was carried out in an interlaboratory study between Japan and Norway on bonito, tuna, and salmon oils. The relative errors in the ¹H NMR data between Japan and Norway were 0.57–5.29% for quantification of DHA, 0.7–2.09% for the molar proportion of DHA, and 0.1–1.41% for the molar proportion of total n-3 fatty acids. Good agreement was observed between the ¹H NMR data and those obtained by gas chromatography (GC). The sample preparation before ¹H NMR measurements required only two steps: sample weighing and preparation of an internal standard solution. Based on the high reproducibility, simplicity of the procedure, and clarity of principle, the proposed ¹H NMR method was judged to be a promising alternative to the GC method in quantification of DHA and n-3 fatty acids in fish oils.     

Does the Influence of Reading Purpose on Reports of Strategic Text Processing Depend on Students' Topic Knowledge?

The authors examined whether the influence of reading purpose on reported use of text-processing strategies was moderated by students' prior knowledge about the topic of the text. Using multiple regression analyses with interaction terms, they found that the effect of reading purpose on reported use of memorization and elaboration strategies depended on students' level of topic knowledge. For participants who read for the purpose of discussing text content, reported use of memorization and elaboration was positively related to topic knowledge, whereas no relation between reported use of such strategies and topic knowledge was found for participants who read for the purposes of test taking or summary writing. This suggests that students' flexible use of text-processing strategies may depend on their topic knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quality of raw salmon fillet as a predictor of cooked salmon quality

Fillets stored at 4 °C for 2, 9, 14 or 16 days were evaluated raw by professional chefs and also as cooked samples by trained sensory panel. Firmness, reddish colour, glossy appearance, and odour of seawater were important attributes of raw fillets to ensure high quality. Odours of seawater, acidity, sourness and staleness as well as firmness were discriminators on quality of cooked samples. Colour had less impact on quality of cooked samples. The two evaluations had similar results on which samples had high vs low quality, but chefs were less critical to the low quality raw samples than what was the case for the panel evaluating cooked samples. Fillets stored for 16 days at 4 °C were not acceptable for food consumption when cooked, but chefs did not give these samples scores that could indicate unacceptable quality. In the first PLS component 69% and 63% of the sample variation were described by Panel and Chefs, respectively.     

Cyber-Physical Systems und Privatsph?renschutz

In vielen Produktionsanlagen ist der Einsatz von Sensoren und Aktuatoren selbstverst?ndlich, um ein reibungsloses Zusammenspiel bei der Produktfertigung und beim Anlagenbetrieb zu gew?hrleisten. ?hnliche Komponenten solcher „Cyber-Physical Systems“ werden in jedem neuen Auto verbaut. Eine Forschungsagenda für Deutschland beschreibt die Potenziale und Herausforderungen für diese Systeme, die künftig in vielen Lebensbereichen Einzug halten k?nnten und aus denen sich bedeutende Datenschutzfragen ergeben.