Simulation of the Vacuum Infusion Process using Idealized Components: Effects of Pore Size and Suspension Concentration

Vacuum infusion of porous food matrices (i.e., extruded starch crackers) with calorically dense suspensions of food powders in fat was investigated in an ideal system. Experiments involved infusion of model matrices with lipid suspensions consisting of milled, size-characterized sucrose in corn oil. The influences of pore size/particle size ratio and suspension concentration on the penetration of liquid and particles were determined. A mathematical model that allows prediction of future behavior was fitted to the test results. The model indicates that dry-weight particle penetration is strongly correlated with pore size and independent of initial particle concentration. Infusion of liquid plus particles was increased by raising porosity and lowering particle concentration.     

CAN WE PREDICT PEELING PERFORMANCE OF PROCESSING TOMATOES?

Tomato processors are increasingly interested in being able to predict whether tomatoes will peel well, and therefore, yield high‐value processed tomatoes. We describe two statistical models for peeling applied to multiple years of data. One model is appropriate for perfect or defect‐free tomatoes, and the second model is valid for the normal population of tomatoes obtained following mechanical harvesting. The ability to peel perfect tomatoes was significantly affected by exposure of tomatoes to temperatures greater than 100F, by fruit weight and by pericarp wall thickness. The peelability of a normal population of tomatoes was influenced by tomato weight and width as well as degree‐days and exposure to temperatures greater than 90F. Thickness of the pericarp walls and red layer positively affected the peelability of normal tomatoes. The ability to predict tomato peelability using statistical models may improve the quality of processed tomatoes and may result in more efficient commercial peeling operations.     

Re-Examination of the Polymorphism of Dicalcium Silicate

Samples of Ca₂SiO₄ were prepared by three different methods. These samples were examined by differential thermal analysis, high-temperature X-ray diffraction, and air quenching of pellets. It was found that the β modification, during cooling, converted completely and rapidly to the γ modification and "dusted" only if it had been heated above 1420†± 10† C. If the sample was not heated above this critical temperature, a mixture of the β and γ forms always resulted at room temperature. The addition of 0.5 weight % of CaO, SiO₂, Al₂0₃, Fe₂0₃, or MgO had no effect on the sequence of phases for samples cooled from above the critical temperature. When, however, these same samples were cooled from below 1410†C, the final room-temperature product was not the same for all samples. On the other hand, the additional 0.5% of Na₂0, K₂O, Cr₂O₃, or B₂0₃ prevented the formation of the β modification regardless of the temperature from which the sample was cooled. The critical heating temperature correlated with the transformation temperature for the α-α inversion. A theory relating this inversion to the completeness of the β→γ transformation is presented.     

HISTAMINE PRODUCTION BY FOOD-BORNE BACTERIAL SPECIES12

A total of 112 bacterial strains representing 38 species were tested for their potential to elicit food poisoning outbreaks via histamine formation in foods. Proteus morganii and Enterobacter aerogenes displayed a quantitative superiority in terms of histamine production on a trypticase-soy broth-histidine (TSBH) medium and a tuna fish infusion broth (TFIB). When bacteria were incubated under standardized conditions in TSBH medium, histamine accumulated to levels exceeding 50 nmoles/ml of media with a total of 23 strains, including 13 of 15 P. morganii strains, 3 of 3 E. aerogenes strains, 3 of 12 Hafnia alvei strains, 1 of 4 Providencia alcalifaciens strains, 1 of 5 Enterobacter cloacae strains, 1 of 1 Proteus rettgeri strains, and 1 of 1 Citrobacter diversus strains. However, only 8 of the 15 P. morganii strains and the 3 E. aerogenes strains were capable of generating histamine in excess of 200 nmoles/ml in the TSBH medium. Of the 23 strains capable of appreciable histamine production in TSBH medium, P. morganii and E. aerogenes were, by far, the most prolific histamine producers in TFIB. Of the organisms tested, only P. morganii and E. aerogenes would appear to have the capability of forming sufficient histamine in scombroid fish products to elicit food poisoning outbreaks.     

METHODOLOGICAL NOTE ON N ACHIEVEMENT AND FIELD INDEPENDENCE COMPARISONS.

THE EMBEDDED FIGURES TEST (EFT) HAS BEEN USED AS AN INDEX OF FIELD INDEPENDENCE. HOWEVER, WITKIN ET AL. ORIGINALLY FOUND THAT EFT SCORES FOR WOMEN HAD A LOW CORRELATION (.21) WITH THEIR ORIGINAL PERCEPTUAL TESTS. SINCE THIS IS THE CASE, ALL STUDIES WHICH HAVE USED FEMALE EFT SCORES AS AN INDEX OF FIELD INDEPENDENCE HAVE OBTAINED RESULTS WHICH ARE NOT PERTINENT TO WITKIN'S CONCEPT. IN PARTICULAR, THE COMPARISON OF N ACH AND FIELD INDEPENDENCE IS NOT POSSIBLE WHEN FEMALE EFT SCORES ARE USED. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)