Effect of pasta drying temperature on gastrointestinal digestibility and allergenicity of durum wheat proteins

The effects of different drying temperatures (20, 60, 85, 110 and 180 °C) on digestibility and potential allergenicity of durum wheat proteins were studied in model pasta samples, cooked in boiling water (MPSs). Increasing the drying temperature resulted in increased protein denaturation and aggregation. In vitro treatment of MPSs with pepsin and pancreatin showed similar protein degradability up to a drying temperature of 110 °C, resulting in the disappearance of the main prolamin components. In contrast, the MPS treated at 180 °C was much less digestible, due to the presence of Maillard-type protein aggregates.     

Chemical,technological, and nutritional characteristics of two lines of “farro” (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccum)

In recent years, the renewed interest for foods with a natural image has increased the demand for dry pasta produced from “hulled” wheat such as the Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccum, also known as “farro”. In order to contribute to the general knowledge, two lines of farro were considered in this study. To have a comparison, an old cultivar of Triticum turgidum ssp. durum (Senatore Cappelli) in addition to a commercial semolina were also examined. All semolina samples were used to produce pasta samples. Results showed some differences among pasta samples that seem to be due not to the presence of specific protein subunits but especially to the quantitative ratio between the different subunits. Results also reconfirmed the role played by the drying technology that is able to affect the sensory characteristics of pasta products.     

Effect of inulin soluble dietary fibre addition on technological, sensory, and structural properties of durum wheat spaghetti

Investigation of two inulins with differing degrees of polymerisation and crystallinity demonstrated different levels of integration with the starch-gluten matrix during pasta preparation. The impact of higher molecular weight inulin incorporation on technological and sensory properties was minimal, with deterioration in properties becoming significant only at 20% incorporation, while lower molecular weight had a greater negative impact on pasta firmness, cooking loss, and sensory acceptability. In vitro starch digestion of pasta was reduced with up to 5% addition of inulin of degree of polymerisation 12-14 (FH-D), but increased with high levels of addition. These effects were not observed in inulin with a degree of polymerisation of 7-8 (LV-100). Microscopy showed the starch granules were apparently encapsulated by a protective coat of inulin FH-D, but at 20% a disruption to the matrix was evident. For inulin FH-D, XRD analysis of digested pasta found a maximum crystallinity which coincided with the maximum reduction in starch hydrolysis, suggesting that a stronger gluten matrix enhanced by added inulin is indeed structurally different at the nanometre level.     

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.     

Chemical composition, cooking quality, and consumer acceptance of pasta made with dried amaranth leaves flour

Pasta is a staple food in many countries. Amaranth is a pseudo-cereal being re-discovered because of its nutritional properties. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of the green material of the amaranth plant (leaves) as a component for pasta production and its effect on the pasta quality and consumer acceptance. Dried amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus) leaves and spinach leaves flours were prepared. Pasta samples were manufactured following a small-scale pilot procedure. Amaranth pasta samples were evaluated for its chemical composition, cooking quality, textural, and sensory/consumer acceptance. Results showed that pasta made with dried amaranth leaves had similar chemical composition (protein content: 14.18 g/100 g, Fe content: 9.1 mg/100 g), cooking quality (2.15 pasta weight increase, 4.47% residue loss), textural characteristics (firmness and adhesiveness), and sensory acceptance than green pasta made with dried spinach leaves. Since amaranth leaves have similar nutritional characteristics to spinach leaves and since this biomass in not currently used for food purposes, this study points out that amaranth leaves could be technically used for pasta production and that consumer acceptance of pasta made with amaranth green leaves flour is similar to that of pasta made with spinach.     

Growth capacity of Listeria monocytogenes in ingredients of ready-to-eat salads

Raw minimally processed vegetables and fruits as well as boiled pasta and potato are the main ingredients of ready-to-eat (RTE) salads. These ingredients are diverse in their ability to support growth of Listeria monocytogenes. The objective of this study was to determine to what extent different ingredients can contribute to growth of L. monocytogenes in RTE salads. This was done by assessing the growth capacity of L. monocytogenes in ingredients of RTE salads by means of challenge tests and determination of the effect of product characteristics and presence of competitive flora. The majority of the tested products did not support or hardly supported growth of L. monocytogenes. The calculated maximum increase of 3.4 log CFU/g was exceeded in Galia melon, potato and pasta products. In RTE dinner salads, growth of L. monocytogenes was supported by the carbohydrate component. Galia melon, which is often used as ingredient of fruit salads, can contribute to growth of L. monocytogenes in these products. Growth inhibition, or differences in relative increase, could not always be explained by a_w, pH or presence of competitive flora. The effect of competitive flora, especially lactic acid bacteria, on growth inhibition was observed in non-pasteurized potato, white cabbage and mango.     

Study of different kinds of “Pesto Genovese” by the analysis of their volatile fraction and chemometric methods

The volatile fraction of different kinds of Pestogenovese, a typical Italian basil-based pasta sauce, was analysed by Headspace Sorptive Extraction (HSSE)-Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) coupled with chemometric methods. Three kinds of commercial samples were considered: (a) non heat-processed shop manufactured, (b) heat-processed industrial and (c) non heat-processed industrial samples. The category of heat-processed samples was easily discriminated by the amounts of the terpene hydrocarbon α-terpinene. In order to distinguish the three categories, multivariate statistical analysis was then performed. Good prediction results were obtained by the combination of Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Stepwise LDA (STEPLDA): the percentage of correct predictions was 92 for food industry manufactured non heat-processed samples and 100 both for shop manufactured, non heat-processed samples, and for food industry manufactured, heat-processed samples.     

Toxin producing Bacillus cereus persist in ready-to-reheat spaghetti Bolognese mainly in vegetative state

The potential of Bacillus cereus to cause a diarrheal toxico-infection is related to its ability to perform de novo enterotoxin production in the small intestine. A prerequisite for this is presence of sufficient numbers of B. cereus that have survived gastro-intestinal passage. It is known that the percentage of survival is much smaller for vegetative cells in comparison to spores and it is therefore important to know the state in which B. cereus is ingested. The results of the current study performed on twelve B. cereus strains, comprising both diarrheal and emetic type, indicate that exposure via contaminated foods mainly concerns vegetative cells. Inoculated vegetative cells grew to high counts, with the growth dynamic depending on the storage temperature. At 28 °C growth to high counts resulted in spore formation, in general, after 1 day of storage. One strain was an exception, producing spores only after 16 days. At 12 °C obtained high counts did not result in spore formation for 11 of 12 tested strains after two weeks of storage. The highest counts and time to sporulation were different between strains, but no difference was observed on the group level of diarrheal and emetic strains. The spore counts were always lower than vegetative cell counts and occurred only when food was obviously sensory spoiled (visual and odor evaluation). Similar observations were made with food inoculated with B. cereus spores instead of vegetative cells. Although the prospect of consuming spores was found very weak, the numbers of vegetative B. cereus cells were high enough, without obvious sensory deviation, to survive in sufficient level to cause diarrheal toxico-infection.     

Edible Japanese seaweed,wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) as an ingredient in pasta: Chemical,functional and structural evaluation

Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) is edible seaweed rich in fucoxanthin; whilst, pasta is an important dish from nutritional and gastronomic point of view. Pasta was prepared with wakame as an ingredient at different levels. In vitro antioxidant properties, total phenolic content, fatty acid composition, fucoxanthin and fucosterol contents formed the major bio-functional characteristics analysed. Pasta with 10% wakame was acceptable sensorially. The total phenolic content varied between 0.10 and 0.94 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g, whilst total antioxidant activity varied from 0.16 to 2.14 mg ascorbic acid equivalents (AAE)/g, amongst different samples. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide radical scavenging activities of sensorily acceptable pasta were 7.71% and 4.56%, respectively. The sensorily acceptable pasta had a mild seaweed flavour with taste similar to control pasta, as assessed by panelists. The ratio of n-3 to n-6 fatty acid in seaweed incorporated pasta was 1:3.4 as compared to 1:15.2 in the control. Heat process involved in pasta preparation and cooking did not destroy fucoxanthin. Microstructure studies revealed the enhanced interaction between starch granules and protein matrix in pasta containing seaweeds up to 20%.     

Mathematical approach to assessing spelt cultivars (Triticum aestivum subsp. spelt) for pasta making

This study investigates dough rheology of three wholemeal spelt flours cultivars and influence of egg quantity (0–248 g kg^?1) on the technological and sensory quality of wholemeal pasta. Standard scores (SS), based on assigning equal weight to applied parameters (rheological, chemical, technological and colour), has been calculated and the obtained values compared. Correlation coefficients of SS with alveograph data for P, L, G and W are 0.99, 0.98, 0.99 and 0.91, respectively, and warm pasta stability and retrogradation of starch correlated to SS at level 0.99. For PCA modelling, two 9 × 15 data matrices were divided into different rheological or integrated chemical, technological quality and colour evaluation methods data sets. Standard scores analysis points out that owing to its good rheology, pasta made by cultivar Austria has the best technological quality in relation to the technological quality of the other two cultivars (Nirvana and Eko).