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.     

Quantification of the 3D microstructure of SC surfaces

This study presents the development of an ImageJ plugin for surface characterization. Based on gradient analysis, parameters, such as the gradient magnitude, orientation, mean resultant vector and surface area are derived. A comparative study of supercalendered (SC) papers was performed to verify the surface representations yielded by a laser profilometer. The surface representations of samples covered with carbon and gold were compared to untreated samples. The results confirm the suitability of gold coating for reducing the artefacts encountered on laser profilometry surface representations of paper. In addition, a complete scanning electron microscopy analysis is performed on the assessed samples to quantify the surface fraction covered by mineral fillers and to reveal the true 3D microstructure of SC surfaces. The influence of filler coverage and filler type on the gloss level of commercial SC papers is evaluated. The relationship between the surface topography, gloss and PPS roughness for a series of commercial SC papers is established.     

EFFECT OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS INHIBITORS ON THE CLIMACTERIC OF BANANA (Musa acuminata)

Protein synthesis inhibitors (Actinomycin D and cycloheximide) were infiltrated into banana slices by contact or under vacuum. Drastic reduction of the climacteric period was observed in both types of infiltration when cycloheximide was infiltrated into slices, compared to the Actinomycin D group and to a control group infiltrated with water. Ethylene production was stimulated when both protein synthesis inhibitors were used, in comparison to the water control group irrespective of the type of infiltration adopted. Ethylene production was higher in the vacuum infiltrated groups. It is suggested that cycloheximide and Actinomycin D affect the equilibrium of ripening differently, giving rise to the distinct responses observed.     

PREDICTION OF THE TEXTURE OF COOKED POULTRY PECTORALIS MAJOR MUSCLES BY NEAR-INFRARED REFLECTANCE ANALYSIS OF RAW MEAT

Near‐infrared reflectance (NIR) spectra were collected on pectoralis major muscles from 90 broiler carcasses ( from 2 different processing sets) to assess the relationship between the NIR and a cutting‐shear instrumental texture test. For the instrumental razor blade test, two instrumental parameters (maximum shearing force and total shear energy) were calculated. Calibration (R²) and validation () coefficients of determination were obtained for predicting the instrumental measurements using the reflectance and its first and second derivatives. Models obtained with the second derivative were adequate when the two groups of samples were analyzed separately. The R² values ranged from 0.90 to 0.95 and from 0.84 to 0.89 for both maximum shear force and total shear energy. The regressions performed on the two sample sets combined did not yield model statistics that were as satisfactory (R² = 0.85–0.86 and = 0.78–0.77), suggesting that a prediction model accurately predicting poultry breast meat tenderness will need a larger and more varied sample set. The results suggest that NIR could be used to predict poultry meat texture and to classify muscles according to tenderness levels.     

SPATIAL DYNAMICS OF VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL COLLABORATION

Although researchers have made progress in understanding motivations behind local government collaboration, there is little research that explores the spatial dynamics of such interactions. Does the idea of collaboration travel horizontally, passed from neighbor to neighbor, or is vertical leadership from state, county, or regional actors more important in influencing local governments’ decisions to share resources and functions? What factors influence local governments’ choices to collaborate with their neighbors versus a regional entity, county, or state government? In this article, we investigate the importance of vertical and horizontal influences when local governments decide to collaborate around land use planning. Using data from a survey of Michigan local government officials, we take a spatial statistical approach to answering this question. We find widespread evidence of collaboration at multiple scales, and observe patterns of both horizontal and vertical influence. We also find that contextual factors help to explain these patterns of collaboration.     

Determination of Sugar and Ethanol Content in Aqueous Products of Molasses Distilleries by Near Infrared Spectrophotometry

Near Infrared transflectance spectrophotometry is used to predict the total sugar content in aqueous beet molasses and the ethyl alcohol content in fermented molasses. Regression mathematics are used to transform the absorption data into a quantitative result. Chemical analyses are polarimetry for sugars and distillation combined with areometry for alcohol. In the range 99–167 g/L for sugar and 5.9–9.5% v/v for ethanol, the error in predicting the composition was less than 3.5 g/L and 0.12% v/v, respectively. Established correlations were tested with variable nonsugar materials contents.     

Quantification of Some Volatile Aromatic Compounds of Apricot by Adding Standards

The quantification of twelve volatile aromatic compounds of apricot was realized by adding known amounts of pure compounds directly in the slurry before analysis by vacuum distillation and gas chromatography. This method was compared with the classical technique using an internal standard and was applied to two different apricot cultivars. Large differences were observed between the amounts of volatiles calculated by the two methods. They are due to the differences between the extraction coefficients of the quantified compounds and to the retentions of volatiles on nonvolatile compounds, which may vary according to the polarity.     

DEFECTS AND PEELABILITY OF PROCESSING TOMATOES

Peeling is one of the first operations in the manufacture of whole peeled and diced tomatoes, and the peelability of processing tomatoes is significantly affected by the presence of various tomato defects, in particular yellow eye and blossom‐end rot. Tomato maturity also impacts both the percentage of peeled fruit and yield. Immature fruits are typically undercolored and small in size. Sunburned regions on the tomato surface are difficult to peel as well. In this study, we determined the impact of 24 selected tomato defects on tomato peelability and yield of whole peeled tomatoes. There are potential advantages to sorting to remove selected tomato defects early in the process.