Sustainable Process for Tortilla Production Using Ohmic Heating with Minimal Impact on the Nutritional Value, Protein, and Calcium Performance.

The nixtamalization process used for tortilla production entails extended processing time and generates pollutant effluents. Ohmic heating (OH) is an emerging technology that uses an alternating electric current for rapid and uniform food heating and mitigates effluent concerns. However, gaps exist in nutrient bioavailability studies. In this work, we assessed OH's impact on tortilla nutritional value, protein, and calcium using a rat model. Twenty-five male Wistar rats were fed one of four diets for 21 days: raw corn (RC) as an experimental control, OH-processed tortillas (OHTs), traditionally processed tortillas (TPTs), commercial tortillas (CTs), and a casein diet (CD) as a growth control. Despite similar protein and macronutrient profiles, OH significantly enhanced insoluble fiber content. The weight gain sequence was OHTs > TPTs > CTs > RC. OHTs exhibited superior protein digestibility (88.52%), which was 3% higher than other diets. The serum albumin (2.63-2.73 g/dL) indicated moderate malnutrition due to the tortilla's lower protein content. Nonetheless, the protein efficiency ratio (1.2-1.74) showed no significant difference from TPTs. Bone characteristics and fracture strength resembled the tortilla-fed groups, surpassing RC. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the OHT and TPT diets improved male rat bone thickness and crystallinity. The findings suggest the potential for OH as an eco-friendly tortilla production method, maintaining nutritional value comparable to traditional methods.

Effect of adding high concentrations of retrograded starch with different amylose content on the physicochemical properties and sensory attributes of Greek-style yogurt.

It is well known that using retrograded starches confers many technological advantages, as well as health benefits when consumed in adequate doses; however, these properties are closely related to the type of starch and/or the treatment applied, therefore, it is of interest to add retrograded starch to popular products such as Greek yogurt. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of adding two types of retrograded corn starch with different amylose content to a non-strained type of Greek-style yogurt. Retrograded starch from starch containing 27 % (RNS) or 70 % (RHS) amylose was added to yogurt at 0, 10, 12.5, or 15 g/100 g before storage at 4 °C for 14 d. The resistant starch (RS) content, pH, syneresis, flow behavior index, and consistency index, were measured every week. A sensory test was carried out in yogurt added with 12.5 g/100 g of retrograded starches to evaluate acceptance. Adding retrograded starch significantly reduced syneresis while increased the consistency, firmness, and resistant starch content of the yogurt. No significant differences in general acceptance were observed in samples added with RNS when compared to the control. Although a significant difference was observed after adding RHS, the acceptance of the product is still convenient. Adding a high concentration of retrograded starch could help to ensure doses enough for a prebiotic effect of RS with concentrations of 1.74 ± 0.37 to 2.32 ± 0.09 g/100 g and from 3.5 ± 0.08 to 4.21 ± 0.08 g/100 g when RNS or RHS is added respectively, while maintaining the quality characteristics of Greek-style yogurt during storage without compromising the acceptability.