Can Dawul Kurundu (Neolitsea involucrate) leaf extract be used as a plant-based stabilizer in set yoghurt production?

The incorporation of plant-derived stabilizers in food processing and preservation has gained considerable industrial interest. The leaf extract of Neolitsea involucrate, Dawul Kurundu (DK), has proven to be a potent plant-derived stabilizing agent in the food industry. However, the potential of utilizing DK leaf extract in the dairy industry has not yet been proven. Thus, the feasibility of incorporating DK leaf extract in set yoghurt production by assessing its physicochemical, sensory, proximate composition, minerals (calcium and phosphorous), and microbial (Escherichia coli, yeast, and mold) quality parameters during storage at 4°C up to 21 days was assessed. DK leaf aqueous extracts of 0.4% w/v (T2), 0.6% w/v (T3), and 0.8% w/v (T4) were used for testing with the control sample, 0.6% gelatin (T1). Compared to T1, there were no differences in color, taste, texture, and mouthfeel in all DK leaf extract-incorporated yoghurts, demonstrating the suitability of using DK leaf extract to replace the gelatin. A decreasing pattern of pH value was observed during 21 days of the storage period in all treatments, whereas total titratable acidity increased significantly with time. Furthermore, the lowest syneresis value was obtained by T4, demonstrating ideal stabilizing properties at higher incorporation levels. The proximate, mineral, and microbial compositions of all treatments showed no significant difference compared to the control. Therefore, overall results revealed that the 0.8% w/v level of DK leaf extract incorporation (T4) could be used as a potent stabilizer in set yoghurt production by allowing the possibility of replacing the gelatin without compromising its organoleptic properties. Improved and efficient methods for extracting the DK leaf extracts by focusing on their potential functional and health effects should be further examined.

Current applications and future trends of artificial senses in fish freshness determination: A review.

Fish is a highly demanding food product and the determination of fish freshness is crucial as it is a fundamental factor in fish quality. Therefore, the fishery industry has been working on developing rapid fish freshness determination methods to monitor freshness levels. Artificial senses that mimic human senses are developed as convenient emerging technologies for fish freshness determination. Computer vision, electronic nose (e-nose), and electronic tongue (e-tongue) are the emerging artificial senses for fish freshness determination. This review article is uniquely worked upon to investigate the current applications of the artificial senses in fish freshness determination while describing the steps, and fundamental principles behind each artificial sense, comparing them with their advantages and limitations, and future trends related to fish freshness determination. Among the artificial senses, computer vision determines the freshness of fish in a completely nondestructive way while the e-tongue determines the freshness of fish in a completely destructive way. There are developed e-noses for fish freshness determination in both destructive and nondestructive ways. By analyzing visual cues such as color, computer vision systems can assess fish quality without the need for physical contact and it makes computer vision suitable for large-scale industrial fish quality assessing applications. Overall, this review study reveals artificial senses as a proven replacement for traditional sensory panels in determining fish freshness precisely and conveniently. As future trends, there is a demand for developing applications for consumers to determine fish freshness based on artificial senses.

Oxidative Stability of Vacuum-Packed Chicken Wings Marinated with Fruit Juices during Frozen Storage.

Antioxidants present in fruits and vegetables have a potential to reduce disease risk, and increase the shelf life of food products by reducing lipid oxidation. The effect of marination with antioxidants-rich fruit juices on quality characteristics of vacuum-packed chicken wings were examined during frozen storage. Chicken wings were mixed separately with marinades containing pineapple juice, June plum juice, and mango juice and kept for 12 h and 24 h. Three best marination conditions were selected based on a sensory evaluation. Antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of fruit juices, and marinade uptake, and marinade loss of marinated chicken wings were determined. In addition, vacuum packed marinated chicken wings were tested for pH, water holding capacity (WHC), 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value and antioxidant activity over a 4-wk frozen storage. The best sensory properties were reported from chicken wings marinated with pineapple juice for 24 h, mango juice for 24 h, and June plum juice for 12 h (p<0.05) compared to other marinade-time combinations. Mango juice showed the highest antioxidant activity (92.2%) and total phenolic content (38.45 µg/mL; p<0.05) compared to other fruit juices. The pH and WHC of vacuum-packed chicken wings were slightly decreased over the frozen storage (p<0.05). Moreover, chicken wings marinated with mango juice had the lowest TBARS values and the highest 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate free radical scavenging activity. In conclusion, mango juice was selected among tested as the most effective marinade for enhancing the oxidative stability of lipid while maintaining the other meat quality traits of vacuum-packed chicken wings.

An Overview of Meat Industry in Sri Lanka: A Comprehensive Review.

Livestock is considered as one of the most important segments in agriculture since animal husbandry was practiced for centuries as a backyard system by rural families. Livestock plays as a powerful tool in rural development where meat industry contributes a dominant part. Meat and meat products become a vital component in the diet, which had been one of the main protein sources traditionally as well. The development in the livestock and meat industry of Sri Lanka basically depends upon religious, cultural, and economic factors. There is a growing demand for processed meat products in Sri Lankan urban culture and several large scale processors entered the business during the past few decades. The consumption of meat and meat products shows an upward trend in Sri Lanka during the last decade and is anticipated to increase further in future. The growth potential of the local meat industry is considerably high owing to the improvement of the market and consumer perception. The present status, trends, and future prospects for the Sri Lankan meat industry with respect to production, consumption, processing, marketing, and improvement are discussed in this review.

Effect of atmospheric pressure plasma jet on the foodborne pathogens attached to commercial food containers.

Bacterial biofilms are associated with numerous infections and problems in the health care and food industries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bactericidal effect of an atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) jet on Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella Typhimurium biofilm formation on collagen casing (CC), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which are widely used food container materials. The samples were treated separately with the APP jet at a 50-W input power for 5 and 10 min, and nitrogen (6 l per minute) gas combined with oxygen (10 standard cubic centimeters per minute) was used to produce the APP. The APP jet reduced the number of bacterial cells in a time-dependent manner. All pathogens attached to CC, PP, and PET were reduced by 3-4 log CFU/cm(2) by the 10-min APP treatment. The developed APP jet was effectively reduced biofilms on CC, PP, and PET.

Endogenous functional compounds in Korean native chicken meat are dependent on sex, thermal processing and meat cut.

BACKGROUND: In this study the effects of sex, meat cut and thermal processing on the carnosine, anserine, creatine, betaine and carnitine contents of Korean native chicken (KNC) meat were determined. Forty 1-day-old chicks (20 chicks of each sex) from a commercial KNC strain (Woorimatdag™) were reared under similar standard commercial conditions with similar diets, and ten birds of each sex were randomly selected and slaughtered at 14 weeks of age. Raw and cooked meat samples were prepared from both breast and leg meats and analyzed for the aforementioned functional compounds. RESULTS: Female KNCs had significantly higher betaine and creatine contents. The breast meat showed significantly higher carnosine and anserine contents, whereas the leg meat had a higher betaine and carnitine content. The content of all functional compounds was significantly depleted by thermal processing. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that KNC meat is a good source of the above-mentioned functional compounds, which can be considered attractive nutritional quality factors. However, their concentrations were significantly affected by thermal processing conditions, meat cut and sex. Further experiments are needed to select the best thermal processing method to preserve these functional compounds.

Evaluation of pathogen inactivation on sliced cheese induced by encapsulated atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasma.

Pathogen inactivation induced by atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) (250 W, 15 kHz, air discharge) produced in a rectangular plastic container and the effect of post-treatment storage time on inactivation were evaluated using agar plates and cheese slices. When agar plates were treated with plasma, populations of Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes showed 3.57, 6.69, and 6.53 decimal reductions at 60 s, 45 s, and 7 min, respectively. When the pathogens tested were inoculated on cheese slices, 2.67, 3.10, and 1.65 decimal reductions were achieved at the same respective treatment times. The post-treatment storage duration following plasma treatment potently affected further reduction in pathogen populations. Therefore, the newly developed encapsulated DBD-plasma system for use in a container can be applied to improve the safety of sliced cheese, and increasing post-treatment storage time can greatly enhance the system's pathogen-inactivation efficiency.

Antimicrobial Effect of Calcium Chloride Alone and Combined with Lactic Acid Injected into Chicken Breast Meat.

Chicken breast meat was injected with calcium chloride alone and in combination with lactic acid (0.01% and 0.002%, respectively). The inhibitory effects of the treatments on microbial growth were determined in the injected chicken breast meat stored at 4°C under aerobic packaging condition for 0, 3, and 7 d. Calcium chloride combined with 0.002% and 0.01% lactic acid reduced microbial counts by 0.14 and 1.08 Log CFU/g, respectively, however, calcium chloride alone was unable to inhibit microbial growth. Calcium chloride combined with 0.01% lactic acid was the most effective antimicrobial treatment and resulted in the highest initial redness value. Calcium chloride alone and combined with lactic acid suppressed changes in pH and the Hunter color values during storage. However, injection of calcium chloride and lactic acid had adverse effects on lipid oxidation and sensory characteristics. The higher TBARS values were observed in samples treated with calcium chloride and lactic acid when compared to control over the storage period. Addition of calcium chloride and lactic acid resulted in lower sensory scores for parameters tested, except odor and color, compared to control samples. Therefore, the formulation should be improved in order to overcome such defects prior to industrial application.

Effect of Sex on Flavor-related and Functional Compounds in Freeze-dried Broth Made from Korean Native Chicken.

Studies on the flavour characteristics of meat-based broth, quantification of flavour-related and functional compounds, and factors affecting the availability of such compounds are minimal. The present study was designed to determine the effects of sex on flavor-related and functional compounds in freeze-dried broth (FDB) made from Korean native chickens (KNC). Male and female KNC from a commercial strain (Woorimatdag (TM)) were reared under similar commercial conditions. FDB was separately prepared using male and female birds aged 100 d (six birds of each sex) and analyzed for nucleotide, free amino acid, betaine, carnitine, carnosine, anserine, and creatine contents, and fatty acid composition. The levels of betaine, carnitine and creatine in FDB were not significantly different between the two sexes (p>0.05) in KNC. Carnosine and anserine were not detected in FDB samples. However, FDB from female chickens had significantly higher inosine-5-monophosphate and arachidonic acid contents than did FDB from male chickens. FDB prepared with male KNC contained higher levels of inosine, linoleic acid, glycine, alanine, lysine, and serine (p<0.05). However, glutamic acid, oleic acid, and DHA were present in comparable amounts (p>0.05) in FDB made from male and female KNC. Our findings suggest that the sex of KNC has significant effect on the contents of flavor-related compounds, but not functional compounds.