Plant-based hydrocolloids for efficient clarification of cane juices: rheological analysis and solidification studies.

The present study is designed to study the efficiency of plant-based hydrocolloids for the efficient clarification of sugarcane juice and subsequent production of non-centrifugal sugars (NCSs). NCSs are generally produced with lime or other inorganic solids as a clarification agent, often leading to products with a bland taste and dark color. This work is a first of its kind, where plant-based hydrocolloids such as starch, xanthan gum, and guar gum are used for clarification studies. Clarification efficiency was evaluated in terms of separation efficiency, turbidity removal, sucrose content, color transmittance, and rheology studies. Preliminary studies revealed that starch showed a better separation efficiency of 78% compared to other hydrocolloids, and further rheology studies of starch-clarified juice showed a favourable shear-thickening (dilatant, n = 1.382) behaviour, whereas the other two hydrocolloids showed an unfavourable shear-thinning (pseudo plastic, n < 0.9) behaviour. Eventually, starch was found to be a better clarification agent and is proposed as an alternative to lime-based clarification. Solidification studies were performed with starch at various concentrations (0.02-0.04%), pH (6.8-7.2), and temperature (80 °C-100 °C), and it was found that NCSs produced via starch clarification showed superior properties compared with traditional lime-based clarification processes.

Optimization and modeling of vacuum impregnation of pineapple rings and comparison with osmotic dehydration.

The vacuum impregnation (VI) process parameters (vacuum pressure = 20-60 kPa; VI temperature = 35-55°C; concentration of the sucrose solution = 40-60 °Brix; and vacuum process time = 8-24 min) for pineapple rings were optimized based on the moisture content (MC), water loss (WL), solids gain (SG), yellowness index (YI), and total soluble solids (TSS) content of pineapple rings using response surface methodology (RSM). A relationship was developed between the process and response variables using RSM and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques. The effectiveness of VI was evaluated by comparing it with the osmotic dehydration (OD) technique. The optimum condition was found to be 31.782 kPa vacuum pressure, 50.441°C solution temperature, and 60 °Brix sucrose concentration for 20.068 min to attain maximum TSS, YI, SG, and WL, and minimum MC of pineapple rings. The R2 values of RSM models for all variables varied between 0.70 and 0.91, whereas mean square error values varied between 0.76 and 71.58 and for ANN models varied between 0.87-0.93 and 0.53-193.78, respectively. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) revealed that parenchymal cell rupture was less in VI than in OD. The VI pineapple rings exhibited more pores and high SG, as compared to OD, due to the pressure impregnation. Spectroscopic analysis affirmed that the stretching vibrations of intermolecular and intramolecular interactions were significant in VI as against OD. The VI reduced the drying time by 35% compared to OD, with the highest overall acceptability score and lower microbial load during storage. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Pineapple is a perishable fruit, which necessitates processing for extended shelf life. This study highlights the potential of the vacuum impregnation process as a promising alternative to conventional preservation methods such as osmotic dehydration for pineapples.

Effect of chitosan-based bio coating on mechanical, structural and physical characteristics of microfiber based paper packaging: An alternative to wood pulp/plastic packaging.

Limnocharis flava is a noxious aquatic weed that poses a threat to paddy cultivation. The high cellulose and low lignin contents in this plant make it a potential raw material for papermaking. Against this backdrop, this study was taken up to develop Limnocharis flava (LF) based sheets containing natural fibres from Banana (B), Pineapple (P), and Rice Straw (RS) as reinforcing agents. The influence of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a binder on the LF-based sheets was also studied. To enhance the mechanical and moisture resistance properties, a chitosan coating was provided to the sheets. Analytical tests for mechanical properties, water barrier properties, functional groups, structure and microstructure, thermal properties and biodegradability were performed. Among the samples, LF + B showed the highest tensile strength (34.86 Mpa) and bursting strength (13.055 kg/cm2), while LF + R had higher puncture and tearing strengths. Chitosan coating was found to enhance the sheets and improve the water barrier properties mechanically. The contact angle of LF + B increased from 91.6° to 110.65°, while the water vapour transmission rate of LF reduced from 532.18 to 404.47 on providing chitosan coating. The significant interactions of reinforcing agents were confirmed by the results of FTIR and that of the coating by the SEM micrographs. The LF-based sheets were also found to have decent thermal stability. The high value of the crystallinity index in LF + R samples supported their remarkable mechanical properties. This study proclaims the notable suitability of Limnocharis flava in manufacturing paper for packaging applications.

The influence of non-thermal technologies on color pigments of food materials: An updated review.

The color of any food is influenced by several factors, such as food attributes (presence of pigments, maturity, and variety), processing methods, packaging, and storage conditions. Thus, measuring the color profile of food can be used to control the quality of food and examine the changes in chemical composition. With the advent of non-thermal processing techniques and their growing significance in the industry, there is a demand to understand the effects of these technologies on various quality attributes, including color. This paper reviews the effects of novel, non-thermal processing technologies on the color attributes of processed food and the implications on consumer acceptability. The recent developments in this context and a discussion on color systems and various color measurement techniques are also included. The novel non-thermal techniques, including high-pressure processing, pulsed electric field, ultrasonication, and irradiation which employ low processing temperatures for a short period, have been found effective. Since food products are processed at ambient temperature by subjecting them to non-thermal treatment for a very short time, there is no possibility of damage to heat-sensitive nutrient components in the food, any deterioration in the texture of the food, and any toxic compounds in the food due to heat. These techniques not only yield higher nutritional quality but are also observed to maintain better color attributes. However, suppose foods are exposed to prolonged exposure or processed at a higher intensity. In that case, these non-thermal technologies can cause undesirable changes in food, such as oxidation of lipids and loss of color and flavor. Developing equipment for batch food processing using non-thermal technology, understanding the appropriate mechanisms, developing processing standards using non-thermal processes, and clarifying consumer myths and misconceptions about these technologies will help promote non-thermal technologies in the food industry.

Current physical techniques for the degradation of aflatoxins in food and feed: Safety evaluation methods, degradation mechanisms and products.

Aflatoxins are the most toxic natural mycotoxins discovered so far, posing a serious menace to the food safety and trading economy of the world, especially developing countries. How to effectively detoxify has persistently occupied a place on the list of "global hot-point" concerns. Among the developed detoxification methods, physical methods, as the authoritative techniques for aflatoxins degradation, could rapidly induce irreversible denaturation of aflatoxins. This review presents a brief overview of aflatoxins detection and degradation product structure identification methods. Four main safety evaluation methods for aflatoxins and degradation product toxicity assessment are highlighted combined with an update on research of aflatoxins decontamination in the last decade. Furthermore, the latest applications, degradation mechanisms and products of physical aflatoxin decontamination techniques including microwave heating, irradiation, pulsed light, cold plasma and ultrasound are discussed in detail. Regulatory issues related to "detoxification" are also explained. Finally, we put forward the challenges and future work in studying aflatoxin degradation based on the existing research. The purpose of supplying this information is to help researchers have a deeper understanding on the degradation of aflatoxins, break through the existing bottleneck, and further improve and innovate the detoxification methods of aflatoxins.

Applications of ultrasonication on food enzyme inactivation- recent review report (2017-2022).

Ultrasound processing has been widely applied in food sector for various applications such as decontamination and structural and functional components modifications in food. Enzymes are proteinaceous in nature and are widely used due to its catalytic activity. To mitigate the undesirable effects caused by the enzymes various technologies have been utilized to inactive the enzymes and improve the enzyme efficiency. Ultrasound is an emerging technology that produces acoustic waves which causes rapid formation and collapse of bubbles. It has the capacity to break the hydrogen bonds and interact with the polypeptide chains due to Vander Waals forces leading to the alteration of the secondary and tertiary structure of the enzymes thereby leading to loss in their biological activity. US effectively inactivates various dairy-related enzymes, including alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactoperoxidase (LPO), and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP) with increased US intensity and time without affecting the natural dairy flavors. The review also demonstrates that inactivation of enzymes presents in fruit and vegetables such as polyphenol oxidase (PPO), polygalacturonase (PG), Pectin methyl esterase (PME), and peroxidase. The presence of the enzymes causes detrimental effects causes off-flavors, off-colors, cloudiness, reduction in viscosity of juices, therefore the formation of high-energy free molecules during sonication affects the catalytic function of enzymes and thereby causing inactivation. Therefore this manuscript elucidates the recent advances made in the inactivation of common, enzymes infruits, vegetables and dairy products by the application of ultrasound and also explains the enzyme inactivation kinetics associated. Further this manuscript also discusses the ultrasound with other combined technologies, mechanisms, and its effects on the enzyme inactivation.

Emerging nondestructive techniques to quantify the textural properties of food: A state-of-art review.

Texture is an important sensory attribute that drives consumer acceptance of any food material. In recent times consumers' demand for high-quality food urges food industries to provide food with consistent textural properties. However, texture measurement not just requires a trained sensory panel but also a considerable amount of time and effort. On the flip side, human observation could be subjective hence repeatability of the result may not be ensured and/or relied on. Contrary to that, objective methods for texture measurement are reliable and consistent, but are not suitable for in-line application and also destructive in nature. The mentioned crisis has made industries opt for nondestructive texture analysis techniques. In the past decade, considerable research has been carried out on nondestructive texture analysis methods such as micro-deformation, and acoustic and optical techniques, showing feasibility for in-line applications. The current review focuses on the working principles and most recent applications of nondestructive techniques for texture analysis of food products. Moreover, a detailed review of contact and noncontact-type texture measurement has been presented in this article. The literature survey is concluded with future research aspects and challenges involved in the commercialization of the nondestructive texture analysis techniques.

Effect of ultrasound assisted cleaning on pesticide removal and quality characteristics of Vitis vinifera leaves.

In this study, the pesticide (acetamiprid, deltamethrin, and pyridaben) removal and physicochemical quality improvement of vine (Vitis vinifera) leaf were examined using ultrasonic and traditional cleaning for 5, 10, and 15 min. After an ultrasonic cleaning procedure at 37 kHz for 10 min, acetamiprid, deltamethrin, and pyridaben in vine leaf were reduced by 54.76, 58.22, and 54.55 %, respectively. Furthermore, the total phenolic content (TPC) in vine leaf increased to 13.45 mg GAE/g DW compared to that in control samples using traditional cleaning (10.37 mg GAE/g DW), but there were no significant differences in DPPH radical scavenging activity. After 15 min of conventional cleaning, the total chlorophyll and total carotenoid content of leaves were found to be lowest among all samples, at 6.52 mg/kg and 0.48 mg/kg, respectively. In conclusion, when compared to conventional cleaning methods, ultrasonic cleaning with no chemicals or heat treatment has proven to be a successful and environmentally friendly application in reducing commonly used pesticides and improving the physicochemical qualities of leaves.

Individual and interactive effect of ultrasound pre-treatment on drying kinetics and biochemical qualities of food: A critical review.

One of the earliest and most prevalent processing methods to increase the shelf-life of foods is drying. In recent years, there has been an increased demand to improve product quality while lowering processing times, expenses, and energy usage in the drying process. Pre-treatments are therefore effectively used before drying to enhance heat and mass transfer, increase drying efficiency, and lessen degradation of final product quality. When food is dried, changes are expected in its taste, color, texture, and physical, chemical, and microbial properties. This has led to the need for research and development into the creation of new and effective pre-treatment technologies including high-pressure processing, pulsed electric field, ultraviolet irradiation, and ultrasound. Sound waves that have a frequency >20 kHz, which is above the upper limit of the audible frequency range, are referred to as "ultrasound". Ultrasonication (US) is a non-thermal technology, that has mechanical, cavitational, and sponge effects on food materials. Ultrasound pre-treatment enhances the drying characteristics by producing microchannels in the food tissue, facilitating internal moisture diffusion in the finished product, and lowering the barrier to water migration. The goal of ultrasound pre-treatment is to save processing time, conserve energy, and enhance the quality, safety, and shelf-life of food products. This study presents a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of ultrasound, its mechanism, and how the individual effects of ultrasonic pre-treatment and the interactive effects of ultrasound-assisted technologies affect the drying kinetics, bioactive components, color, textural, and sensory qualities of food. The difficulties that can arise when using ultrasound technology as a drying pretreatment approach, such as inadequate management of heat, the employment of ultrasound at a limited frequency, and the generation of free radicals, have also been explained.

Cold plasma: a promising technology for improving the rheological characteristics of food.

At the beginning of the 21st century, many consumers show interest in purchasing safe, healthy, and nutritious foods. The intent requirement of end-users and many food product manufacturers are trying to feature a new processing technique for the healthy food supply. The non-thermal nature of cold plasma treatment is one of the leading breakthrough technologies for several food processing applications. The beneficial response of cold plasma processing on food quality characteristics is widely accepted as a substitution technique for new food manufacturing practices. This review aims to elaborate and offer crispy innovative ideas on cold plasma application in various food processing channels. It highlights the scientific approaches on the principle of generation and mechanism of cold plasma treatment on rheological properties of foods. It provides an overview of the behavior of cold plasma in terms of viscosity, crystallization, gelatinization, shear stress, and shear rate. Research reports highlighted that the cold plasma treated samples demonstrated a pseudoplastic behavior. The published literatures indicated that the cold plasma is a potential technology for modification of native starch to obtain desirable rheological properties. The adaptability and environmentally friendly nature of non-thermal cold plasma processing provide exclusive advantages compared to the traditional processing technique.

Influence of ozone treatment on functional and rheological characteristics of food products: an updated review.

In this milieu, ozone technology has emerged as an avant-garde non-thermal mode of disinfection with potential applications in the food industry. This eco-friendly technology has a comprehendible adeptness in replacing alternative chemical sanitizers and is recognized as a generally safe disinfectant for fruits and vegetables. Several researchers have been focusing on the biochemical impacts of ozone on different quantitative and qualitative aspects of fruits and vegetables. A collection of those works is presented in this review highlighting the effect of ozone on the functional, antioxidant, and rheological properties of food. This can be a benevolent tool for discovering the processing states of ozone applications and ensuing influence on safety and quality attributes of previously studied foods and opening further research areas. It extends shelf life and never leaves any harmful residues on the product since it decomposes to form oxygen. It was seen that the impact on a specific property of food was dependent on the ozone concentration and treatment time, and the adverse effects of ozone exposure can be alleviated once the processing conditions are optimized. The present review can be used as a baseline for designing different food processing operations involving ozone.

Recent advancements in NIR spectroscopy for assessing the quality and safety of horticultural products: A comprehensive review.

The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of agricultural products has often been carried out using traditional, i.e., destructive, techniques. Due to their inherent disadvantages, non-destructive methods that use near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) coupled with chemometrics could be useful for evaluating various agricultural products. Advancements in computational power, machine learning, regression models, artificial neural networks (ANN), and other predictive tools have made their way into NIRS, improving its potential to be a feasible alternative to destructive measurements. Moreover, the incorporation of suitable preprocessing techniques and wavelength selection methods has arguably proven its practical feasibility. This review focuses on the various computation methods used for processing the spectral data collected and discusses the potential applications of NIRS for evaluating the quality and safety of agricultural products. The challenges associated with this technology are also discussed, as well as potential future perspectives. We conclude that NIRS is a potentially useful tool for the rapid assessment of the quality and safety of agricultural products.

Dynamics of biochemical attributes and enzymatic activities of pasteurized and bio-preserved tender coconut water during storage.

The potential of bio-preservatives, namely, nisin, natamycin, and polylysine, as viable alternatives to chemical preservatives for storage of tender coconut water (TCW) during refrigerated storage (5 ± 2°C) was explored. Bio-preservative treatments were carried out after optimized heat treatment (85°C for 5 min) of TCW to establish its storage characteristics. Various concentrations (up to 125 ppm) of bio-preservatives were used for the preservation, and quality parameters of resultant TCW were assessed based on physicochemical characteristics and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) guidelines and statistical analysis applied. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc test revealed that pH and overall acceptability (OA) are the major governing factors that determine spoilage of TCW (p < 0.05). Overall, the polylysine combination was found to be most effective in ensuring quality retention of TCW. It was concluded that pasteurized TCW shelf life could be extended up to 20 days using bio-preservatives.

Design consideration and modelling studies of ultrasound and ultraviolet combined approach for shelf-life enhancement of pine apple juice.

Although both ultraviolet (UV) radiation and ultrasound (US) treatment have their capabilities in microbial inactivation, applying any one method alone may require a high dose for complete inactivation, which may affect the sensory and nutritional properties of pineapple juice. Hence, this study was intended to analyse and optimise the effect of combined US and UV treatments on microbial inactivation without affecting the selected quality parameters of pineapple juice. US treatment (33 kHz) was done at three different time intervals, viz. 10 min, 20 min and 30 min., after which, juice samples were subjected to UV treatment for 10 min at three UV dosage levels, viz. 1 J/cm2, 1.3 J/cm2, and 1.6 J/cm2. The samples were evaluated for total colour difference, pH, total soluble solids (TSS), titrable acidity (TA), and ascorbic acid content; total bacterial count and total yeast count; and the standardization of process parameters was done using Response Surface Methodology and Artificial Neural Network. The results showed that the individual, as well as combined treatments, did not significantly impact the physicochemical properties while retaining the quality characteristics. It was observed that combined treatment resulted in 5 log cycle reduction in bacterial and yeast populations while the individual treatment failed. From the optimization studies, it was found that combined US and UV treatments with 22.95 min and1.577 J/cm2 ensured a microbiologically safe product while retaining organoleptic quality close to that of fresh juice.

Impact of ultrasonication applications on color profile of foods.

Food color is a feature that provides preliminary information about their preference or consumption. There are dominant pigments that determine the color of each food; the most important pigments are anthocyanins (red-purple color), chlorophylls (green color), carotenoids (yellow-orange color), and betalains (red color). These pigments can be easily affected by temperature, light, oxygen, or pH, thereby altering their properties. Therefore, while processing, it is necessary to prevent the deterioration of these pigments to the maximum possible extent. Ultrasonication, which is one of the emerging non-thermal methods, has multidimensional applications in the food industry. The present review collates information on various aspects of ultrasonication technology, its mechanism of action, influencing factors, and the competence of different ultrasonication applications (drying, irradiation, extraction, pasteurization, cooking, tempering, etc.) in preserving the color of food. It was concluded that ultrasonication treatments provide low-temperature processing at a short time, which positively influences the color properties. However, selecting optimum ultrasonic processing conditions (frequency, power, time, etc.) is crucial for each food to obtain the best color. The key challenges and limitations of the technique and possible future applications are also covered in the paper, serving as a touchstone for further research in this area.

Contemporary Developments and Emerging Trends in the Application of Spectroscopy Techniques: A Particular Reference to Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.).

The number of food frauds in coconut-based products is increasing due to higher consumer demands for these products. Rising health consciousness, public awareness and increased concerns about food safety and quality have made authorities and various other certifying agencies focus more on the authentication of coconut products. As the conventional techniques for determining the quality attributes of coconut are destructive and time-consuming, non-destructive testing methods which are accurate, rapid, and easy to perform with no detrimental sampling methods are currently gaining importance. Spectroscopic methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR)spectroscopy, mid-infrared (MIR)spectroscopy, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy (RS) are gaining in importance for determining the oxidative stability of coconut oil, the adulteration of oils, and the detection of harmful additives, pathogens, and toxins in coconut products and are also employed in deducing the interactions in food constituents, and microbial contaminations. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive analysis on the various spectroscopic techniques along with different chemometric approaches for the successful authentication and quality determination of coconut products. The manuscript was prepared by analyzing and compiling the articles that were collected from various databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus and ScienceDirect. The spectroscopic techniques in combination with chemometrics were shown to be successful in the authentication of coconut products. RS and NMR spectroscopy techniques proved their utility and accuracy in assessing the changes in coconut oil's chemical and viscosity profile. FTIR spectroscopy was successfully utilized to analyze the oxidation levels and determine the authenticity of coconut oils. An FT-NIR-based analysis of various coconut samples confirmed the acceptable levels of accuracy in prediction. These non-destructive methods of spectroscopy offer a broad spectrum of applications in food processing industries to detect adulterants. Moreover, the combined chemometrics and spectroscopy detection method is a versatile and accurate measurement for adulterant identification.

Research trends and emerging physical processing technologies in mitigation of pesticide residues on various food products.

The application of pesticides enhances food production vastly, and it cannot be prevented; longer fresh produce is contaminated with health-threatening pesticides even though traditional processing methods can remove these pesticides from food surfaces to a certain extent; novel emerging technologies such as cold plasma, ultrasound, electrolyzed water, and pulsed electric field could more effectively dissipate the pesticide content in food without the release of toxic residual on the food surface. The present review focuses on applying emerging technologies to degrade pesticide residues in great utility in the food processing industries. This review also discusses the pesticide removal efficacy and its mechanism involved in these technologies. The oxidation principle in cold plasma is recently gaining more importance for the degradation of pesticide residue in the food processing industries. Analysis of the emerging physical processing methods indicated greater efficacy in eradicating pesticide residues during agriculture processing. Even though the technologies such as EO (99% reduction in dimethoate), ultrasound (98.96% for chlorpyrifos), and irradiation (99.8% for pesticide in aqueous solution) can achieve promising results in pesticide degradation level, the rate and inactivation highly depend on the type of equipment and processing parameters involved in different techniques, surface characteristics of produce, treatment conditions, and nature of the pesticide. Therefore, to effectively remove these health-threatening pesticides from food surfaces, it is necessary to know the process parameters and efficacy of the applied technology on various pesticides.

Evaluation of the impact of UV radiation on rheological and textural properties of food.

Demand for healthy, safe, and high-quality foods and disadvantages of thermal processing methods such as quality losses supported the improvement of the novel, affordable, and quick nonthermal food preservation techniques such as UV light. UV-C light (200-280 nm) radiation is an emerging technology for the disinfection of pathogen microorganisms, increasing the shelf life of foods, and used for pasteurization, surface sterilization, cleaning of equipment and water, and so on. Sensory perceptions of foods are effective on the consumer choice, acceptability, and consumption of foods. Rheology term, which also includes texture and mouthfeel, is primarily important for sensory perception, processing of foods, and shelf stability. Therefore, the determination of the effect of different processing methods on the textural and rheological properties of the food products is important. Rheological and textural changes generally occur in the surface of UV-C-irradiated samples due to the low penetration of UV-C light. The UV light treatment may cause internal disruption of cell membranes, which in turn cause loss of turgidity, weaken the cell walls, and contraction of tissues, which are related to the changes in the textural and rheological properties of foods. The present review focuses on the effect of UV-C radiation on the rheology and textural properties of food products.

Aqueous ozone: Chemistry, physiochemical properties, microbial inactivation, factors influencing antimicrobial effectiveness, and application in food.

The need for sustainable food production and the demand for fresh and minimally processed foods have prompted remarkable research in novel food processing technologies that ensure safe and shelf-stable food for a large population. Long-established techniques such as heating, drying, and freezing have been associated with nutrient loss and high energy consumption. This trend has drawn attention to the practice of employing ozone in several food applications owing to its significant disinfectant and antimicrobial efficiency. The aqueous form of ozone has been found to show greater efficacy than its gaseous form, with faster decomposition rates leaving no harmful residues. The current study presents an overview of the latest scientific literature on the properties, chemistry, and generation of aqueous ozone, emphasizing the factors affecting process efficiency. The review scrupulously focuses on food decontamination, starch modification, pesticide degradation, and seed germination effects of aqueous ozone, highlighting the optimum processing parameters and salient findings of some major studies. A brief insight into the limitations and future trends has also been presented. Aqueous ozone has been acclaimed to have the potential to cause significant changes in the food matrix that could result in constructive modifications with outcomes entirely dependent on the processing conditions. Indirect and direct reactions involving hydroxyl radical and molecular oxygen atoms, respectively, form the basis of the ozone reaction in aqueous media, providing a distinctive kind of advanced oxidation process that offers certain crucial benefits. With a shorter half-life in water as compared to air, the rapid decomposition of aqueous ozone to oxygen, leaving no harmful residues, adds to its advantages.