Effect of moderate hydrostatic pressure on crystallization of palm kernel stearin-sunflower oil model systems.

Lipid crystallization under moderate hydrostatic pressure treatments (200 MPa, 20 °C, 1-24 h) was studied in palm kernel stearin (PS 100%) and its blends with sunflower oil (PS 80, 90 % w/w). Hyperbarically-crystallized samples exhibited significantly higher firmness, elastic modulus and critical stress values as compared to those of the samples crystallized at atmospheric pressure. These data indicate that moderate hydrostatic pressure favored the formation of a higher amount of small palm kernel stearin crystals as compared to those formed at atmospheric pressure. Pressurization did not affect fat polymorphism, but was able to enhance nucleation instead of crystal growth. This work clearly demonstrated the efficacy of moderate hydrostatic pressure in steering lipid crystallization, opening interesting possible applications of high-pressure processing technology in the fat manufacturing sector.

Oleogelation of extra virgin olive oil by different gelators affects lipid digestion and polyphenol bioaccessibility.

The possibility to steer extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) digestion and polyphenol bioaccessibility through oleogelation was investigated. EVOO was converted into oleogels using lipophilic (monoglycerides, rice wax, sunflower wax, phytosterols) or hydrophilic (whey protein aerogel particles, WP) gelators. In-vitro digestion demonstrated that the oleogelator nature influenced both lipid digestion and polyphenol bioaccessibility. WP-based oleogels presented ∼100% free fatty acid release compared to ∼64% for unstructured EVOO and ∼40 to ∼55% for lipophilic-based oleogels. This behavior was attributed to the ability of WP to promote micelle formation through oleogel destructuring. Contrarily, the lower lipolysis of EVOO gelled with lipophilic gelators compared to unstructured EVOO suggested that the gelator obstructed lipase accessibility. Tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol bioaccessibility increased for WP oleogels (∼27%), while liposoluble-based oleogels reduced it by 7 to 13%. These findings highlight the deep effect of the gelator choice on the digestion fate of EVOO components in the human body.

Optimising Soy and Pea Protein Gelation to Obtain Hydrogels Intended as Precursors of Food-Grade Dried Porous Materials.

Dried porous materials based on plant proteins are attracting large attention thanks to their potential use as sustainable food ingredients. Nevertheless, plant proteins present lower gelling properties than animal ones. Plant protein gelling could be improved by optimising gelation conditions by acting on protein concentration, pH, and ionic strength. This work aimed to systematically study the effect of these factors on the gelation behaviour of soy and pea protein isolates. Protein suspensions having different concentrations (10, 15, and 20% w/w), pH (3.0, 4.5, 7.0), and ionic strength (IS, 0.0, 0.6, 1.5 M) were heat-treated (95 °C for 15 min) and characterised for rheological properties and physical stability. Strong hydrogels having an elastic modulus (G') higher than 103 Pa and able to retain more than 90% water were only obtained from suspensions containing at least 15% soy protein, far from the isoelectric point and at an IS above 0.6 M. By contrast, pea protein gelation was achieved only at a high concentration (20%), and always resulted in weak gels, which showed increasing G' with the increase in pH and IS. Results were rationalised into a map identifying the gelation conditions to modulate the rheological properties of soy and pea protein hydrogels, for their subsequent conversion into xerogels, cryogels, and aerogels.

Upcycling soy processing waste (okara) into structured emulsions for fat replacement in sweet bread.

BACKGROUND: Okara is the main waste of soy processing and represents a large economic and environmental burden. Nevertheless, the fibre and protein content of okara supports the upcycling of this critical waste. This study aimed at assessing the potentialities of okara as an innovative oil-structuring ingredient. RESULTS: Structured emulsions containing up to 520 g oil kg-1 and having oil holding capacity higher than 75% were prepared by high-shear mixing of okara with liquid oil. Microstructural analysis showed that the oil phase was evenly distributed in the okara matrix, probably due to the emulsification ability of the okara fibre-protein network. The performance of okara structured emulsions as palm margarine replacer were tested in the preparation of sweet bread. Okara emulsions (500 g oil kg-1 ) resulted not only in a significant reduction of saturated fatty acids (>50%), but also in an increased protein and fibre content. Compared to the use of liquid oil solely, okara emulsions allowed reducing the oil released from bread loaf. Bread containing okara emulsion also presented physical and sensory properties similar to those of palm margarine bread, the only exception being a more perceivable oiliness and rancid defect, which are, however, easily preventable by applying appropriate formulation strategies. CONCLUSION: The use of okara as innovative ingredient for oil structuring would answer the current demand for sustainable heathy diets, based on clean-label foods with low-saturated fat content, and increased protein and fibre supply. This approach would also allow the complete upcycling of this critical waste. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Steering protein and lipid digestibility by oleogelation with protein aerogels.

The aim of the present work was to assess the effect of an innovative oleogelation strategy, the aerogel-template approach, on protein and lipid digestibility. Whey protein isolate (WP) was converted into aerogel particles via supercritical CO2 drying. Oleogels were then prepared by absorption of sunflower (SO) or flaxseed (FLX) oil (80%, w/w) into the aerogel particle template and subjected to in vitro digestion. WP aerogel-templated oleogels showed a specific destructuring behaviour during digestion. Confocal micrographs clearly demonstrated that the original oleogel structure was lost at the gastric level, with the release of oil droplets smaller (D32 < 10 µm) than those observed in the case of the unstructured oils (D32 > 30 µm), stabilised by undigested aerogel proteins. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay confirmed that aerogelation reduced the gastric proteolysis of WP from nearly 100% to 70%. The digestion of the SO oleogel led to similar gastric protein digestibility. In contrast, in the case of the FLX oleogel, gastric proteolysis decreased to 40%, suggesting a role of the oil nature in steering WP aerogel digestion. In all cases, upon intestinal digestion aerogel proteins resulted completely hydrolysed. The lipolysis degree of SO (75%) and FLX (34%) oil in the oleogels was higher than that of the unstructured SO (66%) and FLX (24%) oils, due to the larger surface offered by smaller oil droplets to the action of intestinal lipases. This was confirmed by dynamic light scattering, showing a shift towards smaller size in the digestive micelle distribution of oleogels at the end of the intestinal phase. Oleogelation through the WP aerogel-template approach could be regarded as a strategy to steer lipid digestibility while also modulating the release of bioaccessible peptides.

Raw milk preservation by hyperbaric storage: Effect on microbial counts, protein structure and technological functionality.

The possibility to apply hyperbaric storage (HS) at room temperature (20 °C) as a sustainable approach for preservation of raw skim milk was studied. Samples were stored at 200 and 150 MPa for up to 6 days. Optimal pressure for milk HS was found to be 150 MPa, since no clotting was detected for up to 6 days. 150 MPa-HS caused the irreversible inactivation of inoculated Escherichia coli (5.13 ± 0.33 logCFU mL-1) and Staphylococcus aureus (5.66 ± 0.93 logCFU mL-1) within 2 and 6 days, respectively. Inactivation of total and faecal coliforms (3.0 log reductions) below the detection limit was achieved after just 2 days, whereas lactic acid bacteria and coagulase-positive Staphylococci were inactivated after 6 days. Pressurized storage also caused an increase in proteose peptones and the release of submicelles from casein micelles. Micelles progressively aggregated with pressure-unfolded ß-Lactoglobulin. These phenomena led to milk presenting up to 4-fold better foaming capacity, probably due to ß-Lactoglobulin unfolding or higher proteose peptones content. This work demonstrated the capability of HS to guarantee milk preservation during storage, and brought attention on the opportunity to consider the technology for milk pasteurization and functionality improvement.

Conversion of Whey Protein Aerogel Particles into Oleogels: Effect of Oil Type on Structural Features.

Protein aerogel particles prepared by supercritical-CO2-drying (SCD) of ground whey protein (WP) hydrogels (20% w/w, pH 5.7) were converted into oleogels by dispersion in selected edible oils (castor, cod liver, corn, flaxseed, MCT, peanut and sunflower oil). The obtained oleogels were analysed for oil content, microstructure, rheological properties, and ATR-FTIR spectra. Except for castor oil, solid-like, plastic materials with comparable composition (80% oil, 20% WP) and rheological properties (G'~3.5 × 105 Pa, G″~0.20 × 105 Pa, critical stress~800 Pa, tanδ~0.060) were obtained. Optical and confocal microscopy showed that the generated structure was associated with the capillary-driven absorption of oil into the porous aerogel particles interconnected via particle-particle interactions. In this structure, the oil was stably entrapped. Results evidenced the reduced role of edible oil characteristics with the exception of castor oil, whose high polarity probably favoured particle-oil interactions hindering particle networking. This work demonstrates that WP aerogels could be regarded as versatile oleogel templates allowing the structuring of many edible oils into solid-like materials.

Study on the possibility of developing food-grade hydrophobic bio-aerogels by using an oleogel template approach.

The feasibility of producing food-grade hydrophobic bio-aerogels by supercritical-carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction of oil from oleogels was investigated for the first time. Medium chain triglycerides (MCT) oil was gelled using ethylcellulose (EC) at increasing concentration (10, 15, 20% w/w) and grade (EC20, 45, 100), eventually in combination with fillers. Different SC-CO2 oil extraction procedures were tested. The acquired results show that both oleogel formulation and extraction conditions can steer the EC scaffold structure. The increase in EC concentration and grade resulted in oleogels more structurally stable to SC-CO2 extraction. The application of a pulsed extraction procedure allowed obtaining a low-density (0.39 â€‹g/cm3) EC scaffold presenting 60% oil. Addition of freeze dried lettuce powder improved macrostructure homogeneity. The obtained results lay the foundations for developing food-grade hydrophobic bio-aerogels, which are expected to present unique oil absorption and bioactive delivery features.

Exploring the Potentialities of Photoinduced Glycation to Steer Protein Functionalities: The Study Case of Freeze-Dried Egg White Proteins/Carbohydrates Mixtures.

The capacity of UV-C light to induce glycation and modify functional properties of systems containing freeze-dried egg white proteins and carbohydrates with increasing molecular weight (i.e., glucose, maltose, trehalose and maltodextrin) was studied. Color changes induced by light exposure were taken as typical indicators of glycation. Samples were then analyzed for selected physical (critical concentration, particle size and viscosity), chemical (ovalbumin content) and technofunctional properties (gelling temperature and foaming capacity). The presence of sugars during exposure to UV-C light promoted intense browning and decreased ovalbumin content by circa 30%. Concomitantly, up to a 3-fold increase in critical concentration of the aqueous suspensions of the irradiated protein-carbohydrate powders and changes in particle size were detected. These modifications were consistent with the development of non-enzymatic browning reactions upon UV-C light irradiation. Photoinduced glycation was associated to a decrease in viscosity, a tendency to form gel at temperature lower by up to 8 °C and a better capacity of foam stabilization. The intensity of these changes seems to be affected by the nature of the carbohydrates reacting with proteins, with longer carbohydrates able to produce systems with higher foam stability capacity.

Modeling the Effect of the Oxidation Status of the Ingredient Oil on Stability and Shelf Life of Low-Moisture Bakery Products: The Case Study of Crackers.

In packed low-moisture foods such as crackers, oxidation is generally the main cause of quality depletion during storage. It is commonly believed, but scarcely investigated, that product shelf life depends on the oxidative status of the lipid ingredients. In this study, the influence of oxidation degree of the ingredient sunflower oil on cracker oxidative stability and hence shelf life was investigated. To this aim, oil with increasing peroxide values (PVs) (5, 11, and 25 mEqO2/kgoil) was used to prepare crackers. Just after production, crackers presented similar peroxide and rancid odor intensity, probably due to the interactive pathways of oxidative and Maillard reactions. Crackers were packed and analyzed for PV and rancid odor during storage at 20, 40, and 60 °C. Rancid odor well discriminated cracker oxidative status. Relevant oxidation rates were used to develop a shelf life predictive model based on the peroxide value of the ingredient oil. It was estimated that an oil PV from 5 to 15 mEqO2/kgoil shortens cracker Shelf Life (SL) by 50%, independently of storage temperature. These results demonstrate the critical impact of ingredient quality on product performance on the market.

Microemulsions as delivery systems of lemon oil and ß-carotene into beverages: stability test under different light conditions.

BACKGROUND: Microemulsions have been proposed as delivery systems for different lipophilic substances in transparent water-based systems. The chemical stability of the delivered compounds is a key factor to broaden the application of microemulsions in the food sector. The stability of a model beverage containing a microemulsion delivering ß-carotene and lemon oil was tested under increasing light intensity up to 6000 lx at 20 °C. RESULTS: The transparent microemulsion resulted physically stable during storage indicating that no coalescence phenomenon occurred. On the contrary, both colour and flavour of the microemulsion degraded as a consequence of limonene and ß-carotene oxidation. Kinetic data obtained at increasing light intensity were used to estimate the light dependence of beverage spoilage and the mathematical relationship obtained was used to predict spoilage rate under different light conditions. Finally, a shelf life predictive model was proposed. CONCLUSIONS: Transparent microemulsions can be successfully used to deliver flavoured oil and colourants into beverages. However, the photostability of the delivered compounds should be carefully studied to estimate product shelf life. To this aim, the availability of models predicting shelf life as a function of enlightening conditions could largely contribute to speed up the process. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of expiry date communication on acceptability and waste of fresh-cut lettuce during storage at different temperatures.

The effect of expiry date communication on acceptability and wasting risk of fresh-cut lettuce was investigated. Fresh-cut lettuce was packed in plastic pouches reporting or not the expiry date on the label and stored at recommended (8 °C) or abuse temperature (12 °C) for increasing time up to 21 days. Lettuce was assessed during storage for colour, total viable count, consumer rejection and wasting risk. Independently on storage temperature, the presence of the expiry date caused an increase of wasting risk. When lettuce was stored at 8 °C, about 4% packages were estimated to be wasted within the expiry date (7 days). Even a lower amount of waste was estimated when expiry date was not reported. Within 7 days of storage at 12 °C, 12% of the packages without expiry date was estimated to be wasted. This percentage increased to 27% when the expiry date was printed on the lettuce label. Results emphasise the dramatic effect of the presence of the expiry date on the consumer decision to waste food.

Optimization of durum wheat bread enriched with bran.

An attempt is made in this study to balance the nutritional and sensory quality of bread. In particular, the formulation of a functional durum wheat bread enriched with bran at high concentration has been developed. Organogel concentration and bran particle size have been used as process variables for bread optimization. Bran concentration was increased at value as high as 15%, thus increasing the nutritional content, even though the sensory quality decreased. Bread was scored barely acceptable at 15% bran concentration. Therefore, the organogel concentration and bran particle size have been optimized to enhance bread sensory quality. Results show that it is possible to prepare bread with a significant bran enrichment without compromising its acceptability by adding proper concentration of organogel and using bran in appropriate particles size.

Effect of pulsed light on structure and immunoreactivity of gluten.

The effect of pulsed light (from 1.75 to 26.25Jcm(-2)) on selected properties of wheat gluten powder and aqueous suspension (absorbance, particle size and microstructure, free sulfhydryl content, protein fractions, protein electrophoretic mobility and immunoreactivity) was investigated. Gluten photoreactivity was strongly affected by hydration. While minor photo-induced structure modifications were observed in gluten powder, pulsed light induced the development of browning and promoted partial depolymerisation of hydrated gluten proteins by disulphide exchange. These changes were associated with a significant decrease in immunoreactivity, suggesting that pulsed light could be exploited to efficiently modify structure and thus functionality of gluten.

Shelf-life Assessment of Food Undergoing Oxidation-A Review.

Oxidation is the most common event leading to the end of shelf life of microbiologically stable foods. Thus, a reliable shelf-life assessment is crucial to verify how long the product will last before it becomes oxidized to an unacceptable level to the consumers. Shelf-life assessment strategies of foods and beverages suffering oxidation are critically discussed focusing on definition of the acceptability limit, as well as the choice of the proper oxidative indicators, and methodologies for shelf-life testing. Testing methodologies for shelf-life determination under actual and accelerated storage conditions are considered, highlighting possible uncertainties, pitfalls, and future research needs.

The Acceptability Limit in Food Shelf Life Studies.

Despite its apparently intuitive nature, the acceptability limit is probably the most difficult parameter to be defined when developing a shelf life test. Although it dramatically affects the final shelf life value, it is surprising that discussion on its nature has been largely neglected in the literature and only rare indications about the possible methodologies for its determination are available in the literature. This is due to the fact that the definition of this parameter is a consumer- and market-oriented issue, requiring a rational evaluation of the potential negative consequences of food unacceptability in the actual market scenario. This paper critically analyzes the features of the acceptability limit and the role of the decision maker. The methodologies supporting the choice of the acceptability limit as well as acceptability limit values proposed in the literature to calculate shelf life of different foods are reviewed.

Surface processing: existing and potential applications of ultraviolet light.

Solid foods represent optimal matrices for ultraviolet processing with effects well beyond nonthermal surface disinfection. UV radiation favors hormetic response in plant tissues and degradation of toxic compound on the product surface. Photoinduced reactions can also provide unexplored possibilities to steer structure and functionality of food biopolymers. The possibility to extensively exploit this technology will depend on availability of robust information about efficacious processing conditions and adequate strategies to completely and homogeneously process food surface.

Microstructure and bioaccessibility of different carotenoid species as affected by high pressure homogenisation: a case study on differently coloured tomatoes.

The effect of high pressure homogenisation (HPH) on structure (Bostwick consistency, particle size distribution and microstructure) and carotenoid in vitro bioaccessibility of different tomato pulps was investigated. HPH decreased tomato particle size due to matrix disruption and increased product consistency, probably due to the formation of a fibre network. Homogenisation also resulted in a decrease of in vitro bioaccessibility of lycopene, ζ-carotene, and lutein. Such decrease was attributed to the structuring effect of HPH. An inverse relation between tomato consistency and carotenoid in vitro bioaccessibility was found. This dependency was affected by carotenoid species and its localisation within the matrix. It could be observed that one matrix (e.g. (homogenised) red tomato pulp) can contain carotenoids with a very low bioaccessibility (lycopene) as well as carotenoids with a very high bioaccessibility (lutein), indicating that carotenoid bioaccessibility is not solely dependent on the matrix.

Inactivation of polyphenoloxidase by pulsed light.

The effect of pulsed light on the inactivation of polyphenoloxidase (PPO) in model solutions was investigated focusing on the effect of enzyme concentration and total energy dose of the treatment. PPO inactivation increased with the dose of the treatment. Complete enzyme inactivation was achieved by pulsed light doses higher than 8.75 J cm(-2) . At low PPO concentrations (4 to 10 U), the enzyme resulted highly inactivated by pulsed light treatment. Further increase in enzyme units determined a progressive decrease in PPO inactivation. The latter was attributed to protein structural modifications including cleavage and unfolding/aggregation phenomena. PPO amounts higher than 10 U probably favoured enzyme conformations that were less prone to intermolecular rearrangements leading to inactivation.

Monitoring dry-curing of S. Daniele ham by magnetic resonance imaging.

S. Daniele hams were collected at different stages during dry-curing and submitted to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) according to the acquisition Spin-Echo sequences T1 and T2. The intensity of the MR signals in the images of the Semimembranosus, Semitendinosus, Rectus femoris and Biceps femoris muscles of the hams was computed and expressed in grey levels. Muscles were also submitted to traditional analyses, including aw, soluble solids, sodium chloride, total and water soluble nitrogen. T1 and T2 MR signals well described the evolution of the phenomena occurring in the different muscles during dry-curing. MR signal acquired in T2 mode well correlated with traditional indicators in Semitendinosus, Rectus femoris and Biceps femoris muscles. Predictive models estimating the value of aw, moisture, salt content and proteolysis extent on the basis of the MR signal intensity were proposed.