An Evaluation System of Robotic End-Effectors for Food Handling.

Owing to Japan's aging society and labor shortages, the food and agricultural industries are facing a significant demand for robotic food handling technologies. Considering the large variety of food products, available robotic end-effectors are limited. Our primary goal is to maximize the applicability of existing end-effectors and efficiently develop novel ones, and therefore, it is necessary to categorize food products and end-effectors from the viewpoint of robotic handling and establish their relationships through an effective evaluation approach. This study proposes a system for evaluating robotic end-effectors to identify appropriate ones and develop new ones. The evaluation system consists of food categorization based on food properties related to robotic handling, categorization of robotic end-effectors based on their grasping principles, a robotic system with visual recognition based on Robot Operating System 2 (ROS 2) to conduct handling tests, a scoring system for performance evaluation, and a visualization approach for presenting the results and comparisons. Based on food categorization, 14 real food items and their corresponding samples were chosen for handling tests. Seven robotic end-effectors, both commercialized and under development, were selected for evaluation. Using the proposed evaluation system, we quantitatively compared the performance of different end-effectors in handling different food items. We also observed differences in the handling of real food items and samples. The overall performance of an end-effector can be visualized and quantitatively evaluated to demonstrate its versatility in handling various food items.

Challenges and Opportunities in Robotic Food Handling: A Review.

Despite developments in robotics and automation technologies, several challenges need to be addressed to fulfill the high demand for automating various manufacturing processes in the food industry. In our opinion, these challenges can be classified as: the development of robotic end-effectors to cope with large variations of food products with high practicality and low cost, recognition of food products and materials in 3D scenario, better understanding of fundamental information of food products including food categorization and physical properties from the viewpoint of robotic handling. In this review, we first introduce the challenges in robotic food handling and then highlight the advances in robotic end-effectors, food recognition, and fundamental information of food products related to robotic food handling. Finally, future research directions and opportunities are discussed based on an analysis of the challenges and state-of-the-art developments.

Trypsin Inhibitors from Cajanus cajan and Phaseolus limensis Possess Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antibacterial Activity.

Protease inhibitors are one of the most promising and investigated subjects for their role in pharmacognostic and pharmacological studies. This study aimed to investigate antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities of trypsin inhibitors (TIs) from two plant sources (Cajanus cajan and Phaseolus limensis). TI was purified from C. cajan (PUSA-992) by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by ion exchange chromatography. TI from Phaseolus limensis (lima bean trypsin inhibitor; LBTI) was procured from Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The antioxidant activity was analyzed by ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). The anti-inflammatory property of TIs was determined by inhibition of albumin denaturation assay. Ascorbic acid and aspirin were used as standards for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory assays, respectively. These TIs were tested against various bacterial and fungal strains. The TIs showed DPPH radical-scavenging activity in a concentration-dependent manner with IC50 values comparable to ascorbic acid. The FRAP values were also observed comparable to ascorbic acid and followed the trend of dose-dependent manner. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of CCTI and LBTI in anti-inflammatory test showed that LBTI is more potent than CCTI. The TIs showed potent antibacterial activity, but apparently no action against fungi. This study has reported the biological properties of CCTI and LBTI for the first time. The results show that TIs possess the ability to inhibit diseases caused by oxidative stress, inflammation, and bacterial infestation.

Texture-dependent effects of pseudo-chewing sound on perceived food texture and evoked feelings in response to nursing care foods.

Because chewing sounds influence perceived food textures, unpleasant textures of texture-modified diets might be improved by chewing sound modulation. Additionally, since inhomogeneous food properties increase perceived sensory intensity, the effects of chewing sound modulation might depend on inhomogeneity. This study examined the influences of texture inhomogeneity on the effects of chewing sound modulation. Three kinds of nursing care foods in two food process types (minced-/puréed-like foods for inhomogeneous/homogeneous texture respectively) were used as sample foods. A pseudo-chewing sound presentation system, using electromyogram signals, was used to modulate chewing sounds. Thirty healthy elderly participants participated in the experiment. In two conditions with and without the pseudo-chewing sound, participants rated the taste, texture, and evoked feelings in response to sample foods. The results showed that inhomogeneity strongly influenced the perception of food texture. Regarding the effects of the pseudo-chewing sound, taste was less influenced, the perceived food texture tended to change in the minced-like foods, and evoked feelings changed in both food process types. Though there were some food-dependent differences in the effects of the pseudo-chewing sound, the presentation of the pseudo-chewing sounds was more effective in foods with an inhomogeneous texture. In addition, it was shown that the pseudo-chewing sound might have positively influenced feelings.

Influence of food volume per mouthful on chewing and bolus properties.

BACKGROUND: Behaviors relating to food intake, i.e., speed of chewing, number of chews, and bite size, are important for decreasing energy intake, which might reduce excess body weight and thus metabolic risk. This study aimed at investigating the influence of mouthful volume on the number of chews and food bolus properties in addition to clarifying appropriate eating behaviors related to mouthful volume. METHODS: Fifteen young Japanese women volunteered to participate. The subjects were asked to spit the food bolus in a glass dish just before swallowing when eating 3 different foods: boiled rice, fish sausage, and peanuts. The 3 physical properties of solidity, adhesiveness, and cohesiveness were measured in the bolus, and the number of chews was noted. RESULTS: The number of chews significantly increased with increasing mouthful volume with all 3 foods; conversely, the number of chews per unit of food weight (g) decreased significantly with boiled rice and fish sausage. Trends were observed for solidity and cohesiveness, which varied with increasing mouthful volumes. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased mouthful volume resulted in a greater number of chews per weight of food and more appropriate bolus properties; therefore, a change in mouthful volume could be a useful behavior modification for regulation of energy intake.

Physical characterization of freeze-dried foam prepared from Aloe Vera gel and guar gum / Caracterización de espumas liofilizadas preparadas a partir de gel de Aloe vera y goma guar

Background: Foams are colloidal dispersions of a gas suspended in a dispersing phase, which consisting of a semi-freeze-dried or viscous liquid phase. The physical properties of food foams are the result of the bubble characteristics and their spatial arrangement. Objectives: The aim of this work was to obtain foams of A. vera gel and guar gum and describe the changes in their physical properties and microstructure during freeze-drying using the fractal dimension concept and image analysis techniques. Methods: The porosity, density, and volume expansion factor of the fresh foams that were based on the A. vera foams were determined. The kinetics of foam texture, color, porosity and microstructure of the freeze-dried foams were obtained. The fractal texture dimension of surface (FDSDBC) and microstructure (FDESEM) of the foams were determined as indicators of structural changes after freeze-drying. The guar gum concentrations used to obtain the A. vera prefoam were expressed in w/w as F1 (control sample without gum), F2 (2%), F3 (4%) and F4 (6%). Results: We obtained stable freeze-dried foams of Aloe vera gel and guar gum. The porosity, density and volume expansion factor of the fresh and freeze-dried foams were affected by the addition of the guar gum. Changes in the topology of the freeze-dried foam surface during the drying process resulted in a high rugosity compared with the original smooth surface. The microstructure of the dried foam samples suggested a relationship between the gum concentration of the prefoam A. vera gel mixture and the physical properties before and after freeze-drying, such as an increase in the microstructural alterations and surface roughness during freeze-drying. The roughness of the freeze-dried foam surface, described by the FDSDBC represented the macroscopic physical changes of the samples and correlated with the changes in the foam microstructure, which were described by the fractal dimension of the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy ESEM microphotographs (FDESEM). Conclusions: The digital analysis of the structure and porosity of the freeze-dried foam can be used to quantify the effect of gum concentrations on the morphological features and physical properties of foams during freeze-drying.

Antecedentes: Las espumas son dispersiones coloidales de un gas en una fase líquida viscosa. Las propiedades físicas de las espumas alimentarias son el resultado de las características de sus burbujas y su disposición espacial. Objetivos: El objetivo de este trabajo fue obtener espumas de gel de A. vera y goma guar y describir los cambios en sus propiedades físicas y su microestructura durante el secado por liofilización utilizando el concepto de dimensión fractal y las técnicas de análisis de imagen. Métodos: Se determinó la porosidad, densidad, factor de expansión volumétrico de las espumas frescas de A. vera. Así como la cinética de liofilización, textura, isotermas de sorción, color, porosidad y la microestructura las espumas liofilizadas. La dimensión fractal de la textura (FDSDBC) y microestructural (FDESEM) de las espumas de gel de A. vera y goma guar liofilizadas se determinó como un indicador de los cambios estructurales después de la liofilización. Las concentraciones de goma de guar utilizados para obtener la solución de clara de huevo preespuma se expresaron en w/w como F1 (muestra de control sin goma), F2 (2%), F3 (4%) y F4 (6%). Resultados: Fue posible obtener espumas liofilizadas estables de gel de A. vera y goma guar. La porosidad, densidad, factor de expansión volumétrico de las espumas se vieron afectadas con la adición de goma guar. Los cambios en la topología de la superficie de la espuma liofilizada durante todo el proceso de secado dieron lugar a alta rugosidad en comparación con la superficie lisa original. La microestructura de las muestras de espuma secas sugirió una relación entre la concentración de goma de las espumas de A. vera y las propiedades físicas antes y después de la liofilización como un aumento en las alteraciones microestructurales y rugosidad de la superficie durante el secado por congelación. La rugosidad de la superficie de la espuma liofilizada, se describió por la relación FDSDBC que representa los cambios físicos macroscópicos de las muestras y se correlacionó con los cambios en la microestructura de espuma, que fueron descritos por la dimensión fractal de las micrografías ESEM (FDESEM). Conclusiones: El análisis digital de la estructura y la porosidad de la espuma liofilizada se puede utilizar para cuantificar el efecto de las concentraciones de goma guar en las características morfológicas de las espumas durante el secado por congelación.