Development and Assessment of Duplex and Triplex Laminated Edible Films Using Whey Protein Isolate, Gelatin and Sodium Alginate.

The objective of this study was to assess the ability of producing laminated edible films manufactured using the following proteins; gelatin (G), whey protein isolate (WPI) and polysaccharide sodium alginate (SA), and to evaluate their physical properties. Additionally, films' preparation employing these ingredients was optimized through the addition of corn oil (O). Overall, 8-types of laminated films (G-SA, G-WPI, SA-WPI, SA-G-WPI, GO-SAO, GO-WPIO, SAO-WPIO and SAO-GO-WPIO) were developed in this study. The properties of the prepared films were characterized through the measurement of tensile strength (TS), elongation at break point (EB), puncture resistance (PR), tear strength (TT), water vapour permeability (WVP) and oxygen permeability (OP). The microstructure of cross-sections of laminated films was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mechanical properties of films were dramatically enhanced through the addition of film layers. GO-SAO laminate showed the best barrier properties to water vapour (22.6 ± 4.04 g mm/kPa d m2) and oxygen (18.2 ± 8.70 cm3 mm/kPa d m2). SAO-GO-WPIO laminate film was the strongest of all laminated films tested, having the highest TS of 55.77 MPa, PR of 41.36 N and TT of 27.32 N. SA-G-WPI film possessed the highest elasticity with an EB value of 17.4%.

Surface attachment of active antimicrobial coatings onto conventional plastic-based laminates and performance assessment of these materials on the storage life of vacuum packaged beef sub-primals.

Two antimicrobial coatings, namely Sodium octanoate and Auranta FV (a commercial antimicrobial composed of bioflavonoids, citric, malic, lactic, and caprylic acids) were used. These two antimicrobials were surface coated onto the inner polyethylene layer of cold plasma treated polyamide films using beef gelatin as a carrier and coating polymer. This packaging material was then used to vacuum pack beef sub-primal cuts and stored at 4 °C. A control was prepared using the non-coated commercial laminate and the same vacuum packaged sub-primal beef cuts. During storage, microbial and quality assessments were carried out. Sodium octanoate treated packages significantly (p < 0.05) reduced microbial counts for all bacteria tested with an increase of 7 and 14 days, respectively compared to control samples. No significant effect on pH was observed with any treatment. The results suggested that these food grade antimicrobials have the potential to be used in antimicrobial active packaging applications for beef products.

The Application of Pureed Butter Beans and a Combination of Inulin and Rebaudioside A for the Replacement of Fat and Sucrose in Sponge Cake: Sensory and Physicochemical Analysis.

Determining minimum levels of fat and sucrose needed for the sensory acceptance of sponge cake while increasing the nutritional quality was the main objective of this study. Sponge cakes with 0, 25, 50 and 75% sucrose replacement (SR) using a combination of inulin and Rebaudioside A (Reb A) were prepared. Sensory acceptance testing (SAT) was carried out on samples. Following experimental results, four more samples were prepared where fat was replaced sequentially (0, 25, 50 and 75%) in sucrose-replaced sponge cakes using pureed butter beans (Pbb) as a replacer. Fat-replaced samples were investigated using sensory (hedonic and intensity) and physicochemical analysis. Texture liking and overall acceptability (OA) were the only hedonic sensory parameters significantly affected after a 50% SR in sponge cake (p < 0.05). A 25% SR had no significant impact on any hedonic sensory properties and samples were just as accepted as the control sucrose sample. A 30% SR was chosen for further experiments. After a 50% fat replacement (FR), no significant differences were found between 30% sucrose-replaced sponge cake samples in relation to all sensory (hedonic and intensity) parameters investigated. Flavour and aroma intensity attributes such as buttery and sweet and, subsequently, liking and OA of samples were negatively affected after a 75% FR (p < 0.05). Instrumental texture properties (hardness and chewiness (N)) did not discriminate between samples with increasing levels of FR using Pbb. Moisture content increased significantly with FR (p < 0.05). A simultaneous reduction in fat (42%) and sucrose was achieved (28%) in sponge cake samples without negatively affecting OA. Optimised samples contained significantly more dietary fibre (p < 0.05).

The sensory and physical properties of Shortbread biscuits cooked using different sucrose granule size fractions.

A rich sugar diet has negative health implications so it is necessary to reduce sugar where possible. The objective of this study was to determine if different sugar size fractions could increase the sweetness intensity of Shortbread biscuits and therefore, permit sugar reduction. For this, the unground commercial sugar (Control, 102 to 378 µm) and two of its sieved separates, (Coarse (C), 228 to 377 µm and Fine (F), 124 to 179 µm) were investigated in biscuit formulation with the following content: Control 100% or 50%; (C), 100 or 50% and (F), 100 or 50% or its initial content. Biscuits were tested using sensory (hedonic and intensity), physical (dimensions, fracture properties, color), and compositional analyses. Trends showed that samples containing C-sugar with its 50% content were more preferable than samples containing the Control and F- sugar fractions at the same level without impact upon acceptability of the final product in all three sugar fraction sizes. As sweetness intensity scores correlated directly with flavor liking scores, these findings promote the use of this sugar fraction in the formulation of low-sugar baked biscuits. Sugar particle size manipulation could be used as a viable, cheap, technological approach to reduce sugar in baked goods and therefore promote consumer acceptable and commercially available baked biscuits products. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: In order to reduce sucrose content in products one of the approaches might be via the utilization of small sugar particles which has been shown to increase the intensity of sweetness in chocolate brownies, which has been previously shown by Richardson et al. in 2018. This study investigates the use of a clean label approach in sugar reduction of short bread biscuits. This approach involves decreasing the sugar particles size and demonstrates how reducing the content to half of its initial content formulation will affect the sensory perception and physical properties.