scholarly journals Sensory quality and shelf-life of locally produced British butters compared to large-scale, industrially produced butters

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Dudkiewicz ◽  
William Hayes ◽  
Bukola Onarinde

PurposeThe purpose of this pilot-scale study was to compare the quality of traditionally manufactured butters from local, small British producers with the quality of butters that are produced industrially.Design/methodology/approachButter samples were obtained after supervised site inspections of three traditional-butter manufacturers and one large-scale butter producer. The samples were subject to initial microbiological, chemical and sensory testing, followed by a refrigerated shelf-life study over 24 weeks.FindingsTraditional butters matched or exceeded the sensory quality of industrial butters, but spoilage microorganisms tended to grow faster on traditional butters. This seemed to be related to poorer water droplet dispersion in the manufacture of some of the traditionally made butters. Visible mould appeared on two of the traditional butters after eight weeks, but this occurred well after the nominal “best before” date.Originality/valueProlonged lockdowns due to the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic pose a threat to the food supply chain, and food produced by local manufacturers may become increasingly important. However, are foods produced by local small-scale manufacturers of a quality comparable to that produced using large-scale production facilities? To the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no comparative study of the quality and shelf-life of traditionally-produced and industrially-produced butters. The current work presents such a comparison together with an outline of how the process of traditional butter-making differs from commercial production in Britain.

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (10) ◽  
pp. 2161-2171
Author(s):  
Kamolnate Kitsawad ◽  
Blessing Amarachi Joseph ◽  
Tatsawan Tipvarakarnkoon

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes in sensory qualities of jaew sauce as heat is applied and to determine its acceptance level among Thai and foreign consumers. Design/methodology/approach Jaew sauce was heated for six hours and samples were collected at 1.5 hours interval. The color of jaew sauce was measured using color spectrophotometer and consumers examined the underlying sensory qualities of jaew sauce using sorting technique. A total of 40 Thai and foreign consumers were asked to sort the commercial and the heated jaew sauce samples according to the similarities and dissimilarities in sensory characteristics and provide descriptions for explanation of each group. A consumer test with 100 Thai and foreign consumers was also conducted to determine the acceptance of jaew sauce. Findings Alterations in the sensory qualities, mainly color, were observed. Prolong heating resulted in darker color. The sorting results showed that Thai and foreign consumers have similar perception of jaew sauce. Similar groupings of jaew sauce was observed, which could be divided into four groups, commercial, 0 hour heating, 1.5 and 3 hours heating, and 4.5 and 6 hours heating. Agreeing results of both Thai and foreign consumers showed that commercial and 0 hour heating samples were most preferred and the acceptance of jaew sauce decreased as it was heated. Originality/value Despite the extensive usage of jaew, very few are available commercially in the market. The fact that Thai and foreign consumers have similar preference infer that jaew sauce has a high potential to be adopted and accepted among foreigners to a large extent if available commercially. This study also provides a basis into further research on an appropriate packaging and shelf-life study of jaew sauce for commercial purposes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Wang ◽  
Tanya Tschirhart ◽  
Zachary Schultzhaus ◽  
Erin E. Kelly ◽  
Amy Chen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Melanin is a pigment produced by organisms throughout all domains of life. Due to its unique physicochemical properties, biocompatibility, and biostability, there has been an increasing interest in the use of melanin for broad applications. In the vast majority of studies, melanin has been either chemically synthesized or isolated from animals, which has restricted its use to small-scale applications. Using bacteria as biocatalysts is a promising and economical alternative for the large-scale production of biomaterials. In this study, we engineered the marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens, one of the fastest-growing organisms, to synthesize melanin by expressing a heterologous tyrosinase gene and demonstrated that melanin production was much faster than in previously reported heterologous systems. The melanin of V. natriegens was characterized as a polymer derived from dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) and, similarly to synthetic melanin, exhibited several characteristic and useful features. Electron microscopy analysis demonstrated that melanin produced from V. natriegens formed nanoparticles that were assembled as “melanin ghost” structures, and the photoprotective properties of these particles were validated by their protection of cells from UV irradiation. Using a novel electrochemical reverse engineering method, we observed that melanization conferred redox activity to V. natriegens. Moreover, melanized bacteria were able to quickly adsorb the organic compound trinitrotoluene (TNT). Overall, the genetic tractability, rapid division time, and ease of culture provide a set of attractive properties that compare favorably to current E. coli production strains and warrant the further development of this chassis as a microbial factory for natural product biosynthesis. IMPORTANCE Melanins are macromolecules that are ubiquitous in nature and impart a large variety of biological functions, including structure, coloration, radiation resistance, free radical scavenging, and thermoregulation. Currently, in the majority of investigations, melanins are either chemically synthesized or extracted from animals, which presents significant challenges for large-scale production. Bacteria have been used as biocatalysts to synthesize a variety of biomaterials due to their fast growth and amenability to genetic engineering using synthetic biology tools. In this study, we engineered the extremely fast-growing bacterium V. natriegens to synthesize melanin nanoparticles by expressing a heterologous tyrosinase gene with inducible promoters. Characterization of the melanin produced from V. natriegens-produced tyrosinase revealed that it exhibited physical and chemical properties similar to those of natural and chemically synthesized melanins, including nanoparticle structure, protection against UV damage, and adsorption of toxic compounds. We anticipate that producing and controlling melanin structures at the nanoscale in this bacterial system with synthetic biology tools will enable the design and rapid production of novel biomaterials for multiple applications.


Food Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (S6) ◽  
pp. 138-145
Author(s):  
R. Sarnes ◽  
T.T.A. Ngoc ◽  
L.N. Binh

Pangasius fillet has high demand in the international market due to its tender flesh, delicate taste and as an affordable substitute for cod and other more expensive white fishes. The preliminary study, it was found that the optimized condition for soaking was NaCl 1.32%, STPP 1.88%, and sorbitol 4.68% for 30 mins which give a significant effect (p<0.05) to the yield, water activity, pH, and improvement in the sensory of the treated fillet. However, the soaking itself was not contributed to the extension of shelf life. This study aimed to examine the effects of Pangasius fillet soaked in essential oil on the quality and shelf life with simulated storage similar to retail conditions. Lemongrass essential oil was showing the best result in improving the quality and shelf life of Pangasius fillet stored in refrigerated storage (0-4˚C). The addition of 0.2% lemongrass showed 7 days extension of shelf-life or longer compared to fillet without soaking and fillet soaking without essential oil. In addition, it also reduces the Total Volatile BasedNitrogen (TVB-N) content, improves the sensory quality (raw and cooked) of Pangasius fillet. Mint essential oil was showing the shelf-life extension (7 days longer) and sensory improvement at 0.3% concentration. However, the mint essential oil was not showing better TVB-N reduction in treated fillet compared to fillet soaking without essential oil. Therefore, it is recommended to incorporate 0.2% lemongrass essential oil for the Pangasius industry to extend the shelf life of Pangasius fillet followed with quality improvement


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bùi Thị Bích Lan

In Vietnam, the construction of hydropower projects has contributed significantly in the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country. The place where hydropower projects are built is mostly inhabited by ethnic minorities - communities that rely primarily on land, a very important source of livelihood security. In the context of the lack of common productive land in resettlement areas, the orientation for agricultural production is to promote indigenous knowledge combined with increasing scientific and technical application; shifting from small-scale production practices to large-scale commodity production. However, the research results of this article show that many obstacles in the transition process are being posed such as limitations on natural resources, traditional production thinking or the suitability and effectiveness of scientific - technical application models. When agricultural production does not ensure food security, a number of implications for people’s lives are increasingly evident, such as poverty, preserving cultural identity, social relations and resource protection. Since then, it has set the role of the State in researching and building appropriate agricultural production models to exploit local strengths and ensure sustainability.


Author(s):  
Silvina Patricia Meriles ◽  
Roxana Piloni ◽  
Georgina Vanesa Cáceres ◽  
María Cecilia Penci ◽  
María Andrea Marín ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 757
Author(s):  
Ohchan Kwon ◽  
Yunkyu Choi ◽  
Eunji Choi ◽  
Minsu Kim ◽  
Yun Chul Woo ◽  
...  

Graphene oxide (GO) has been a prized material for fabricating separation membranes due to its immense potential and unique chemistry. Despite the academic focus on GO, the adoption of GO membranes in industry remains elusive. One of the challenges at hand for commercializing GO membranes lies with large-scale production techniques. Fortunately, emerging studies have acknowledged this issue, where many have aimed to deliver insights into scalable approaches showing potential to be employed in the commercial domain. The current review highlights eight physical methods for GO membrane fabrication. Based on batch-unit or continuous fabrication, we have further classified the techniques into five small-scale (vacuum filtration, pressure-assisted filtration, spin coating, dip coating, drop-casting) and three large-scale (spray coating, bar/doctor blade coating, slot die coating) approaches. The continuous nature of the large-scale approach implies that the GO membranes prepared by this method are less restricted by the equipment’s dimensions but rather the availability of the material, whereas membranes yielded by small-scale methods are predominately limited by the size of the fabrication device. The current review aims to serve as an initial reference to provide a technical overview of preparing GO membranes. We further aim to shift the focus of the audience towards scalable processes and their prospect, which will facilitate the commercialization of GO membranes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Salerno-Kochan ◽  
Paweł Turek

PurposeThe aim of the study reported in this article was to establish whether the quality of clothes of a given brand is perceived and assessed by consumers at the same level. An additional purpose was to identify the features that characterize the quality of popular, among Polish young female consumers, clothing brands and to classify them according to their quality level (perceived and assessed).Design/methodology/approachThe article presents two approaches to consumer assessment of the quality of clothes: the survey method, in which the product quality was determined by 320 Polish female young respondents (19–25) based on their own previous experiences and impressions related to a particular clothing brand, and a direct assessment of shirts of selected brands using a sensory quality assessment method, a five-point hedonic scale with the verbal anchor (115 evaluators).FindingsThe research has revealed a significant difference between the perception of selected quality features of brands and the consumer assessment of the products. The perception maps developed based on the PROFIT analysis (PROperty FITting) as well as on cluster analysis provided interesting information about the situation of selected brands and their features in comparison with others and allowed to identify strong and weak features characterizing a given category.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has several limitations. First and foremost, the research results cannot be generalized to all consumers because they encompass the results from one national context and one population of respondents (young females). It should also be noted that the conducted research comprises only the most popular clothing brands available on the Polish market, in particular, the fast fashion segment brands. Furthermore, it would be advisable to carry out a sensory assessment of the quality of other clothing items offered under the brand names investigated.Practical implicationsThis research could be a valuable source of information for clothing company managers, thanks to which they could better manage their brand and its position on the market. When undertaking marketing activities consisting of building positive perceptions about the product, it is important to make sure that the product offers an attractive sensory experience. When real quality deviates from consumer perceptions about the quality, managers should take corrective actions to restore and even improve the brand image in the eyes of the consumer, as well as to ensure the brand and the products offered under it a stable position on the market.Originality/valueBy comparing two approaches to consumer quality assessment, discrepancies between declared and real (sensory) quality of clothes have been identified and the distinctive features that differentiate selected brands regarding their quality level have been indicated.


Significance Although large-scale social protest in Bahrain has been cowed over the ten years since the ‘Arab uprisings’, small-scale demonstrations recur, reflecting a base level of discontent. Mobilising issues include economic pressures, limited political representation (especially of the Shia majority) and, most recently, ties with Israel. Impacts Despite protests, Israel’s and Bahrain’s respective ambassadors will keep up high-profile activity and statements. The authorities are likely to exaggerate the role of Iranian interference in order to deepen the Sunni-Shia divide. If Riyadh manages to extricate itself from the Yemen war, that could partly reduce the pressure on Manama.


2021 ◽  
pp. 131134
Author(s):  
Laura Alessandroni ◽  
Giovanni Caprioli ◽  
Federico Faiella ◽  
Dennis Fiorini ◽  
Renzo Galli ◽  
...  
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