New Approaches to Characterizing Food Microstructures

MRS Bulletin ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 30-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Hermansson ◽  
Maud Langton ◽  
Niklas Lorén

Many food-processing operations are designed to create the microstructure that gives the food product its characteristic properties. From milk we can produce different cheeses, yogurts, spreads, or whipped products where the properties are determined by the structure. Other examples of fabricated foods are cereal products such as pasta, meat products such as sausages, and so on. All of these products are based on colloidal structures such as gels, emulsions, foams, or combinations thereof. Microscopy provides the tools for describing how a particular structure is engineered, and, therefore, how it relates to the properties of the product.

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-11
Author(s):  
E. V. Kryuchenko ◽  
Yu. A. Kuzlyakina ◽  
V. S. Zamula ◽  
I. M. Chernukha

The article discusses the definition and mechanism of IgE‑mediated food allergy, provides an overview of the legal regulation of the production and labeling of allergen-containing food products. In order to prevent the inadvertent appearance of allergens in products during their production, an allergenomics procedure is required — a comprehensive assessment of the allergic potential of a food product: allergenicity of product ingredients, risk analysis, and the procedure for managing allergens in the production.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 769
Author(s):  
Vlad Mihalca ◽  
Andreea Diana Kerezsi ◽  
Achim Weber ◽  
Carmen Gruber-Traub ◽  
Jürgen Schmucker ◽  
...  

Food packaging is an area of interest not just for food producers or food marketing, but also for consumers who are more and more aware about the fact that food packaging has a great impact on food product quality and on the environment. The most used materials for the packaging of food are plastic, glass, metal, and paper. Still, over time edible films have become widely used for a variety of different products and different food categories such as meat products, vegetables, or dairy products. For example, proteins are excellent materials used for obtaining edible or non-edible coatings and films. The scope of this review is to overview the literature on protein utilization in food packages and edible packages, their functionalization, antioxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal activities, and economic perspectives. Different vegetable (corn, soy, mung bean, pea, grass pea, wild and Pasankalla quinoa, bitter vetch) and animal (whey, casein, keratin, collagen, gelatin, surimi, egg white) protein sources are discussed. Mechanical properties, thickness, moisture content, water vapor permeability, sensorial properties, and suitability for the environment also have a significant impact on protein-based packages utilization.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Vladyslav Andriiashen ◽  
Robert van Liere ◽  
Tristan van Leeuwen ◽  
Kees Joost Batenburg

X-ray imaging is a widely used technique for non-destructive inspection of agricultural food products. One application of X-ray imaging is the autonomous, in-line detection of foreign objects in food samples. Examples of such inclusions are bone fragments in meat products, plastic and metal debris in fish, and fruit infestations. This article presents a processing methodology for unsupervised foreign object detection based on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). A novel thickness correction model is introduced as a pre-processing technique for DEXA data. The aim of the model is to homogenize regions in the image that belong to the food product and to enhance contrast where the foreign object is present. In this way, the segmentation of the foreign object is more robust to noise and lack of contrast. The proposed methodology was applied to a dataset of 488 samples of meat products acquired from a conveyor belt. Approximately 60% of the samples contain foreign objects of different types and sizes, while the rest of the samples are void of foreign objects. The results show that samples without foreign objects are correctly identified in 97% of cases and that the overall accuracy of foreign object detection reaches 95%.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Rhoda N. Ndanuko ◽  
Maria Shahid ◽  
Alexandra Jones ◽  
Terry Harris ◽  
Joel Maboreke ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: To assess the contribution of different food groups to total salt purchases and to evaluate the estimated reduction in salt purchases if mandatory maximum salt limits in South African legislation were being complied with. Design: This study conducted a cross-sectional analysis of purchasing data from Discovery Vitality members. Data were linked to the South African FoodSwitch database to determine the salt content of each food product purchased. Food category and total annual salt purchases were determined by summing salt content (kg) per each unit purchased across a whole year. Reductions in annual salt purchases were estimated by applying legislated maximum limits to product salt content. Setting: South Africa Participants: The study utilised purchasing data from 344,161 households, members of Discovery Vitality, collected for a whole year between January and December 2018. Results: Vitality members purchased R12.8 billion worth of food products in 2018, representing 9,562 products from which 264,583 kg of salt were purchased. The main contributors to salt purchases were bread and bakery products (23.3%); meat and meat products (19%); dairy (12.2%); sauces, dressings, spreads and dips (11.8%); and convenience foods (8.7%). The projected total quantity of salt that would be purchased after implementation of the salt legislation was 250,346 kg, a reduction of 5.4% from 2018 levels. Conclusions: A projected reduction in salt purchases of 5.4% from 2018 levels suggests that meeting the mandatory maximum salt limits in South Africa will make a meaningful contribution to reducing salt purchases.


2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-48
Author(s):  
P. Christoph Richartz ◽  
Lukas Kornher ◽  
Awudu Abdulai

In this article, we apply a choice experiment meth-od to examine consumers’ preferences for online food product attributes, using survey data for German consumers for meat products. We use both mixed logit and latent class models to analyze preference heterogeneity and sources of heterogeneity, as well as endogenous attribute attendance models to account for consumers’ attribute processing strategies. The empirical results reveal significant heterogeneity in preferences for online meat attributes among consumers. We also find that consumers’ willingness to pay estimates are highly influenced by their attribute processing strategies.


Author(s):  
Maral Neyestani ◽  
Parisa Shavali Gilani ◽  
Mohadeseh Fesahat ◽  
Ebrahim Molaee-Aghaee ◽  
Nabi Shariatifar

Trace elements are compounds that are essential in small amounts for biochemical reactions and to maintain human health. Almost all foods can contain varying amounts of these metals. In this study, the effects of food processing on the content of trace metals are investigated. Extensive interpretations of processing, including aspects of food production and specific examples of changes in metal content due to processing will be discussed. Pre-consumption food processing to improve rheological properties and increase shelf life is inevitable, which changes the bioavailability and amount of these compounds in different directions depending on the process. The amount of these trace metals in the food product can be affected by various conditions such as heating, fermentation, food additives, etc. The main factor in reducing trace elements in food, especially the use of heat in a special method and on the other hand, factors such as fermentation can also increase the bioavailability of these elements.


Author(s):  
Francisco Jiménez-Colmenero ◽  
Milagro Reig ◽  
Fidel Toldrá
Keyword(s):  

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