The Power of Food Science and Technology and Nutrition for Sustainable Planet Health: Food Processing Saves Lives

Food processing includes a chain of events that starts in the farm and continues to the serving plate. These may include washing, dehydration, blanching, heat processing, and packaging, among others. While processing is essential for providing a safe food supply by eliminating harmful microorganisms and certain undesirable components, as well as revealing the desirable flavor of food, there has been much recent attempt to condemn food processing. Thus, loss of certain nutrients during processing and use of additives in ready to eat food as well as high levels of salt, sugar and fat/oil have been noted as being responsible for many non-communicable diseases due to increased incidence of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These have all been categorised as ultra-processed food but attention to the definitions and details is most important.

Thermosonication Process Design for Recovering Bioactive Compounds from Fennel: A Comparative Study with Conventional Extraction Techniques

This study aimed to examine the impact of the combination of acoustic energy at the nominal powers of 100, 200, 300, and 400 W with moderate heat processing at 40, 50, and 60 °C on the extraction of phytochemical compounds from Foeniculum vulgare. Thermosonication processing, based on high-intensity ultrasound combined with an external heat source, can potentialize the extraction of soluble solids from plant material. However, the excessive temperature increase generated by the two energy sources during thermosonication treatment may degrade the thermolabile bioactive compounds. Regardless of the temperature condition, fennel extracts obtained at 400 W presented lower total phenolic content (TPC) than those obtained at 300 W. The cavitation heat and mechanical stress provided at 400 W may have degraded the phenolic compounds. Thereby, the best extraction condition was 300 W and 60 °C. The fennel extract presented the highest content of TPC (3670 ± 67 µg GAE/g) and antioxidant activity determined by DPPH and ABTS methods (1195 ± 16 µg TE/g and 2543.12 ± 0.00 µg TE/g, respectively) using this treatment. Thermosonication can be an innovative technique for extracting phytochemicals because it provides good results in shorter processing times, with 73% and 88% less energy consumption than Percolation and Soxhlet techniques, respectively.

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Alleviates Inflammatory Lung Injury by Inhibiting Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is a common reaction product during heat processing and the preparation of many types of foods and Traditional Chinese Medicine formulations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of 5-HMF on endotoxin-induced acute lung injury (ALI) and the underlying mechanisms. Our findings indicate that 5-HMF attenuated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI in mice by mitigating alveolar destruction, neutrophil infiltration and the release of inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, the activation of macrophages and human monocytes in response to LPS was remarkably suppressed by 5-HMF in vitro through inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway, NLRP3 inflammasome activation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. The inhibitory effect of 5-HMF on NLRP3 inflammasome was reversed by overexpressing ATF4 or CHOP, indicating the involvement of ER stress in the negative regulation of 5-HMF on NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated inflammation. Consistent with this, the ameliorative effect of 5-HMF on in vivo pulmonary dysfunction were reversed by the ER stress inducer tunicamycin. In conclusion, our findings elucidate the anti-inflammatory and protective efficacy of 5-HMF in LPS-induced acute lung injury, and also demonstrate the key mechanism of its action against NLRP3 inflammasome-related inflammatory disorders via the inhibition of ER stress.

Effect of Cooking and Freezing on Levels of pesticides residues in Local Fresh Fish

Pesticides are an important part of pests controlling strategies. Misuse of such chemicals has been linked to pollution of various environments and toxicities that lead to various health conditions and diseases. Importance of healthy and non-contaminated fish for human diet is essentially required. Samples of 14 local fresh fish (tilapia, grey mullet, and cat fish) were analyzed for seven pesticides (endosulfan, heptachlor, malathion, chlorpyrifos, bifenthrin, deltamethrin, and fenoxycarb) using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Heat processing applied for positive samples by two different cooking method (roasting at 79 °C for 10 min and frying at 210 °C for 40 min) have influenced the levels of studied pesticides and significantly reduced their levels by 53-95%. Freezing preservation of contaminated fish at -70 °C for one month only reduced the level of the pesticides by 6-30%, however, final reduced levels were not below recommended maximum residue limit values.

Quantification of Soy-Derived Ingredients in Model Bread and Frankfurter Matrices with an Optimized LC-MS/MS External Standard Calibration Workflow

The detection and quantification of soy protein is important for food allergen management and identifying the presence of undeclared soy proteins. Heat processing and matrix interactions can affect the accuracy of allergen detection methods. The sensitivity of ELISA methods can be compromised if protein epitopes are modified during processing. Therefore, an MS-based method was evaluated for the recovery of total soy protein in incurred matrices. MS-based quantification of total soy protein was assessed using a combination of external and internal standards. The reproducibility of the standard curves was investigated by comparing within-day and among among-day variation. Incurred samples were prepared using bread and frankfurters as model food matrices. Several soy-derived ingredients were used to prepare the matrices with varying levels of soy protein (1, 10, 50, or 100 ppm total soy protein). A pooled standard curve was used to estimate the total soy protein concentration of the incurred food matrices and the percent total protein recovery. The variation of replicate standard curves between days and among all days was not significant. The differences in slopes obtained from replicate standards run on different days were minimal. The most influential factor on the quantitative protein recovery in incurred samples was the effect of the physical matrix structure on protein extraction. The lowest percent protein recoveries, less than 50%, were calculated for uncooked matrices. The cooked matrices had percent recoveries between 50-150% for all total soy protein levels. Other factors, such as type of ingredient, were determined to be not as impactful on recovery. The MS method described in this study was able to provide sensitive detection and accurate quantification of total soy protein from various soy-derived ingredients present in processed food matrices.

A method of designing equipment for heat processing of polymer workpieces

The paper describes a method of designing heating equipment that maintains a predetermined temperature field. The method consists in sequential solution of two problems. At the first stage, the heat generation field was calculated using the stationary heat conduction equation. At the second stage, parametric optimization of the temperature field was performed with reference to the power and configuration limits of the heaters. To test this method, the problem of maintaining a predetermined non-uniform temperature field was solved. A practical example of the application of the method for designing a uniform heating plate used in vulcanizing presses was given. To assess the efficiency of the plate, the results of modeling the heat processing of a workpiece from a rubber mixture were presented.

Acidic and Heat Processing of Egg Yolk Dispersions

Egg yolk is a multifunctional ingredient widely used in many food products, wherein proteins are the dominant component contributing to this functionality. However, the potential risk of foodborne illness associated with egg use forces us to ensure that foodstuffs based on egg yolk are managed in a safe and sanitary manner. Lowering the pH under a certain value by adding acids could serve this purpose, but it can also greatly modify the rheological and functional properties of egg yolk. This research aims to assess the influence of citric acid on the rheological properties and microstructure of chicken egg yolk dispersions and their heat-set gels. The dispersions were prepared from fresh hen’s eggs yolks by adding water or citric acid to obtain a technical yolk (45 wt.% in solids) at the desired pH value. Viscoelastic measurements were carried out using a control stress rheometer, and microstructure was evaluated by cryo-scanning electronic microscopy (CryoSEM). An evolution of the viscoelastic properties of egg yolk dispersions from fluid to gel behavior was observed as the pH decreased until 2 but showing a predominantly fluid behavior at pH 3. The profile of viscoelastic properties along the thermal cycle applied is modified to a great extent, also showing a strong dependence on pH. Thus, the sol–gel transition can be modulated by the pH value.

PSXIII-1 Effect of varieties and processing methods on physicochemical, nutritional, molecular structural characteristics of feed chickpeas

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of varieties and heat processing methods on molecular structural, physicochemical, and nutritional characterization of feed chickpeas; evaluate the effect of heat processing methods, dry heat, wet heat and microwave irradiation processing method on feed chickpeas as an alternative source for protein and energy feed for ruminant livestock. To reveal the molecular structure spectral profile of chickpeas varieties and the molecular structure changes when applied heat processing methods, vibrational molecular spectroscopy was applied. Feed chickpea samples were determined for chemical profile, energy values, carbohydrate fractions. Subsequently, chickpea samples were incubated in the rumen of dairy cows for degradation kinetics analysis of nutrients. The intestinal digestion of feed chickpea samples was determined using three-step in vitro method with pre-incubation at 16h. Later, protein and carbohydrate related molecular spectral features before and after incubation were performed using vibrational ATR-FTIR molecular spectroscopy. The interactive relationship between processing induced molecular spectral profile changes and nutrient metabolism and availability were studied. The available results showed that varieties and heat processing methods significantly impacted molecular structural, physicochemical, and nutritional characterization of feed chickpeas.

Heat processing increased the digestibility of phosphorus in soybean expeller, canola meal, and canola expeller fed to growing pigs

It is hypothesized that heat processing may increase P digestibility in different protein sources fed to growing pigs. A study was conducted to determine the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) and standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of P in soybean expeller (SBE) produced from oil extraction using dry extrusion and expelling and to investigate the effects of heat treatment on the ATTD and STTD of P in SBE, canola meal (CM), and canola expeller (CE) fed to growing pigs. Thirty-six growing barrows with an initial body weight of 19.0 ± 1.0 kg (mean ± SD) were assigned to 1 of 6 experimental diets in a completely randomized design to give 6 replicates per diet. The experimental design was a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement including three oilseed meals with or without heat treatment. The diets were formulated to contain non-autoclaved or autoclaved (at 121°C for 60 min) SBE, CM, and CE as the sole source of P. Limestone was included in diets to maintain a Ca:total P ratio of 1.3:1 across diets. Pigs were individually housed in metabolism crates for 12 days, including 7 days for adaptation and 5 days for total collection of feces. Pigs were offered their daily ration at 2.8 times their maintenance energy requirement. Data were analyzed using the PROC MIXED of SAS. Heat treatment increased (P < 0.05) the ATTD and STTD of P. Pigs fed the SBE diets had greater (P < 0.05) ATTD and STTD of P than pigs fed CM and CE diets. For the autoclaved ingredients, the values of STTD of P were 49.4, 23.2, and 25.8% for SBE, CM, and CE, respectively, whereas STTD of P in non-autoclaved SBE, CM, and CE were 48.5, 20.2, and 22.5%. Heat treatment increased (P < 0.05) the ATTD of Ca. In conclusion, heat treatment increased ATTD and STTD of P and ATTD of Ca in SBE, CM, and CE fed to growing pigs. The ATTD and STTD of P in SBE determined in the current study were 41.0 and 48.5%, respectively.