The effect of tomato pomace powder addition on the biscuit content of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity during storage: دراسة تأثير إضافة مسحوق تفل البندورة في محتوى البسكويت من المركبات الفعالة حيوياً ونشاطها المضاد للأكسدة خلال التخزين

This research was carried out at the laboratories of the Department of Food Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University, during 2019, where fresh tomato pomace was dried using hot air at a temperature of 40 °C for 24 hours to a moisture content of (14.15%), and then it was ground, and its content of phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity were studied. The content of tomato pomace powder of phenols was (248.04 mg gallic/100 g) and of flavonoids (35.94 mg quercetin/100 g) on dry matter basis, and the antioxidant activity was (54.01%). The effect of partial replacement of wheat flour with tomato pomace powder in three ratios (5%, 10% and 15%) on the biscuit contents of phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity was studied, along with the effect of storage for 6 months on the content of these compounds. It was observed that the addition of tomato pomace powder resulted in a significant increase (P ≥ 0.05) in the biscuit contents of phenols, flavonoids and the antioxidant activity by increasing the level of addition, The both of biscuits samples (5%) and (10%) showed best sensory acceptance compared to the other samples. Furthermore, the storage process for 6 months exhibited a significant decrease in phenols content and the antioxidant activity, while flavonoids content was not affected.

Organoleptic Evaluation for Accessing Sensory Attributes of Lycopene Containing Tomato Purees and its Overall Acceptability

A study on organoleptic evaluation for accessing sensory attributes of lycopene containing tomato purees & its overall acceptance was conducted at Food Science Analysis Laboratory, School of Home Science, B.B.A.U, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, during July 2020 to May 2021. Different treatments under the investigation were prepared using dried tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), tomato pulp and water to find out most appropriate treatment having significantly higher sensory attributes and overall acceptability. Five different types of treatments/purees viz. Dried tomato powder without food additives (T1), Mixture of tomato powder and water (ratio 1:10) without heating (T2), Mixture of tomato powder and water (ratio 1:10) heating at 60-70 ᴼC for 5 minutes (T3), Fresh tomato pulp (T4) & Tomato pulp cooked at 60-70 ᴼC for 35 minutes (T5) were used in the investigation. The effect of these treatments was distinguished as reflected on sensory characters like appearance, aroma, texture & overall acceptance. The highest overall acceptance of 8.20±0.7 on hedonic scale was obtained from tomato pulp cooked at 60-70 ᴼC for 35 minutes (T5) followed by dried tomato powder without food additives (T1) ie. 7.90±1.0. These results appeared highly promising depending on the appearance, aroma & texture.

Study of Chemical Properties of Lycopene Containing Tomato Purees

A study on chemical properties of different treatments prepared using dried tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), tomato pulp & water was carried out at School of Home Science, B.B.A.U, LUCKNOW during July 2020 to May 2021 to find out most appropriate treatment/puree having high content of lycopene and Vitamin-C, which can be used during off season for consumption, as a substitute to fresh tomatoes. Apart from lycopene & Vitamin-C; total soluble solids, acidity, ascorbic acid content, ash, moisture and pH of the samples drawn from different treatments were also studied during the investigation. Five different types of treatments viz. Dried tomato powder without food additives (T1), Mixture of tomato powder and water (ratio 1:10) without heating (T2), Mixture of tomato powder and water (ratio 1:10) heating at 60-70⁰C for 5 minutes (T3), Fresh tomato pulp (T4) & Tomato pulp cooked at 60-70⁰C for 35 minutes (T5) were used in the investigation. The effect of these treatments was discernible, as reflected on content of lycopene & Vitamin-C. The highest Lycopene content of 90.34±4.18 mg per 100 g was obtained from tomato pulp cooked at 60-70⁰C for 35 minutes followed by dried tomato powder without food additives (66.47±2.02 mg per 100 g). Similarly, highest content of Vitamin-C i.e. 109.03±6.68 mg per 100 g was obtained from dried tomato powder without food additives and lowest 19.43±0.95 mg per 100 g from mixture of tomato powder and water (ratio 1:10) heating at 60-70⁰C for 5 minutes. These results appeared highly promising considering the nature of powder & pulp.

How trade affects the US produce industry: the case of fresh tomatoes

The US produce industry faces intensifying competition from imports, particularly those from Mexico, the largest exporter of produce to the United States. Fresh produce imports from Mexico have grown dramatically in recent years. This study examines the impact of increasing fresh tomato imports from Mexico on market price and revenue of US growers. Results show that tomato prices are highly sensitive to supply, suggesting a saturated market. Imports from Mexico have significant negative impacts on the prices of US domestic tomatoes. A scenario of 50% increase in tomato imports from Mexico could result in a $252 million (27%) revenue loss for American growers, thus posing great challenges to the sustainability of the declining US tomato industry.

Optimization of Osmotic Dehydration Coupled to Hot Air Drying for the Production of Tomato Powder and Reconstituted Concentrates

The brine temperature (X1), the NaCl concentration (X2), the drying temperature (X3), and the drying time (X4) were the 4 parameters explored in this study, which aimed to model the OD-Drying coupling of fresh tomato. A 4 factors Box-Behnken experimental design associated to the response surface methodology (RSM). A transformation of the usual quadratic model was necessary to fit the experimental results. From the obtained models, relationships between the studied factors and the followed responses were establish. From the multicriteria optimization, the following conditions were found as optimal: X1 = 65 ℃, X2 = 5%, X3 = 43.88 ℃ and X4 = 24h. The tomato powder obtained by reproduction of optimal conditions showed better properties than the tomato powder produced by local farmer by sun drying, but similar characteristics as the concentrate prepared from it. From the fresh tomato to the tomato powder obtain using the optimal conditions, the overall quality lost is relatively low.

Portable near Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool for Fresh Tomato Quality Control Analysis in the Field

Portable spectrometers are promising tools that can be an alternative way, for various purposes, of analyzing food quality, such as monitoring in a few seconds the internal quality during fruit ripening in the field. A portable/handheld (palm-sized) near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer (Neospectra, Si-ware) with spectral range of 1295–2611 nm, equipped with a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMs), was used to develop prediction models to evaluate tomato quality attributes non-destructively. Soluble solid content (SSC), fructose, glucose, titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic, and citric acid contents of different types of fresh tomatoes were analyzed with standard methods, and those values were correlated to spectral data by partial least squares regression (PLSR). Fresh tomato samples were obtained in 2018 and 2019 crops in commercial production, and four fruit types were evaluated: Roma, round, grape, and cherry tomatoes. The large variation in tomato types and having the fruits from distinct years resulted in a wide range in quality parameters enabling robust PLSR models. Results showed accurate prediction and good correlation (Rpred) for SSC = 0.87, glucose = 0.83, fructose = 0.87, ascorbic acid = 0.81, and citric acid = 0.86. Our results support the assertion that a handheld NIR spectrometer has a high potential to simultaneously determine several quality attributes of different types of tomatoes in a practical and fast way.

The effectiveness of the technology boiled sausage products with tomato ingredients

The article presents experimental materials on the development and optimization of the recipe for cooked sausages, in particular, boiled sausages. For the research, three samples of minced meat were made: the first with ketchup, the second with tomato paste, and the third with fresh tomato juice. A comprehensive organoleptic evaluation of the obtained samples of boiled sausage products was carried out. As a result of the research, the technology and formulation of new sausage products with the addition of tomato ingredient were developed. An increase in the content of lycopene in finished products has been experimentally proved. The high quality of the sausage products made using tomatoes in comparison with the usual sosi-sok technology has been established. The development of recipes using a non-standard ingredient, namely tomatoes, in the technology of cooked sausages allows you to expand the range and provide the finished product with lycopene.

The Influence of Indirect Air-Cooling Combined with Evaporative Cooling on Tomato Fruit Cooling Time and Temperature

This study developed a low cost and affordable to small-scale farmers’ indirect air-cooling combined with evaporative cooling (IAC+EC) system for storage of fruit and vegetables under both arid and hot; and humid and hot climatic conditions. Field heat from freshly harvested produce should be immediately removed through cooling to the desired storage temperature. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of IAC+EC system in terms of the cooling time requirement of the fresh tomato fruit. A fresh tomato cooling experiment to remove field heat during the summer month of September in Pietermaritzburg was conducted for 36 hours where the IAC+EC system was compared to storage under ambient conditions. The results showed that 16 hours was required to reduce the flesh temperature of tomatoes to 16.5oC while the flesh temperature for tomatoes under ambient conditions followed the ambient temperature profile with time of storage. The IAC+EC system reduced and maintained the microenvironment air temperature inside the coolers to 16.50C- 19°C. The ambient temperature varied between 21 and 32°C. The results in this study are evidence that IAC+ EC system can be a choice to farmers, for cooling the fresh by reducing the field temperature after harvest.

Willingness to Pay a Premium for Safer Fresh Tomato: The Case of Urban Consumers in Tirana, Albania

The objective of this study is the consumer’s willingness to pay a premium price (WTP) for greater safety of fresh tomatoes and the factors that determine it, in the city of Tirana, Albania. Primary data are used for over 800 individuals collected through a special face-to-face survey. Econometric methods, such as multivariate regression model and multinomial logistic models have been used. Tomato consumers are willing to pay an average premium of around 16% over the current price. Among the most important factors identified as positively affecting WTP are the level of perceived safety risk of the consumer, the frequency of adverse health events in the past, the level of risk intolerance, consumer concern about food safety, and consumer knowledge about food safety. Household income and its size are two other factors that positively impact WTP, while consumer perceptions of the farmer's ability to produce healthy tomatoes have a negative effect on expected WTP. The religious affiliation of the consumer turns out to be a determinant of WTP. Demographic and cultural characteristics, such as gender, age, and educational background do not seem to affect WTP for safer fresh tomato. Finally, some political implications are discussed. Received: 30 October 2020 / Accepted: 03 January 2021 / Published: 5 March 2021