Effect of the Addition of Thyme “Thymus vulgaris” Leaves on the Sensory and Nutritional Quality of Lamb Meat

Background: The shelf life of meat products can be increased by adding synthetic antioxidants. These antioxidants have long been used, but their safety has recently come into dispute due to a suspected carcinogenic potential. This is why meat technologies have extracted new natural antioxidants from spices and herbs, which are the best alternatives to synthetic compounds. So, the addition of natural flavors (essential oils, powder or extract of aromatic plants) to the meat can improve organoleptic quality and consumer acceptability. Methods: This study was conducted to evaluate the physicochemical and organoleptic qualities of meat fortified with thyme powder. With this purpose, 16 samples from four muscles of legs from 4 lambs were used in this work. The muscles were divided into two groups, control group (meat without any supplementation) and thyme group (meat supplemented with thyme). In this later group, a dose of 5% of ground thyme dry leaves was added to the meat. Result: Results showed no significant differences were found among groups for cooking loss, but was slightly higher for meat treated with thymus (33.29 vs. 28.36%). No significant differences between the two groups were observed for the ash, fat and crude protein contents of the meat. At the same manner, no effect was observed on meat lightness (L) and yellowness (b*) (P greater than 0.05), on the contrary, redness (a*) of the meat was affected by addition of thyme (11.28±1.23 vs. 23.06±9.80). Also, significant (P less than 0.05) differences were observed in texture scores, flavor, color and taste between control and the 5% thyme-supplemented meat samples. The overall acceptability of supplemented meat samples was highest (P≤0.05) as compared to control (5.91±2.32 vs. 4.35±2.66). In conclusion, addition of thyme leaves did not affect the physical and chemical properties of meat, except for redness and improved sensory quality.

Is the Consumer Ready for Innovative Fruit Wines? Perception and Acceptability of Young Consumers

The consumption of traditional wine has decreased in Europe during the last fifteen years. In parallel, new wine alternatives obtained by blending wines and fruit juices or by flavoring wines with artificial or natural flavors have appeared on the market. Recently, an innovative fruit wine obtained by co-fermentation of grape must and kiwi juice has been proposed and its potential of attraction for consumers should be exploited. To assess the potential consumer acceptability and expectations towards this new product, an online choice experiment has been conducted involving a consumer group of young adults (18–35 years old; n = 373). After the data collection, participants were divided into two groups according to whether they had already tasted a fruit wine (neophiles) or had never tasted it (new entries). For each group, the individual’s responses (on wine consumption habits, expectations and willingness to consume and pay a fruit wine) were analyzed through Principal Component Analysis. Different consumption styles and expectation patterns were defined in the two groups. However, in general, neophiles showed consumption patterns based on the evaluation of fruit quality, sales format, alcoholic content and the presence or not of bubbles, not giving importance to the brand. In contrast, new entries’ responses identified consumption patterns driven by the willingness to pay for a new product, the product value for money and packaging features. Differences between the two groups in expectations about the product sensory characteristics also emerged. These findings should contribute to this area of study by integrating environmental, economic and social dimensions and addressing food innovation and sustainability in the fruit and wine chains.

Effects of Pulsed Electric Fields and Ultrasound Processing on Proteins and Enzymes: A Review

There is increasing demand among consumers for food products free of chemical preservatives, minimally processed and have fresh-like natural flavors. To meet these growing demands, the industries and researchers are finding alternative processing methods, which involve nonthermal methods to obtain a quality product that meets the consumer demands and adheres to the food safety protocols. In the past two decades’ various research groups have developed a wide range of nonthermal processing methods, of which few have shown potential in replacing the traditional thermal processing systems. Among all the methods, ultrasonication (US) and pulsed electric field (PEF) seem to be the most effective in attaining desirable food products. Several researchers have shown that these methods significantly affect various major and minor nutritional components present in food, including proteins and enzymes. In this review, we are going to discuss the effect of nonthermal methods on proteins, including enzymes. This review comprises results from the latest studies conducted from all over the world, which would help the research community and industry investigate the future pathway for nonthermal processing methods, especially in preserving the nutritional safety and integrity of the food.

Characterization of Maize Near-Isogenic Lines With Enhanced Flavonoid Expression to Be Used as Tools in Diet-Health Complexity

Increasing incidence of chronic diseases in the 21st century has emphasized the importance of developing crops with enhanced nutritional value. Plant-based diets are associated with reduced incidence of many chronic diseases. The growing population and increased food demand have prioritized the development of high-yielding commercial crop varieties at the expense of natural flavors as well as health-benefiting compounds including polyphenols. Flavonoids are a large subfamily of polyphenols abundant in the plant kingdom with known health-promoting effects, making them a promising trait to be re-introduced into elite lines. Given the vast array of flavonoids and the complexity of plant food metabolome interactions, it is difficult to identify with certainty the specific class(es) of flavonoids in the food matrix that are anti-inflammatory. To address this, we have developed four maize near-isogenic lines (NILs); a line that lacked both anthocyanins and phlobaphenes, a second NIL containing phlobaphenes, a third line had anthocyanins, and a fourth line that contained both anthocyanins and phlobaphenes. The phytochemical profiles and the antioxidant potential of the NILs were characterized. The accumulation of anthocyanins and phlobaphenes contributed significantly to antioxidant capacity compared to maize lines that lacked one or both of the compounds (p < 0.05). Pilot study showed that intake of flavonoid-rich maize diets were able to alleviate experimental colitis in mice. These NILs offer novel materials combining anthocyanins and phlobaphenes and can be used as powerful tools to investigate the disease-preventive effects of specific flavonoid compound in diet/feeding experiments.

Ekstraksi Flavour dari Tepung Ikan Layang (Decapterus sp.) Menggunakan Enzim Protease Biduri (Calotropis gigantea)

The development of science and technology has resulted in many mononatrium glutamate (MSG) flavorings which can have side effects for human health. The development of natural flavors needs to be done to reduce side effects for human health. Betell plant sap can be used as a source of protease enzymes that have the potential as active agents in flavor production. Flavors can be obtained from animal protein such as flying fish. The purpose of this study was to determine the best treatment of the enzyme biduri in producing flavored flying fish. This study uses a factorial completely randomized design (RALF) method with concentrations of 1.5%, 2.0%, and 2.5% slurry proteases with a hydrolysis duration of 30, 60, and 90 minutes. The results obtained indicate that the best water content at a concentration of 1.5% hydrolysis time is 90 minutes (47,84%), dissolved protein in concentration 2.5% hydrolysis time 60 minutes (86,83%), total amino acids in concentration 1.5% hydrolysis time 90 minutes (3,11%), and organoleptic value in concentration 1.5%.

AROMI NATURALI: LEGISLAZIONE E SINTESI

This report describes the legal regulations concerning flavour production, classification and marketing. The effect that the legislation itself has brought in the development of new methods of synthesis of natural flavors is described in detail.