Spatial Market Integration: A Case Study of the Polish–Czech Milk Market

Analyses of spatial market integration contributes to the knowledge about market efficiency and provides information to policymakers, as the spatial integration of markets contributes to competitiveness and economic development. Although the integration of agri-food markets is widely discussed in the economic literature, research on the dairy sector is relatively limited. This paper fulfils the research gap with an in-depth investigation of spatial milk and dairy product market integration between two neighboring countries—Poland and Czechia—using regional data, and including both production and processing levels. The econometric analysis of time series covering the period 2001–2021 reveals that only long-run milk and skimmed milk powder (SMP) price relationships are between the Czech Republic and Poland. The results of the study confirm that the factors influencing spatial price relationships between the Czech Republic and Poland are: strong trade ties, the common moment of accession to the EU, a close distance between markets, and region specialization.

Artificial neural networks in the prediction of fraud in integral milk powder by adding whey powder

ABSTRACT: This research was performed to ascertain the most suitable Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model to quantify the degree of fraud in powdered milk through the addition of powdered whey via regular standard physicochemical analyses. In this study, an evaluation was done on 103 samples with different quantities of added whey powder to whole milk powder. Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy the fat, cryoscopy, total solids, defatted dry extract, lactose, protein and casein were analyzed. The hyperbolic tangent transformation function was used with 45 topologies, and the Holdback and K-fold validation methods were tested. In the Holdback method, 75% of the database was employed for training, while 25% was used for validation. In the K-fold method, the database was categorized into five equal sized subsets, which alternated between training and validation. Of the two methods, the K-fold method was proven to have superior efficiency. Next, analysis was done on three models of multilayer perceptron networks with feedforward architecture. In Model 1, the input layer contained all the physicochemical analyses conducted, in model 2 the casein analysis was excluded, and in model 3 the routine analyses performed for dairy products was done (fat, defatted dry extract, cryoscopy and total solids). From Model 3 an ANN was derived which could satisfactorily predict fraud calculated from using the routine and standard analyses for dairy products, containing 64 nodes in the hidden layer, with R2 of 0.9935 and RMSE of 0.5779 for training, and R2 of 0.9964 and RMSE of 0.4358 for validation.

Green and facile synthesis of biomass iron-doped carbon dots as dual-signal colorimetric and fluorometric probe for the detection of ascorbic acid

Iron-doped carbon dots (Fe-CDs) were greenly synthesized via one-step hydrothermal method using eco-friendly materials milk powder and FeCl3. It was found the synthesized biomass Fe-CDs have photoluminescent properties and strong...

Effect of Fluidized Bed Drying, Matrix Constituents and Structure on the Viability of Probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei ATCC 55544 during Storage at 4 °C, 25 °C, and 37 °C

The stabilization of probiotics for application in non-refrigerated food products is a challenging task. In the present study, bacteria were immobilized in a dairy matrix comprising of whole milk powder, skim milk powder, or milk protein isolate using fluidized bed drying technology. The samples were taken out at different drying stages, with an apparent water activity of aw 0.5, aw 0.4, and aw 0.3, respectively, and vacuum-packed to maintain the aw and stored at three different temperatures of 4 °C, 25 °C, and 37 °C. The study evaluated the impact of matrix constituents, milk fat, protein, and carbohydrate on the viability of encapsulated probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei (Lacticaseibacillus paracasei) ATCC 55544 during storage for 1 month. The whole milk powder matrix provided superior protection to the bacteria. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) was used to investigate the structure of the immobilizing matrix and the location of the probiotic L. paracasei cells embedded within the matrix. The CLSM study revealed that the probiotic bacterial cells are mostly embedded as clusters beneath the top layer. We hypothesize that the biofilm-like structure, together with the protective whole milk powder matrix, helps to retain the superior viability of probiotic cells during storage at non-refrigerated storage conditions of 25 °C and 37 °C.

Development of Functional Candy with Banana, Ginger and Skim Milk Powder as a Source of Phenolics and Antioxidants

The present pandemic situation has increased the demand for plant-based functional foods that enhancing the immunity of all aged groups against COVID-19. This factor has led to innovation in confectionery market because healthy and good quality confectionery products are lacking. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop functional candy from various combinations of banana, ginger, skim milk powder, and honey at 2-10% and evaluated its sensory, nutraceutical, functional properties and microbial stability for 60 days. Among various combinations of banana and ginger pulp, candy prepared from 96:6 w/w (banana: ginger) ratio was found better than other combinations in respect to organoleptic and nutritional quality. Ginger and skim milk powder addition increased the contents of protein (4.54%), ash (2.82%), phenolic (8.59 mgGAE/g), flavonoid (2.43 mQ/g), and antioxidant activity (36.15% DPPH activity) of functional candy. Microbial studies of functional candy revealed it could be stored up to 60 days without microbial contamination and acceptable by the consumer. The cost of functional candy was Rs.1.53 per candy, which was less than market candy. This study showed that candy manufactured from banana, ginger, skim milk powder, and honey was nutritionally and economical improved with acceptable sensory properties. Developed functional candy increases the market's revenue and enables confectionary market to develop a new candy type.

Comparative Characteristics of the Amino Acids Composition of Sheep Milk from Breeds of Northern Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is characterized by a wide variety of natural, climatic, economic, and ethnic factors that have a specific impact on the development of sheep farming. The production of dairy products from sheep is limited due to the low productivity of animals and the seasonality of milk production throughout the year, as well as the short lactation period. Also, one of the problems is manual milking of sheep, which does not allow obtaining sheep milk on an industrial scale. The market of dairy products, currently in the Republic of Kazakhstan is represented only by-products made from cow's milk, and at the same time, most of them are products made from cow's milk powder, so the development of products made from sheep's milk is an urgent task. In addition, sheep's milk is a national product, and one of the tasks is to revive the traditional products of the Kazakh people. The analysis of literature studies shows that in-depth studies of the chemical composition of sheep's milk have not been conducted in Kazakhstan. The chemical composition data obtained during the Soviet period only give an idea of the primary chemical parameters obtained by generally accepted basic methods and do not provide reliable information about the deep chemical composition of the milk of local ewes. According to the results of studies, the content of the essential amino acid valine in cow's milk (0.21 g/100g) is also lower than in sheep's milk (9.69-3.79 g/100g). Sheep's milk protein is digested in the human body by 99.1%, and cow's milk protein by 91.9%. According to world experts, one of the advantages of Kazakhstan's domestic milk products is its naturalness, a low share of the use of genetically modified organisms, and environmentally friendly pastures, due to which they receive high-quality and safe products. Therefore, the designated research topic and its analysis are appropriate and relevant.

Handheld Spectral Sensing Devices Should Not Mislead Consumers as Far as Non-Authentic Food Is Concerned: A Case Study with Adulteration of Milk Powder

With the rising trend of consumers being offered by start-up companies portable devices and applications for checking quality of purchased products, it appears of paramount importance to assess the reliability of miniaturized sensors embedded in such devices. Here, eight sensors were assessed for food fraud applications in skimmed milk powder. The performance was evaluated with dry- and wet-blended powders mimicking adulterated materials by addition of either ammonium sulfate, semicarbazide, or cornstarch in the range 0.5–10% of profit. The quality of the spectra was assessed for an adequate identification of the outliers prior to a deep assessment of performance for both non-targeted (soft independent modelling of class analogy, SIMCA) and targeted analyses (partial least square regression with orthogonal signal correction, OPLS). Here, we show that the sensors have generally difficulties in detecting adulterants at ca. 5% supplementation, and often fail in achieving adequate specificity and detection capability. This is a concern as they may mislead future users, particularly consumers, if they are intended to be developed for handheld devices available publicly in smartphone-based applications.