Sustainable and Circular Food Innovation—The CeTA Experience

Worldwide, around a third of loss and waste is generated at different stages of the food transformation chain, generating relevant economic, social, and environmental impacts, and increases in the water footprint, emission of greenhouse gases, pressure on the use of arable land, production costs, and decrease in the availability of food for the population. These reasons make imperative the implementation of strategies that minimize the generation of these losses. The Chilean “Technology Center for Food Innovation” (Centro Tecnológico para la Innovación Alimentaria—CeTA), aware of this problem, is contributing to the development of innovative products where materials that are considered waste or by-products from processes in the food, agriculture, cattle raising, and aquaculture industry are reused, or raw materials that do not meet commercial standards, taking advantage of their properties and bioactive compounds, turning them into value propositions that have circular economy components. Examples of these products developed in CeTA include soups, fruit purees, snacks, baked products, food ingredients, and breakfast cereals that contain valued raw materials such as barley bagasse, defatted coconut flour, fruit pomaces, discarded meats, quinoa grown in lagging areas of Chile, as well as stems, leaves, and fruit and vegetable peels, thus generating an environmental, economic, and social impact.

Acrylamide in Baby Foods: A Probabilistic Exposure Assessment

Acrylamide (also known as 2-propenamide) (AA) is a toxicant that develops in food during high-temperature cooking, and its occurrence is common in biscuits and baked snacks. AA is known for its in vivo neurotoxic and carcinogenic effects, and it is considered a potential carcinogen for humans. Infants may be exposed to AA as early as during weaning through baked food such as biscuits. This study set out to ascertain the concentration of AA in food products intended for infants to assess the dietary exposure to this food contaminant. AA levels were determined through GC/MS and bromination, and dietary exposure was evaluated by a probabilistic method based on Monte Carlo simulation. The results showed that the probability of a carcinogenic exposure is 94%, 92%, and 87%, respectively, for 6-, 12-, and 18-months infants, suggesting the need to delay the introduction of baked products in the diet of weaned infants. It should be noted, however, that these conclusions were drawn considering the biscuits as the primary source of exposure.

The Cuisine of Sigismund II Augustus: Food and Its Supply in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania According to the Data in the Court Account Books of 1543–1546

The objective of the present article is to reveal what food products were used in the cuisine of King Sigismund II Augustus and what were the ways of their supply when the Ruler resided in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania according to the data in the court account books of 1543–1546. The following issues will be addressed in the article: the supply of meat to the court kitchen of Sigismund II Augustus and its use; the consumption and supply of fish; the consumption of dairy products and eggs; bread, cereals, and sweet baked products on the Ruler’s menu; the assortment of vegetables and fruits; a variety of spices and their supply; the consumption of beverages.

Food and immunity: a pragmatic approach to mitigate corona viruses attack

Purpose Corona viruses have spiked structure and enveloped glycoproteins in their structure, along with specific proteins in membranes. The mode of action of COVID-19 consists of three phases, i.e. viral replication, immune hyperactivity and pulmonary destruction. However, angiotensin-converting enzyme is an essential receptor that causes COVID-19. After infecting any individual, COVID-19 develops in specific pattern with the following stages: replication stage and adaptive immunity stage. After adaptive immunity stage, the clinical symptoms of patient include cough, fever, runny nose, shortness of breath and many more. To cope with this COVID-19, food and nutrition played an important role. The purpose of this review article is to emphasize the significance of food and immunity to reduce COVID-19 attack among susceptibles. Design/methodology/approach In the present era, corona virus, a member of crown-shaped type, created a pandemic situation around the globe owing to its capability to move from human to animals and vice versa. This virus can transfer its 35% infection to the individuals. Contemporarily, this outbreak was observed in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and affected a huge number of communities by spreading like common flu. However, after investigation, it was revealed that COVID-19 is different from common flu regarding respiratory illness created by this novel coronavirus along with its taxonomy. Findings Over and above to all the aforementioned food safety concerns, it is suggested to use sufficient supply of green leafy vegetables along with fiber-rich foods such as legumes, beans, whole grains and vegetables. It is further good for health to get all these varieties whole and organic. The individuals should use probiotics (lactobacillus) on daily basis as a source of diary probiotic that can further bind to the virus directly and then can inhibit the viral attachment with body cells; also the probiotics are claimed to enhance the immune system of the body. Research limitations/implications In the case of fruits and vegetables purchased, it must be thoroughly washed with water and then disinfected; after pat drying, these fruits and vegetables can be moved to the refrigerator and stored along with other foods. During the outbreak of COVID-19, the partially cooked or ready-to-eat foods should be avoided, especially eggs, meat, meat products, milk and milk-related products. On the other side, nuts should not be consumed; if required, then it must be properly roasted at home before consumption. Practical implications The baked product right after coming out of oven is completely safe; however, these are contaminated during handling such as crumb in case of bread and with knives; so in the breakout of any viral attack, the individuals should avoid slicing of the bread. Moreover, it is recommended to place the baked products in personal bags instead of bulk quantity. Before the consumption, the baked products should be toasted, microwaved or heated with the help of pan (traditional) to reduce the amount of viral load. Social implications Dietary supplements are taken by most of the people on daily basis or sporadically especially when they are suffering from inflammation or cold. They have options while selecting these types of supplements such as probiotics, Echinacea, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins D and E, calcium glucosamine, garlic and iron. These supplements are beneficial for the group of population who do not eat diversity of food as sufficient amount of essential nutrients is provided through this pathway. Originality/value This work is original in its novelty.

Effects of Blending Ratio and Processing of Lupine Bean On Nutritional Quality and Sensory Evaluation of Wheat-Lupine Bread

Background Bread is one of the most popular and widespread baked products in the world. It is an important staple food made of wheat flour, salt, and yeast. However, wheat protein is lower than that of proteins from pulses. White lupine is a good source of protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. It has some anti-nutritional factors which inhibit its consumption. The use of lupine as human food, specifically in baked products has been limited. Objective This study was conducted to investigate the effect of blending ratio and processing of lupine bean on nutritional quality and sensory evaluations of wheat-lupine bread. Methods The study was done by factorial design. All white lupine bean was prepared in a randomized completely block design (RCBD). The quality characteristics of bread were analyzed by three-way ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) was carried out to determine the F-value and the level of significance, Duncan’s multiple range tests at 5% probability were used for the comparison between means using statistical tools of SPSS version 25. Result The effect of processing and blending ratio (140:10:15) had a high value in protein, fat, and mineral content. Sensory acceptance of wheat-lupine bread was affected by the interaction of blending ratio and processing. On a 5 point hedonic scale, the composite sample wheat flour with 5, 10, and 15% white lupine flour and supplementation had the highest scores were 4.60, 3.80, 3.80, 4.40, and 3.95 in color, taste, flavor, appearance, and overall acceptability respectively.

Study on the Introduction of Solid Fat with a High Content of Unsaturated Fatty Acids to Gluten-Free Muffins as a Basis for Designing Food with Higher Health Value

Background: Shortenings are high in undesirable nutritionally saturated fatty acids. The aim of the study was to produce gluten-free muffins (GFM) of increased health quality and available to people intolerant to gluten, in which the shortenings were replaced with solid oleogels, consisting of 95% rapeseed oil. Methods: The dough and baked products were subjected to physical, textural, and structural analyses. Moreover, the fatty acids composition, chemical quality of fats extracted from muffins, and color of the products were determined. The dough was also observed at 600× magnification in bright field and polarized light microscopy, and microtomographic analysis of the structure of GTM was performed. Results: There was no effect of the type of lipids on physical properties, including water content in gluten-free muffins. However, the baked products differed in total porosity and brightness, as well as intensity of red and yellow colors. The use of rapeseed oil oleogels, instead of shortening in the muffin recipe, resulted in a decrease in the dietary undesirable SFA in lipid fractions (by approximately 40%), an increase in the content of MUFA (by approximately 30%), and an increase in the content of PUFA (by approximately 15%), with acceptable chemical quality. Conclusions: Research confirms the possibility of obtaining products with increased nutritional value available to consumers on a gluten-free diet.

Development of gluten-free biscuits made from composite flour of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp)

Biscuit is a ready-to-eat, convenient, and inexpensive food product. It is one of many baked products often make with wheat flour. Nonetheless, people with gluten intolerance cannot consume wheat flour. In this research, gluten-free biscuits made with a composite flour of cassava and cowpea with different ratio (90:10, 80:20, and 70:30). The result has shown that gluten-free biscuits with 70:30 gave the highest dietary fibre content (20.54±0.32%). The combination of 70:30 cassava flour (CF) and cowpea flour (CPF) gave lightness (L*) value 60.58±1.22 means darker colour to biscuits with 4.13±0.07% of moisture content. From the scoring test, the panellists were perceived F3 as having less crunchy texture (3.51±1.20), less intensity of foreign aroma (2.60±0.87), brown colour (4.37±1.10), and slight foreign taste detected (3.01±1.10). From the hedonic test result, the panellists were neutral in the acceptances of texture (4.44±1.37), foreign aroma (4.94±1.20), and colour (4.96±1.2). The panellists have slightly liked the overall acceptance and foreign taste of gluten-free biscuits within the value of 5.01±0.97 and 5.04±1.20. Thus, the study suggests that F3 consist of 70:30 CF and CPF is selected as the best formulation to make gluten-free biscuits.

INFLUENCE OF DRIED PLANT MATERIAL ON BAKEDPRODUCT QUALITY

The chemical composition of sea buckthorn meal, stevioside sweetener, lemon and orange zest is studied. The recipe of a new low-calorie bun was established with mathematical modeling. Yeast activity, active and titratable acidity of the dough in dynamics and moisture of the dough were studied. Titratable acidity and moisture of curb were studied in the baked products. The results of organoleptic and microbiological researches were presented. Possibilities of using dried plant materials in baked products were discovered.