Search

Food waste and food loss is a global issue that became the focus point at many FAO Conferences. Increasing the use of food by- products and wastes is the key for improving the economy, increasing the consumers' incomes and improving food security. The article aim is to use the MCDM method for the case of bakery industry, taking in consideration 6 criteria (1 - Availability, 2 - Market price, 3 - Valuable substances, 4 - Resistance, 5 - Organoleptic characteristics, 6 - Shelf life) applied for 3 possible by-products (winemaking, apple, hemp). Results indicate that the most appropriate waste and by-products suitable to be used in the bakery industry are those from the wine industry (39.6), followed by apple processing industry (36.91p), respectively hemp industry (27.04p). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a part of the research results obtained within the FP7- PEOPLE-2012-IRSES- Project no. 318946-Nutritional Labeling study in Black Sea Region Countries. This study takes into consideration meat products from the nutritional labelling point of view, considering the EU requirements no. 432/2012, 1169/2011, 1333/2008 and 1924/2006. From 194 analyzed meat products, 20.10 % fulfilled all mandatory criterions. A special attention needs to be paid to the 3rd criterion related to allergens that can be found in many meat based products (soy, mustard, celery, lactose, egg, gluten, etc). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to determine the phytochemical composition and biological activity of sweet fennel fruits, cultivated during two harvest years in Bulgaria (2020 and 2021). First, we researched the chemical composition of fennel fruits and determined their protein content (15.74% and 14.30%), crude fiber (32.88% and 31.50%), ash (6.49% and 7.99%), and mineral elements (58373.22 mg/kg and 102825.96 mg/kg), respectively for 2020 and 2021 harvest years. Then, the fruits were subjected to hydrodistillation and the essential oil was isolated (8.38% and 7.57%), respectively for 2020 and 2021 harvest years. At the end, the lipid fraction was extracted from the ground fruits (9.07% and 5.58%), respectively for 2020 and 2021 harvest years. Polar and unpolar fractions were isolated from the fruits. The results reveal that the fruits of the 2020 harvest have a higher content of protein, essential oil and lipid fraction. Some significant differences were also found in the amounts of macro elements, while the content of micro and toxic elements was comparable. Regarding the chemical composition, both essential oils were high in anethole and low in fenchone. The essential oils of the fennel fruits have antimicrobial activity, which is more pronounced against molds (Aspergillus brasiliensis and Fusarium moliniforme) and yeasts (Candida albicans). The main compounds of polar fraction were saccharides (monoand di-), followed by sugar alcohols, organic acids, sugar acids, amino acids, and others. In both lipid fractions the main sitosterols are β-sitosterol and stigmasterol, and major tocopherol is γ-tocotrienol. Overall, the obtained results demonstrate that with its balanced composition of protein, crude fiber, essential oil, polar and lipid fraction, and mineral elements, the fennel fruits can be used as a supplement to the food of humans and animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal in the agritouristic pension design is that tourists can consume organic plant products produced in the guest house farm or its immediate neighborhood. This paper aims are on one hand to design a vegetable farm based on the necessity of specific products needed for the operation of a medium pension with 9 rooms, and secondly to assess the possibility of using photovoltaic energy for powering the micro-drip irrigation system. Starting from the amount of vegetable needs for tourists from an average agritouristic pension, it was calculated the number of plants, the required surface for the plants and the amount of water needed. Based on daily and monthly needs there were established technical and constructive parameters of the solar drip irrigation installation (diameter and length of hoses, flow, pressure and pump power and solar panel characteristics). The model can be easily adapted to other size pensions or to different climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romania is a country with a great potential in the field of biomass energy. At the level of 2016, an area of 229973 km2 was used for agricultural and forestry purpose of which the forest area was 4.7%. The lands covered by the forest are widely exploited and the waste resulting from the processing of cut wood is often left to degrade producing water pollution. Renewable energy resources represent one of the replacement variants for fossil fuels in Romania and worldwide with high development perspectives in the future. Presently, biomass contributes by approximately 12% to the production of primary energy in worldwide and in the developing countries this occupies 40-50% of the necessary energy. Biomass resources presently represent the raw material resulted from wood processing, agricultural, municipal waste and animal dejections. The determination of the calorific value for wood is similar to that of coal (as solid fuel) and with little differences as compared to liquid fuel (benzene) or gaseous one (natural gas, biogas). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Producing of safer products by applying high pressure on biosystem, is a novel non-thermal technology with significant results in maintaining the natural characteristics of the food items. Modeling of the microorganism kinetics inactivation by the high pressure was determined and certificated by an experimental approach. It is established that the basic laws of the joint influence of the factors of high pressure, temperature and process time on microorganisms and vitamin C are reproduced in the framework of the linear kinetics. By choosing the values of the process parameters (pressure, temperature, duration of the process), the averaged thermodynamic characteristics of micro flora can be changed, as well as the value of the activation barrier of the biochemical reaction. Based on these results, working 40 min at the pressure 400 MPa, and temperature 300 K, the microorganism activity is minimum, and the vitamin C contain is preserved about 90 percent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the migration of heavy metals in meat can under different parameters (varnish, storage time, storage temperature, storage humidity and varnish width and porosity). The physicochemical and organoleptic properties of the meat can have been analyzed. The metal content (Cd, Pb, Cu, Fe, Zn and Sn) were determined by flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry after microwave digestion. The organoleptic and physicochemical properties of the samples have not modified significantly during the experiments. The metals migration is not influenced significantly by the varnish type. The highest level of metals in food products was observed at 4 and 50 °C. The porosity influenced significantly (p < 0.05) the migration of metals while the varnish width influence is not a significant one. The migration modeling using 3rd grade polynomial model achieved models with high coefficients of regression (greater than 0.9858). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]