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Summary: Monoterpenes are the most prevalent compounds found in essential oils. They exhibit inhibitory actions against phytopathogenic postharvest fungi. Direct application limits their effectiveness due to their instability, high volatility, hydrophobicity and susceptibility to degradation. Encapsulation systems using metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been developed to maximise their use. In this study, four protocols were shown to encapsulate thymol and limonene in porous solids, such as ZIF‐8, UiO‐66‐(COOH)2 and zeolite 13X. Vapourisation and diffusion at 60 °C for 16 h was found to be the most efficient encapsulation process. A larger amount of thymol than limonene was loaded in the porous solids. Thymol released from MOFs slowed down the growth of Colletotrichum musae by up to 6 days at 25 °C. There was a sustained release of thymol even beyond the period of maximum fungal growth. This proof‐of‐concept study revealed the potential utility of MOFs as carriers of thymol against postharvest fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Bananas are tropical fruits that are perishable and susceptible to fungal diseases, mainly caused by Colletotrichum musae. Antimicrobial emulsion‐based coating materials have been used extensively to inhibit the growth of these fungi and extend the shelf life of bananas. Targeted emulsion‐based film functionalities offer excellent mechanical, physicochemical and barrier properties and limit fungal growth kinetics. Antifungal compounds, such as essential oils or phenolic compounds, are added to emulsion‐based (wax/biopolymer) coatings to enhance their antimicrobial properties. This study set out to formulate a beeswax‐based emulsion for banana coatings using high‐pressure homogenisation (HPH) and hydrophilic food‐grade/organic coating materials. The particle size distribution, stability and mechanical properties of the film‐forming emulsions, water vapour and the oxygen permeabilities of the resulting coating were investigated. The most promising sucrose emulsions were tested as coatings on banana fruits to assess their efficacy against moisture and firmness loss during storage. Adding thymol (0.5% w/w) to the sucrose emulsions further enhanced the inhibition of Colletotrichum musae growth to its barest minimum of <20%. Emulsion stability was clearly enhanced using HPH while the best inhibition was obtained with a 20% diluted sucrose emulsion containing 0.5% thymol, with or without HPH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was aimed at developing a tool to represent the evolution of nutritional profile of food during processing with input data mined from previous published papers or database on composition and reactivity of nutrients, and from minimal experimentations. Tomato-based products, that is tomato sauce, concentrate and paste, were chosen to evaluate the developed model. The SAIN-LIM system was used to assess the nutritional profile of the tomato products throughout the process steps, including seven constituents: five basic nutrients (i.e. proteins, fibres, vitamin C, calcium and iron) and two microconstituents found in tomato: b-carotene and lycopene. The SAIN-LIM nutritional profiles obtained with this model were compared to that calculated from experimental data. Calculated and experimental nutritional scores showed that process steps involved in tomato-based products did not affect substantially their nutritional quality. Observed differences were mainly attributed to the kinetic parameter selection and raw product variability. The conclusion offers suggestions to extend the model to other product/process combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physicochemical and morphological properties of açai powder produced with different carrier agents were evaluated in this work. Powders were produced by spray drying, using maltodextrin 10DE, maltodextrin 20DE, gum arabic and tapioca starch as carrier agents. Powder characterisation included analysis of moisture content, water activity, solubility, hygroscopicity, particle size distribution, morphology, total polyphenolics and antioxidant activity. Results showed that the samples produced with maltodextrin 20DE and gum arabic presented the smallest size and highest hygroscopicity. The powder produced with tapioca starch exhibited the lowest hygroscopity and solubility, and the highest mean diameter. With regard to morphology, all particles exhibited spherical and shrivelled surfaces, except those produced with tapioca starch, which exhibited rounded and smooth surfaces. Powders produced with maltodextrins and gum arabic showed high polyphenolic retention and antioxidant activity preservation after storage at 40 °C for 15 days, while for the particles produced with tapioca starch, this protective effect was less pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]