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Compared with traditional methods, cavitation-based processing technology has received extensive attention for its low energy consumption and high processing efficiency. The cavitation phenomenon releases high energy due to the generation and collapse of bubbles, which improves the efficiency of various food processing. This review details the cavitation mechanism of ultrasonic cavitation (UC) and hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), factors affecting cavitation, the application of cavitation technology in food processing, and the application of cavitation technology in the extraction of various natural ingredients. The safety and nutrition of food processed by cavitation technology and future research directions are also discussed. The mechanism of UC refers to longitudinal displacement of the particles of the medium induced by ultrasonic waves causing a series of alternating compression and rarefaction of particles, whereas HC occurs when liquid enters a narrow section and undergoes large pressure differentials, both of which can trigger the generation, growth, and collapse of microbubbles. Cavitation could be applied in microbial inactivation, and drying and freezing processing. In addition, cavitation bubbles can have mechanical and thermal effects on plant cells. In general, cavitation technology is a new sustainable, green, and innovative technology with broad application prospects and capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A urea-based covalent organic polymer (UCOP), was synthesized using 1,4-phenylene diisocyanate (PPDI) and 4,4′,4″-(1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl) trianiline (TTTA) and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm analysis. The prepared material was employed as an adsorbent for pipette tip–solid-phase extraction (PT–SPE) for benzimidazoles before high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analysis (HPLC–MS). The parameters affecting the isolation efficiency, including salt concentration, sample pH, mass of adsorbent, and types and volumes of eluent, were optimized. Using these conditions, PT–SPE provided good linearity from 0.1 to 10 μg kg−1 with low limits of detections (LODs) of 0.02 μg kg−1 together with good precision (relative standard deviations from 4.2 to 8.3%) and accuracy (recoveries from 76.2 to 84.8%). The results demonstrate that the urea-based covalent organic polymer has the potential for the enrichment of trace benzimidazoles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The toxic reactive oxygen species (toxROS) is the reactive oxygen species (ROS) beyond the normal concentration of cells, which has inactivation and disinfection effects on foodborne bacteria. However, foodborne bacteria can adapt and survive by physicochemical regulation of antioxidant systems, especially through central carbon metabolism (CCM), which is a significant concern for food safety. It is thus necessary to study the antioxidant regulation mechanisms of CCM in foodborne bacteria under toxROS stresses. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to provide an update and comprehensive overview of the reconfiguration of CCM fluxes in foodborne bacteria that respond to different toxROS stresses. In this review, two key types of toxROS including exogenous toxROS (exo-toxROS) and endogenous toxROS (endo-toxROS) are introduced. Exo-toxROS are produced by disinfectants, such as H2O2 and HOCl, or during food non-thermal processing such as ultraviolet (UV/UVA), cold plasma (CP), ozone (O3), electrolyzed water (EW), pulsed electric field (PEF), pulsed light (PL), and electron beam (EB) processing. Endo-toxROS are generated by bioreagents such as antibiotics (aminoglycosides, quinolones, and β-lactams). Three main pathways for CCM in foodborne bacteria under the toxROS stress are also highlighted, which are glycolysis (EMP), pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), and tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA). In addition, energy metabolisms throughout these pathways are discussed. Finally, challenges and future work in this area are suggested. It is hoped that this review should be beneficial in providing insights for future research on bacterial antioxidant CCM defence under both exo-toxROS stresses and endo-toxROS stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the main functional substances, carbohydrates account for a large proportion of the human diet. Conventional analysis and detection methods of dietary carbohydrates and related products are destructive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. In order to improve the efficiency of measurement and ensure food nutrition and consumer health, rapid and nondestructive quality evaluation techniques are needed. In recent years, terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, as a novel detection technology with dual characteristics of microwave and infrared, has shown great potential in dietary carbohydrate analysis. The current review aims to provide an up-to-date overview of research advances in using the THz spectroscopy technique in analysis and detection applications related to dietary carbohydrates. In the review, the principles of the THz spectroscopy technique are introduced. Advances in THz spectroscopy for quantitative and qualitative analysis and detection in dietary carbohydrate-related research studies from 2013 to 2022 are discussed, which include analysis of carbohydrate concentrations in liquid and powdery foods, detection of foreign body and chemical residues in carbohydrate food products, authentication of natural carbohydrate produce, monitoring of the fermentation process in carbohydrate food production and examination of crystallinity in carbohydrate polymers. In addition, applications in dietary carbohydrate-related detection research using other spectroscopic techniques are also briefed for comparison, and future development trends of THz spectroscopy in this field are finally highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In considering the need of people all over the world for high-quality food, there has been a recent increase in interest in the role of nondestructive and rapid detection technologies in the food industry. Moreover, the analysis of data acquired by most nondestructive technologies is complex, time-consuming, and requires highly skilled operators. Meanwhile, the general applicability of various chemometric or statistical methods is affected by noise, sample, variability, and data complexity that vary under various testing conditions. Nowadays, machine learning (ML) techniques have a wide range of applications in the food industry, especially in nondestructive technology and equipment intelligence, due to their powerful ability in handling irrelevant information, extracting feature variables, and building calibration models. The review provides an introduction and comparison of machine learning techniques, and summarizes these algorithms as traditional machine learning (TML), and deep learning (DL). Moreover, several novel nondestructive technologies, namely acoustic analysis, machine vision (MV), electronic nose (E-nose), and spectral imaging, combined with different advanced ML techniques and their applications in food quality assessment such as variety identification and classification, safety inspection and processing control, are presented. In addition to this, the existing challenges and prospects are discussed. The result of this review indicates that nondestructive testing technologies combined with state-of-the-art machine learning techniques show great potential for monitoring the quality and safety of food products and different machine learning algorithms have their characteristics and applicability scenarios. Due to the nature of feature learning, DL is one of the most promising and powerful techniques for real-time applications, which needs further research for full and wide applications in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrared drying (IRD) is considered an innovative drying solution for the food industry with advantages of energy-saving potentials, reduced drying time and production cost-effectiveness. However, IRD also suffers from drawbacks such as weak penetrative ability, and product overheating and burning. Therefore, over the years, significant progress has been made to overcome these shortcomings by developing infrared-accelerated drying (IRAD) technology based on the combination of IRD with other drying technologies. Although several reviews have been published on IRD, no review focusing on IRAD is yet available. The current review presents up-to-date knowledge and findings on the applications of IRAD technologies for enhancing the quality and safety of food. The fundamental principles and characteristics of IRAD, energy-saving potentials, simulation and optimization approaches for enhancing efficiency, and developments in various acceleration approaches by combining with other drying techniques for achieving better end-products are discussed, and challenges and future work for developing the novel accelerated drying technology are also presented. Due to the synergistic effects of sequential or simultaneous combined drying methods, the total drying time and energy required are drastically lowered with most IRAD technologies, and consequently there are significant improvements in the sensory, nutritional, and safety attributes of dried food products with better appearance and quality. The development of multi-wavelength IRAD systems based on infrared absorption bands, and the incorporation of novel sensing techniques for real-time monitoring during drying will further enhance process efficiency and food quality and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As there is growing interest in process control for quality and safety in the meat industry, by integrating spectroscopy and imaging technologies into one system, hyperspectral imaging, or chemical or spectroscopic imaging has become an alternative analytical technique that can provide the spatial distribution of spectrum for fast and nondestructive detection of meat safety. This review addresses the configuration of the hyperspectral imaging system and safety indicators of muscle foods involving biological, chemical, and physical attributes and other associated hazards or poisons, which could cause safety problems. The emphasis focuses on applications of hyperspectral imaging techniques in the safety evaluation of muscle foods, including pork, beef, lamb, chicken, fish and other meat products. Although HSI can provide the spatial distribution of spectrum, characterized by overtones and combinations of the C–H, N–H, and O–H groups using different combinations of a light source, imaging spectrograph and camera, there still needs improvement to overcome the disadvantages of HSI technology for further applications at the industrial level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of freeze-thaw pretreatments using slow (SFZ), fast (FFZ) and ultrafast (UFZ) freezing on the drying characteristics, physicochemical and phytochemical compositions of red dragon fruit slices were investigated during mid- (MIR) and near-infrared (NIR) drying. Results indicated that the pretreatments altered cellular structure, reduced drying time and increased drying rates and effective moisture diffusivity, and these effects were dependent on the freezing methods, showing that FFZ and UFZ could improve physicochemical quality, ascorbic acid, and hydroxyl scavenging ability, while SFZ could enhance total phenolics and flavonoid contents, betalains, and ABTS radical scavenging activity. Overall, freeze-thaw pretreatments prompted more efficient drying due to structural modification and improved heating uniformity, they also presented undesirable effects on color, shrinkage, betalains, phenolics and ABTS scavenging activity. The study provided a theoretical basis for applying freeze-thaw pretreatments during infrared drying and indicated the need for optimization studies for improving drying efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of a lack of reliable models to predict the water activity (aw) of H2SO4 solutions, the standard sulfuric acid solution (SSL) method requires a periodic check and adjustment of the acid concentration to ensure that equilibrium will be reached at a predetermined aw point. To establish a reliable equation describing the aw of H2SO4 solutions, five molecular activity models, i.e. nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL), Wilson, universal quasi-chemical (UNIQUAC), modified NRTL-1 (M-NRTL 1) and modified NRTL-2 (M-NRTL 2), were introduced and compared in this study. Each of the models was applied to the 542 literature vapor-liquid equilibrium data points of H2SO4 solutions. The results showed that the NRTL model was the best with respect to its accuracy and simplicity. This NRTL model significantly simplified the implementation of the sulfuric acid solution method for MSI measurements. Excellent agreement was found between this simplified SSL method and the conventional saturated salt solution (SSS) method for MSI measurements of both microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and apples at 25 °C. Therefore, this newly improved SSL method, based on the NRTL model, could be an inexpensive, convenient and reliable alternative to the conventional SSS method in food MSI measurements in the future. The NRTL model can accurately predict the aw of H2SO4 solutions. The NRTL model can significantly simplify the known sulfuric acid solution (SSL) method. This improved SSL method is valid and reliable for use in MCC and apples. A working table of the aw of H2SO4 solutions was developed for ease of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The membrane can not only be used as food packaging, but also for the separation, fractionation and recovery of food ingredients. Graphene oxide (GO) sheets are a two-dimensional (2 D) material with a unique structure that exhibit excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and flexibility. The corporation of polymer matrix membrane with GO can significantly improve the permeability, selectivity, and antibacterial activity. In this review, the chemical structures of GO, GO membranes and GO/polymer composite membranes are introduced, the permeation mechanisms of molecules through the membranes are discussed and key factors affecting the permeability are presented in detail. In addition, recent applications in the food industry for filtration, bioreactions and active food packaging are analyzed, and limitations and future trends of GO membranes development are also highlighted. GO/polymer composite membranes exhibit excellent permeability, selectivity and strong barrier properties against bacterial and gas permeation. However, current food material filtration and packaging applications of GO/polymer composite membranes are still in the laboratory stage. Future work can focus on the development of large scale uniformly sized GO production, the homogeneous distribution and tight combination of GO in polymer matrixes, the sensing function of GO in packaging, and the verification method of GO toxicology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

H2SO4 and glycerol solutions are two commonly used unsaturated solutions for humidity control in moisture sorption isotherm (MSI) experiments. In a previous study, we reported an accurate water activity (aw) model for H2SO4 solutions for use in MSI measurements. The current study aimed to construct a reliable aw model of glycerol solutions and apply it to MSI measurements. Our research showed that the Wilson model could accurately predict aw of glycerol solutions, with a root mean square deviation of 0.0096 aw, in the concentration range of 9.47–99.62% glycerol by mass and in the temperature range of 0–100 °C. This aw model considerably simplified the conventional glycerol solution (GSL) method. Finally, the reliability of this simplified GSL method was tested by comparing with the standard saturated salt solution method for MSI measurements of microcrystalline cellulose and apple at 25 °C. This proposed GSL method, based on the Wilson model, might be a reliable, safe, and inexpensive alternative method for MSI measurements in food areas in the future. The Wilson model can precisely predict aw of glycerol solutions. The Wilson model can remarkably simplify the known glycerol solution (GSL) method. The simplified GSL method is reliable and applicable for use in microcrystalline cellulose and apples. A working table of aw of glycerol solutions was generated for convenience of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hyperspectral imaging system was employed to develop a general model for monitoring moisture distribution of four types of vegetables undergoing microwave-vacuum drying (MVD). Partial least squares regression and least squares support vector machines were developed based on full and optimal wavelengths, while the multiple linear regression (MLR) was built from optimal spectral data. Genetic algorithm-MLR (GA-MLR) model with a determination coefficient in prediction of 0.974 and a root mean square error in prediction of 4.70% was used for the moisture content visualization of four MVD vegetables. Moisture distribution maps indicated a similar center drying pattern among different vegetables, while the conner effects occurred in celery stalks and spinach leaves. Additionally, evaluations of color changes of the vegetables using the computer vision system indicated a decrease of the browning index in dried carrot slices and celery stalks but an increase in potato slices and spinach leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractMulti-target detection technology in food plays a key role in the field of food analysis, which can comprehensively and accurately assess the levels of multiple residues in food, thus ensuring food safety and quality. In recent years, smart nanostructured molecular logic technologies (SNMLT) have been widely employed in food multiplex detection. Of these, component materials-based SNMLT have attracted much attention owing to their rapid response, multifunctionality, programmability, and high sensitivity. Nevertheless, there is no review focusing on the SNMLT sensing platform for food multi-target detection. In the current review, the principles of operation and classification of SNMLT were first described, followed by a summary of the component materials and signal output strategies of SNMLT. Besides, the applications of SNMLT in food multiplex assay, including physical, biological, and chemical hazard factors and food quality detection were also highlighted. Finally, future challenges in SNMLT sensing were summarized and discussed. The review indicates that SNMLT has the advantages of a wide detection range, strong anti-interference ability, and the ability to analyze multiple target analytes simultaneously and future research can focus on combining SNMLT with artificial intelligence to develop inexpensive and easy-to-use smart sensing devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Current medical therapy for glaucoma consists of topical agents that lower intraocular pressure (IOP). Prostaglandin F2α analogues, the most commonly used class of IOP-lowering drugs, bind to prostaglandin FP receptors in tissues of the uveoscleral pathway. This binding increases the expression of matrix metalloproteinases, which degrade the extracellular matrix of the ciliary body, creating inter-muscular spaces allowing aqueous humor to exit the eye. Drawbacks to prostaglandin F2α analogues include cosmetic side effects, especially prostaglandin-associated periorbitopathy (PAP) syndrome. Areas covered: This review describes the novel prostaglandin E2 receptor antagonist, omidenepag isopropyl, which reduces IOP by improving drainage of uveoscleral and trabecular outflow, increasing the facility of outflow. In contrast to prostaglandin F2α analogues, omidenepag does not inhibit adipogenesis or promote eyelash growth. This review describes preclinical studies of omidenepag, published results of phase I–III clinical trials, and preliminary results of phase III trials currently in progress. Expert opinion: Omidenepag appears to provide IOP reductions comparable to those of prostaglandin F2α analogues, but without the cosmetic side effects common to prostaglandin F2α analogues, especially PAP syndrome. The lack of association between omidenepag and PAP suggests that long-term use of this agent may have advantages in patients with glaucoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modification of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates with thiol ligands is an emerging approach in enhancing the stability and sensitivity of metal substrates due to their good affinity with metals such as Au, Ag, and Cu. Thus, in the current study, 2-mercaptoethanol was used to modify the surface of silver-coated gold nanoparticles to develop a novel SERS substrate for the rapid assessment of fungicide residues in fruit samples. Results showed that the substrate could achieve the detection of ferbam and thiabendazole residues in apple puree with limits of detection of approximately 0.0042 and 0.0064 ppm, high coefficients of determination of 0.9946 and 0.9968, good recoveries ranging from 80 to 105 and 81 to 107% and relative standard deviations of 3.5–7.5 and 3.8–7.9 %, respectively. Therefore, the substrate developed could potentially be utilised to assess other toxic agrochemicals in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spoilage of agrifood produce is a major issue in the industry. Cooling is an effective technique for extending the shelf life of fresh agrifood produce to minimize spoilage. Due to the practical inability of directly solving the wide spatial and temporal scales in large industrial agrifood cooling systems, the porous medium approach is mostly used. However, improvements of current porous medium models and modeling across much wider scales are needed to better understand the multiscale cooling process and system problems. Recently, as a result of increased computational capacity, multiscale computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling approaches have been developed to tackle some of these challenges. The associated problems and applications of CFD in the design and process optimization of cooling processes and systems at different scales are considered. CFD solution and scale bridging techniques relevant for handling multiscale cooling processes and systems problems are discussed. Innovative applications of various CFD modeling techniques at different scales in cooling processes and systems are reviewed. CFD modeling techniques can be used to handle multiscale cooling process and system problems. Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is a potentially viable discrete modeling technique for complimentary usages alongside current continuum techniques in future multiscale CFD modeling. The multiscale CFD modeling paradigm can overcome the computational resource limitations associated with the direct modeling approach and enhance model extension across wider spatial and temporal scales. Information from multiscale CFD could be used to improve the accuracy of current porous medium models, and thus the design of more efficient cooling systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Softening is a common phenomenon of texture changes associated with plant cell walls, inducing a decrease in the quality of fruit. Inhibiting the softening is effective to extend the shelf life of fruit. Cold plasma (CP), as a novel nonthermal technology, has been applied to keep the freshness of the fruit. This review centers on applying cold plasma treatments to the inhibition of fruit softening. Different pathways for inhibiting fruit softening by CP treatments, including maintenance of fruit firmness, reduction in the activities of enzymes, inactivation of fungal pathogens and lowering of respiration rates, are discussed. The biochemistry of fruit softening and the fundamental of cold plasma are also presented. In general, among all postharvest technologies, cold plasma is a promising method with many advantages, showing great potential in maintaining the quality and inhibiting the softening of the fruit. Future work should focus on process optimization to achieve better results in maintaining fruit freshness, and commercial applications of cold plasma technology should also be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to compare the moisture content (MC) uniformity of ginger slices subjected to microwave-vacuum drying (MVD) and hot-air drying (HAD) and discriminate MVD ginger slices from HAD ones (MC < 20 g/100 g) by NIR hyperspectral imaging (HSI). MC maps were visualized by a simplified partial least squares regression (PLSR) model with the determination coefficient in the prediction of 0.971. The hole effect of the semivariogram in MC maps indicated the moisture difference between the center and the edge. Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) of the semivariogram indicated a similar degree of moisture dissimilarity between MVD and HAD ginger slices with MC lower than 60 g/100 g. Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and support vector machines (SVM) classifiers were respectively applied to the datasets of spectral reflectance at full wavelengths and nine optimum wavelengths selected by PCA, and variances in E-W and N-S directions to build classification models. The highest correct classification rate (CCR) of 95.1% was achieved by applying PLS-DA or SVM to the dataset of full wavelengths, while CCR of 90.3% was obtained for SVM model based on the dataset of nine selected wavelengths, confirming the potential of HSI spectra for MVD and HAD ginger slices discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, applications of cold plasma treatments have shown high efficiency in sterilization of fresh fruit and vegetables. With encouraging results, development of this technique focuses on influences of cold plasma on the quality attributes of these fresh produce. More studies found that the quality attributes are maintained in an acceptable range or can even be improved under certain plasma treatment conditions. This review provides an overview of the multiple effects of cold plasma on the fresh produce, in terms of physical, chemical and physiological aspects. Besides, the possible mechanisms of how plasma influences these quality attributes is elaborated, which is useful for further modification and improvement of the plasma technology, so that quality enhancement and shelf life extension can be achieved. Future trends in the development of cold plasma technology are also presented. Cold plasma treatment is a potential technology for treating fresh fruit and vegetables to enhance their quality and extend their shelf life. However, knowledge of the effects of cold plasma on the quality changes of fresh fruit and vegetables is still limited. Therefore, there is a need for future studies to understand the mechanisms of plasma effects on controlling the interactions between plasma and food products in order to realize the early adoption of the technology to the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing consumer demands for greener alternatives that do not involve toxic chemicals as well as the industry concerns of sustainable, nontoxic routes of extraction, the applications of novel extraction technologies in the food industry have been widely studied. This review discussed the novel extraction technologies including their mechanisms, protocols, influencing factors, advantages and drawbacks, as well as a comprehensive summary of the combination of the novel extraction technologies for phyto-bioactive compounds. Novel extraction methods, including ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE), are considered as clean, green and efficient alternative to conventional extraction technologies. Their combinations, ultrasound-assisted enzymatic extraction (UAEE), microwave-assisted enzymatic extraction (MAEE) and ultrasonic microwave-assisted extraction (UMAE), can exhibit higher potential extraction ability. However, some of them need specific equipment. The food industry in the extraction sector should choose a proper extraction method which has a balance between product quality, process efficiency, production costs and environmentally friendly processes. The current review presented comprehensive references for future research on the novel extraction of phyto-bioactive compounds extraction.HighlightsNovel clean, green and efficient alternative to conventional extraction technologies are discussed.Combination of the novel extraction technologies for synergistic effects.Minimal degradation and enhanced extraction yields.Extraction mechanisms, advantages and drawbacks associated with novel extraction technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) hyperspectral techniques in tandem with chemometric analyses were employed for developing multispectral real-time systems allowing the food industry to monitor moisture content (MC) in tubers including various potato and sweet potato products during drying. Multivariate models were established by partial least-squares regression (PLSR), support vector machine regression (SVMR), locally weighted partial least square regression (LWPLSR), and back propagation artificial neural network (BPANN) using full spectral ranges of 10372–6105 cm−1 (Spectral Set I), 3996–600 cm−1 (Spectral Set II), and 1700–900 cm−1 (Spectral Set III). The LWPLSR from Spectral Set I and BPANN from Spectral Set II and III, obtained the highest accuracies for tuber MC prediction. Then, both regression coefficient (RC) and successive projection algorithm (SPA) were respectively used for the selection of feature wavelengths in Spectral Set I, II and III. Instead of choosing many groups of characteristic variables for different varieties of potatoes and sweet potatoes, one set of feature variables for all tubers was selected from each spectral region for the convenience of industrial application. Eventually, six sets of feature wavelengths chosen from Spectral Set I, II and III were used to optimize models. The simplified SPA-LWPLSR from Spectral Set II and SPA-BPANN from Spectral Set III acquired good model performances for the tuber MC prediction, with determination coefficients in prediction (R2P) of 0.950 and 0.904, respectively. The RC-BPANN model from Spectral Set I achieved the highest R2P of 0.965. Such accuracies were comparable to that of full spectral models. The results reveal that hyperspectral techniques have great potential in the food industry for real-time measurement of tuber MC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollution of endocrine disrupting chemicals has become a global issue. As one of the hormonally active compounds, 17β-estradiol produces the strongest estrogenic effect when it enters the organism exogenously including food intakes, bringing potential harmfulness such as malfunction of the endocrine system. Therefore, in order to assure food safety and avoid potential risks of 17β-estradiol to humans, it is of great significance to develop rapid, sensitive and selective approaches for the detection of 17β-estradiol in food matrices. In this review, the harmfulness and main sources of 17β-estradiol are firstly introduced, followed by the description of the principles and applications of different approaches for 17β-estradiol detection including high performance liquid chromatography, electrochemistry, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence and colorimetry. Particularly, applications in detecting 17β-estradiol in food matrices over the years of 2010-2018 are discussed. Finally, advantages and limitations of these detection methods are highlighted and perspectives on future developments in the detection methods for 17β-estradiol are also proposed. Although many detection approaches can achieve trace or ultratrace detection of 17β-estradiol, further studies should be focused on the development of in-situ and real-time methods to monitor and evaluate 17β-estradiol for food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuber ultimate compressive strength (UCS) is a very important sensory property of tuber products. The UCS depends significantly on tuber moisture content and cooking degree. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the UCS of tuber products during the industrial production. In the present study, Fourier transform mid-infrared spectra and UCS reference values of tuber samples at different drying times were collected. The fitting functions between tuber UCS and drying time were evaluated. Moreover, the fingerprint spectral matrices (1500–900 cm−1) were studied by pre-treatment methods and principal component analysis. Then, the spectral features were linked to the tuber UCS based on multivariate calibration models in terms of principal component regression and support vector machine regression (SVMR). It has been confirmed that tuber UCS values fitted by specific exponential function could be successfully used to develop robust SVMR model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current work, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and silver-coated gold nanoparticles (Au@AgNPs) with coffee ring effect was employed to simultaneously ascertain urea and ammonium sulfate (AmS) in milk. A small drop (2 µL) of milk with adulterants was dried on a gold-coated slide to examine concentrations ranging from 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/dL based on spectra ranging from 400 to 1500 cm.−1 A uniform distribution of analytes, with enhanced Raman signals was detected in a small region (maximum 1.9 mm) of coffee ring across the centre of coffee ring pattern. Nanoparticles with core (Au) diameter of 26 nm and shell thickness (Ag) of 6.5 nm were confirmed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. A strong Raman peak at 980 cm−1 was assigned to AmS, while that at 1001 cm−1 was ascribed to urea. With AuNPs, coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.9873 and 0.9859 were achieved for urea and AmS, respectively, while for Au@AgNPs values of 0.9827 and 0.9855 were obtained for urea and AmS, respectively. This study revealed that SERS based on coffee ring effect has the potential to be further exploited for detecting other banned and hazardous adulterants in milk and milk products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk is a complete nutrient source for humans. The quality and safety of milk are critical for both producers and consumers, thereby the dairy industry requires rapid and nondestructive methods to ensure milk quality and safety. However, conventional methods are time-consuming and laborious, and require complicated preparation procedures. Therefore, the exploration of new milk analytical methods is essential. This current review introduces the principles of Raman spectroscopy and presents recent advances since 2012 of Raman spectroscopic techniques mainly involving surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), fourier-transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy, near-infrared (NIR) Raman spectroscopy, and micro-Raman spectroscopy for milk analysis including milk compositions, microorganisms and antibiotic residues in milk, as well as milk adulterants. Additionally, some challenges and future outlooks are proposed. The current review shows that Raman spectroscopic techniques have the promising potential for providing rapid and nondestructive detection of milk parameters. However, the application of Raman spectroscopy on milk analysis is not common yet since some limitations of Raman spectroscopy need to be overcome before making it a routine tool for the dairy industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) approach based on silver-coated gold nanoparticles (Au@Ag NPs) was established for rapid detection of multiple organophosphorus pesticides (triazophos and methyl-parathion) in peach fruit. The Raman enhancement of Au@Ag NPs for detecting organophosphorus pesticides was stronger than those of single Ag and Au NPs. It was revealed that core size of Au NPs was a critical parameter affecting the enhancement of Raman signals by joining two plasma resonance absorptions. The Au@Ag NPs with 26 nm Au core size and 6 nm Ag shell thickness showed significant Raman enhancement, especially by the creation of hot spots through NPs aggregation induced by connection between Au@Ag NPs and target molecules. The detection limits of triazophos and methyl-parathion in peach were 0.001 mg/kg. Good recovery (93.36 to 123.6 %) and high selectivity of the SERS activity allowed excellent precision for the detection of the triazophos and methyl-parathion in peach. Compared to earlier studies, the current approach was rapid, inexpensive and simple without lengthy sample pre-treatment. This study revealed that the proposed method could be employed for the analysis of trace contaminants such as triazophos and methyl-parathion in many food matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lycopene is a biologically active phytochemical reported in fruit. Conventional techniques such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) have been in existence for measuring lycopene in fruit, but these methods are destructive with relative accuracy and speed. Other novel spectroscopic and imaging approaches, which are more reliable and fast, have recently been developed to investigate complex components such as lycopene, total soluble solids, etc. in fruit. The current review attempts to highlight the potential of both conventional and novel techniques in evaluating lycopene contents of fruit. The novel techniques include both spectroscopic methods such as near infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy and spectral imaging approaches such as multispectral imaging, hyperspectral imaging and Raman imaging. The principles of these techniques are summarized, their detailed applications are discussed, and future trends are also presented. Both traditional and novel techniques highlighted in the current review can be used for assessing the distribution and concentration of lycopene in various fruit. Although novel spectroscopic and spectral imaging approaches may in the near future replace conventional methods, because conventional methods are typically often offline, destructive and time-consuming, which also require the use of chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the essential parts in human diet, vegetables are important in health keeping and their consumption increases continuously. Due to their highly perishable nature, the shelf life of fresh vegetables is considerably short, due to cellular respiration, microorganism, enzyme reaction, oxidation and so on. Therefore, short- and long-term storages of vegetables are required and various methods and technologies are applied for different commercial goals. For long-term storage, deep frozen storage is one of the most widespread used preservation methods for vegetables, as under temperatures low enough, the rate of most deteriorative reactions and microbial activities are significantly reduced. This review provides a critical comprehensive summary of long-term storage (≥6 months) vegetables under low temperatures (≤ -18 °C), and effects of the storage methods on various quality attributes of vegetables, such as texture, colour, contents of ascorbic acid, chlorophyll and carotenoids. Besides, the impacts of common pretreatments prior to freezing on the subsequent frozen storage are also briefly discussed. The current review shows that although some important biochemical attributes are more or less deteriorated and the quality loss of them is inevitable, a substantial portion of quality attributes appear to be stable during long-term deep frozen storage especially the physical parameters. Meanwhile, pretreatments prior to freezing, such as blanching process, also show significant influence on quality preservation in subsequent storage. Therefore long-term deep frozen storage can be applied as an effective storage method under proper conditions of pretreatments and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold plasma is a promising technique that has been tested as a process technology for a range of food commodities, mainly to destroy microorganisms, but also aimed at toxin degradation, enzyme inactivation, residual pesticide degradation and functionalization of food properties. Plasma has already been employed by industry for food packaging material sterilization and surface modification. As most of the current literature on cold plasma in the field of food science is focused on microbial inactivation efficacy, the information about its chemical influences on food is sparse. To better understand the chemical interactions of with plasma, this review focuses on plasma chemistry diagnostics techniques available to characterize the plasma reactive species generated. Equally important is the detection of induced chemistry in the food and here we present approaches to analyze likely reactions with key food bio-molecules. Such analysis will support mechanistic insights involved in these complex chemical reactions (i.e., DNA, lipid and protein) along with potential physical modifications of the food structure. For successful adoption of plasma as a food processing aid it is critical to elucidate these interactions as they have an important role in demonstrating the technology's safety as a food processing technique along with understanding any effect on food nutrients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food endogenous enzymes have impacts on color, texture and flavor of foods during food processing or preservation. Cold plasma is a novel non-thermal food processing technology, which has been extensively studied for contamination elimination and shelf life extension of foods. Particularly, much work has been reported about the effects of cold plasma on enzyme activities and alterations about enzymes conformational structures. It is thus necessary to understand the mechanisms of actions and applications of cold plasma technology in the conformation of food endogenous enzymes. This review focuses on the applications of cold plasma for the inactivation of various endogenous enzymes, including peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, lysozyme, α-chymotrypsin, alkaline phosphatase, and pectin methylesterase. The activations of several enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and lipase, by cold plasma are also discussed. In addition, this review highlights the transformation of conformational structures including primary and spatial structures induced by chemical reactive species during cold plasma treatments, such as reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species, especially, active sites consisting of prosthetic group and specific amino acids are demonstrated. Both extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting cold plasma treatments are also described. In general, cold plasma exhibits the ability to activate or inactivate enzymes activities with affecting the conformational structures of enzyme. Further studies should be focused on exploration at molecular level for providing more insight on the interaction mechanism. In addition, equipment and process parameters of cold plasma operation for different fresh food products should be optimized for achieving appropriate control on enzyme variation and obtaining maximum efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal treatment is a traditional method for food processing, which can kill microorganisms but also lead to physicochemical and sensory quality damage, especially to temperature-sensitive foods. Nowadays consumers' increasing interest in microbial safety products with premium appearance, flavor, great nutritional value and extended shelf-life has promoted the development of emerging non-thermal food processing technologies as alternative or substitution to traditional thermal methods. Fish is an important and world-favored food but has a short shelf-life due to its extremely perishable characteristic, and the microbial spoilage and oxidative process happen rapidly just from the moment of capture, making it dependent heavily on post-harvest preservation. The applications of novel non-thermal food processing technologies, including high pressure processing (HPP), ultrasound (US), pulsed electric fields (PEF), pulsed light (PL), cold plasma (CP) and ozone can extend the shelf-life by microbial inactivation and also keep good sensory quality attributes of fish, which is of high interest for the fish industry. This review presents the principles, developments of emerging non-thermal food processing technologies, and also their applications in fish industry, with the main focus on microbial inactivation and sensory quality. The promising results showed great potential to keep microbial safety while maintaining organoleptic attributes of fish products. What's more, the strengths and weaknesses of these technologies are also discussed. The combination of different food processing technologies or with advanced packaging methods can improve antimicrobial efficacy while not significantly affect other quality properties under optimized treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vacuum cooling is a rapid cooling method widely used in cooling some food products. Simulating the vacuum cooling process with mathematical models helps to acquire a more intuitive understanding and optimize the whole cooling process. However, there is no review summarizing the mathematical models of vacuum cooling. In this review, heat and mass transfer process during vacuum cooling, types of mathematical models for vacuum cooling, and numerical methods including finite difference method, finite element method and finite volume method used for process simulation are introduced in details. The food products used in numerical simulation study of vacuum cooling generally include liquid food, vegetables and cooked meat. The ranges of application of various numerical methods are also discussed. Moreover, heat and mass transfer coefficients have a great influence on the accuracy of the model, and are generally provided by the literature. The investigations presented in this review invariably demonstrate that mathematical modeling can provide good prediction of key information of vacuum cooling process, and has a great potential to improve vacuum cooling process in the food industry. However, more efforts are still needed to realize the industrial translation of laboratory results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractMarine bioactive peptides (MBPs) are a type of natural compound with a variety of bioactivities, such as anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antihypertensive. Due to a wide range of sources, low toxicity, and high specificity, MBPs have now received extensive attention in the fields of food, medicine, and cosmetics. The structure of MBPs determines their biological activities. Therefore, it is essential to analyze the relationship between the structure and bioactivity of MBPs. Because of the advantages of mild conditions, high specificity, safety, and environmental friendliness, enzymatic hydrolysis has become the most commonly used method to produce MBPs. However, the high cost and low yield of enzymatic methods have motivated researchers to search for alternative technologies. Novel pretreatments like ultrasound, microwave, high hydrostatic pressure, and pulsed electric fields have been employed in the production of MBPs. By inducing protein unfolding and increasing enzymatic cleavage sites, these techniques have been demonstrated to accelerate protein hydrolysis and enhance the biological activity of MBPs. This article reviews recent research advances on marine-derived protein hydrolysates and peptides, discusses the relationship between their biological activity and structure, and compares the mechanisms of action of different novel technologies used to promote protein hydrolysis and enhance the biological activity of MBPs. In addition, the current challenges facing the development and application of MBPs are outlined and possible future work in tackling these challenges is also suggested in the current review. It is hoped that this review can promote further development and application of marine active substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freezing is one of the most widespread used preservation methods for meats including fish meat. Traditional freezing methods such as air blast freezing and cryogenic freezing could induce some quality deterioration such as damage to cell structure, increased drip loss, and poor sensory value. Therefore, novel freezing methods have been developed to minimize the disadvantages of traditional freezing methods. This review describes the enhancement of quality attributes of muscle tissues frozen by novel freezing technologies, including high pressure freezing, electrically and magnetically assisted freezing, ultrasound assisted freezing and antifreeze protein. These quality attributes include microstructure, moisture loss, color, tenderness, protein denaturation, lipid and protein oxidation, and microbial counts. In this review, the principles of these emerging freezing technologies are introduced, and the impacts of these technologies on controlling the formation and growth of ice crystals and on complex changes of protein are also discussed. The current review shows that the novel freezing methods have positive effects on promoting the quality of frozen muscle. At a micro level, the majority of the novel methods have some certain ability on controlling the formation and growth of ice crystals, thus creating smaller, and more homogeneous and regular distribution of ice crystals, leading to better microstructure and enhanced quality attributes of frozen meats. Meanwhile, complex changes of protein take place under some of these novel freezing processes, and therefore the possible negative effect of the changes of protein should also be considered for commercial applications of these technologies in the frozen food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to analyze food safety and quality in a quick, sensitive, and reliable manner is of high importance in food industry. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), which is popular for its significant enhancement, excellent sensitivity, and the fingerprinting ability to identify special molecules, has shown vast potential for rapid detection of chemical constitutes, chemical contaminants, and pathogens in food sample. For SERS, the enhancement of Raman signals is related to not only the SERS-active substrates, but also the interactions between sample and substrates. In the current review, colloidal and solid surface-based substrates are briefly described, fabrication techniques for SERS substrates are presented, and applications of SERS for food matrixes, correlation between substrates and food samples are also introduced. Finally, some outlook on further developments is presented. The current review is therefore intended to provide a comprehensive overview on the nanofabrication of SERS substrates, and the potential of applying SERS as an important food analysis platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freezing is an effective way of food preservation. However, traditional freezing methods have the disadvantages of low freezing efficiency and generation of large ice crystals, leading to possible damage of food quality. Power ultrasound assisted freezing as a novel technique can effectively reduce the adverse effects during freezing process. This paper gives an overview on recent researches of power ultrasound technique to accelerate the food freezing processes and illustrates the main principles of power ultrasound assisted freezing. The effects of power ultrasound on liquid food, model solid food as well as fruit and vegetables are discussed, respectively, from the aspects of increasing freezing rate and improving microstructure. It is shown that ultrasound assisted freezing can effectively improve the freezing efficiency and promote the formation of small and evenly distributed ice crystals, resulting in better food quality. Different inherent properties of food samples affect the effectiveness of ultrasound application and optimum ultrasound parameters depend on the nature of the samples. The application of ultrasound to the food industry is more likely on certain types of food products and more efforts are still needed to realize the industrial translation of laboratory results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of packaging cannot be denied in the life cycle of any food product. Intelligent packaging is an emerging technology in the food packaging sector. Although it still needs its full emergence in the market, its importance has been proved for the maintenance of food quality and safety. The present review describes several aspects of intelligent packaging. It first highlights different tools used in intelligent packaging and elucidates the role of these packaging devices for maintaining the quality of different food items in terms of controlling microbial growth and gas concentration, and for providing convenience and easiness to its users in the form of time temperature indication. This review also discusses other intelligent packaging solutions in supply chain management of food products to control theft and counterfeiting conducts and broaden the image of the food companies in terms of branding and marketing. Overall, intelligent packaging can ensure food quality and safety in the food industry, however there are still some concerns over this emerging technology including high cost and legal aspects, and thus future work should be performed to overcome these problems for further promoting its applications in the food industry. Moreover, work should also be carried out to combine several single intelligent packaging devices into a single one, so that most of the benefits from this emerging technology can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwave vacuum drying of banana slices was investigated in this study. Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI, 950-1650 nm with 7 nm increments) and chemometrics were used to predict moisture content, hardness, and fracturability of banana slices during the entire drying process. A computer vision system was also used to evaluate browning index (BI) of slices at different drying stages; dark brown spots observed in slices were subjected to over 21-min total microwave heating. In addition, thermal imaging results showed that higher temperature occurred in the central part of banana slices. Calibration models were developed based on partial least square regression and support vector machine regression (SVM-R) using mean spectra with standard normal variate pretreatment. The results showed that SVM-R models performed better in the prediction of the three quality attributes with of 0.996, 0.927, and 0.961, respectively. The moisture distribution maps were generated using NIR-HSI; uniformly distributed moisture patterns were observed in each drying batch with small variations observed within individual slices. This study demonstrated the potential of spectral and imaging techniques for nondestructive quality evaluation of food products during drying processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past ten years, as a novel and prospective nanomaterials, carbon dots have acquired tremendous attention for their unique optical and physicochemical properties, high compatibility and low cost, as well as great potential in sensing area. This review aims to present the current detecting principles based on carbon dots and other nano biological technologies, involving fluorescence quenching and recovery mechanisms. The synthetic and modificatory approaches in making carbon dots including top-down and bottom-up methods, as well as surface passivation and heteroatom doping ways are introduced. Their applications in food area, concerning detection of nutrients, restricted or banned substances as well as foodborne pathogenic bacteria and the toxins secreted are discussed. Finally, the difficulties to be overcome or problems to be solved are presented, and other novel techniques to combine with carbon dots to obtain more stable and specific nanosensors in various fields are proposed. Although carbon dots based sensors have shown the potential in sensing aspect of food area, as food samples are complex in compositions that may cause interferences, more novel techniques are needed to combine with carbon dots to develop sensitive and specific sensing probes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvements in living standards result in a growing demand for food with high quality attributes including freshness, nutrition and safety. However, current industrial processing methods rely on traditional thermal and chemical methods, such as sterilization and solvent extraction, which could induce negative effects on food quality and safety. The electric fields (EFs) involving pulsed electric fields (PEFs) and high voltage electric fields (HVEFs) have been studied and developed for assisting and enhancing various food processes. In this review, the principles and applications of pulsed and high voltage electric fields are described in details for a range of food processes, including microbial inactivation, component extraction, and winemaking, thawing and drying, freezing and enzymatic inactivation. Moreover, the advantages and limitations of electric field related technologies are discussed to foresee future developments in the food industry. This review demonstrates that electric field technology has a great potential to enhance food processing by supplementing or replacing the conventional methods employed in different food manufacturing processes. Successful industrial applications of electric field treatments have been achieved in some areas such as microbial inactivation and extraction. However, investigations of HVEFs are still in an early stage and translating the technology into industrial applications need further research efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) has become one of the most efficient and advanced techniques for analysis of food products. Many relevant researches have been conducted in this regard. However, no reviews about the applications of NIR for liquid food analysis are reported. Therefore, this review summarizes the recent research developments of NIR technology in the field of liquid foods, focusing on the detection of quality attributes of various liquid foods, including alcoholic beverages (red wines, rice wines, and beer), nonalcoholic beverages (juice, fruit vinegars, coffee beverages, and cola beverages), dairy products (milk and yogurt), and oils (vegetable, camellia, peanut, and virgin olive oils and frying oil). In addition, the classification and authentication detection of adulteration are also covered. It is hoped that the current paper can serve as a reference source for the future liquid food analysis by NIR techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moisture sorption isotherm is commonly determined by saturated salt slurry method, which has defects of long time cost, cumbersome labor, and microbial deterioration of samples. Thus, a novel method, aw measurement (AWM) method, has been developed to overcome these drawbacks. Fundamentals and applications of this fast method have been introduced with respects to its typical operational steps, a variety of equipment set-ups and applied samples. The resultant rapidness and reliability have been evaluated by comparing with conventional methods. This review also discussed factors impairing measurement precision and accuracy, including inappropriate choice of predryingwetting techniques and unachieved moisture uniformity in samples due to inadequate time. This analysis and corresponding suggestions can facilitate improved AWM method with more satisfying accuracy and time cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staple foods, including cereals, legumes, and root/tuber crops, dominate the daily diet of humans by providing valuable proteins, starch, oils, minerals, and vitamins. Quality evaluation of staple foods is primarily carried out on sensory (e.g. external defect, color), adulteration (e.g. species, origin), chemical (e.g. starch, proteins), mycotoxin (e.g.Fusariumtoxin, aflatoxin), parasitic infection (e.g. weevil, beetle), and internal physiological (e.g. hollow heart, black heart) aspects. Conventional methods for the quality assessment of staple foods are always laborious, destructive, and time-consuming. Requirements for online monitoring of staple foods have been proposed to encourage the development of rapid, reagentless, and noninvasive techniques. Spectroscopic techniques, such as visible–infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and spectral imaging, have been introduced as promising analytical tools and applied for the quality evaluation of staple foods. This review summarizes the recent applications and progress of such spectroscopic techniques in determining various qualities of staple foods. Besides, challenges and future trends of these spectroscopic techniques are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Freezing plays an important role in food preservation and the emergence of rapid freezing technologies can be highly beneficial to the food industry. This paper reviews some novel food freezing technologies, including high-pressure freezing (HPF), ultrasound-assisted freezing (UAF), electrically disturbed freezing (EF) and magnetically disturbed freezing (MF), microwave-assisted freezing (MWF), and osmo-dehydro-freezing (ODF). HPF and UAF can initiate ice nucleation rapidly, leading to uniform distribution of ice crystals and the control of their size and shape. Specifically, the former is focused on increasing the degree of supercooling, whereas the latter aims to decrease it. Direct current electric freezing (DC-EF) and alternating current electric freezing (AC-EF) exhibit different effects on ice nucleation. DC-EF can promote ice nucleation and AC-EF has the opposite effect. Furthermore, ODF has been successfully used for freezing various vegetables and fruit. MWF cannot control the nucleation temperature, but can decrease supercooling degree, thus decreasing the size of ice crystals. The heat and mass transfer processes during ODF have been investigated experimentally and modeled mathematically. More studies should be carried out to understand the effects of these technologies on food freezing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With improvement in people's living standards, many people nowadays pay more attention to quality and safety of meat. However, traditional methods for meat quality and safety detection and evaluation, such as manual inspection, mechanical methods, and chemical methods, are tedious, time-consuming, and destructive, which cannot meet the requirements of modern meat industry. Therefore, seeking out rapid, non-destructive, and accurate inspection techniques is important for the meat industry. In recent years, a number of novel and noninvasive imaging techniques, such as optical imaging, ultrasound imaging, tomographic imaging, thermal imaging, and odor imaging, have emerged and shown great potential in quality and safety assessment. In this paper, a detailed overview of advanced applications of these emerging imaging techniques for quality and safety assessment of different types of meat (pork, beef, lamb, chicken, and fish) is presented. In addition, advantages and disadvantages of each imaging technique are also summarized. Finally, future trends for these emerging imaging techniques are discussed, including integration of multiple imaging techniques, cost reduction, and developing powerful image-processing algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, there has been growing concern over the prevalence of Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPnEOs) in the natural environment as these compounds are known endocrine disruptors. This study focuses on the seasonal variation and spatial distribution of NPnEOs in the wastewater of a full scale sewage treatment plant, operating a Biological Aerated Filter (BAF), in Harbin, a city in Northeast China. Water samples were collected seasonally from 2009 to 2010, with the findings revealing remarkable seasonal variations in the concentrations of NPnEOs. The total influent concentrations of short-chain NPnEOs (NP, NP1EO and NP2EO) measured during winter was 16 mg L−1, with decreasing concentrations observed during autumn, summer and spring of 89, 67 and 41 mg L−1, respectively. The concentrations of the short-chain NPnEOs measured during autumn become higher (89 mg L−1), with summer becoming the lowest (16 mg L−1). Although the removal efficiencies of short-chain NPnEOs in STP showed various trends in different seasons, they all achieve relatively good performance during summer and winter. The BAF process plays the main role in the elimination of short-chain NPnEOs compounds; however, the ambient temperatures were not found to significantly influence the removal efficiency of short-chain NPnEOs compounds from the STP. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

AbstractBacterial biofilm has brought a lot of intractable problems in food and biomedicine areas. Conventional biofilm control mainly focuses on inactivation and removal of biofilm. However, with robust construction and enhanced resistance, the established biofilm is extremely difficult to eradicate. According to the mechanism of biofilm development, biofilm formation can be modulated by intervening in the key factors and regulatory systems. Therefore, regulation of biofilm formation has been proposed as an alternative way for effective biofilm control. This review aims to provide insights into the regulation of biofilm formation in food and biomedicine. The underlying mechanisms for early-stage biofilm establishment are summarized based on the key factors and correlated regulatory networks. Recent developments and applications of novel regulatory strategies such as anti/pro-biofilm agents, nanomaterials, functionalized surface materials and physical strategies are also discussed. The current review indicates that these innovative methods have contributed to effective biofilm control in a smart, safe and eco-friendly way. However, standard methodology for regulating biofilm formation in practical use is still missing. As biofilm formation in real-world systems could be far more complicated, further studies and interdisciplinary collaboration are still needed for simulation and experiments in the industry and other open systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]