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A fresh baby puree (FP) was elaborated with quinoa and amaranth flours (native and germinated), and the nutritional, technological, and sensory changes induced by different drying methods were investigated: lyophilization (LD), forced convection (CD), and extrusion (ED). FP had an amino acids content appropriate for baby consumption; ED had lower digestibility (75%) compared with CD (82%) and LD (83%). ED had the highest water absorption capacity (2.2 g/g). Rehydrated LD had the lightest color (L* = 67), while rehydrated ED (L* = 59) was the darkest. Rehydrated ED had the highest hardness (335 N), adhesiveness (1199 N.m), and chewiness (209 N). Both rehydrated LD and CD were described as having an intense, bitter, and strange flavor; while rehydrated ED was described as dark, consistent, sweet, fruity, and presented the best acceptability. Therefore, the appropriate method to obtain dehydrated baby purees was extrusion. Novelty impact statement: Babies are a vulnerable age group because they have an underdeveloped digestive system; therefore, the use of nutritionally improved foods, such as those obtained from germination, could give added value to the products developed for them. In this study, the characteristics of a gluten‐free baby puree formulated with germinated Andean grains were highlighted; furthermore, as the dehydration could increase the shelf life and availability of the puree, it was dried by different methods. The rheological, textural, and sensory characteristics of the rehydrated puree were studied, leaving for later publications the study of the generation of anti‐nutritional or toxic compounds during drying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The seasonal variation of key bioactivities in ethyl acetate extracts of chub mackerel (Scomber colias), an underutilised fish species, was evaluated through a complete monthly sampling. The phenolic content had a seasonal variation, ranging from 39 ± 5 mg GAE/100 g ww (February) to 340 ± 6 mg GAE/100 g ww (October). Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) increased from 1.3 ± 0.4 μmol Fe2+ Eq/g ww (January) to 10.3 ± 0.1 μmol Fe2+ Eq/g ww (September). ABTS had no antioxidant activity between June and December, being the highest value in February, 64.3 ± 6.3 μmol Trolox Eq/100 g ww. For phenolic content and FRAP, there was a strong seasonality, which was similar to that of the lipid content. Therefore, correlations were high, being R2 0.95 for lipid vs. phenolic contents. Anti‐inflammatory activity did not show large changes throughout most part of the year, remaining high in the 70–80% of COX‐2 inhibition. This finding and the seasonality of the antioxidant properties warrant further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The elemental composition and bioaccessibility of the Azorean macroalgae Petalonia binghamiae, Osmundea pinnatifida and Halopteris scoparia were studied. H. scoparia had the highest Cr, Mn, Co and Ni contents. Iodine content was also the highest in H. scoparia, 1098 ± 54 mg kg dw−1. Content reductions due to rehydration were in the 75%–90% range. Steaming led to similar reductions with exception of Cr, Mn, Co, Ni and Zn in O. pinnatifida. For P. binghamiae and O. pinnatifida, bioaccessibility percentages varied between elements. Variation due to rehydration and culinary treatment was narrower, particularly for P. binghamiae. Whereas I bioaccessibility was low in O. pinnatifida, 11%–14%, it reached 57%–69% in P. binghamiae. On the basis of bioaccessibility, to meet the I DRI, 2.7 g dried P. binghamiae, 16.9–23.8 g rehydrated P. binghamiae and 12.7 g steamed P. binghamiae everyday are required. For O. pinnatifida, 5.0 g, 19.0–33.3 g and 12.9 g of dried, rehydrated and steamed red seaweed, respectively, are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: On the basis of a Total Diet Study, the Br, As, Cd and Pb contents in relevant food groups consumed in Portugal were determined. The studied groups were meat products, fatty fish, lean fish, shellfish, cephalopods, fresh and dried fruit, crucifers and other vegetables. It was observed that the concentrations of As, Br, Cd and Pb in fruit, vegetables and meat products were much lower than in seafood. Fresh fruit exhibited the lowest elemental contents. The concentrations of As, Br, Cd and Pb did not show any dependence on season. With respect to proximate composition, elemental content dependence on protein or ash was weak. PCA showed relevant associations: between Br and ash contents in fatty fish; between Cd, Pb and protein contents in crucifers; and between As, fat and protein contents in the other vegetables group. Therefore, the effect of the proximate composition on the studied elemental contents warrants investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) culture has been expanding, thereby leading to a greater importance of hatcheries. Broodstock conditioning is very important in the hatchery process, in which diet composition may have a strong influence on the offspring production and quality. Therefore, the current study evaluated elemental composition and bioaccessibility of oysters fed different ratios of dietary seaweed (SW) and microalgae. The dietary conditioning consisted of direct replacement of microalgae by SW at four substitution levels (0%, 25%, 50%, and 100% diet). It was observed that oysters fed 100% SW had the highest levels of Be, Cu, Zn, Sr, and Cd. The most important trend was a concentration decline of most elements with progressively lower levels of SW substitution for microalgae in the feeds. No Cd or Pb hazard (contents below 1.0 mg/kg for Cd and 1.5 mg/kg for Pb) was found in oyster meat. Regarding elemental bioaccessibility, values were similar, near 100% in the cases of Cu, Br, and I. Only for Mn and Pb, bioaccessibility percentages deviated more from 100%. Indeed, the value for Pb was 50% ± 7% (initial group), and for Mn, all values were equal or lower than 29% ± 2% (final group of oysters fed microalgae). It was observed that Mn, Cd, and Pb bioaccessibility increased with a growing share of microalgal biomass in the feed. Therefore, this study showed that SW incorporation into the feed influences elemental composition and bioaccessibility of the oysters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multivariate analysis was applied to test the adequacy of pooling samples versus single units as a sampling strategy to estimate dietary intake and risk assessment of chemical elements in nonalcoholic beverages. The contents of 18 minerals and trace elements (Cr, Mn, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Mo, Sr, Co, Cd, Sn, Pb Fe, Mg, Ca, P, Na, and K) in fruit juices and nectars were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Arsenic speciation was done with high-performance liquid chromatographer-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The data obtained in pooled samples and single units were then studied by analysis of variance and least significant difference tests, Spearman's correlation, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis. Analysis of variance and least significant difference tests were used to evaluate analytical data from pooled samples and single units. Values of individual units and pooled samples were statistically different with the exception of Se ( P < .05), illustrating pooling as an inadequate strategy. Spearman's correlation displayed significant correlations between the following pairs: P-K (0.924), Mo-K (0.888), Mo-P (0.876), and Ca-Mg (0.846), indicating that chemical elements could be from the same source, having a natural occurrence, or the same exposure sources. By applying principal component analysis and cluster analysis, it was possible to classify juices and nectars by fruit type and geographical origin. It was observed that 2 principal components accounted for 59% of the total variance in the data. Cluster analysis classified samples into 5 clusters. Combined chemometric tools are suited to select appropriate laboratory sampling strategies for risk assessment. Application of chemometric methods to analytical data may be useful to group samples by similar characteristics for the purpose of Total Diet Studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand of honey with defined quality has increased around the world; therefore, an adequate description of the traceability and authenticity of honeys is necessary. The pollen and physicochemical characteristics of 58 honey samples collected from five different environmental units (EUs) of the Jujuy province (Argentine) were determined, in order to differentiate them by geographical origin through the application of chemometric methods. A qualitative pollen analysis was performed by microscopy. The physicochemical characteristics were determined by Association of Official Analytical Chemists methods. Correspondence analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were performed. Forty-five per cent of honeys were monofloral; nearly half of them correspond to native species-among which, Salix humboldtiana, Baccharis sp. and Ziziphus mistol stood out. Physicochemical and microbiological analysis showed acceptable quality for honeys. CA characterized significantly honeys from four different EUs using all pollen data. While forward stepwise coupled to LDA identified 14 significant variables to build a discriminatory model with three significant discriminant functions, a cumulative variance of 94% was reached. Thus, 86% of the samples were correctly classified. PCA and LDA applied to physicochemical data allowed to distinguish three different groups with a significant function ( p < 0.01) that explained 90% of the total variability. Honey corresponding to EU III Subandean Hills of Santa Bárbara was the most accurately classified by pollen and physicochemical data. The application of chemometric methods to pollen data and physicochemical parameters may be a useful tool to determine honey geographical origin. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a chromatographic procedure for an ultra-performance liquid chromatography can be a very time-consuming task, as the general approach for finding the appropriate operating conditions has been a trial-and-error process. The present study reports a novel approach in the field of ultra-performance liquid chromatography by using statistical experimental design based on Taguchi's method, which allows a complete separation of nine isocyanates present in a complex matrix. The resolution between two adjacent peaks was considered as a quality characteristic and transformed to a Taguchi signal-to-noise ratio. An orthogonal array L9 (34) was selected to analyze the effect of four chromatographic factors, that is, proportion of solvent, percent triethylamine (v/v), temperature (°C), and flow (mL min−1), with three levels each. The joint analysis performed to the significant factors achieved in the eight analyses of variance allowed to identify two methods to conduct a complete separation of all peaks. Six isocyanates were separated with the first method, with all factors at the lowest level. The remaining three isocyanates were separated with the second method, with the proportion of solvent at the highest level and the other factors at the lowest level. The overall Taguchi experimental design identified the proportion of solvent and the flow rate as major chromatographic factors. Finally, confirmatory experiments were performed with samples prepared with six and three isocyanates, confirming the complete separation of all isocyanates in the study. The Taguchi methods provided a systematic and efficient methodology for this optimization, with considerably less effort than would be required for other optimizations techniques. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]