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The changes in microbiological, physiochemical, and textural properties in fresh cheeses made from either cow or goat milk were observed under hyperbaric storage (HS, 50-100 MPa) at room temperature (RT) and compared with refrigerated storage under normal atmospheric pressure for 60 days. An initial microbial growth inhibition was observed for both cheese types, as well as a considerable inactivation of all endogenous microbiota under HS/RT (75-100 MPa/RT). This contributed to a higher stability of pH and color values, especially at the higher pressure at room temperature (100 MPa/RT) throughout 60 days storage. A compression effect occurred during HS/RT, resulting in higher whey loss, reduction in moisture content, and textural changes. Such changes tended to decrease over time, to values closer to the initial ones, with hardness values at the 60th day of storage at 75/RT similar to those observed for refrigeration on the 7th day and 1.4-fold higher than those observed at 100/RT. Overall, HS/RT reduced the microbial populations load during storage (≥5 log units in some cases), with minimal effects on most of the evaluated quality parameters. These results point to a considerable shelf-life extension of HS fresh cheeses, without temperature control, pinpointing HS as a more sustainable preservation strategy than refrigeration, with great potential for industrial application. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The results presented in this study point to increased microbial stability of fresh cheeses when stored under hyperbaric storage without temperature control, leading possibly to an increased shelf-life, of up to 60 days. This kind of new food preservation strategy may be suitable for longer transportation of foods, where energy may not be handily and widely available, while additionally contributing to increased shelf-life and safety. Also, hyperbaric storage could be applied throughout the food storage, improving shelf-life with a lower carbon footprint than refrigeration.

Serra da Estrela cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) is a traditional cheese that is wrapped in paper without vacuum. High-pressure processing (HPP), which requires vacuum packaging of the cheese, has been used for its cold pasteurization to overcome safety issues. In this study, two packaging systems were studied: non-vacuum greaseproof paper wrapping package and vacuum packaging in plastic film. Lactococci, lactobacilli, enterococci, and total mesophiles reached ca. 8 log cfu g−1 and 4–6 log cfu g−1 in control (unpasteurized) and HPP-treated cheeses, respectively, with no significant differences between packaging systems. Spoilage microorganisms' viable cell numbers were reduced to −1 (quantification limit) in HPP-treated cheeses, independently of the packaging system. Yeasts and molds reached >5 log cfu g−1 in non-vacuum paper-wrapped cheeses. A vacuum-packaging system enabled better control of cheese proteolysis, which was revealed to be closer to that of the original control cheese values at the end of the 10-month storage period. In addition, cheese stored under vacuum film packaging became harder than non-vacuum paper-wrapped cheeses at each time point. Overall, conventional non-vacuum paper wrapping is adequate for short storage periods (

Background: There is a need to improve the nutritional and functional characteristics of breakfast cereal products (BCP) consumed worldwide, namely by increasing the content and diversity of dietary fibre and enrichment in micronutrients and bioactive compounds. Considering the high amounts of fruit and vegetable by-products (FVB) generated by industrial processing, the associated environmental issues but also their richness in nutrients and phytochemicals, FVB show great potential for incorporation in BCP, thus improving the nutritional and functional aspects of these products. Scope and approach: The transformation of FVB into flours/powders results in added-value ingredients rich in fibre and bioactive compounds (e.g., phenolic compounds, carotenoids, prebiotics). The extrusion processing (used to produce BCP) is an affordable technique that uses flours as raw material. This work reviews extrusion processing to produce BCP supplemented with FVB powders and discusses the main effects on the final products associated with composition and processing characteristics. Additionally, advantages and challenges of introducing FVB powders into BCP are also reviewed and discussed. Key Findings and Conclusions: The use of the FVB flours to create richer BCP in several types of fibre and phenolic compounds appears to be a promising strategy to create nutritionally valuable BCP. By simultaneously valorising FVB, this strategy also contributes positively to the food system sustainability from a circular economy point of view. The use of FVB flours may improve fibre, micronutrient, and bioactive compounds content. High fibre content reduces texture quality of products, but extrusion processing allows to adjust production variables to overcome the potential decrease in sensory quality.

Hyperbaric storage (HS) is a new food preservation alternative or even improvement of cold storage processes. HS of raw pork meat in pieces (PP) and raw bovine minced meat (BM) was compared to conventional refrigeration at 60 MPa/10 °C and 75 MPa/25 °C (conditions at which a previous work reported good potential for shelf life extension), on proteolytic enzymes, texture after cooking, and SEM of raw meat microstructure. Regarding enzymatic activities in PP meat, an overall reduction on the activity of cathepsins B, L, and D and calpains were observed, which were more pronounced for cathepsin B and calpains, with a reduction of 77.5 and 95.3% for PP samples stored at 60 MPa/10 °C and 47.3 and 90.9% for samples stored at 75 MPa/25 °C, respectively, after 60 days of storage. A different scenario was observed for BM samples, where enzymatic activities remained practically unchanged for both HS conditions (except for calpains), when compared to refrigerated storage. Indeed, the reduction of calpain activity in BM at 60 MPa/10 °C was comparable to that of refrigerated storage, while at 75 MPa/25 °C, a significant (p > 0.05) reduction on calpain activity was observed compared either with refrigeration and 60 MPa/10 °C from the 30th day of storage experiments onwards. Additionally, cathepsin L activity decreased along refrigerated storage (approximately 44.4%), while both HS conditions allowed to keep the enzymatic activity unchanged along storage. Regarding texture after cooking, 60 MPa/10 °C revealed to be the preservation condition that better maintained meat textural characteristics during storage. Furthermore, analysis by SEM showed a more pronounced effect of 75 MPa/25 °C on meat microstructure, with muscular fibers showing a smother appearance and a less individualized organization. These results contribute to deepen the knowledge of the effect of HS on raw meat, after previous results have revealed a good possibility of extending the shelf-life of raw bovine and pork meats by HS, either in combination with mild (10 °C) or room-like (25 °C) temperatures.

Fruits and vegetables are responsible for about 22% of food losses and wastes along the supply chain (not including the retail level). However, fruit and vegetable by-products (FVB) may be transformed into fibre-rich flours and bioactive compounds, mainly bound to the fibre, thus bringing value to the food industry due to health benefits and technological functionality. Therefore, these by-products have great potential to be applied in several food industries. The most common strategy is transforming these by-products into ingredients, and there are some processing strategies for transforming these by-products into dried ingredients - flours. Hence, this review aimed to unveil the most straightforward processes already available and discussed in the literature, allowing an easier implementation at an industrial level, thus achieving an actual application and valorisation of these by-products. The food products where these flours have been applied and the effects on the final products' physicochemical characteristics and health attributes are also critically reviewed.

This work aimed to study refrigeration storage (4 °C for 23 days) of yoghurt produced at 43 °C under sub-lethal high pressure, at 10, 20, 30 and 40 MPa, in comparison with the fermentation process at atmospheric pressure (0.1 MPa). Lactic acid bacteria (S. thermophilus and L. bulgaricus, LAB) and quality parameters like pH, titratable acidity, syneresis and colour were evaluated, along with textural analyses to infer how pressure would impact the obtained yoghurt along storage. Higher fermentation pressures resulted in slightly lower LAB loads (a maximum of 1.01 Log (CFU/mL)) and increased the fermentation time (a maximum of 3 h 25 min), syneresis (a maximum of 44%), all for 40 MPa and firmness (a maximum of 2.5-fold) for 30 MPa. Under refrigeration, LAB were more active during the first 15 days of storage in yoghurts fermented under pressure (increasing loads up to 0.54 Log (CFU/mL)). Colour, pH and titratable acidity were not affected by pressure or storage. Further research is of interest to ascertain the biotechnological potential of fermentation processes under sub-lethal high pressure in general and in particular for yoghurt production.

Hyperbaric storage at room temperature (HS/RT: 75 MPa/25 °C) of vacuum-packaged fresh Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) loins was studied for 30 days and compared to atmospheric pressure at refrigerated temperatures (AP/5 °C, 30 days) and RT (AP/25 °C, 5 days). Most of the fatty acids were not affected by storage conditions, with only a slight decrease of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content (n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid) for AP samples, reflected in the lower polyene index values obtained and higher oxidation extent. For HS, a lower lipid oxidation extension and a slower increase of myofibrillar fragmentation index values were observed, when compared to AP samples. The volatile profile was similar for the HS and fresh samples, with the HS samples retaining fresh-like alcohols and aldehydes components, which disappeared in AP samples, mainly in AP/25 °C samples. The volatile profile for AP samples (5 and 25 °C) revealed mostly spoilage-like compounds due to microbial activity. Drip loss increased progressively during the 30 days of storage under HS, while a slight decrease of water holding capacity after 5 days was observed, increasing further after 30 days. Regarding textural properties, only resilience was affected by HS, decreasing after 30 days. So, HS/RT could represent an interesting extended preservation methodology of fresh salmon loins, since allows retaining important physicochemical properties for at least 15 days, while refrigeration after 5 days showed already volatile spoilage-like compounds due to microbial activity. Furthermore, this methodology allows additional considerable energy savings when compared to refrigeration.

Microbial transglutaminase (MTG) is an enzyme largely used in the food industry, mainly to improve food texture. However, many globular proteins show low susceptibility to the action of this enzyme. High-pressure processing (HPP), being able to change protein conformation, may be a useful tool to increase the accessibility of globular proteins to the action of MTG. Nevertheless, HPP conditions need to be carefully optimized to avoid the expected decrease of enzymatic activity observed above certain conditions of pressure (P), treatment time (t) or temperature (T). Pressure inactivation of MTG under different HPP conditions (200–600 MPa; 20–40 °C; 10–30 min) was evaluated employing a face-centered composite design at four different pH values (4–7). The regression models obtained presented high coefficients of determination and high F values, although they could not explain some of the associated variability. At all the pH values tested, the three main factors (P, T, and t) significantly (p < 0.05) affected the activity of MTG. At least 20% of MTG was inactivated when low pressures (200 MPa) were used at pH 4 and 5, whereas a higher pressure above 400 MPa was needed to obtain a similar inactivation at pH 6 or 7. MTG pressure-inactivation followed first-order kinetics under all tested conditions. Inactivation rate constants decreased with increasing pressure at constant temperature and pH 4, with a positive activation volume (Va), while the opposite was verified for the other pH values. Both activation energy (Ea) and Va were dependent on pH, however, at the lower pH values, Ea and Va did not vary significantly with pressure and temperature, respectively. Overall, MTG can be considered relatively resistant to pressure, particularly near its optimal pH. published

The impact of air-drying at 25 &deg, C, brining at 25%, and dry-salting (at 28% and 40%) on the quality and nutritional parameters of Ulva rigida were evaluated over six months of storage. Overall, the main changes occurred in physical aspects during storage time, with U. rigida intensifying its yellow/browning tones, which were more evident in salt-treated samples. The force necessary to fracture the seaweed also increased under all the preservative conditions in the first month. Conversely, the nutritional parameters of U. rigida remained stable during the 180 days of storage. All processed samples showed a high content of insoluble and soluble fibers, overall accounting for 55%&ndash, 57% dw, and of proteins (17.5%&ndash, 19.2% dw), together with significant amounts of Fe (86&ndash, 92 mg/kg dw). The total fatty acids pool only accounted for 3.9%&ndash, 4.3% dw, but it was rich in unsaturated fatty acids (44%&ndash, 49% total fatty acids), namely palmitoleic (C16:1), oleic (C18:1), linoleic (C18:2), linolenic (C18:3), and stearidonic (18:4) acids, with an overall omega 6/omega 3 ratio below 0.6, a fact that highlights their potential health-promoting properties.

The objectives of the present study were to assess how structural and gelation properties of soy protein isolates (SPIs) are affected by the characteristics of the soybean meal starting material used for protein extraction. The different degree of denaturation and aggregation due to processing treatments undergone by the soybean meals significantly affect the soy protein structural organization and functional properties. The main type of interaction responsible for the aggregates differed in the commercial and laboratory isolates, thus impacting on the protein composition of the soluble fraction of the different isolates. Spectroscopy analysis revealed that the commercial SPIs differ from the lab samples essentially due to the degree of protein aggregation and to differences in the tertiary structure (amide II). At the structural level, the lab-prepared SPIs obtained from the raw soy meal subjected to more extensive processing treatments is the one closest to the commercial samples, differentiating itself from the other laboratory isolates by the aggregation state. However, some extent of pre denaturation may be beneficial for the gelation performance of the soy protein samples, decreasing the gelation temperature and producing gels with higher stiffness and elastic character. On the contrary, extensive protein denaturation originate thermodynamically stable aggregates, water insoluble macro-aggregates less unfolded and dissociated by the heat treatment, being less available to integrate the three-dimensional network. published

Variations on fermentation conditions (temperature, pressure, etc.) can bring novel characteristics to fermentative processes and the respective final products. Regarding yogurt, both bacteria metabolism and physical properties of gel may be affected, resulting in different yogurts. Therefore, lactic acid fermentation was performed under different combinations of pressure (0.1, 10 and 30 MPa) and temperature (35, 43 and 50 °C), and microbiological and physical properties of the yogurts obtained were analyzed. Fermentation conditions affected the microbial growth, with Streptococcus thermophilus being more sensitive to the combination of high temperatures and pressures than Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Regarding physical properties, both syneresis and texture were influenced by fermentation conditions. Yogurts fermented at 10 MPa presented interesting features, with syneresis similar to control yogurts and a firm texture. Therefore, the fermentative conditions can be changed not only to regulate the fermentation kinetics, but also to produce a final product with different properties. Therefore, this approach opens the possibility of applying this type of strategy to a wide range of food fermentative processes, with potential to improve food quality and to create and develop food products with novel characteristics.

Soy protein hydrolysates (SPH) with different degrees of hydrolysis (DH 0-16%) were obtained by varying the time of hydrolysis with bromelain. The objective of this study was to evaluate how selected techno-functional properties (gelation, emulsification) of SPH were affected by the presence of a non-gelling polysaccharide. A slight hydrolysis was beneficial to increase gel strength. Also, the emulsifying activity was improved for low DHs, whereas hydrolysis was detrimental for emulsion stability. Under certain conditions the presence of the non-gelling polysaccharide was beneficial to improve SPHs' functional properties, but the effect was in general complex and strongly dependent on both biopolymers' concentration and molecular weight. Nevertheless, it was demonstrated that by using SPH and galactomannan mixtures and controlling the biopolymers' concentration and molecular weight, improved functionalities can be obtained with useful applications in food formulation. published

The effects of galactomannans with different molecular weights on the heat-induced gelation characteristics of soybean protein were investigated using dynamic small-strain rheometry, under conditions where the proteins carry a net negative charge (pH7). Microstructure of the resulting gels was investigated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Phase-separated systems were obtained with different morphologies and degree of phase separation, depending on both biopolymer concentrations and polysaccharide molecular weight. In general, a gelling enhancing effect on soy proteins was verified, despite extensive phase-separation processes observed at the higher polysaccharide molecular weight. This effect was demonstrated by an increase of the gelation rate, a decrease in the temperature at the onset of gelation, and an increase of gel stiffness and elastic character, with the length of polysaccharide chains. Overall, the results obtained established that the judicious selection of the galactomannan molecular weight may be used to modify the structure and gelation properties of soy proteins, originating a diversity of rheological characteristics and microstructures that will impact on the design of novel food formulations.

Lipid stability, physical properties and volatiles profile of vacuum-packaged fresh Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) loins were evaluated after hyperbaric storage at low temperature (HS/LT: 60 MPa/10 °C) and compared to atmospheric pressure and conventional refrigeration (AP/5 °C) after 5, 15 and 30 days, and at low temperature (AP/10 °C), after 5 and 15 days. No variations in drip loss and water holding capacity were observed for HS/LT samples. Compared to AP, HS/LT caused lower changes on muscle fibres, visible by scanning electron micrographs, and a decrease of resilience property (only after 30 days). In addition, myofibrillar fragmentation index did not change at HS/LT. Fatty acids were generally not affected by the different storage conditions, while the polyene index at HS/LT was similar to fresh samples during the 30 days of storage, confirmed by the lower lipid oxidation state of these samples, compared to AP. According to the volatile profile (SPME-GC/MS), HS samples showed to be more similar to the fresh ones, retaining fresh-like alcohols and aldehydes, generally not detected in AP samples after 15 days, the latter presenting spoilage-related compounds probably derived from microbial activity. According to these results, HS/LT represents a promising preservation methodology for fresh salmon loins (and fish in general), retaining better important physicochemical properties for 30 days, when compared to the conventional refrigeration.

The influence of diverse galactomannans, differing mainly on the degree of branching (amount of galactose side chains along the main mannan backbone), on the heat-induced gelation of soybean proteins at pH 7, was investigated using dynamic oscillatory rheological measurements at low strain amplitude and microstructural analysis by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Rheological tests were performed during gel formation, induced by either isothermal heating or by heating/cooling at a constant rate. Two different protein concentrations were analysed, one in the vicinity of the critical gel conditions and the other corresponding to a well developed gel, whereas the galactomannan concentration ranged from 0 to 0.5%. The presence of the galactomannan promoted the gelation to occur for protein concentration below the critical gelation of soybean proteins alone, decreased the gelling temperature and had a positive effect on the gel strength of the heat-induced gels. These effects were more pronounced as the degree of branching decreases. The consequence of demixing and phase separation was dependent on biopolymer concentration and galactomannan branching, resulting in an array of microstructures, spanning emulsion-like, bicontinuous and aggregated morphologies. Structure development within the galactomannan-rich phases, dependent on the branching degree and on the capability of the galactomannan for self-association, may have played a role in the phase separation and viscoelasticity of the final gels. It was demonstrated that by using soybean proteins and galactomannan mixtures at above phase separation concentrations and controlling the polymer concentration and the length of the unsubstituted polysaccharide backbone, tailor-made viscoelasticities and microstructures can be obtained with useful applications in food formulation.

Starches isolated from six maize landraces from Brazil were investigated for their physicochemical, morphological, structural and thermal properties and compared to a commercial maize starch (COM). Similarities (chemical composition) and differences (structural characteristics) were observed. The crystallinity of starches ranged between 18.5 and 25.0%. The swelling power at 65°C ranged between 3.00 g/g Pires (PIR) and 4.82 g/g Mato Grosso (MT), whereas at 90°C varied between 18.8 g/g (PIR) and 23.9 g/g (MT), differing from COM, i.e., 14.6 g/g. The starch granule's morphology and size determined by SEM showed polyhedral and spherical shapes and a heterogeneous size distribution between 1.7 and 25 µm. The gelatinization process studied by DSC showed that transition temperatures (T0, Tp, Tc) ranged between 61.0–65.9, 67.5–71.7, and 75.2–76.8°C, respectively, and enthalpies (ΔHgel) between 11.4 and 13.3 (J/g). The retrogradation properties were analyzed after storage for 7, 14, and 40 days at 4°C; the retrogradation degree changed with the time and among the different starches, as well as the transition temperatures and enthalpies, which were lower than those observed for the gelatinization process. Other parameters like gelatinization and retrogradation temperature range (Rgel, Rret) and PHI were analyzed. Rgel was faster for BR and slower for MT, while Rret was broader than the corresponding gelatinization and PHI was not significantly different among the studied starches, except for the BR (slightly higher value).

The demand for proteins is rising and alternatives to meat proteins are necessary since animal husbandry is expensive and intensive to the environment. Plant proteins appear as an alternative; however, their techno-functional properties need improvement. High-pressure processing (HPP) is a non-thermal technology that has several applications including the modification of proteins. The application of pressure allows modifying proteins' structure hence allowing to change several of their properties, such as hydration, hydrophobicity, and hydrophilicity. These properties may influence the solubility of proteins and their ability to stabilize emulsions or foams, create aggregates or gels, and their general role in stability and texture of food commodities. Commonly HPP decreases the proteins' solubility yet increasing their surface hydrophobicity exposing sulfhydryl groups, which promotes aggregation or gelation or enhance their ability to stabilize emulsions/foams. However, these effects are not verifiable for all the proteins and are immensely dependent on the type and concentration of the protein, environmental conditions (pH, ionic strength, and co-solutes), and HPP conditions. This review collects and critically discusses the available information on how HPP affects the structure of plant proteins and how their techno-functional properties can be tailored using this approach.

The capability to produce blend chitosan–whey protein films at acidic pH, carrying a high amount of protein, is demonstrated, even though under these conditions a pure whey protein film could not be obtained. The films are biphasic and characterized by a compositional gradient, with the downward film surface containing a lower amount of protein than the upward surface. The surface richer in protein was more hydrophobic than that richer in chitosan. The difference in composition and hydrophilicity between both surfaces increases with the amount of protein incorporated in the film. Increasing the protein amount decreased elongation at break and tensile strength but, in general, had little effect on water vapor permeability. Although some of the film functionality might be compromised due to the incompatibility between the polysaccharide and protein components within the film matrix, the blended films, especially those with intermediated protein amount, may have useful applications on those food systems where the edible films should break up during the cooking or mastication process.

The plums used to produce a traditional candied product, “Ameixa d’Elvas”, were obtained from two orchards, Vila Vicosa (VV) and Cano (CA). These orchards were selected because the fruits were behaving differently: (1) The day of harvesting for candying, established by the total soluble solids and titratable acidity, was one week earlier in VV; (2) VV yielded candied plums with good texture properties whereas CA gave poor processed fruits. In order to understand the origin of these differences, fruits from both orchards were harvested on the day established as the harvesting day for VV (day 1) and for CA (day 8). Comparable texture properties were obtained in firmness, rigidity and deformation work between the VV fresh plums harvested on day 1 and the CA plums harvested on day 8 but these were lower in CA when the flesh was analysed separately, in accordance with the activities of pectin methyl esterase (PME), polygalacturonase (PG) and cellulase (Cel). The increase of the intercellular area of parenchyma cells and the decrease in cell area caused by boiling, which resulted in a pronounced loss of textural properties, were partially recovered after the immersion of the fruits in sucrose syrup. The CA plums harvested on day 8 had a more pronounced degradation with boiling and lower recovery of cell shape, size and textural characteristics than had those of VV harvested on day 1. Upon candying, similar properties were observed for the fruits harvested on the same day: good candied products were observed for VV and CA fruits harvested on day 1 and poor candied products were observed for VV and CA fruits harvested on day 8. This work shows that the characteristics of the flesh of the fresh fruits are key parameters in defining the textural properties of the candied plum. The establishment of the harvesting moment for candying should take into account the changes that occur in the flesh of the plums during ripening.

The plums ( Prunus domestica L.) of a specific ‘Green Gage’ variety, “Rainha Claudia Verde”, are used to produce the candied product “Ameixa d’Elvas”. The candying process consists in boiling the intact plums in water and further immersion in sucrose syrup until 75 °Brix. Scanning electron microscopy of unprocessed plums revealed perfectly turgid parenchyma isodiametric cells with few intercellular spaces and the boiled plums showed a loss of intercellular adhesion of parenchyma cells and ruptures on the vascular strand structure. However, candied plums showed recovery of the turgidity and cell-to-cell adhesion of parenchyma cells. Texture analysis showed that the unprocessed plums had a fairly hard texture, improved by the presence of the skin. Firmness, rigidity, and deformation work had a sharp decrease upon boiling. However, after candying, an increase of firmness and deformation work was observed, also improved by the skin. Microstructure and texture recovery of the candying product suggests the formation of a jam-like structure in the middle lamella region promoted by the syrup. Nevertheless, cell adhesion recovery is limited by the extent of the disruption of the tissues during the boiling process. This is the first report concerning texture and microstructure changes of plums occurring during the candying process.

The effect of pressure treatments of 100 and 200 MPa (10 and 20 min) and of thermal blanching at 70 °C, 80 °C and 98 °C (1 and 2.5 min), on sweet green and red bell peppers was compared. Pressure treated peppers showed a lower reduction on soluble protein and ascorbic acid contents. Red peppers presented even an increased content of ascorbic acid (15–20%), compared to the untreated peppers. Peroxidase and pectin methylesterase (whose activity was only quantifiable in green peppers) showed a higher stability to pressure treatments, particularly the latter enzyme, while polyphenol oxidase was inactivated to the same final level by the thermal blanching and pressure treatments. Pressure treatments resulted in comparable (in green pepper) to higher (in red pepper) microbial loads compared to blanching. Pressure treated green and red peppers presented similar to better firmness before and after tunnel freezing at −30 °C, compared to thermally blanched peppers, particularly those blanched at 98 °C. The results indicated that pressure treatments of 100 and 200 MPa can be used to produce frozen peppers with similar to better nutritional (soluble protein and ascorbic acid) and texture (firmness) characteristics, comparable activity of polyphenol oxidase and higher activity of pectin methylesterase, while pressure treated peppers show a higher level of peroxidase activity. It would be interesting to use higher pressures in future studies, as an attempt to cause a higher reduction on microbial load and on enzymatic activity.

A novel approach is described using chitosan–genipin films as a sustainable method for wine preservation. Films prepared from fungi and from shrimp by-products showed similar mechanical and chemical properties. In addition, shrimp derived films showed no IgE positive reaction against shellfish allergenic compounds. The chitosan–genipin films were used to produce white wines without the addition of sulphur dioxide as a preservative. These wines showed lower susceptibility to browning, with organoleptic characteristics comparable to those prepared using sulphur dioxide. It is shown that the formation of iron-tartrate–chitosan complexes promotes the decrease of iron and other metal availability, minimizing oxidation reactions, as well as inhibiting microbial growth. The overall volatile character of the wines was maintained. However, the presence of chitosan–genipin films promotes the occurrence of Maillard and Strecker reactions, producing volatile compounds with positive wine aroma scents. The use of chitosan–genipin films in winemaking is an innovative, green and environmentally friendly technology that could be easily implemented at an industrial scale with no additional costs.

Histological and mechanical studies were conducted to evaluate the changes that are conferred by a traditional sun-drying process on the texture and microstructure of a Portuguese pear cultivar (Pyrus communis L. var. S. Bartolomeu). Sun-drying processing of the pears results in loss of water, cell flattening and shrinkage, loss of cellular adhesion, and even loss of cell wall integrity. The sun-drying process significantly reduced the hardness and fracturability of the pear tissues, while increasing their cohesiveness, springiness and adhesiveness. The results obtained by texture and microstructure analysis of the fresh pear flesh reflect essentially an unified matrix comprising well-packed cells strongly bonded together whereas those of the sun-dried pear flesh pointed out a soft solid with many individual cells distributed in a soft matrix, explaining its softer and chewy texture.

Analysis of a purified fraction from acetone extracts of olive pulp and pomace by electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn) showed the presence of oleuropein oligomers, whose occurrence has not been reported previously in the literature. The main ionic species (m/z 1613) in the ESI-MS spectrum was an oleuropein trimer containing three linkages through the hydroxytyrosol backbone. In both samples, oleuropein dimers (m/z 1075), trimers comprising two hydroxytyrosol linkages (m/z 1615), tetramers (m/z 2153) and pentamers (m/z 2691) were also detected by MS. The occurrence of oleuropein oligomers was also observed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). 13C, 13C distortionless enhancement by polarisation transfer DEPT 90, 13C DEPT 135, gHSQC (heteronuclear single quantum coherence) and gHMBC (heteronuclear multiple bond coherence) spectra showed all carbon and proton resonances of oleuropein with the exception of the low-mobility and asymmetric signals of the aromatic rings. Since mature olives were used in this study, it is possible that the disappearance of oleuropein that has been described to occur with the olive fruit maturation, could be associated with the formation of phenolic oligomers together with lower-molecular-weight compounds resulting from its degradation. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry

Methanol extracts of olive pomace (two-phase olive oil extraction) and olive pulp were analysed by reverse phase HPLC and the eluted fractions were characterised by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. This technique allowed the identification of some common phenolic compounds, namely, verbascoside, rutin, caffeoyl-quinic acid, luteolin-4-glucoside and 11-methyl-oleoside. Hydroxytyrosol-1 � - β-glucoside, luteolin-7-rutinoside and oleoside were also detected. Moreover, this technique enabled the identification, for the first time in Olea europaea tissues, of two oleoside derivatives, 6 � -β-glucopyranosyl- oleoside and 6 � -β-rhamnopyranosyl-oleoside, and of 10-hydroxy-oleuropein. Also, an oleuropein glucoside that had previously been identified in olive leaves was now detected in olive fruit, both in olive pulp and olive pomace. With the exception of oleoside and oleuropein, the majority of phenolic compounds were found to occur in equivalent amounts in olive pulp and olive pomace. Oleoside was the main phenolic compound in olive pulp (31.6mgg −1 ) but was reduced to 3.6mgg −1 in olive pomace, and oleuropein (2.7mgg −1 in the pulp) almost disappeared (

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of antimicrobial edible coatings to wrap cheeses, throughout 60. d of storage, as an alternative to commercial nonedible coatings. Coatings were prepared using whey protein isolate, glycerol, guar gum, sunflower oil, and Tween 20 as a base matrix, together with several combinations of antimicrobial compounds-natamycin and lactic acid, natamycin and chitooligosaccharides (COS), and natamycin, lactic acid, and COS. Application of coating on cheese decreased water loss (~10%, wt/wt), hardness, and color change; however, salt and fat contents were not significantly affected. Moreover, the antimicrobial edible coatings did not permit growth of pathogenic or contaminant microorganisms, while allowing regular growth of lactic acid bacteria throughout storage. Commercial nonedible coatings inhibited only yeasts and molds. The antimicrobial edible coating containing natamycin and lactic acid was the best in sensory terms. Because these antimicrobial coatings are manufactured from food-grade materials, they can be consumed as an integral part of cheese, which represents a competitive advantage over nonedible coatings.

Cell wall polysaccharides account for nearly one third of olive pomace dry matter produced by the environment friendly biphasic system. These polysaccharides are mainly cellulose, glucuronoxylans, and arabinan-rich pectic polysaccharides, in equivalent proportions. The structural features of pectic polysaccharides are unique concerning the arabinan moiety due to the occurrence of a β-(1→5)-terminally-linked arabinose residue. This odd feature tends to disappear with olive ripening and can be used as a diagnostic tool in the evaluation of the stage of ripening of this fruit, as well as a marker for the presence of olive pulp in matrices containing pectic polysaccharides samples. These pectic polysaccharides have the ability to form elastic gels with calcium. The critical gelling calcium and galacturonic acid concentrations are higher than that observed for commercial citrus low-methoxyl pectic material. Nevertheless, they present a syneresis occurring for much higher calcium concentration and, consequently, show a much larger zone in which homogeneous gels are formed. In addition, olive pomace pectic polysaccharides gels are more resistant to temperature than the low-methoxyl pectin/calcium gels. These properties show that olive pomace can be a potential source of gelling pectic material with useful properties for particular applications.