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The purpose of the study was to understand the mechanism of microstructural changes in vegetable-based meat analogs coated with different batter formulations. A meat analog (substrate) was developed by using vegetable proteins, coated with batters formulated from different combinations of wheat and rice flours, predried at various durations, and subsequently fried. The effect of batter formulation, predrying time, and frying time on spaces occupied by air (porosity, SOA), moisture (SOM), and fat (SOF) in the core region (the meat analog) was studied. The SOA, SOM, and SOF ranged between 8.28-32.72%, 16.73-58.31%, and 16.73-58.31%, respectively. All three fractions of pores in the meat analog were significantly influenced by predrying and frying times; however, batter formulation did not show any significant influence. Batter formulation did not show any significant influence on moisture and fat content within the meat analog. Fat content was not influenced by frying time; and only 90 min predrying made a difference.

The influence of centrifugal force (g) on oil content of eggplant during frying and post-frying cooling was studied. Cut discs of eggplants (Solanum melongena L.) were fried for 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 s at 150 °C. The frying oil was stirred using 2 and 3 g during the g-frying sessions. The fried products were cooled while spinning at 10, 20, 30 and 40 g for 5, 10 and 15 min. The results showed that decrease in oil content was 40% (perpendicular position) and 80% (parallel position). The g-post-frying operation decreased more the oil content of eggplant samples fried for longer times. When the centrifugal force and time increased, oil efflux was higher in the eggplant samples fried at positions perpendicular to the direction of the applied force than in the samples positioned parallel to the force. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images showed that the g-fried eggplant had less oil content and greater potential for oil exudation during g-post-frying cooling.

The effect of different batter formulations and post frying holding time (with and without using a heat lamp) on oil spots and moisture pocket redistributions on the surface crust and in the core regions of fried potato strips was studied. Potato strips were fried at 180 ± 2 °C in canola oil and then kept under a heat lamp for different time intervals. Fractal dimension was used to measure the surface roughness of the samples. The fractal values ranged between 2.63 and 2.69. Image processing technique was applied to study the oil spots on the surface and moisture pocket distributions in the core regions. The results indicated that the number of oil spots and moisture pockets were indirectly related to the area. Keeping the samples for longer time under a heat lamp reduced the number of big oil spots, whereas increased their mean area.

A rapid and effective near infrared (NIR; 900–1700 nm) hyperspectral imaging method to determine intramuscular fat (IMF) content of pork at the last 6 ribs of the round rib end was developed and tested. Pattern analysis techniques including Gabor filter, grey-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), and wide line detector (WLD) were applied to process hyperspectral images into data from which spectral and image features, including texture-spectral, texture and line features were extracted. Among all spectral and image features of the 6 ribs' images, the first derivative of Gabor filtered mean spectra showed the strongest correlation with IMF content, and was therefore selected as the optimal feature for prediction of IMF content at any given rib number. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was exploited to build prediction models between IMF content at rib end and at 6 different rib locations. Leave-one-out cross validation was used to test the robustness of established models. The correlation coefficients of calibration, cross validation and full validation (Rc, Rcv, Rfv, respectively) were used to assess model accuracy. All six MLR models showed a good performance (Rc ≥ 0.90, Rcv ≥ 0.87, Rfv ≥ 0.81), with that for IMF content at the 2nd/3rd last rib showing the best predictive ability (Rc = 0.96, Rcv = 0.95, Rfv = 0.83). The Gabor filter-MLR models were applied to each pixel in an image to successfully derive distribution maps and visualize IMF content distribution in the loins. Results demonstrated that the conventional determination of IMF content of pork at different ribs along a single Longissimus dorsi could be replaced by pattern analysis technique-processed hyperspectral images of rib ends.

The oxidation of vegetable oils is generally treated as an apparent first order kinetic reaction. This study investigated the deterioration of crude palm oil (CPO), refined canola oil (RCO) and their blend (CPO:RCO 1:1 w/w) during 20 h of successive deep-fat frying at 170, 180 and 190 °C. Kinetics of changes in oil quality indices, namely, free fatty acid (FFA), peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (p-AV), total polar compounds (TPC) and color index (CI) were monitored. The results showed that FFA and PV accumulation followed the kinetic first order model, while p-AV, TPC and CI followed the kinetic zero order model. The concentration and deterioration rate constants k, increased with increasing temperatures. This effect of temperature was modeled by the Arrhenius equation. The results showed that PV had the least activation energies E a (kJ/mol) values of 5.4 ± 1 (RCO), 6.6 ± 0.7 (CPO) and 11.4 ± 1 (blend). The highest E a requirement was exhibited by FFA with a range of 31.7 ± 3–76.5 ± 7 kJ/mol for the three oils. The overall E a values showed that the stability of the blend was superior and not just intermediate of CPO and RCO. The correlation of the other oil quality indices with TPC indicated a positive linear correlation. The p-AV displayed the strongest correlation, with mean correlation coefficient r s of 0.998 ± 0.00, 0.994 ± 0.00 and 0.999 ± 0.00 for CPO, RCO and blend, respectively.

Fractal dimension and lacunarity were applied to study the structure and irregularities of fried batters. Using scanning electron microscopy, images of batter surfaces were captured, and analyzed via ImageJ software. Fractal dimension (FD) ranged between 1.79 and 1.81. Higher amount of wheat flour in batter preparation resulted in higher FD values compared to batters with higher amount of rice flour. FD significantly (P

Parboiling energy is met by wood in most West African Countries. This paper present result of field studies on parboiling energy supply in seven rice producing communities in Northern Ghana and evaluates the potential of meeting the annual energy requirement with rice husk. The role of key stakeholders in the wood supply chain is examined. The potential of rice husk is broadly examined under different utilization scenarios using energy replacement value based on a modified heating value, greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential and annual energy expenditure. Wood retailers are the main suppliers of parboiling energy, accounting for 65% of wood supply. Wood consumption ranges from 0.30 to 0.92 kg wood/kg of paddy soaked and 0.35–1.16 kg wood/kg of paddy for steamed. Rice husk use could effectively and efficiently replace wood achieving up to 67% wood savings, 62.94% GHG emission reduction and an annual parboiling energy expenditure reduction of 73%.

Total hatching egg set (for both egg production chicks and broilers) in the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada report 2017 was over 1.0 billion. With the fertility rate for this year observed to be around 82%, there were about 180 million unhatched eggs (worth over 300 million Canadian dollars) incubated in Canada for the year 2017 alone. These non-hatching (non-fertile) eggs can find useful applications as commercial table eggs or low-grade food stock if they can be detected early and isolated accordingly preferably prior to incubation. The conventional method of chicken egg fertility assessment termed candling, is subjective, cumbersome, slow, and eventually inefficient, leading to huge economic losses. Hence, there is a need for a non-destructive, fast and online prediction technology to assist with early chicken egg fertility identification problem. This paper reviewed existing non-destructive approaches including ultrasound and dielectric measurements, thermal imaging, machine vision, spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging. Hyperspectral imaging was extensively discussed, being an emerging new technology with great potential. Suggestions were finally proffered towards building futuristic robust model(s) for early detection of chicken egg fertility.

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is a nutritious vegetable but it is highly perishable and drying is one of the best methods for its preservation. Ultrasound and infrared assisted conductive hydro-drying (UIACHD) is a new patented drying method that can dry food materials with high quality and high energy efficiency. In this study, okra slices were dried using UIACHD with different settings and also by freeze-drying and oven drying. The UIACHD drying curves, moisture content, color, vitamin C content, hydrocolloids rheology and microstructure of the dried okra sample as affected by drying method were investigated. Drying curves showed that the application of ultrasound and infrared could increase the drying rate. In terms of quality parameters, UIACHD performed significantly better than oven drying and the quality of the products was comparable to freeze-drying. Flow and oscillation rheology tests showed that UIACHD drying could result in okra hydrocolloids with higher apparent viscosity and the application of ultrasound and infrared has preserved the rheological properties of the okra hydrocolloids. The microstructure of the dried okra slices was also well preserved by UIACHD. This study showed that UIACHD is a suitable drying method for maintaining the physicochemical quality of dried okra. Industrial relevance Dried okra can be used as a nutritious and functional ingredient in the formulation of different products such as soups, sauces and other culinary products. This study shows that ultrasound and infrared assisted conductive hydro-drying can be a suitable method for the production of high quality dried okra with well-retained color, nutritional value and rheological properties.

Limited literature is available concerning the phenolic biosynthesis and antioxidative potential of common bean sprouts induced by ultrasound elicitation. In this study, common bean seeds were treated with ultrasound at different power (0, 180 and 360 W) and time (0, 30, 45 and 60 min) levels, before they were subjected to sprouting (24, 48, 72 and 96 h). Stress markers (H2O2, catalase and guaiacol peroxidase), activities of defense phenolic triggering enzymes (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and tyrosine ammonia-lyase), phenolic contents (total phenolic acids, total flavonoids and anthocyanins) and antioxidant capacities (DPPH, ABTS and Fe2+ scavenging) were monitored. Results showed that, ultrasound elicitation (especially 360 W, 60 min) significantly increased accumulation of stress markers at 96 h of sprouting, leading to elevated activities of defense phenolic triggering enzymes, and final accumulation of phenolics and antioxidant capacities at significant levels compared to control. Ultrasound treatment at 360 W and 60 min reduced sprouting time by 60 h, compared to control. Results from principal component analysis clearly differentiated latter stages of sprouting and high ultrasound levels from other sprouting conditions as distinct treatments for the production of phenolic-rich common bean sprouts. Overall, results from this study indicated that elicitation with ultrasound can be a green and novel approach for producing phenolic-enriched common bean sprouts as an organic nutraceutical vegetable.

A novel agent-based model for coupled heat and mass transfer presented, in which the heterogeneity in the porous structure of doughnut is considered. Also, new evaporation–condensation–diffusion formulation is described. Moreover, the variations of physical properties of each component corresponding to the local moisture content and temperature are taken into account. Thus this new model can predict the temperature and moisture content changes in different doughnut parts. The model was validated using experimental and simulated data. The simulated water content of doughnut was in good agreement with the experimental measurements of this parameter. The surface and internal temperature of the doughnut were also in good agreement with the output of the simulation. The results of this research permit a better understanding of mechanisms involved in coupled heat and mass transfer in the heterogeneous porous structure of doughnut.

The contribution of food availability to food insecurity and poverty reduction, makes food loss an important issue. The study provides findings on the economic and nutritional implications of produce loss at different stages of the common bean value chain and discuss farmers role in reducing losses through their measurement of loss and awareness of loss factors. Average losses at the postharvest handling stage, storage and marketing stage were estimated to be 85.6%, 11.6% and 2.8% of the total loss along the chain respectively. The analysis was extended to determining the economic and nutrient losses along the value chain. Losses contributes to economic losses of $269,417.6 and $8,035.2 at the production and marketing stages respectively. The true cost based on value added loss estimations was however found to be $423,737.8 at the production stage. Findings revealed that out of the total nutrients lost at the post harvest handling stage contributes (88.07%) contributes to majority of the losses compared to the storage stage (11.93%). Losses were found to be caused by unfavourable weather, seed quality, insects, diseases and inefficient handling practices. More than 60% of both producers and traders measured their losses and had a fair understanding of the factors causing losses with a significant difference being observed between measurers and non-measurers. Lack of awareness was not found to be a contributing factor to losses but inability to manage them. Improvement in the capacity of agents to better manage losses is expected to result in lower levels of losses.

The relationship between moisture loss and oil uptake at different combination of Frying Oil Temperatures (FOT) and time during deep-fat frying of chicken meat was investigated in this study. Chicken meat samples were diced and fried at different FOT (170°C, 180°C, and 190°C) in an industrial fryer for periods varying from 5 to 900 s. Fat analysis was accomplished in a soxhlet extraction apparatus with petroleum ether solvent. Prior to fat analysis samples were freeze dried and the moisture analysis was based on the standard AOAC standard method. The results show that a cook value of 415 s was found to give the most ideal sensory characteristics. The relationship between moisture loss and oil uptake during the initial phase of frying (°C and 190°C, respectively, and the rate (1.35 g/s) at FOT 170°C was significantly (P < 0.05) lower.

Agriculture generates large amount of by-products that could be used to produce energy and reduce the amount of fuelwood required to meet the daily cooking needs, especially in developing countries. Rice is a major crop grown in West Africa and rice husk is a by-product of the milling process. The goal of this study was to develop a low cost system to produce biomass briquettes from rice husks in the context of a rural village. A manual press generating a pressure of 4.2 MPa was developed and used. The influence of the briquette formulation (type of binder, binder content, water addition, and bran content) was studied. The binders investigated were cassava wastewater, rice dust, and okra stem gum. The physical properties (density, moisture content, calorific value, durability, and compressive strength) were tested to identify the briquettes with the highest quality, i.e. greatest physical integrity. The briquettes made with rice dust had the highest durability (91.9%) and compressive strength (2.54 kN), while the briquettes made with cassava starch wastewater had the greatest density (441.18 kg m −3 ). Water added to the rice husk before densification positively influenced the briquette quality while bran seemed to mostly increase the density, but not necessarily the briquette quality. The briquette formulation did not significantly influence the calorific value. With a higher heating value of 16.08 MJ kg −1 dry basis, rice husk briquettes represent an interesting alternative to fuelwood.

The effects of frying oil temperature (FOT) and time on densities and shrinkage in chicken breast meat during deep-fat frying were investigated. De-boned Chicken breast samples were diced and fried at different FOT (170℃, 180℃, and 190℃) in an industrial fryer for periods varying from 5 to 900 s. Bulk and apparent densities were determined with a fluid displacement pycnometer, and fat analysis was conducted using soxhlet extraction with petroleum ether solvent. The physical structure of chicken meat changed significantly with the frying time and FOT (P < 0.001). Bulk density was 1.15 g/cm3 in the raw product and decreased to 0.98, 0.95, and 0.93 g/cm3 after 900 s of deep-frying at 170℃, 180℃ and 190℃, respectively. Similarly, apparent density changed from 1.13 to 1.25, 1.24 and 1.22 g/cm3 and moisture loss was linearly correlated with both densities. Volumetric shrinkage was significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the process variables and hence a linear correlation also existed with moisture loss. The rates of shrinkage were 0.013, 0.001, and 0.008/s and occurred rapidly during the first 90s of FOT (170℃, 180℃, and 190℃), respectively and decreased as frying time increased.

In this study, the effects of ultrasonic parameters (amplitude, cycle and pulse) and major reaction factors (molar ratio and enzyme concentration) on the reaction kinetics of biodiesel generation from waste lard bio-catalyzed by immobilized lipase [Candida antarctica Lipase B (CALB)] were investigated. A Ping Pong Bi Bi kinetic model approach was employed to study the effect of ultrasonic amplitude on the enzymatic transesterification. Kinetic constants of transesterification reaction were determined at different ultrasonic amplitudes (30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, and 50%) and enzyme concentrations (4, 6, and 8 wt.% of fat) at constant molar ratio (fat:methanol); 1:6, and ultrasonic cycle; 5 kHz. Parametric effects on the yield were studied using three sets of experiments namely A, B, and C. In experiment set A, two factors (ultrasonic amplitude and cycle) were investigated at three levels; in experiment set B, two factors (molar ratio and enzyme concentration) were examined at three levels; and in experiment set C, two factors (ultrasonic amplitude and reaction time) were investigated at five levels. A yield of 96.8% was attained in 20 min at an ultrasonic amplitude (40%) at 5 kHz, fat:methanol molar ratio (1:4) and catalyst level 6% (w/w of fat). The fitted curves of the kinetic mechanism showed a sigmoidal curve due to mass transfer limitations which controlled the process at the beginning of the reaction. The kinetic model results also revealed interesting features of ultrasound assisted enzyme-catalyzed transesterification: at ultrasonic amplitude 40%, the reaction activities within the system seemed to be steady after 20 min which means the reaction could proceed with or without ultrasonic mixing. The kinetic model approach employed describes the whole methanolysis process accurately.

In this study, the effects of ultrasonic parameters (amplitude, cycle, and pulse) and major reaction factors (molar ratio and enzyme concentration) on the reaction kinetics of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) generation from waste choice white grease (CWG) biocatalyzed by immobilized lipase [Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB)] were investigated. A yield of 98.2% was attained in 20 min at an ultrasonic amplitude (40%) at 5 kHz, fat/methanol molar ratio (1:4), and catalyst level of 6% (wt/wt of fat). The effect of ultrasonic mixing on the reaction kinetic of enzymatic transesterification was investigated using a Ping Pong Bi Bi kinetic model approach. Kinetic constants of the transesterification reaction were determined at different ultrasonic amplitudes (30, 35, 40, 45, and 50%) and enzyme concentrations (4, 6, and 8 wt % of fat) at a constant molar ratio (fat/methanol) of 1:6 and ultrasonic cycle of 5 kHz. The fitted curves of the kinetic mechanism showed a sigmoidal curve as a result of mass-transfer limit...

The oil palm tree is an ancient tropical plant that originated from West Africa. Palm oil has centuries׳ long use as food and medicine. This review covers the recent significant materials found in the literature on palm oil processing, refining, and use in frying especially in blends with other vegetable oils. Crude palm oil (CPO) is obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis). The oil is rich in palmitic acid, β-carotene and vitamin E. CPO has been fractionated mainly into liquid palm olein and solid palm stearin in order to diversify its food applications. Palm oil is highly stable during frying especially due to the synergistic activity of β-carotene and tocotrienol. In recent years there has been a shift from the use of animal fats and hydrogenated vegetable oils in frying and other food applications. The use of naturally stable oils such as palm oil and composite oils like blends of palm oil and other fats and oils is practiced to ensure that maximum benefits are derived from the oils. Blending offers functional, nutritional and technical advantages, such as tailoring the oil to suit frying applications. The objective of this review is to combine and condense the body of research on the processing, characterization and use of palm oil especially in frying as well as suggest areas that need further research.

Irregularities and microstructure of the surface of batter coatings play a critical role in oil uptake during deep-fat frying of coated products. The objective of this study was to study the influence of batter formulations on surface irregularities of fried batters. Variable pressure scanning electron microscopy (VP-SEM) was used to study the surface microstructure of batters prepared using different combinations of wheat and rice flours. Images of batter surfaces were captured, and characterized using parameters such as the total number, mean area, the biggest area, ratio and roundness of the generated ruptures on the coating surface after frying. The total number of generated ruptures on the surface of fried batters was significantly ( P r | = 0.72), whereas moisture loss was correlated with ratio (| r | = 0.67) and mean area (| r | = 0.77).

Non-edible feedstocks such as animal fat wastes (AFWs) have recently increased in popularity as alternatives to vegetable oils in the production of biodiesel. They are low cost, mitigate environmental damage and increase the quality of the resultant biodiesel fuel (low NOx emissions, high Cetane number and oxidative stability). Therefore, AFWs are an excellent feedstock for biodiesel production. Here we provide a comprehensive review trends and techniques in biodiesel production from AFWs. A critical overview of homogeneous and heterogeneous (one- or two-step) catalytic transesterification of AFWs is presented. Similarly, enzyme-catalyzed transesterification and the application of supercritical fluids conversion techniques in the production of biodiesel from AFWs are thoroughly assessed. Finally, cutting edge advances in assisted transesterification processes for biodiesel production are critically reviewed.

Maple wood biochars produced by microwave pyrolysis were analysed and compared in relation to their physical properties such as porosity and reflectance of chars. The aim of this research was to investigate the feasibility of the selection of relevant wavelengths in Visible/Near Infra-Red spectroscopy by combining Maximum R2 (MAXR) with Multiple Linear Regressions (MLR) method to build a predictive model. The porosity and yield data of the resulting biochars were used to test the model. Based on the spectral information, different mathematical techniques were used to group the biochars based on their physical properties. Scanning electron microscopy imaging of the biochar samples showed that pyrolysis temperature and doping ratio played a major role in the formation of microporous structures within the biochars formed due to the devolatilisation process during microwave pyrolysis. The FTIR analysis was consistent with the scanning electron microscopy conclusions, indicating evidence of aliphatic group stretching with increase in temperature and doping ratio. The FTIR profile of the control (fresh maple wood) sample had a more complex spectrum. With increase in pyrolysis temperature, functional group activities decreased indicating breaking up of weaker bonds.

Fat is one of the most important traits determining the quality of pork. The composition of the fat greatly influences the quality of pork and its processed products, and contribute to defining the overall carcass value. However, establishing an efficient method for assessing fat quality parameters such as fatty acid composition, solid fat content, oxidative stability, iodine value, and fat color, remains a challenge that must be addressed. Conventional methods such as visual inspection, mechanical methods, and chemical methods are used off the production line, which often results in an inaccurate representation of the process because the dynamics are lost due to the time required to perform the analysis. Consequently, rapid, and non-destructive alternative methods are needed. In this paper, the traditional fat quality assessment techniques are discussed with emphasis on spectroscopic techniques as an alternative. Potential spectroscopic techniques include infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and Raman spectroscopy. Hyperspectral imaging as an emerging advanced spectroscopy-based technology is introduced and discussed for the recent development of assessment for fat quality attributes. All techniques are described in terms of their operating principles and the research advances involving their application for pork fat quality parameters. Future trends for the non-destructive spectroscopic techniques are also discussed.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are important nutrients present in Salmon. However, current methods for quantifying the fatty acids (FAs) contents in foods are generally based on gas chromatography (GC) technique, which is time-consuming, laborious and destructive to the tested samples. Therefore, the capability of near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging to predict the PUFAs contents of C20:2 n-6, C20:3 n-6, C20:5 n-3, C22:5 n-3 and C22:6 n-3 in Salmon fillets in a rapid and non-destructive way was investigated in this work. Mean reflectance spectra were first extracted from the region of interests (ROIs), and then the spectral pre-processing methods of 2nd derivative and Savitzky-Golay (SG) smoothing were performed on the original spectra. Based on the original and the pre-processed spectra, PLSR technique was employed to develop the quantitative models for predicting each PUFA content in Salmon fillets. The results showed that for all the studied PUFAs, the quantitative models developed using the pre-processed reflectance spectra by “2nd derivative + SG smoothing” could improve their modeling results. Good prediction results were achieved with RP and RMSEP of 0.91 and 0.75 mg/g dry weight, 0.86 and 1.44 mg/g dry weight, 0.82 and 3.01 mg/g dry weight for C20:3 n-6, C22:5 n-3 and C20:5 n-3, respectively after pre-processing by “2nd derivative + SG smoothing”. The work demonstrated that NIR hyperspectral imaging could be a useful tool for rapid and non-destructive determination of the PUFA contents in fish fillets.

Batter coating and pre-drying have recently been used as techniques for decreasing fat content of fried foods. The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of batter formulations and pre-drying time on surface, penetrated and total fat content of batter coating, and to evaluate different mathematical models for predicting moisture diffusivity and oil transfer during frying. Two different sets of batter systems were used. The first set consisted of batter with different ratios of wheat to rice flour whereas the second set was wheat-flour-based batter with different pre-drying times. The batter samples were deep fried at 180 ± 2 °C in canola oil for different frying times between 0 and 4 min. Batter with wheat flour alone was found to have higher surface fat and total fat contents, while its penetrated fat content was lower than that with other batters. Batter with no pre-drying showed higher surface, penetrated and total fat content than other systems. Moisture diffusivity ranged between 2.01 × 10 −6 and 2.85 × 10 −6 m 2 /min. Page model was found as the best fit model to evaluate the oil transfer rate constants.

This work evaluated essential quality parameters of binary blends of vegetable oils using a rapid and non-destructive method namely Fourier transform near-infrared (FTNIR) spectroscopy. Crude palm oil and canola oil from different vendors were blended at different ratios to obtain 40 oil samples with wide ranges of iodine values (IV), free fatty acids (FFA) and peroxide values (PV). FTNIR spectra of these oil samples were acquired and used in the calibration and test validation steps. The IV, FFA and PV of the oil samples were analyzed by AOCS methods. The FTNIR spectra were correlated to the AOCS data using partial least squares (PLS) regression. Calibration models were developed after test validation. The chemometric models were further improved through spectral processing. The optimal models were first derivative and first derivative + straight line subtraction. For IV, coefficient of determination (R2) = 0.98; root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) = 2.54 and residual predictive deviation (RPD) = 6.11. The values for FFA were R2 = 0.9927; RMSEP = 0.35 and RPD = 11.6. While the values for PV were R2 = 0.9722; RMSEP = 0.49 and RPD = 6.4. The simultaneous characterization of the essential chemical quality parameters of vegetable oil blends by FTNIR spectroscopy is reported.

Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is an important quality trait of pork. It influences taste, juiciness and tenderness of the meat. The aim of this study was to develop an objective, rapid, and non-destructive method for predicting the IMF content of pork using hyperspectral imaging technology. Critical wavelengths were selected using correlation analysis based on the spectral profiles of pork samples. The visual IMF flecks on both sides of pork chops were extracted using the wide line detector at the selected critical wavelengths. The proportion of IMF fleck areas (PFA) at critical wavelengths was used for modeling to predict the IMF content of pork. Both stepwise procedures and partial least squares (PLS) analysis were employed to establish the prediction models. Three different multilinear models were obtained using the stepwise procedure with different first entry variable of the initial model. A 3-component PLS model was developed for prediction of the IMF content. The PLS model outperformed the three multilinear models. The coefficients of determination (R2) of the PLS model on the calibration set and validation set were 0.94 and 0.97, respectively, and the adjusted R2 were 0.92 and 0.93, respectively. The prediction results of mutilinear models and PLS models indicated the potentials of using hyperspectral imaging to predict the IMF content of pork.

Dielectric properties were measured across a frequency range from 200 MHz to 20 GHz and temperature range from 25 to 85°C for pork meat samples (grouped in four different quality classes). Dielectric properties varied widely with frequency and the loss tangents of different meat quality classes followed different trends. Discriminant analysis indicated that 2400 MHz was most significant (P < 0.05) for separation of the different classes. There were significant changes (P < 0.05) in the dielectric properties within the range of the temperatures corresponding to protein denaturation temperatures. There was clear segregation between the firm and non-exudative (red, firm, and non-exudative; pale, firm, and non-exudative) and the soft and exudative (red, soft, and exudative; pale, soft and exudative) samples. The results showed that dielectric properties could be useful in meat quality classifications.

Evaluation different fractions of the spaces in a fried product that are occupied by air, moisture, or fat provides useful information for researcher and manufacturer to better understand the mechanism of oil absorption during frying. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of batter formulations and pre-drying on the fraction of inter-particle spaces in batter coating. Pre-drying decreased the amount of fat to 2.97 g/100 g compared to non-pre-dried samples which showed 4.37 g/100 g fat content. Higher rice flour content in batter significantly increased the fraction of inter-particle spaces occupied by air (SOA), and decreased the fraction of spaces occupied by moisture (SOM) and fat (SOF). Longer pre-drying times showed greater fraction of spaces occupied by air, and smaller fraction of spaces occupied by moisture and fat. SOA, SOM, and SOF of the batter systems ranged from 2.2% to 46.03%, 2.55 to 47.07%, and 0.35% to 11.11%, respectively. Using higher amount of wheat flour in batter and longer pre-drying time showed to significantly decrease fat uptake during frying.

The rheological, thermal and physicochemical properties of animal fat wastes (tallow, lard, choice white grease, and yellow grease) are important parameters for an efficient design of equipment and to optimize the processing procedures of biodiesel production. In this study, the physicochemical properties of animal fat waste samples and the correlation of these properties to their thermal and rheological behaviors were elucidated. Pure lard was equally investigated to monitor the effects of impurities on the rheological and thermal properties of the animal fat wastes. It was established that the presence of impurities had effects on the rheological and thermal properties of fats. Additionally, due to the high level of free fatty acid (FFA) present in the wastes, transesterification cannot be applied directly. It will be necessary to reduce the FFA level by using acid pretreatment or enzyme catalyzed transesterification.

This study determined iodine value (IV) and free fatty acids (FFA) content of four different animal fat wastes and their blends using Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR). Chemometric analysis by partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to correlate spectral data with IV and FFA reference values of the samples. The effects of four spectra pre-processing (first derivative (FD), second derivative (SD), multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) and vector normalization (VN)) methods were investigated to predict the reproducibility and robustness of the PLS-NIR model developed. A set of 70% of animal fat wastes and their blends were used for developing PLS calibration models for measuring IV and FFA content using the remaining 30% samples as an independent test set validation. The coefficient of determination ( R 2 ), the root mean square error estimation (RMSEE), and the residual prediction deviation (RPD) were used as indicators for the predictability of the PLS models. PLS-NIR models developed using first derivative and second derivative spectral preprocessing methods were the best for both IV and FFA content analysis (For IV, FD; R 2 = 0.9870, RMSEE = 1.40 gI 2 /100 g, RPD = 8.76, SD; R 2 = 0.9892, RMSEE = 1.28 gI 2 /100 g, RPD = 9.64 while For FFA, FD; R 2 = 0.9991, RMSEE = 0.195%, RPD = 34.00, SD; R 2 = 0.9993, RMSEE = 0.182%, RPD = 36.8). Overall, the results of this study demonstrate the suitability of FT-NIR spectroscopy for the quality control analysis of feedstocks for biodiesel production.

Hyperspectral imaging which combines imaging and spectroscopic technology is rapidly gaining ground as a non-destructive, real-time detection tool for food quality and safety assessment. Hyperspectral imaging could be used to simultaneously obtain large amounts of spatial and spectral information on the objects being studied. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the recent development of hyperspectral imaging applications in food and food products. The potential and future work of hyperspectral imaging for food quality and safety control is also discussed.

Summary The possibility of using IMF content/MS at the last rib to predict the corresponding fat attribute of loin chops at the 2nd last to the 7th last thoracic ribs and the mean of IMF content/MS of the whole loin joint was investigated. Linear and quadratic regression, cross-validation analysis and analysis of variance were employed for the study. For either IMF or MS, linear and quadratic regression models had similar performance. The best mean correlation coefficients of calibration (Rc) of 0.91 and cross-validation (Rv) of 0.88 were obtained for linear regression model of IMF content of the whole loin, while Rc of 0.90 and Rv of 0.88 were obtained for quadratic regression model of MS of the whole loin. The results indicated that IMF content and MS at the last rib had great potential for the prediction of IMF content and MS at the other ribs.

A nondestructive and rapid method using near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging was investigated to determine the spatial distribution of fat and moisture in Atlantic salmon fillets. Altogether, 100 samples were studied, cutting out from different parts of five whole fillets. For each sample, the hyperspectral image was collected with a pushbroom NIR (899–1,694 nm) hyperspectral imaging system followed by chemical analysis to measure its reference fat and moisture contents. Mean spectrum were extracted from the region of interest inside each hyperspectral image. The quantitative relationships between spectral data and the reference chemical values were successfully developed based on partial least squares (PLS) regression with correlation coefficient of prediction of 0.93 and 0.94, and root mean square error of prediction of 1.24 and 1.06 for fat and moisture, respectively. Then the PLS models were applied pixel-wise to the hyperspectral images of the prediction samples to produce chemical images for visualizing fat and moisture distribution. The results were promising and demonstrated the potential of this technique to predict constituent distribution in salmon fillets.

Summary This study determined the levels of nutritionally important starch fractions in selected milled, nonparboiled rice cultivated in Nigeria. Five improved varieties (FARO 52, FARO 57, FARO 44, FARO 60 and FARO 61) and four local varieties (Kwandala, Yardass, Jeep and Jamila) were evaluated. There were significant differences in starch fractions among varieties. Resistant starch (RS) ranged between 1.43% and 3.13%. Rapidly digestible starch (RDS) was lowest in Jamila (27.70%) and highest in FARO 61 (39.26%). Generally, the local varieties had significant higher RS (2.71%) with a lower RDS (32.82%) compared with improved varieties (RS; 1.88% and RDS; 36.07%). RS was inversely related to RDS and starch digestion index (SDI). The SDI had a highly significant positive correlation with RDS (r = 0.879, P

Marbling is an important technical quality attribute of pork. Its assessment usually corresponds to a subjective score being given by trained panelists based on the marbling standards charts. The purpose of this study was to investigate objective determination of pork marbling using pattern analysis techniques. A line pattern recognition technique called the wide line detector (WLD) and a texture extraction technique based on an improved grey-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) were employed and compared. Fifty three fresh pork loin chops from the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle were collected and their marbling scores were assessed in a plant. Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images of these chops were acquired using a digital camera. The loin eye area was selected as the region of interest (ROI) of the pork images. Marbling was extracted from the ROI by either GLCM or WLD. Proportion of marbling ( PM ) obtained from WLD or image texture measurement from GLCM ( GI ) was formulated as indices of the marbling score. Linear regressions based on the PM and GI were carried out at the red, green, and blue channels as well as the combined RGB channels. The results of WLD and GLCM based models showed the effectiveness of pattern analysis techniques for pork marbling assessment. The comparison indicated that the WLD based models had stronger predictive ability for pork marbling score determination than GLCM. The green channel was demonstrated to have the best explanatory for pork marbling assessment no matter which pattern analysis technique used. High correlation coefficients of calibration and validation ( Rc = 0.94, Rv = 0.94) of the WLD based linear model at the green channel strongly indicated the great potential of pattern analysis techniques especially the line pattern recognition methods for the accurate and real-time evaluation of pork marbling.

Aims: Resistant starch (RS), kinetics of starch digestion, predicted glycemic index (pGI) and nutritional composition were determined in two improved rice varieties from Cameroun. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University, Canada between December 2012 and March 2013. Methodology: Non-parboiled and parboiled samples of TOX 3145 and NERICA-3 varieties were involved in this study. An in vitro enzymatic starch digestion method was applied to measure starch digestibility parameters. Standardized methods were adopted for proximate and mineral contents evaluation. Results: The parboiled samples had significantly higher (P

Meat is an important food item in human diet. Its production and consumption has greatly increased in the last decades with the development of economies and improvement of peoples' living standards. However, most of the traditional methods for evaluation of meat quality are time-consuming, laborious, inconsistent and destructive to samples, which make them not appropriate for a fast-paced production and processing environment. Development of innovative and non-destructive optical sensing techniques to facilitate simple, fast, and accurate evaluation of quality are attracting increasing attention in the food industry. Hyperspectral imaging is one of the promising techniques. It integrates the combined merits of imaging and spectroscopic techniques. This paper provides a comprehensive review on recent advances in evaluation of the important quality attributes of meat including color, marbling, tenderness, pH, water holding capacity, and also chemical composition attributes such as moisture content, protein content and fat content in pork, beef and lamb. In addition, the future potential applications and trends of hyperspectral imaging are also discussed in this paper.

Early detection of infertile and non-hatchable eggs would benefit hatcheries and poultry breeding farms by saving space, handling costs, and preventing contamination from exploder eggs. Therefore, it would be advantageous to the hatchery industry of developing a non-destructive, rapid, and accurate method to detect the fertility and embryo development of eggs. For this purpose, a near-infrared hyperspectral imaging system was developed to detect fertility and early embryo development. A total of 174 white-shell chicken eggs including 156 fertile eggs and 18 infertile eggs were used in this study and all eggs were incubated in a commercial incubator for 4 days. Hyperspectral images were captured for all eggs on each day of incubation. After imaging on each day, developing embryos in randomly selected eggs were stopped by injecting sodium azide (NaN3). All the eggs were divided into two classes, fertile eggs and non-fertile eggs (including infertile eggs and dead embryos), and the data set of each class varied with day of incubation. The region of interest (ROI) of each hyperspectral image was segmented and the image texture information was extracted from the ROI of spectral images using Gabor filters. Two types of spectral transmission characteristics termed MS and MG, were obtained by averaging the spectral information of ROI and Gabor-filtered ROI, respectively. The dimensionality of the spectral transmission characteristics were reduced by PCA. The first three PCs were used for K-means clustering, as well as the first three bands with maximum responses of each spectral transmission characteristic. The best classification results were 100 % at day 0, 78.8 % at day 1, 74.1 % at day 2, 81.8 % at day 3, and 84.1 % at day 4. A perfect detection of fertility prior to incubation was obtained using only the first three bands of maximum responses of MS. The classification results suggested the usefulness of the image texture information for detection of early embryo development. Promising results were also obtained when only the first three bands with maximum response of spectral transmission characteristics were used, which indicated the potential in applying hyperspectral imaging techniques to develop a real-time system for detecting fertility and early embryo development of chicken eggs.

Background: Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is a very rich source of starch. There is increased interest in starch digestibility and the prevention and management of metabolic diseases.Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of starch fractions and predicted glycemic index of different cultivars of sweet potato.Material and Method: French fries produced from five cultivars of sweet potato (‘Ginseng Red’, ‘Beauregard’, ‘White Travis’, ‘Georgia Jet clone #2010’ and ‘Georgia Jet’) were used. The level of total starch (TS), resistant starch (RS), digestible starch (DS), and starch digestion index starch digestion index in the samples were evaluated. In vitro starch hydrolysis at 30, 90, and 120 min were determined enzymatically for calculation of rapidly digestible starch (RDS), predicted glycemic index (pGI) and slowly digestible starch (SDS) respectively. Results: The RS content in all samples had an inversely significant correlation with pGI (-0.52; P

Thermal and physical properties of Detarium microcarpum seed flour, were studied. Thermophysical properties such as apparent density, bulk density, porosity and water activity of dry ground powder of the sample were determined and found to be 1.79 g/cm 3 , 0.44 g/cm 3 , 75.51% and 0.549, respectively. The Brix of the aqueous solutions of the sample ranged from 1.45 to 4.00 °Bx. Thermal properties studied include glass transition ( T g ), which varied from −74.9 to −73.2 °C for the aqueous solutions of the sample and showed two midpoints at 11.2 and 59 °C for the dry powdered D. microcarpum . Heat capacity of the aqueous solutions of the sample ranged from 1.79 to 18.83 J/g °C, while dry sample heat capacity was from 0.81 to 1.79 J/g °C. There was significant effect ( P P

Marbling is an important factor in evaluating pork quality and can be estimated by marbling scores based on the official marbling standards. The marbling score is normally assessed by experienced graders by comparing pork chops with the standardized chart system. In this paper, the potentials of automatic objective prediction of marbling scores were studied. The region of interest (ROI) of the marbling standards and the pork samples was automatically determined for marbling extraction. Marblings were regarded as kind of line patterns and thereby extracted by the wide line detector. Proportion of marblings (PM) was used for determinating the marbling score. The stepwise procedure was employed to select prediction models. A multiple linear regression equation was used as the initial model of the procedure and the PM of marbling standards at all three channels as potential variables. Three models were developed by the stepwise procedure with different first entry variable of the initial model. The multiple linear model obtained by the PM of marbling standards at all three RGB channels outperformed the two simple linear models respectively developed at the green and blue channels. The adjusted coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) of the multiple linear model was 0.9992 and the root mean square error of leave-one-out cross-validation (RMSECV) was 0.0938. Forty pork loin samples were used to predict marbling scores. The prediction results of the three models showed that the prediction ability of the simple linear model developed at the blue channel was comparable with the multiple linear model.

The birchwood biochar produced by slow as well as fast pyrolysis was analyzed and compared according to physical characteristics of porosity and reflectance. A relation between char porosity and the reflectance of the biochar structure was found wherein porosity was found to be inversely proportional to reflectance. The wavelengths providing images with maximum clarity were established for classification through hyperspectral imaging technique. The wavelengths that were found to be optimum for both slow and fast pyrolysis biochars were 947 nm and 1685 nm, which fall in the near-IR and short-IR wavelength ranges, respectively. The results of the hyperspectral imaging support the findings of the porosity evaluations from pycnometric analysis, which showed that the biochar sample treated at 350°C for slow pyrolysis and 400°C for fast pyrolysis for a holding time of 20 min had the highest porosity and in turn showed the lowest reflectance mean values. The theory that reflectance of biochar samples de...

Mathematical modelling of transport phenomena was performed to assess the cooling of produce with respect to package design during forced convection cooling. Nine different vent designs including 1, 2, 3 and 5 vents corresponding to 4 different vent areas of 2.4, 4.8, 7.2 and 12.1%, respectively, were simulated. More uniform produce cooling with less cooling time was obtained where there were properly distributed vents on package walls with enough opening area. Experimental validations were performed considering produce centre temperature at 4 positions inside 3 different ventilated packages. Good agreement between experimental and simulated temperatures was obtained with mean absolute error of 2.2 °C considering all the 3 vent configurations. The study showed that for a suitable package design, with respect to different vent areas and positions on package walls, it is necessary to consider both produce cooling time as well as cooling uniformity during the cooling operation.

The effects of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatments on rheological and colour properties of soy milk were evaluated. Flow behaviour, viscosity and rheological parameters of PEF-treated soy milk were monitored using a controlled stress rheometer. For PEF treatments, electric field intensity of 18, 20 and 22 kV cm(-1) and number of pulses of 25, 50, 75 and 100 were used. For the measurements of rheological properties of soy milk shear rates between 0 and 200 s(-1) was used. The rheological behaviour of control and the PEF-treated soy milk were described using a power law model. The PEF treatments affected the rheological properties of soy milk. Apparent viscosity of soy milk increased from 6.62 to 7.46 (10(-3) Pa s) with increase in electric field intensity from 18 to 22 kV cm(-1) and increase in the number of pulses from 0 to 100. The consistency index (K) of soy milk also changed with PEF treatments. Lightness (L*), red/greenness (a*) and yellowness/blueness (b*) of soy milk were affected by PEF treatments.

The influence of different package vent configurations, including ventilated packages with 1, 3 and 5 vents, on produce temperature distribution during forced convection cooling of produce was investigated by mathematical modeling of simultaneous airflow and heat transfer. Generally, produce cooling uniformity was increased by increasing the number of vents from 1 to 5. Produce cooling heterogeneity increased until about 90 min cooling and subsequently decreased with further cooling in all 3 ventilated packages. The methodology developed in this study can be used as a design tool to provide homogeneous temperature distribution in ventilated packages during forced convection cooling of produce.

Flow behaviour and viscosity are important functional properties of food proteins and provide physical stability to emulsions and other suspended particles. They also contribute to the mouthfeel and the overall quality of foods. This study dealt with the effects of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on the flow behaviour and viscosity of reconstituted skimmed milk. Reconstituted skimmed milk was subjected to electric field intensities of 15, 18 and 20 kV cm−1 and numbers of pulses of 20, 40 or 60. The steady-state and peak hold tests of the reconstituted and PEF-treated skimmed milk were then investigated as well as the flow behaviour and viscosity using controlled stress rheometer. The rheological properties were also measured, at shear rates of 0–200 s−1 and 200–0 s−1. The shear rate and the shear stress data were described using the Herschel–Bulkley model. The reconstituted skimmed milk showed a shear-thinning behaviour and its apparent viscosity increased with increasing electric field intensity and increasing numbers of pulses. The values increased from 2.12 to 4.25 (10−3 Pa s) for the control and PEF-treated samples respectively. The consistency index (K) also increased with increasing electric field intensity and number of pulses. The K value increased from 1.42 to 1.54 (10−3 Pa sn) for the control and treated samples (20 kV cm−1 and 60 pulses) respectively. These results indicated that the PEF treatment changed the rheological properties of the reconstituted skimmed milk.

The effect of processing conditions such as frying time and temperature, and batter formulation on pore development in deep-fat fried chicken nuggets coatings were studied using helium pycnometer method. Chicken nuggets with preformed and laboratory prepared batter coatings were fried at temperatures between 170 and 190 °C for a time range between 0 and 240 s. There was significant (P < 0.05) effect of frying temperature and batter formulation on porosity. Porosity increased with frying time and temperature, and ranged between 2.15 and 47.92% for the preformed batter and 9.96 and 54.76% for the formulated batters. Apparent and bulk densities of the preformed batters increased and decreased with frying time, respectively, but both declined gradually with increasing frying temperature. As the level of rice flour in the formulation increased, apparent and bulk densities also increased. Batter formulation and frying temperature significantly (P < 0.05) influenced the variation in moisture and fat content of the fried batter. Porosity demonstrated positive and negative correlation with fat uptake and moisture loss, respectively, for all the batter coatings.

The effects of electric field intensities of 22 and 25 kV/cm and pulse numbers of 30, 60, 90 and 120 on the intrinsic fluorescence intensity, the extrinsic fluorescence intensity and the surface hydrophobicity of the soy protein isolate (SPI) were measured. The pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment increased the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence intensity of the SPI causing a 2‐6 nm red shift in the emission wavelengths. The extrinsic fluorescence intensity of the SPI also increased resulting in a 2‐6 nm blue shift. These results indicated that the microenvironment of the soy protein’s tryptophan residues changed from a less polar to a more polar environment. Also the changes in the extrinsic fluorescence intensity indicated that the soy protein fractions were partly denatured under the PEF treatment conditions that subsequently led to increase in the surface hydrophobicity. These observations confirmed that PEF treatments modified the protein structure of the SPI and increased its surface hydrophobicity.