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With the aim to produce solid fats with a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, oleogels based on olive and peanut oil with different concentrations of beeswax (BW) and glycerol monostearate (GMS) as oleogelators were studied and compared. The critical oleogelator concentration for both BW and GMS was 3%. Thermal properties of the developed GMS-based oleogels pointed to a polymorphic structure, confirmed by the presence of two exothermic and endothermic peaks. All developed oleogels released less than 4% of oil, highlighting their high oil binding capacity. A morphology evaluation of oleogels showed platelet-like crystals, characterized by a cross-sectional length of 50 μm in BW-based oleogels and irregular clusters of needle-like crystals with a higher diameter in GMS-based oleogels. BW-based oleogels showed a solid fat content ranging from 1.16% to 2.27%, and no solid fat content was found at 37 °C. GMS-based oleogels reached slightly higher values of SFC that ranged from 1.58% to 2.97% at 25 °C and from 1.00% to 1.75% at 37 °C. Olive oil-based oleogels with GMS showed higher firmness compared with BW-based ones. The stronger structure network in olive oil/GMS-based oleogels provided a real physical barrier to oxidants, showing a high oxidation stability.

Moderate electric fields (MEF) heating belongs to electro-assisted heating technologies. MEF involves the use of electrical alternate current, which is forced to pass through a food material, applying an electrical potential gradient up to 1000 V/cm with frequency going from 1 Hz to 1e4 Hz. In MEF assisted heating, the electrical current dissipates heat inside the food product, thus overcoming the heat transfer resistances due to convection or conduction. Tomato based dressing sauces represent a worldwide appreciated food product. Industrially heat transfer operations related to the production of such dressing sauces are based on the use of hot water or steam as heat carriers. Exploring new heating technologies able to shorten production times, can contribute the shift of food industry towards more efficient and less environmentally impacting processes. In order to assess the applicability of MEF heating to tomato-based dressing sauces, three different products were analysed. Namely, tomato sauce, tomato sauce with eggplant, tomato sauce with minced meat were considered. Tests were performed in a custom MEF system imposing an electrical potential difference from 50 V to 80 V. Given the fair even temperature distribution, a macroscopic transient energy balance was used to estimate the electrical conductivity of the considered products and, furthermore, the model of the electrical conductivity as a function of the temperature. Results showed that the investigated products are characterized by electrical conductivity in the range of 1 to 5 S/m, making these sauces keen to MEF heating treatment and opening new opportunity to exploit such heating technology in the preparation and processing of tomato-based dressing sauces.

In the present study, the oxidative stability of extra virgin olive oil-based oleogels developed with beeswax, glycerol monostearate and ethylcellulose as gelators was determined using DSC in non-isothermal mode. Samples were heated at different heating rates (5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15 °C/min) and, by using the Ozawa-Flynn-Wall method, oxidation kinetics parameters such as activation energy, pre-exponential factor and oxidation rate constant were evaluated. The results highlighted that glycerol monostearate-based oleogels have the highest oxidative stability, followed by ethylcellulose-based oleogel. However, bulk extra virgin olive oil showed higher stability than beeswax-based oleogel, probably due to the presence in the wax of minor components with prooxidant activity.

Notwithstanding the increased interest in wild edible plants, little is known on how some domestic thermal processes can affect their content. The aim of this study was to investigate the amounts of minerals, B1 and B2 vitamins, tocols, and carotenoids in raw, boiled, and steamed wild edible plants, namely, Sonchus asper (L.) Hill s.l., Sonchus oleraceus L., Cichorium intybus L., and Beta vulgaris L. var cicla. All vegetables were confirmed as high sources of lutein (from 6 to 9 mg/100 g) and β-carotene (from 2 to 5 mg/100 g). Quite high amounts of violaxanthin and neoxanthin were found. Alfa-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol were the main tocols, with same contents in raw and processed vegetables (about 2.5 mg/100 g). The most abundant macro element and trace element were, respectively, potassium and iron. B1 and B2 vitamins were found in low amounts in almost all plants, with the exception of thiamine in Beta vulgaris (about 1.6 mg/100 g). Boiling led to a significant loss of minerals (up to 60%) and B-group vitamins (up to 100%), while, among carotenoids, it only affected violaxanthin levels (up to 90%). Steamed vegetables showed only a slight reduction, about 20%, in β-carotene and lutein, with a marked decrease in violaxanthin and neoxanthin. One hundred grams of all fresh and cooked plants can be claimed as a source of vitamin A and E.

Palm oil is widely used in the manufacturing of hazelnut-based spreads due to its unique fatty acid and triacylglycerol profile and, thus, its crystallization behaviour, which makes it suitable for use in fat-based spreadable products. An interesting solution that enables the replacement of palm oil is given by oleogels made with high nutritional quality oil. In this study, the influence of the replacement of palm oil with different glycerol monostearate/olive oil-based oleogels, as well as the influence of the different amounts of GMS employed in oleogel preparation, on the oil binding capacity, spreadability, and rheological and sensory parameters of hazelnut cocoa spreads was investigated. A design of experiment (DoE) approach, with the adoption of the D-optimal design, was used to plan the cocoa hazelnut spread formulations, with the aim being to identify the optimal formulation with desirable quality parameters in terms of Casson’s viscosity, spreadability, and oil binding capacity. The resulting optimized formulation was identified in a spread characterized by a total replacement of palm oil with an oleogel made of 95% olive oil and 5% GMS.

In this work, the effect of an alginate-based coating loaded with hydroxyapatite/lactoferrin/quercetin (HA/LACTO-QUE) complexes during the storage of pork meat was evaluated. FT-IR spectra of HA/LACTO-QUE complexes confirmed the adsorption of QUE and LACTO into HA crystals showing the characteristic peaks of both active compounds. The kinetic releases of QUE and LACTO from coatings in an aqueous medium pointed out a faster release of LACTO than QUE. The activated alginate-based coating showed a high capability to slow down the growth of total viable bacterial count, psychotropic bacteria count, Pseudomonas spp. and Enterobacteriaceae during 15 days at 4 °C, as well as the production of the total volatile basic nitrogen. Positive effects were found for maintaining the hardness and water-holding capacity of pork meat samples coated with the activated edible coatings. Sensory evaluation results demonstrated that the active alginate-based coating was effective to preserve the colour and odour of fresh pork meat with overall acceptability up to the end of storage time.

A cooperative approach in the faculty members of the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Salerno (Italy) was adopted to produce valuable documentation and material for applications of active learning methodology in the master course in Food Processing and Innovation developed within the FOODI project, an Erasmus+ project financed in 2018 in the action KA2 – Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices – Capacity Building in the field of Higher Education. A dedicated form was developed as a key tool in both recording the teaching/learning needs and transferring the work results in terms of examples and activities. Web seminars were provided to illustrate the examples.

Osmotic distillation (OD) was investigated for the concentration of vegetable juice, in sync with the increasing consumer interest towards natural and healthy foods. Celery juice first underwent a filtration step for removal of suspended solids, then a concentration step by OD. An OD plant was set up with a hollow fibre membrane module, where a concentrated solution of CaCl2 (60% w/v) was used as extraction brine circulating in counter current with the celery juice. Preliminary tests were performed to identify the optimal process parameters (i.e., flow rate, volumes, etc.). Celery juice was concentrated from 3.7 to 22.4 °Brix after 200 min of processing. The content of beneficial compounds and antioxidant activity were preserved after the OD process obtaining a concentration of the solution without loss of phenolic compounds.

The cultivation of mango fruits is increasing in the Mediterranean areas, including Italy, where a niche production has developed in the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily. These fruits are rich in antioxidant substances, presenting a pleasant taste and aroma, fundamental qualities for the sensory acceptance of consumers. However, being climacteric fruits, mangoes are highly perishable, due to their rapid ripening after harvesting. As a result, large amounts of mangoes are lost annually in many areas of the world. In order to prevent this, the drying technique is widely used. It allows to lengthen the shelf-life of the fruits. In order to optimize this process, it is necessary to deepen the knowledge on the drying effects on the structure and mobility of the residual water in the fruit. The objective of this paper is to describe the effects of convective drying at different temperatures on the Fast Field Cycling Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (FFC 1H-NMR) relaxation properties, water activity and shrinkage in Keitt mango fruits. The FFC 1H-NMR relaxometry investigations on mango fruits revealed that the convective drying lead not only to a reduction in the overall water content within the mango tissues, but also to a progressive immobilization of the same water, depending on the temperature. From a qualitative and microbiological point of view, the results may indicate that the measure of more immobilised water in the dried fruits can be useful to predict their shelf-life.

The goal of this work was to develop innovative, 100% biodegradable films with antioxidant effectiveness, based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and a natural olive wastewater extract (OWE). Active PLA coatings were realized by spreading a PLA/OWE coating solution, with an OWE amount up to 20 wt%, on a Poly(lactic acid)/Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) substrate. The study of active films antioxidant activity and release kinetics in foods with high lipid content was accomplished using 95% ethanol as food simulant. Preliminary shelf-life tests on a sensitive greasy food matrix (i.e. avocado fruits) were also carried out, in order to qualitatively examine the films potential in limiting fruit oxidative/browning phenomena. Finally, the effect of the OWE on the films color and photo-oxidative stability under natural light exposure was also examined. The results pointed out the influence of the morphology and distribution of the active agent on the coatings release rate, and the antioxidant activity and equilibrium time increased by increasing the antioxidant concentration. The shelf-life tests highlighted the promising perspectives for the films in retarding the oxidation/browning reactions of short shelf-life foods, and pave the way to more in-depth investigations on the most appropriate strategies to prevent the transfer of the OWE brown color while keeping intact the benefits of the antioxidant packaging.

In this work, active alginate-based coatings were developed using hydroxyapatite nanoparticles as potential carriers for quercetin glycoside compounds. The coatings were produced through the layer-by-layer method and loaded with different concentrations of quercetin and hydroxyapatite/quercetin complexes. In-vitro release studies of the quercetin through the coatings were performed in an aqueous medium: even if the hydroxyapatite nanocrystals slow down the diffusion process, quercetin released reached the equilibrium in one day for all coatings. Lastly, antimicrobial tests show that all active coatings display antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas fluorescens. This study highlights the real possibility of applying active edible coating loaded with hydroxyapatite/quercetin complexes to the food shelf life extension.

Oleogels (defined as structured solid-like materials with a high amount of oil entrapped within a three-dimensional network of gelator molecules) represent a healthy alternative to fats that are rich in saturated and trans fatty acids. Given its fatty acids composition (oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids), olive oil is an excellent candidate for the use of oleogels in the food industry. In this study, a D-optimal mixture design was employed to optimize the replacement of butter with olive oil-based oleogel in a type of sponge cake formulation: the plum cake. In addition, emulsifiers and whey proteins were used as recipe ingredients to extend the product’s shelf life by delaying staling phenomena and mold growth. In the experimental design, oleogel, emulsifier, and whey protein variables were set as the ingredients that change in specific ranges, while hardness, porosity, water activity, and moistness were used to characterize the obtained formulations. The experimental data of each response were fitted through polynomial regression models with the aim of identifying the best plum cake formulation. The results revealed that the best mixture was the formulation containing 76.98% olive oil-based oleogel, 7.28% emulsifier E471, and 15.73% whey protein. We stored the optimized plum cake for 3 months at room temperature and then checked for any hardness and moistness changes or mold spoilage.

This work focused on the development and optimization of an impedimetric label-free immunosensor for detecting deoxynivalenol (DON). A monoclonal antibody for DON detection was immobilized on a modified gold electrode with a cysteamine layer and polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques were used to monitor the layer-by-layer development of the immunosensor design, while electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and differential pulse voltammetry were employed to investigate the antigen/antibody interaction. The PAMAM dendrimers, allowing to immobilize a large number of monoclonal antibodies, permitted reaching, through the DPV technique, a high sensitivity and a low limit of detection equal to 1 ppb. The evaluation of the possible reuse of the immunosensors highlighted a decrease in the analytical performances of the regenerated immunosensors. After evaluating the matrix effect, the developed immunosensor was used to quantify DON in pasta samples spiked with a known mycotoxin concentration. Taking into consideration the DON extraction procedure used for the pasta samples and the matrix effect related to the sample, the proposed immunosensor showed a limit of detection of 50 ppb, which is lower than the maximum residual limit imposed by European Regulation for DON in dry pasta (750 ppb).

Campania is the most important region of Italy in the apricot cultivation, present mostly in the Vesuvio area. At least to the best of our knowledge, no studies are reporting the biochemical characterization of the considerable number of traditional apricot varieties present on this territory, including the qualitative and quantitative profile of the polyphenols present. Our work evaluated the content of β-carotene, total phenolics, phenolic profiles, ascorbic acid and antioxidant activity of 23 traditional varieties of apricots of the Campania region. Principal component analysis (PCA) highlighted that, in the two main groups, the antioxidant activity was strongly affected by the content of ascorbic acid (−0.89), or slightly affected by the content of total polyphenols (−0.67), respect to the content of ascorbic acid (−0.55), never by β-carotene. Chlorogenic acid (up to 55.07 μg g−1) and catechin (up to 96.15 μg g−1) resulted the most abundant polyphenols recognized through the chromatographic analysis. PCA, extended to the polyphenol profile, confirmed the distribution of the varieties in two large groups, evidencing once again the hierarchical distance of four varieties (“Panzona”, “Paolona” “Baracca” and “Boccucia Eboli”) compared to the others.

Cold stabilization is a common method used to avoid tartaric acid crystals from forming in bottled wine, but this technique shows some inconveniences on the sensory characteristics and energy cost. In the present research, the tartaric stabilization in Sicilian white wines, with a recently permissible molecule in oenology, was studied: the potassium polyaspartate (PAK). The PAK has a negative charge at wine pH and allows to sequester the K+ cations; consequently it inhibits the formation and the growth of potassium bitartrate crystals. PAK is a relatively small polymer; perfectly microfiltrated and does not allow the filling phenomena in filtration membranes. The adding of PAK allowed to reduce almost all the tartaric precipitations on very unstable wines, regardless of the chemical-physical characteristics of the treated white wines. The stability of PAK, after thermal stress of the wine added to this polymer, was confirmed evaluating different analytical parameters such as pH, total acidity and buffer power, while variations in the conductivity of wines seemed to indicate a residual tartaric instability. In conclusion, the use of PAK makes possible to improve the sensory characteristics of wines, considering lower losses of tartaric acid and potassium, which are important for acid perception and acid persistence (buffer power), as well as reducing production costs and low environmental impact.

Nisin is a cationic amphiphilic peptide consisting of 34 amino acids with a cluster of hydrophobic residues at the N-terminus and hydrophilic residues at the C-terminus. The mechanism of its action is based on its ability to attach to the bacteria cell membrane before to then cause cell lysis. This antimicrobial peptide was used as biological molecule for the development of a novel impedimetric label-free biosensor for the monitoring of bacterial contamination. The binding affinities of Nisin immobilized with its N-terminus and C-terminus were compared, highlighting the capability of the last configuration to obtain the best analytical performance of the developed biosensor when non-pathogenic Escherichia Coli O157:H7 and Listeria innocua cells were investigated.

The demand of beverages with low or zero alcohol content is fast growing over the last years for health benefits of drinkers and more restrictive policies in alcohol consumption. Membrane processes are nowadays the most commonly used. They have undoubtedly led to improvements in quality, particularly for the low processing temperatures, but determined volatile compounds loss which in many instances resulted in unsatisfactory sensory quality. This study evaluates the combination of two membrane processes for the production of lower alcohol wines: osmotic distillation (OD) and reverse osmosis (RO). It aims for retain the flavour, preserve the good taste of wine with low alcohol content. A red wine (13.2 %v/v) was reduced in alcohol strength of about -5, -6, -8 %v/v through a RO and OD combined process: the initial wine was firstly treated through RO and was subsequently processed through OD to obtain partial dealcoholized wines. Such wines were then compared with those obtained through OD technique. Low alcohol wines were analysed for chemico-physical parameters and volatile composition. The results showed a better retention of the main chemical properties and volatile compounds in wines with low alcohol content obtained through the combined OD and RO process than those through single OD.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of the mycotoxins highly resistant to food processing that enters the food chain and provide a threat to human health. In this paper, different immobilization techniques of the monoclonal anti-AFB1 on gold electrodes were tested and compared, in order to develop a label-free immunosensor able to detect AFB1 amount imposed by European legislation for adult and infant foods. Different materials, coupled with Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy as transduction technique, were used to improve immunosensors analytical parameters, such as linear range, sensitivity and limit of detection. Through the use of ferrocene molecules, the immunosensor showed linearity in the range 0.01-10 ng/mL and the lowest limit of detection (0.01 ng/mL), allowing the possibility to use it in a wide range of food products, including infant foods.

Bacterial biofilm provides bacteria with resistance and protection against conventional antimicrobial agents and the host immune system. Bacteriophages are known to move across the biofilm to make it permeable to antimicrobials. Mineral hydroxyapatite (HA) can improve the lytic activity of bacteriophages, and, together with eicosanoic acid (C20:0), can destroy the biofilm structure. Here, we demonstrate the efficacy of the combined use of phage, HA and C20:0 against Xanthomonas campestris pv campestris (Xcc) biofilm. We used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics to investigate the molecular determinants related to the lytic action, aiming at identifying the metabolic pathways dysregulated by phage treatment. Furthermore, we identified specific markers (amino acids, lactate and galactomannan) which are involved in the control of biofilm stability. Our data show that Xccφ1, alone or in combination with HA and C20:0, interferes with the metabolic pathways involved in biofilm formation. The approach described here might be extended to other biofilm-producing bacteria.

Five onion landraces belonging to Bianca di Pompei cv., cultivated in Campania region (Italy), were characterized for their main quality parameters. The onion landraces were harvested at the end of the growth cycle corresponding to the ripening time and harvest month, respectively: February, March, April, May, and June. The total content of volatile compounds as well as the sulfur-containing compounds in Aprilatica was significantly (p≤0.05) higher than the other landraces investigated. The nutraceutical feature investigated through the total phenols, phenols profile, and antioxidant activity showed higher values for the samples harvested in spring months. High pungency values ranging from 9 to 14 μmol/g FW were found in all onion landraces investigated as enzymatically (alliinase) produced pyruvate (EPY). The organic acids profile (malic, citric, succinic, pyruvic, oxalic, ascorbic, and tartaric acids) highlighted malic and citric acids in higher amounts in all landraces. Fructose, glucose, and sucrose were found as soluble sugars and fructose was the most abundant. Generally, the results highlighted the growth temperature influence on the investigated quality parameters.

In winemaking gluconic acid is an important marker for quantitative evaluation of grape infection by Botrytis cinerea. A screen-printed amperometric bienzymatic sensor for the determination of gluconic acid based on gluconate kinase (GK) and 6-phospho-D-gluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH) coimmobilized onto polyaniline/poly (2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid; PANI-PAAMPSA) is reported in this study. The conductive polymer electrodeposed on the working electrode surface allowed the detection of NADH at low potential (0.1 V) with a linear range from 4 × 10−3 to 1 mM (R2 = 0.99) and a sensitivity of 419.44 nA∙mM−1. The bienzymatic sensor has been optimized with regard to GK/6PGDH enzymatic unit ratio and ATP/NADP+ molar ratio which resulted equal to 0.33 and 1.2, respectively. Under these conditions a sensitivity of 255.2 nA∙mM−1, a limit of detection of 5 μM and a Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) of 4.2% (n = 5) have been observed. Finally, the biosensor has been applied for gluconic acid measurements in must grape samples and the matrix effect has been taken into consideration. The results have been compared with those obtained on the same samples with a commercial kit based on a spectrophotometric enzyme assay and were in good agreement, showing the capability of the bienzymatic PANI-PAAMPSA biosensor for gluconic acid measurements and thus for the evaluation of Botrytis cinerea infection in grapes.

The phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus), lentil (Lens culinaris), and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) cultivars from the Campania region of Southern Italy were investigated. Lentils (cv Colliano and San Gerardo) demonstrated the highest antioxidant activity, (EC50 not higher than 2.3 mg/g), confirming that lentils are an excellent antioxidant food. Grass peas (cv San Gerardo and san Rufo) tested exhibited lower content of total polyphenols, as well as a minor amount of hydrolysable and condensed tannins compared to other grass pea cultivars; their low levels of the two types of tannins suggest that they are more nutritional and should not negatively affect humans and monogastric animals. Chickpeas (cv Castelcivita and Sassano) exhibited the lowest content of total polyphenols (147.13 and 183.78 μg/g of raw product, respectively), although their values were higher than those of the other European cultivars. UPLC analysis revealed differences in the quality and quantity of polyphenols, which are important due to their healthful properties. Therefore, these legumes can be considered therapeutic functional foods due to their significant content of functional proteins and carbohydrates and their extraordinary reserve of secondary metabolites and bioactive constituents that are beneficial for managing and preventing several chronic illnesses in humans.

In this work, the development of an impedimetric label-free immunosensor for the detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 is reported. Different immobilization techniques of monoclonal anti-E. coli were tested, in order to reach the very low limit of detections. The comparison between the immobilization procedures underlined the advantages of the oriented procedure and the use of a dendrimer, which allowed for immobilizing a higher number of antibody units, reaching a very high sensitivity. However, the use of activated ferrocene as electron-transferring mediator, which improved the electrical properties of the system, resulted in a very low limit of detection equal to 3 cfu/mL. This immunosensor was used to analyze milk and meat samples obtaining a good agreement with the results of the ELISA methods.

Due to their interesting ferroelectric, conductive and dielectric properties, in recent years, perovskite-structured materials have begun to attract increasing interest in the biosensing field. In this study, a strontium titanate perovskite layer (SrTiO3) has been synthesized on a platinum electrode and exploited for the development of an impedimetric label-free immunosensor for Escherichia coli O157:H7 detection. The electrochemical characterization of the perovskite-modified electrode during the construction of the immunosensor, as well as after the interaction with different E. coli O157:H7 concentrations, showed a reproducible decrease of the total capacitance of the system that was used for the analytical characterization of the immunosensor. Under optimized conditions, the capacitive immunosensor showed a linear relationship from to 1 to 7 log cfu/mL with a low detection limit of 1 log cfu/mL. Moreover, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique underlined the increase in roughness of the SrTiO3-modified electrode surface after antibody immobilization, as well as the effective presence of cells with the typical size of E. coli.

An impedimetric label-free immunosensor on disposable screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) for quantitative determination of Ochratoxin A (OTA) has been developed. After modification of the SPCE surface with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), the anti-OTA was immobilized on the working electrode through a cysteamine layer. After each coating step, the modified surfaces were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The capacitance was chosen as the best parameter that describes the reproducible change in electrical properties of the electrode surface at different OTA concentrations and it was used to investigate the analytical parameters of the developed immunosensor. Under optimized conditions, the immunosensor showed a linear relationship between 0.3 and 20 ng/mL with a low detection limit of 0.25 ng/mL, making it suitable to control OTA content in many common food products. Lastly, the immunosensor was used to measure OTA in red wine samples and the results were compared with those registered with a competitive ELISA kit. The immunosensor was sensitive to OTA lower than 2 μg/kg, which represents the lower acceptable limit of OTA established by European legislation for common food products.

This study evaluated the effect of argon-enriched modified atmosphere on the storage extension of ready-to-use broccoli rabe in leaf. Broccoli rabe samples (Brassica rapa sylvestris L. var. esculenta) were packaged in 90% argon and 10% O2 (modified atmosphere packaging 1); 80% argon, 10% CO2 and 10% O2 (modified atmosphere packaging 2) and evaluated for the physicochemical characteristics, microbiological parameters and bioactive compounds (glucosinolates) during the cold storage for 9 days. Results showed significant maintenance of colour, chlorophyll, phenols content and antioxidant activity in modified atmosphere packaging packages with respect to air control ones. An increasing biosynthesis of glucosinolates was observed in all packages to the inductive effect of CO2 produced; the amount of minerals unchanged during the storage. Overall appearance and odour evaluation pointed out a positive effect of argon atmospheres, in particular modified atmosphere packaging 1, for the keeping of the sensory attributes compared to those evaluated in air packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]