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Southern Spain has an optimal climate for growing fruits and vegetables. Over 39,534 ha are currently dedicated to the production of cauliflower and broccoli in Spain, 33% of which correspond to the Region of Murcia. This type of intensive agriculture causes environmental impacts which must be quantified and minimized as much as possible. This study details the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of cauliflower production with a cradle-to-farm-gate approach using precise and updated primary data from local producers. Foreground inventory data was collected for the nursery and on-field stages, including energy use, consumption, application and diffusion of fertilizers and pesticides, machinery and transport to the packaging center. Ecoinvent v3.6 datasets were adapted to the characteristics of the system for background inventory and the EF 3.0 method was used for evaluation. The carbon footprint of 1 kg of cauliflower was estimated at 91.2 g CO2eq. Impact values for the same functional unit in other categories were as follows: Photochemical ozone formation 3.33E-04 kg NMVOC eq., Acidification 3.41E-04 mol H+ eq., Freshwater eutrophication 2.27E-05 kg P eq. The mitigation practices in cauliflower production should focus on energy use during irrigation and reduced use of pesticides. This research was funded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional/Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-Agencia Estatal de Investigación (FEDER/MICINN-AEI), project RTI2018-099139-B-C21 (Karp0-LIFE). Laura Rasines acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through the “Ayudas para contratos predoctorales para la formación de doctores 2019” Program [PRE2019-090573].

The sensory, microbial and bioactive quality changes of untreated (CTRL) and mild heat−treated (HT; 90 ºC/45 s) smoothies were studied and modelled throughout storage (5, 15 and 25 ºC). The overall acceptability was better preserved in HT samples being highly correlated (hierarchical clustering) with the flavour. The sensory quality data estimated smoothie shelf−life (CTRL/HT) of 18/55 (at 5 ºC), 4.5/12 (at 15 ºC), 2.4/5.8 (at 25 ºC) days. The yeast and moulds growth rate was lower in HT compared to CTRL while a lag phase for mesophiles/psychrophiles was observed in HT−5/15 ºC. HT and 5 ºC−storage stabilized the phenolics content. FRAP reported the best correlation (R2=0.94) with the studied bioactive compounds, followed by ABTS (R2=0.81) while DPPH was the total antioxidant capacity method with the lowest adjustment (R2=0.49). Conclusively, modelling was used to estimate the shelf−life of a smoothie based on quality retention after a short time−high temperature heat treatment that better preserved microbial and nutritional quality during storage. The financial support of this research was provided by the Ministerio Español de Economía y Competitividad MINECO (Projects AGL2013−48830−C2−1−R and AGL2013−48993−C2−1−R) and by FEDER funds. G.A. González−Tejedor thanks to Panamá Government for the scholarship to carry out his PhD Thesis. A. Garre (BES−2014−070946) is grateful to the MINECO for awarding him a pre−doctoral grant. We are also grateful to E. Esposito and N. Castillejo for their skilful technical assistance.

Background: The heating of a green smoothie during an innovative semi-continuous microwave treatment (MW; 9 kW for 15 s) was modelled. Thermal and dielectric properties of the samples were previously determined. Furthermore, the heating effect on the main chemopreventive compounds of the smoothie and during its subsequent storage up to 30 days at 5 or 15 °C were studied. Such results were compared to conventional pasteurization (CP; 90 °C for 45 s) while unheated fresh blended samples were used as control (CTRL). Results: A procedure was developed to predict the temperature distribution in samples inside the MW oven with the help of numerical tools. MW-treated samples showed the highest sulforaphane formation after 20 days, regardless of the storage temperature, while its content was 2-fold reduced in CP samples. Storage of the smoothie at 5 °C is crucial for maximizing the levels of the bioactive compound S-methyl cysteine sulphoxide. Conclusion: The proposed MW treatment can be used by the food industry to obtain an excellent homogeneous heating of a green smoothie product retaining high levels of bioactive compounds during subsequent retail/domestic storage up to one month at 5 °C. The authors are grateful to Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) Project AGL2013-48830-C2-1-R and FEDER for financial support. We are also grateful to M. Otón for his skillful technical assistance

Background. Some algae are an excellent sources of vitamin B12, of special interest for vegetarian/vegan consumers, and of fucose to supplement fruit and vegetable beverages such as smoothies. Nevertheless, supplementation of smoothies with algae may lead to possible quality changes during smoothie shelf life that need to be studied. Therefore, the quality changes in fresh green smoothies supplemented (2.2%) with nine edible algae (sea lettuce, kombu, wakame, thongweed, dulse, Irish moss, nori, Spirulina and Chlorella) were studied throughout 24 days at 5 °C. Results. The initial vitamin C content – 238.7–326.0 mg kg−1 fresh weight (FW) – of a 200 g portion of any of the smoothies ensured full coverage of its recommended daily intake, and still supplying 50–60% of the recommended intake after 7 days. Chlorella and Spirulina smoothies showed the highest vitamin B12 content (33.3 and 15.3 µg kg−1 FW, respectively), while brown algae showed fucose content of 141.1–571.3 mg kg−1 FW. These vitamin B12 and fucose contents were highly maintained during shelf life. Conclusion. The Spirulina supplementation of a 200 g smoothie portion ensured full coverage of the recommended vitamin B12 intake, with lower vitamin C degradation, during a shelf life of 17 days. Furthermore, thongweed and kombu are also considered as excellent fucose sources with similar shelf life. The authors are grateful to Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Project AGL2013−48830−C2−1−R and FEDER for financial support. We would also like to thank SAKATA SEED IBERICA S.L. for providing Bimi® samples.

Carrots are worldwide highly consumed due to their sensory characteristics and health-promoting properties. However, their low phenolic/antioxidant levels may be greatly increased with abiotic stresses. Accordingly, phenolic/antioxidant enhancements and related phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity of carrot shreds under different treatments (UVc radiation and hyperoxia conditions) were studied after a pre-enrichment incubation of 72 h at 15ºC. Subsequently, a carrot smoothie prepared from enriched carrot shreds was heat-treated (90ºC for 30 s) and stored at 5ºC up to 14 days. Heat-treated smoothies showed a good physicochemical and microbiological quality (

Phenolic compounds are phytochemicals with high health-promoting properties. Carrot is a vegetable highly worldwide consumed although its phenolic content is low compared to other plant products. The aim of this work was to evaluate changes in phenolic compounds in carrots caused by abiotic stresses. The phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity, phenolic compounds and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) changes during storage up to 72 h at 15 °C after wounding (shredding), 9 kJ UV-C m−2 pretreatment and hyperoxia (80 kPa) conditions of carrots were studied. Shredding and hyperoxia storage induced the highest phenolic compounds and TAC enhancements. Accumulation of phenolic compounds in shredded carrots could be structured in the following phases: 1st phase (

A green fresh vegetables smoothie rich in health-promoting compounds was developed. Two thermal treatments to reduce microbial load and preserve quality were assayed: T1 (3 min at 80ºC) and T2 (45 s at 90ºC). Fresh blended unheated samples were used as control (CRL). The smoothie presented a viscoelastic behaviour. Thermal treatments reduced initial microbial loads by 1.3-2.4 and 1.4-3.1 log units, respectively. Samples were stored in darkness at 5 and 15ºC. Colour and physicochemical changes were reduced in thermal-treated samples throughout storage, which were better preserved at 5ºC rather than at 15ºC. Vitamin C changes during storage were fitted with a Weibullian distribution. Total vitamin C losses of T1 and T2 samples during storage at 15ºC were greatly reduced when they were stored at 5ºC. Initial total phenolics content (151.1 mg 29 kg-1 fw) was 44 and 36% increased after T1 and T2 treatments, respectively. The 3-p-30 coumaroyl quinic and chlorogenic acids accounted the 84.7% and 7.1% relative 31 abundance, respectively. Total antioxidant capacity (234.2 mg Trolox equivalent kg-1 fw) remained constant after the thermal treatments and was better maintained during storage in thermal-treated samples. Glucobrassicin accounted the 81% of the initial total glucosinolates content (117.8 mg kg-1 fw) of the smoothie. No glucosinolates losses were observed after T2 treatment being better preserved in thermal-treated samples. Conclusively, a short time–high temperature mild thermal treatment (T2) showed better quality and bioactive compounds retention in a green fresh vegetable smoothie during low temperature storage. The authors are grateful to Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) Project AGL2013-48830-C2-1-R and FEDER for financial support. We are grateful to M. Otón for his skilful technical assistance.