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Il concetto di dieta Mediterranea risale agli anni ’50-'60 quando Il biologo e fisiologo americano, Ancel Keys, condusse delle indagini sul rapporto tra consumi alimentari e rischio di malattie cardiocircolatorie mettendo a confronto dati americani con dati relativi alla popolazione napoletana, sorpreso che le malattie cardiache non rappresentassero qui (e tra i poveri) un problema di salute...

Competenze trasversali... detto in inglese, “soft skills” (SS), ha tutto un altro fascino. A tutti i livelli d’istruzione se ne parla sempre di più, perché le SS sono sempre più importanti per il mondo del lavoro, a volte il principale fattore di selezione del personale. Sul web si legge che oggi contano più delle hard skills, ossia delle competenze tecniche o specifiche di una certa disciplina. Le SS, competenze che riguardano la sfera emozionale e come la persona riesce a interagire con le altre persone in situazioni lavorative e sociali diventano, quindi, elemento di differenziazione e successo. Ma una serie di interrogativi affolla la mente. Quali sono queste preziose SS? Capacità di comunicare; intelligenza emotiva; adattabilità e flessibilità; risoluzione dei problemi; leadership; ....

Anche questo Natale e Capodanno sono passati. Abbiamo (chi più, chi meno) imbandito le nostre tavole, scambiato regali enogastronomici con amici e conoscenti, visto scorrere alla televisione immagini di pranzi e cenoni e sentito ai telegiornali le solite statistiche su quanto gli italiani avrebbero speso in media a testa per il mangiare delle feste. Statistiche comunicate dopo i soliti quotidiani bollettini di guerra e calamità naturali in diverse parti del mondo, seguite e anticipate dai soliti messaggi pubblicitari di richiesta fondi per aiutare popolazioni in difficoltà. Finite le festività, riprendono i soliti servizi su come cercare di riciclare gli avanzi (inevitabili dei pranzi e regali di cui sopra) all’insegna della lotta contro lo spreco, su quale regime alimentare per riprendersi dagli eccessi (sempre dei pranzi e regali precedenti). ....

Lo scorso mese avevo detto avremmo parlato dei possibili ruoli e colpe dell’industria alimentare nei confronti dell’obesità. Sicuramente è innegabile che il contesto alimentare (food environment) sia in grado di influenzare le nostre abitudini alimentari e possa, in alcuni casi, essere davvero di poco aiuto per le persone coinvolte in percorsi di riduzione o mantenimento peso o, semplicemente, per l’adesione a un regime alimentare equilibrato e salutare. Il problema è identificare tutti gli attori del contesto e i relativi ruoli e responsabilità per sviluppare le strategie più efficaci ai fini del contenimento dell’epidemia obesità...

Background Novel foods demand in EU is increasing, and their consumption is expected to grow in the next years. This increased use enhances the risk of misidentification and counterfeiting. Scope and approach In this review, the vulnerability to frauds of the incoming edible insect value chain was analysed. The starting point was the regulatory framework in the EU scenario, which encompasses the authorized species for food and/or feed but also the authorized feeding substrates for insects. The market scenario in which insects have been/will be introduced was also analysed. The possible safety issue related to fraud in insect market have been analysed, especially focusing on allergenic risk related to species substitution. The analytical tools currently available to assure insect/rearing substrate authentication have been also evaluated. Key findings and conclusions The key factors making the insect market vulnerable to fraud are the evolving legislative framework, the possible importation of wild/non-authorized species, the use of insect meal/powder in which insects are non-recognizable, the lack of robust and high throughput analytical method. The safety issue, due to the allergenic risk, makes of outmost importance to make steps forward on analytical tools dedicated to insect species and rearing substrates authentication.

Grape seeds are a valuable source of natural phenolic compounds, particularly flavan-3-ol derivatives such as condensed tannins. Recent studies have shown that grape seed powder can be applied to reduce the undesirable effects of protein instability in wine. One pretreatment method applied to grape seeds is roasting. Roasting causes the heavier proanthocyanidins (PAC) oligomers to break down, thereby increasing the concentration of smaller oligomers available for interaction with proteins. In addition, roasting can prolong grape seed storage. Among the subclasses of proanthocyanidins, oligomeric macrocyclic proanthocyanidins have also shown potential effects in terms of wine stabilization, particularly by presenting selective interactions with metal cations such as potassium and calcium. However, their composition in grape seed extracts has never been studied. Here, the characterization of condensed tannins according to the degree of polymerization in grape seeds, the profile of cyclic proanthocyanidins and the total polyphenol content were characterized in relation to different grape varieties and the application of roasting. Roasting greatly influenced the distribution of PAC according to the degree of polymerization, increasing the abundance of almost all classes of PAC. However, the overall effect of roasting was highly dependent on grape variety. PAC were analyzed according to the degree of polymerization. Grape seed roasting of red varieties (Croatina and Sangiovese) showed an increase in all classes of PAC except trimers. The white variety (Ortrugo) and the mix of Nebbiolo and Barbera varieties (80% and 20% w/w, respectively) showed no clear effect on the profile of PAC upon roasting. Notably, cyclic procyanidins were identified for the first time in grape seeds: a cyclic tetrameric procyanidin (ESI + m/z 1153) and cyclic pentameric procyanidin (ESI + m/z 1441) were found. The abundances of these cyclic PAC were found to be completely stable upon roasting, al

The extraction of bioactive compounds from food wastes or by-products with natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) could be an attractive alternative to traditional hydroalcoholic extraction but needs to be optimized taking advantage of modeling. This work aims to propose, develop, and discuss a new model for the extraction of phenolic compounds from spent coffee grounds (SCGs) using NADES to overcome some gaps related to the kinetic extraction models and the surface response methodology. The model presented is based on the same assumption as the kinetic model, but improving it to be able to predict phenolic extraction changing different process parameters (e.g., water content, time of extraction, temperature, etc.) using betaine: triethylene glycol (molar ratio 1:2). The model was validated on the extraction of total phenolic compounds from SCG as a function of water content of NADES ranging from 30 to 60% v/v. There was good agreement between experimental and simulated data and even, in some cases, better than with the second-order kinetic models. In addition, the new model needs fewer parameters to be regressed concerning the specific case investigated in this work. This model and methodology can be the basis for further modeling applicable to other bioactives, and/or other NADES and feedstocks.Practical ApplicationsNatural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) can be a potential sustainable solvent for the valorization of food by-products as they can be used to extract bioactive compounds with high added value. This extraction process needs to be optimized depending on several factors like water content in NADES solution, solids ratio, extraction time, and temperature. The model validated in this work on spent coffee ground (SCG) could be used for this purpose, improving the gaps related to the kinetic extraction models and the surface response methodology (RSM). The new model enables predicting the behavior of the process as a function of the parameters previously ment

Commercial cocoa and hazelnut-based sweet spreads typically present a poor nutribiochemical level due to their ingredients and recipes, while nowadays, there is the need of developing sustainable food products addressing both an improved nutritional and environmental profile. The aim of this work was then to develop an innovative hazelnut/carob-based spread with potential high sustainability and nutritional profile, including the exploitation of grape-processing residues (grape skin flour and grapeseed oil) and carob pulp as cocoa surrogate. Rheological (rotational/oscillatory), oxidative, and thermal features of the spread were assessed and compared with two commercial nut-cocoa-based products. Tribology was used to mimic and evaluate the spreads' behavior during oral consumption, and sensory profile (by quantitative descriptive analysis) was also assessed. All products exhibited a pseudoplastic behavior, with the elastic component prevailing over the viscous one. The innovative product showed the highest lubricity from both rheological and sensory analysis, thus well correlating to the obtained lowest viscosity and friction factor trends. Grapeseed oil provided a better nutritional profile, but the largest amount of unsaturated fatty acids promoted oxidation, despite the higher total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity coming from the use of carob and grape skin powders. The sensory perception investigation revealed a characteristic mouthfeel/flavor for the new spread identified having a more fluid consistency and a bitter/sour taste, together with a greater stickiness and a poorer smoothness due to a higher fiber content and solid fat absence.

Coppa Piacentina is an Italian protected designation of origin (PDO) dry-cured product obtained from the muscle of pork neck and ripened for at least six months. Metabolomics- and volatilomics-based strategies, combined with a chemical characterization of free amino acids were applied to identify biomarkers of long-ripened Coppa Piacentina PDO. Long ripening induced a significantly increase of total free amino acids, mainly represented by glutamic acid, involved in the umami taste perception. Untargeted metabolomics, performed using UHPLC-HRMS, allowed to identify 32 putative gamma-glutamyl-peptides, known as main contributors to the kokumi taste. Unsupervised and supervised multivariate statistics observed a clear modification of these peptides over the ripening, with gamma-glutamyl-peptides which significantly increased in long-ripened samples. A volatilomics-based strategy, conducted with GCxGC-MS, was then performed, and 93 different compounds were identified, with aldehyde and ketones deriving from the lipid auto-oxidation which increased according to ripening.

The research aimed to survey the composition of oil and partially defatted cakes obtained by cold-pressing various tree nuts to enable their use as ingredients for modulating the nutritional properties of final food products. Different types of pistachios (Pistaciavera), hazelnuts (Corylusavellana), and apricot kernels (Prunusarmeniaca)were evaluated in terms of colour, water activity, moisture, ash, fat, protein, fibre, total phenolic, and tocoph-erol contents. They were extracted by hydraulic presses, giving oils rich in vitamin E and defatted cakes with high nutritional potential: the cakes preserved significant antioxidant compounds, as well as fat, protein, and fibre levels based on the oil extraction yield. Products derived from cold-pressed nuts revealed promising composi-tions that could be exploited to develop healthy foods with improved sensorial and techno-functional properties, increasing the sustainability of the process and zeroing waste.

Mi piace riprendere e ampliare un concetto sviluppato negli anni 90 dall’OMS cui ho già fatto riferimento in editoriali precedenti, ossia quello della responsabilità condivisa nella gestione della sicurezza alimentare. Purtroppo, è innegabile il fatto che a livello mondiale, sebbene con differenze specifiche per paese e fasce di popolazione, l’alimentazione è correlata a malattie croniche e acute con evidenti impatti sull’economia degli stati. Potere consumare cibi sicuri è alla base della salute umana e dovrebbe essere un diritto di tutti accedere a cibi sicuri, nelle giuste quantità e con il corretto profilo nutrizionale. Per garantire questo diritto i governi devono assicurare che il cibo disponibile soddisfi determinati standard di sicurezza. Il rischio zero non è possibile e, anzi, il livello e il tipo di esposizione al rischio possono cambiare anche rapidamente per mutate abitudini di consumo, emergenze climatiche, situazioni politiche. ....

La proposta della Commissione europea di aggiungere nell’etichetta alimentare alla dicitura “da consumarsi preferibilmente entro” l’espressione “spesso buono oltre” sembra avere scatenato una pletora di reazioni mediamente scandalizzate e contrarie a un tale provvedimento. Vorrei però cercare di riflettere sulle ragioni sia dietro questa proposta, sia dietro ai suoi oppositori, per salvare il salvabile o per lo meno capire quali strade si potrebbero intraprendere...

Quest’anno la giornata mondiale dell’alimentazione del 16 ottobre è stata dedicata all’acqua, con l’obiettivo di sensibilizzare tutti sull’importanza di questo elemento naturale, soprattutto le persone più fortunate che, invece, non avendo problemi di accesso all’acqua, possono ancora fare fatica a comprendere l’importanza di un suo uso moderato e consapevole...

Italian grape ale (IGA) beers have been categorized by the Beer Judge Certification Program as a sub-category of fruit beers in which grape, or grape must, is added during the brewing process to provide additional characteristics to the final beer. In the present work, IGA beers have been produced with must and pomace of the Malvasia di Candia Aromatica (MaCA) grape variety, which were added before fermentation at two different percentages (10% and 20%). The (poly)phenolic profile of IGA beers have been characterized with HPLC-MS/MS and compared to a golden ale control beer (produced in the same conditions without the addition of grape-derived ingredients). A series of sub-samples have been collected to monitor the (poly)phenol profile at time 0 and during the different phases of the fermentation process (1, 3, 5, 7 30, 65 days). Results demonstrated how the addition of pomace allowed to significantly enrich (p < 0.05) final beers in total (poly)phenols detected by MS, while must addition did not influence that amount if compared to the control sample. However, a PCA cluster analysis identified strong similarities among IGA beers and differentiated them to control beer samples. This study underlined how the addition of must and pomace from the MaCA grape variety improved the (poly)phenolic profile of beer from both a qualitative and quantitative point of view.

Viene provvisto un procedimento utilizzabile per la vinificazione di un pigiato d’uva, in particolare comprendente del mosto liquido e delle vinacce solide, utilizzante un corrispondente apparato per la vinificazione di un corrispondente pigiato d’uva e comprendente dei mezzi a processore, dei mezzi di ingresso di corrispondenti dati e/o segnali nei detti mezzi a processore, e dei mezzi di uscita di corrispondenti dati e/o segnali originati dai detti mezzi a processore, ed utilizzante una raccolta o set di ricette di vinificazione, la quale raccolta è alloggiata in una corrispondente memoria dei, o in collegamento con i detti mezzi a processore; caratterizzato dal fatto che detti mezzi a processore sono configurati per controllare il processo o procedura di vinificazione, in particolare attuata da detto apparato di vinificazione di un corrispondente pigiato d’uva.

Apparato utilizzabile per la vinificazione di un mosto liquido con le proprie fecce, in particolare per la vinificazione in bianco, sia di uve bianche, sia di uve rosse, detto apparato comprendendo un serbatoio di contenimento del mosto/vino, caratterizzato dal fatto che detto serbatoio comprende dei mezzi attivi sul mosto/vino, in particolare includenti dei mezzi di immissione di un gas tecnico operativamente connessi ad almeno primi mezzi di alimentazione per immettere nel mosto/vino almeno un primo gas tecnico ed ad almeno secondi mezzi di alimentazione per immettere nel mosto/vino almeno un secondo gas tecnico di differente tipologia.

Drying is an ancient food preservation technique, perfected and adapted to contemporary conditions. The treatment is aimed at removing most of the water from food, which is the basic medium in which all the most important chemical, enzymatic and microbiological reactions take place and, therefore, compromise its shelf-life and quality.

The aroma of coffee is a complex mixture of more than 1000 compounds. The volatile compounds in green and roasted coffee were analyzed to detect several features related to quality, roasting level, origins, and the presence of specific defects. With respect to specialty coffee, the flavor profile and peculiarities of the aforementioned characteristics are even more relevant knowing the expectations of consumers to find, in a cup of coffee, unicity bestowed by its origin and post-harvesting processes. In this work, which dealt with 46 lots of specialty Arabica coffee, we used HS-SPME/GC-MS to detect the volatile compounds in green coffees together with those in the same coffees roasted at three different levels to identify whether differences in headspace composition were ascribable to the origin, the post-harvesting processes, and the roasting profiles. The main results are related to the discriminant power of the volatile compounds in green coffee, which are impacted by the origins more than the post-harvesting processes. Compounds such as linalool and 2,3-butanediol were more concentrated in natural coffees, while hexanal was more concentrated in washed varieties (p < 0.05). In roasted coffees, the differences in composition were due to roasting levels, countries of origin, and the post-harvesting processes, in descending order of significance.

Maintaining optimal grape acidity at harvest is one of the most complicated challenges under climate change pressures, especially in early ripening cultivars. Warming trends are compressing vine phenology and fostering berry malic acid respiration. In this work, over four years, we evaluated yield components and fruit ripening in two local varieties in the Colli Piacentini, Ortrugo (ORT) and Barbesino (BRB). Our goal was to evaluate their ability to maintain satisfying acidity at harvest and understand the limits and features of the genetic control over organic acid degradation during ripening. The two varieties exhibited comparable yield and grape total soluble solids (TSS) accumulation dynamics, but BRB showed consistently higher acidity during the entire ripening process in any of the four years. BRB's higher acidity was linked to higher malic acid concentrations. ORT had earlier onset of malic acid degradation than BRB and lower maximum malic acid degradation rates. Malic acid degradation rates were lower in ORT also later in the season, until harvest. However, correlations built between malic acid degradation rates and instantaneous malic acid concentration revealed that BRB had a consistently lower malic acid loss for values of malate < 10 g/L. Our work demonstrates that there is a genetic control over the malic acid degradation rates exhibited at varying malic acid concentrations and higher acidity at harvest can be found in varieties exhibiting low malic acid degradation rates when malic acid is < 10 g/L. Post-veraison berry growth rates could interact with genotype effects. The analysis of the correlation can be used at different scales to identify cultivars retaining higher acidity at harvest.

The use of microbial biostimulants in agriculture is recognized as a sustainable approach to promoting crop productivity and quality due to improved nutrient uptake, enhanced stress tolerance, and improved ability to cope with non-optimal environments. The present paper aimed to comparatively investigate the effect of seven different commercial mycorrhizal-based treatments in terms of yield, phytochemical components, and technological traits of Malvasia di Candia Aromatica grape (Vitis vinifera L.) plants. Metabolomic analysis and photosynthetic performance were first investigated in leaves to point out biochemical differences related to plant growth. Higher photosynthetic efficiency and better PSII functioning were found in biostimulant-treated vines, reflecting an overall decrease in photoinhibition compared to untreated plants. Untargeted metabolomics followed by multivariate statistics highlighted a robust reprogramming of primary (lipids) and secondary (alkaloids and terpenoids) metabolites in treated plants. The analysis of berry yield and chemical components exhibited significant differences depending on the biostimulant product. Generally, berries obtained from treated plants displayed improved contents of polyphenols and sugars, while yield remained unchanged. These results elucidated the significant role of microbial biostimulants in determining the quality of grape berries and eliciting biochemical changes in vines.

Triticale-based biscuits were formulated with increasing substitution levels (i.e., 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% w/w) of malted triticale flour (MTF). The products were analyzed for technological and nutritional characteristics, including the evaluation of the in vitro starch digestion. The results indicated that the substitution of triticale flour with MTF increased (p < 0.05) the total dietary fiber and ash contents. Total starch decreased (p < 0.05) when the level of MTF increased in the formulation, causing an increase in reducing sugars and an increase in the starch hydrolysis index and in the in vitro predicted glycemic index (pGI). The hardness and spread ratio values of biscuits decreased (p < 0.05) with increasing levels of MTF in the recipe. The lightness of doughs and biscuits decreased (p < 0.05) with increasing MTF levels. Overall, MTF could be used to formulate biscuits with higher dietary fiber content than native triticale flour and a medium to high in vitro glycemic index value as a function of the substitution level.

Il processo di essiccamento è uno dei più energivori dell’industria alimentare: è quindi indispensabile incrementare l’utilizzo di tecnologie e sistemi innovativi in grado di far compiere un vero salto di qualità nel campo della efficienza dei processi, in riferimento all’energia ed alla resa in generale.

Grape composition is of high interest for producing quality wines. For that, grapeanalysesarenecessary,and requiresamplepreparation,whetherwithclassicalanalysesorwith NIR analyses. The aim of the study was to test the ability of hyperspectral imaging (HSI), a nondestructive analysis to assess their composition. For that, seven grape varieties were analyzed for twovintages. PLS-DA and PLS-R were realized respectively in order to classify the berries,to validate the data sets, and to provide models to assess grape composition after a 1st derivative data pretreatment. Results: HSI allowed a 100% good classification of the grape varieties. It showed good results to assess technological ripening parameters (sugar and acid contents) as well as phenolic content (TPI, Total Phenolics, Total Anthocyanins, Total Flavonoids and their extractable equivalents) (globally R2 > 0.81). However, itwasnotpossibletoreachthecolorintensityofgrapes.Conclusion: Hyperspectralimaging led to generate good models to assess wine grape composition. The quality of the generated models was dependent onthecolorofgrapesandtheparameterconsidered..thesefirstresultsshowedthat.

La proposta della Commissione europea di aggiungere nell’etichetta alimentare alla dicitura “da consumarsi preferibilmente entro” l’espressione “spesso buono oltre” sembra avere scatenato una pletora di reazioni mediamente scandalizzate e contrarie a un tale provvedimento. Vorrei però cercare di riflettere sulle ragioni sia dietro questa proposta, sia dietro ai suoi oppositori, per salvare il salvabile o per lo meno capire quali strade si potrebbero intraprendere. La principale motivazione che ha portato alla proposta pare essere la lotta allo spreco, in quanto tanti prodotti oggi sono buttati via solo per avere oltrepassato il termine minimo di conservazione (TMC) pur essendo di fatto ancora buoni da consumare. Il TMC indica infatti un periodo di tempo, in determinate condizioni di conservazione, durante il quale il prodotto mantiene le proprie caratteristiche qualitative e richiede l’indicazione in etichetta di una data preceduta dalla dicitura “da consumarsi preferibilmente entro”. Si applica a prodotti non deperibili dal punto di vista microbiologico che non rappresentano per tanto un rischio per la salute del consumatore anche se consumati dopo tale data. Non si può negare che molti consumatori trattino il TMC esattamente come se fosse una data di scadenza. Allo stesso tempo però sfido chiunque a dire che sia semplice stabilire il TMC. Le variabili in gioco per calcolare, stimare e validare un TMC sono talmente tante che diventa impossibile definire dei protocolli semplici da seguire per l’industria. È vero che con un TMC non è in gioco la sicurezza del consumatore, ma rimane vera una certa “nebulosità” normativa e una valutazione del TMC che richiederebbe una notevole mole di dati e specifiche competenze tecnico-scientifiche da mettere in campo. E comunque, per quanto si impostino al meglio la raccolta di dati, l’applicazione di modelli matematici e la realizzazione di campagne sperimentali, la TMC finale avrà sempre un certo grado di incertezza. Allora

Grazie al Piano Nazione di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR) Università (e centri di ricerca) e Industria stanno ricevendo fondi preziosi da utilizzare al meglio per contribuire alla ripresa con successo. La ripresa chiama innovazione e l’innovazione chiama la collaborazione Università-industria. Come accademica, ho effettuato delle ricerche specifiche sul tema e non mi aspettavo di trovare così tanto materiale, anche molto recente, sullo studio dei fattori che possono favorire e impattare la collaborazione università-industria. Ricercando correlazioni con gli ambiti a me più noti, nel 1990 l’OMS coniò il concetto di responsabilità condivisa per la gestione della sicurezza e igiene alimentare, in cui Governo, Industria, Scienza & Ricerca e Consumatori hanno ruoli e responsabilità precise. Nella collaborazione Università-Industria si parla del modello di innovazione a Tripla Elica per sottolineare l’importanza delle interazioni tra Università, settore privato e istituzioni pubbliche per promuovere il trasferimento delle conoscenze e ottimizzare il processo di innovazione e il suo impatto sociale. Si tratta di un modello di innovazione non più lineare (come quello adottato dopo la Seconda guerra mondiale e che vedeva i risultati della ricerca tradotti in innovazioni e poi diffusi nella società), bensì un modello non lineare con continui meccanismi di feedback tra i diversi componenti del processo di innovazione. Invece, spesso università e risultati scientifici, e industria e tecnologia appaiono entità separate o più o meno distanti a seconda del settore tecnologico. Questo nonostante nel 2000 l’Unione Europea, con l’Agenda di Lisbona e la strategia Europe Horizon 2020, abbia fatto dell’innovazione una priorità, con l’obiettivo di colmare il gap tecnologico rispetto agli Stati Uniti e divenire “l’economia più competitiva e dinamica al mondo basata sulla conoscenza e in grado di sostenere una crescita economica per numero e qualità di posti di lavoro e

Nel chiedermi come definirmi rispetto ai “nativi digitali” ho indagato sull’origine del termine. Si tratta di un'espressione coniata da Marc Prensky nel 2001 per indicare gli studenti nati dopo il 1985 (anno di svolta nella diffusione di massa dei computer e dei sistemi di interazione grafica con essi) in un articolo dedicato alla necessità di sviluppare adeguati percorsi di istruzione per la nuova generazione digitale. L’articolo provocò una serie di critiche, soprattutto per sottolineare che essere nativo digitale non significhi automaticamente possedere competenze digitali (lo stesso Prensky più tardi propose i concetti di saggezza, piuttosto che di stupidità digitale). Chi come me è nato prima del 1990 sarebbe invece un Immigrato Digitale, trovatosi cioè a utilizzare tecnologie che alla nascita non esistevano o non erano ancora così diffuse. Nativi o immigrati, non possiamo oramai evitare di fare i conti con i digital data e i big data, la loro imponenza, le loro applicazioni, e le loro criticità. Nel settore agro-alimentare le potenzialità sono tantissime, dalla produzione primaria, al marketing, alla sicurezza alimentare, al controllo qualità, al controllo di processo e non solo. Facile capire come i dati di acquisto e consumo possano essere sfruttati per analizzare le tendenze di mercato o, viceversa, la possibilità di sfruttare i canali digitali per informare ed educare verso sempre più corrette abitudini e scelte alimentari. Ma anche la potenzialità di potere raggiungere in breve tempo un elevato numero di persone per comunicare gravi allerte alimentari. O ancora, poter sviluppare sistemi rapidi di controllo qualità di materie prime, semilavorati, prodotti finiti, simulare, prevedere e controllare i processi produttivi. Tutto ai fini dell’ottimizzazione dei processi del sistema alimentare con riduzione delle perdite e sprechi, riduzione del rischio igienico sanitario degli alimenti, miglioramento della qualità dei prodotti. Ma è davvero una

Ho alcune premesse da fare. 1) Sono una persona che tende a non ostentare le proprie conoscenze, soprattutto nell’ambito delle tecnologie alimentare, il mio cavallo di battaglia, e soprattutto quando sono con persone che non hanno analoghe competenze. 2) Non accetto incarichi su temi sui quali non mi senta competente e anche per comunicazioni divulgative nel mio settore, mi documento il più possibile per ogni minimo dubbio. 3) Correlato al punto precedente emerge il problema del reperimento delle informazioni. Per questioni prettamente tecnico-scientifiche sono avvantaggiata dal potere accedere a fonti scientifiche che dovrebbero essere affidabili. Ho usato il condizionale perché anche nell’ambito della letteratura scientifica purtroppo possono esserci ricercatori e riviste che non operano eticamente nella ricerca e nella revisione e pubblicazione degli articoli scientifici. Nemmeno qui esiste il rischio zero di trovare informazioni non corrette. 4) Nel comunicare al pubblico certi concetti è necessario un linguaggio appropriato per veicolarli in maniera semplice, corretta ed efficace. 5) Il giornalismo ha suoi linguaggi e stili con diversi tempi e livelli in funzione del mezzo di comunicazione (del canale televisivo o radiofonico, piuttosto che del tipo di stampa). 6) Il mondo dei social ha delle regole di linguaggio completamente diverse che io, ammetto, ignoro quasi completamente (con delle figlie quasi adolescenti e per lavoro in continuo contatto con i giovani dovrei correre ai ripari quanto prima). 7) Il tema cibo è uno di quelli su cui molti (troppi) si sentono titolati per commentare, sentenziare e dispensare suggerimenti. A conclusione di queste premesse, escludendo i social, mi ritrovo spesso a leggere o ascoltare informazioni non del tutto corrette in relazione alle tecnologie alimentari. Ho sentito spiegare i trattamenti con alte pressioni portando ad esempio l’effetto conservante della pressione mantenuta nelle bottiglie di spumante; ho ascoltato ac

Alla voce “ultra” il vocabolario riporta “primo elemento di parole composte che indica qualità o quantità superiore al normale”. Istintivamente io assocerei il prefisso a un significato positivo, ma penso anche al proverbio “il troppo stroppia”... nel caso degli alimenti ultra-processati la classificazione NOVA direi che ha proteso per il proverbio. Sviluppata e proposta per la prima volta nel 2010 da dei ricercatori dell’Università San Paolo di Brasile, la classificazione NOVA è stata indicata anche in un report FAO (scritto dagli stessi autori / ideatori) come quella più applicata nella letteratura scientifica per la classificazione degli alimenti. Pur avendo sentito e letto qualcosa dell’acceso dibattito che ha seguito la NOVA, non avevo in realtà mai approfondito più di tanto il tema. Qualche mese fa, però, in occasione di una summer school, mi ritrovai in una simulazione di “processo”, tutor di un gruppo di dottorandi “difesa” della classificazione NOVA contro un altro gruppo “accusa”, davanti a un terzo gruppo “giuria”. Prevenuta sulla base delle le mie limitate conoscenze, pensavo sarebbe stato impossibile riuscire a trovare degli appigli per la difesa... Ammetto che l’esercizio mi diede la possibilità di approfondire il sistema NOVA e capirne (parzialmente) punti di forza e di debolezza. Appare una forza il suo scopo, ossia sviluppare uno strumento semplice e veloce per promuovere scelte alimentari che riducano uno dei fattori di rischio (alimentazione scorretta) per l’insorgenza delle cosiddette malattie non trasmissibili (quali malattie cardiovascolari, cancro, malattie respiratorie croniche e diabete), responsabili, si riporta, di quasi il 70% delle morti in tutto il mondo. Altra forza, il dichiarare di basarsi su sondaggi e dati sperimentali sulle correlazioni tra il consumo di determinati alimenti e l’insorgenza delle patologie di cui sopra. I punti di debolezza arrivano nel momento in cui gli ideatori della NOVA spiegano come questi alimenti s

Sino a qualche anno fa non avevo mai sentito parlare dei whistleblowers e della loro correlazione con la sicurezza degli alimenti. Il whistleblower, in italiano “informatore”, viene definito dal Consiglio d’Europa come “qualsiasi persona che riporti o riveli informazioni relative a una minaccia o pericolo per l’interesse pubblico nel contesto delle proprie relazioni nell’ambiente di lavoro, sia pubbliche che private”. In particolare, il termine “riportare” si riferisce a un processo di resoconto interno a una organizzazione o impresa, mentre il termine “rivelare” si riferisce al resoconto verso un’autorità esterna o verso il pubblico. Detto questo, se pensiamo al contesto della sicurezza alimentare e al purtroppo sempre crescente fenomeno delle frodi alimentari, dovrebbe apparire immediatamente chiara l’importanza degli informatori nel segnalare incidenti o comportamenti non corretti relativi alla sicurezza alimentare e che potrebbero recare gravi danni ai consumatori. L’importanza e ruolo degli informatori nel proteggere la sicurezza e integrità della filiera alimentare è esemplificato da un gravissimo e ben noto caso di contaminazione da salmonella di burro di arachidi negli USA nel 2008 (con 700 persone affette e 9 morte). I tentativi di un manager dell’azienda di svelare all’esterno, ben prima dell’incidente, seri problemi igienici negli impianti insieme a pratiche non corrette di controllo qualità, non furono presi debitamente in considerazione. Da quell’incidente, e non solo, originò l’importante azione americana di includere la protezione degli informatori nel Food Safety Modernization Act del 2011. Anche nel resto del mondo la maggior parte dei paesi avanzati ha adottato specifiche leggi per incoraggiare i lavoratori a riportare condotte non corrette o fenomeni di corruzione. Più abituati a comprendere l’importanza di questi atti coraggiosi di denuncia nell’ambito della criminalità e della corruzione economica, sottovalutiamo ancora la dimensione e pe

Walnuts are considered a super food for their nutritional value and for their given health benefits. This type of nut is characterized by the presence of a cuticle that covers the kernels: the episperm. This cuticle is rich in fibers and antioxidants both important compounds for the nutritional value of the dried fruit. However, walnut episperm can negatively affect the taste, the color, and the rheology of derivative products. The aim of this study was to investigate and prove the possibility to remove the episperm of the kernels through a simple and efficient technique. This kind of process should not damage the product, and it should also guarantee a good chemical profile and rheological stability of the products that can be obtained from walnuts, in particular the paste. Different kinds of treatments have been tested to identify which combinations of temperature, time, and/or blanching solutions better work on the walnuts. Once individuated the best separation technique, this was applied on walnuts that were later processed to obtain a walnut paste. The final product was finally analyzed from a chemical, physical, ad rheological point of view to understand the effect of the episperm separation on the paste characteristics. The nuts were characterized before each treatment evaluating moisture content, water activity, ashes, fats, proteins, pH and total acidity, color, antioxidant capacity, polyphenol content, and lipid oxidation (conjugated dienes and trienes, peroxide values). After characterization, different pre-treatments were applied on the walnuts such as: roasting, blast chiller, soaking, blanching with different solutions (HCl, NaOH, NaHCO3, citric and ascorbic acid, at different concentrations), and steam blanching. The walnuts were then blown with compressed air to be peeled. Once individuated two optimal techniques, the treated walnuts were processed to obtain a paste that was characterized through the evaluation of moisture content, water activity, as

Bio-based polymers are increasingly attracting attention as a solution to reducing the consumption of non-renewable resources and curbing the accumulation of fossil-based plastic waste. In this study, we analyze the economics of a new pack-aging film based on a polylaciic acid-polyhydroxybutyrate blend (PLA-PHB), with PUB obtained from agro-industrial residues (potato peels). We model various sizes of biorefineries using the new biotechnology in Europe. For a four-year payback period, which is generally accepted in the industry, the calculated minimum product selling price ranges from 9.7 euros per kilogram to 37.2 euros per kilogram, depending, among other factors, on the production capacity of the biorefinery. We have in iporated the uncertainty over the model parameters in a Monte Carlo simulation and investigated the relative impact of individual factors on the minimum product selling price. Overall, the results indicate that the bio-based feedstock availability is the most influential factor on the profitability of the new biotechnology.

Wheat is a prevalent food worldwide, although its production arises several tonnes of industrial by-products that merit valorisation, owing to sustainable demands. In this work, an untargeted metabolomics approach was applied to shed light on the profile of free and bound phenolic compounds in white and wholegrain flours, as well as the major wheat by-products, namely wheat bran, wheat shorts and wheat middlings. By-products and wholegrain flours were found to be rich sources of ferulic acid derivatives, lignans, and alkylresorcinols, mostly bound to wheat fibre components, whereas different flavonoids were found in their free forms. Afterwards, the in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of these matrices showed that flour phenolics, in particular lignans, were more bioaccessible than those from wheat by-products. These results support the carrier effect attributed to dietary fibre and open a wide perspective on the use of underexploited wheat by-products to formulate novel functional foods.

The definition of process operations and risk analysis is two mandatory steps in the basic/detailed engineering phases of chemical plants. Both steps are usually performed with interdisciplinary tasks but in segregated ways and within converging iterative procedures where the output of the one is feeding the other step and vice versa. This work aims to propose a different, integrated approach to implement process and risk analysis aprioristically at the conceptualization stage of a process and to compare quantitatively emerging technologies in terms of intrinsic safety. In doing so, an extension of the Fire & Explosion Index (F&EI) is formulated in order to link it to the operational conditions of the plant directly. It is implemented for the first time in AspenHysys to dynamically assess the impact of optimal operating process conditions on the F&EI. Acid Gas dynamically to Syngas (AG2S) technology for converting H2S and CO2 into syngas is selected as a case study.

A multi-omics approach was adopted to investigate the impact of lactic acid fermentation and seed germination on the composition and physicochemical properties of rye doughs. Doughs were prepared with either native or germinated rye flour and fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, combined or not with a sourdough starter including Limosilactobacillus fermentum, Weissella confusa and Weissella cibaria. LAB fermentation significantly increased total titrable acidity and dough rise regardless of the flour used. Targeted metagenomics revealed a strong impact of germination on the bacterial community profile of sprouted rye flour. Doughs made with germinated rye displayed higher levels of Latilactobacillus curvatus, while native rye doughs were associated with higher proportions of Lactoplantibacillus plantarum. The oligosaccharide profile of rye doughs indicated a lower carbohydrate content in native doughs as compared to the sprouted counterparts. Mixed fermentation promoted a consistent decrease in both monosaccharides and low-polymerization degree (PD)-oligosaccharides, but not in high-PD carbohydrates. Untargeted metabolomic analysis showed that native and germinated rye doughs differed in the relative abundance of phenolic compounds, terpenoids, and phospholipids. Sourdough fermentation promoted the accumulation of terpenoids, phenolic compounds and proteinogenic and non-proteinogenic amino acids. Present findings offer an integrated perspective on rye dough as a multi-constituent system and on cereal-sourced bioactive compounds potentially affecting the functional properties of derived food products.

Machine learning and mathematical modeling techniques have been conducted to model the thin layer drying kinetics of pea pods, under either microwave or conventional air drying,. The effect of nine different microwave output powers (200-1000 W) and five different ventilated oven temperatures (40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 & DEG;C) on drying kinetics was studied. The experimental drying rates were fitted to 11 literature semi-empirical models to determine the kinetic parameters, finding the higher goodness-of-fit for the Midilli et al. model (average R-2 = 0.999 for both drying methods). Moreover, the data were modeled using support vector machine (SVM) for regression which was optimized with dragonfly algorithm (DA) technique. The best result was obtained by Gaussian kernel with the optimal parameters sigma, C, and epsilon values estimated as 0.2871, 78.45, and 0, respectively. The small root mean square error (RMSE = 0.0132) and the high determination coefficient (R-2 = 0.9983) values proved how robust the SVM model is. DA-SVM techniques can reliably be utilized to describe the thin layer drying kinetics of pea pods. It is useful to provide models that can assist in the development of food process control algorithms, and provided insights into complex processes, for the technological design of microwave or convective drying for pea pods preservation. Practical applications Drying of by-products from pea processing industry was investigated as a critical step prior to their valorization. The drying of pea pods has never been investigated before which is the case of the present study whose objective was to study and model the microwave and convective drying kinetics of pea pods. Our research work reported that the Midilli et al. model was the most appropriate to describe the thin layer drying kinetics of pea pods for both drying methods, but mathematical drying models, although a useful tool, remains empirical in nature and product specific. Because of these limitatio

Citrus fruits occupy an important position in the context of the fruit trade, considering that both fresh fruits and processed products are produced on a large scale. Citrus fruits are recognized as an essential component of the human diet, thanks to their high content of beneficial nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, terpenes, flavonoids, coumarins and dietary fibers. Among these, a wide range of positive biological activities are attributed to terpenes and flavonoids derivatives. In this review, a list of bibliographic reports (from 2015 onwards) on the phytochemical composition, beneficial effects and potential applications of citrus fruits and their by-products is systematically summarized. In detail, information regarding the nutraceutical and medicinal value closely linked to the presence of numerous bioactive metabolites and their growing use in the food industry and food packaging, also considering any technological strategies such as encapsulation to guarantee their stability over time, were evaluated. In addition, since citrus fruit, as well as its by-products, are interesting alternatives for the reformulation of natural cosmetic products, the sector of the cosmetic industry is also explored. More in-depth knowledge of the latest information in this field will contribute to future conscious use of citrus fruits.

Durum wheat spaghetti samples prepared with increasing levels of resistant starch (RS) from debranched waxy rice starch (DWRS; i.e., 0, 5, 10, 15 g/100 g w/w) were analyzed for chemical composition, quality and sensory parameters and in vitro starch digestion. All the DWRS-containing spaghetti was “high in fibre”, the dietary fiber content being > 6 g/100 g. In addition, spaghetti with the highest level of DWRS showed the highest RS content (p < 0.05), being 11.4 g/100 g dry matter. The starch hydrolysis index decreased (p < 0.05) as the level of DWRS increased, with a reduction of >20% comparing the 15-DWRS pasta to the control. DWRS had a negative impact on quality parameters, especially at higher DWRS levels. The use of DWRS shortened the optimal cooking time and impacted the samples’ cooking loss, firmness, and stickiness. In addition, sensory analysis revealed differences among samples. However, irrespective of the level of DWRS in the recipe, the score for all attributes was > 5, which is considered the limit of acceptability. Substituting part of the semolina flour with DWRS increased the level of RS and the overall nutritional profile and affected the quality of semolina pasta, mainly at higher levels in the recipe.

Considering the high interest in using pulses in the production of staple foods, including pasta, this study aimed at investigating the effect of pre-gelatinisation on the overall quality of pasta from red lentils. Pre-gelatinized flours showed a lower gelatinisation temperature (up to about 57 °C vs. about 65 °C) and higher retrogradation tendency than native flour. Such changes resulted in higher water absorption capacity (up to 1.23 vs. 0.98 g g−1) and higher farinographic torque, but did not impact the cooking quality. Conversely, the resistant starch content of cooked pasta decreased (from 14.79 to 10.4 g/100 g total starch) and the starch hydrolysis index increased (from 48.28 to 67.71) when pre-gelatinised flours were used. In conclusion, pre-gelatinisation impacted starch, hydration and the mixing properties of red lentils flours, without compromising the cooking behaviour of the related pasta.

In the last years, animal proteins from meat and meat-derived products have represented one of the main concerns to achieve a sustainable food production. Within this perspective, the partial replacement of meat with nonmeat substances having a high-protein content, offers interesting opportunities to reformulate more sustainable meat products characterized also by potential health-promoting properties. Therefore, starting from these background conditions, this short review critically summarizes recent findings on extenders from different origins, namely pulses, plant-based ingredients, plant by-products, and unconventional sources, as valuable possibility to improve the technological profile and functional quality of meat, together with providing a focus on their ability to affect the sustainability of meat products.

Background: This study aimed to establish the elemental profiling and origin combined with the genetic asset of coffee samples collected from major coffee-producing countries. A total of 76 samples were analysed for 41 elements using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and inductively coupled plasma-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS). The mineral composition of the silver skin detachment during the roasting process was also evaluated to verify the loss of minerals during roasting, differences in composition with beans, and between species. Results: Application of linear discriminant analysis provided models with an accuracy of 93.3% for continents, 97.8% for countries of cultivation, and 100% for species. Discrimination between Arabica, Canephora coffee, and Eugenoides, and different varieties of Arabica species were identified in both models with calcium (Ca), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), rubidium (Rb), and strontium (Sr) as significant discriminant elements. Rb, Sr, sulphur (S), and thulium (Tm) were significant discriminant elements in both models for geographical distinction at different scales. Most of the elements had significantly higher values in silver skin than those in roasted coffee at different magnitudes, with exceptions of P and Rb. Conclusion: In summary, determination of mineral elements, processed by multivariate statistical analysis, was demonstrated to be discriminant for different coffee species. Linear discriminant analysis of the elemental analysis of samples from the seven major producing countries provided a reliable prediction model. Elemental analysis of major and minor elements is relatively easy and can be used together with other traceability systems and sensory evaluations to authenticate the origin of roasted coffee, different species, and varieties. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wile

There is a growing awareness that fostering the transition toward plant-based diets with reduced meat consumption levels is essential to alleviating the detrimental impacts of the food system on the planet and to improving human health and animal welfare. The reduction in average meat intake may be reached via many possible ways, one possibility being the increased consumption of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). For this reason, in recent years, hundreds of products have been launched on the market with sensory attributes (i.e., taste, texture, appearance, and smell) similar to their animal counterparts; however, these products have often a long list of ingredients and their nutritional values are very different from animal meat. The present review aims to highlight the main opportunities and challenges related to the production and consumption of PBMAs through an interdisciplinary approach. Aspects related to the production technology, nutritional profiles, potential impacts on health and the environment, and the current market and consumer acceptance of PBMAs are discussed. Focusing on the growing literature on this topic, this review will also highlight research gaps related to PBMAs that should be considered in the future, possibly through the collaboration of different stakeholders that can support the transition toward sustainable plant- based diets.

Polyphenols are multifaceted bioactive compounds, but little is known about their real impact on human health after consumption. In this work, the phenolic profiling of quebracho, yellow maize, and violet rice extracts was comprehensively investigated, together with the impact of in vitro digestion and colonic fermentation on the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of these phytochemicals. The different matrices showed distinct profiles, potentially influencing in vitro starch digestion under cooking conditions. Furthermore, after the extracts underwent in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and faecal fermentation, phenolics exhibited a differential bioaccessibility trend at every digestion level, with matrix-dependent behaviour. The bioavailability results suggest that polyphenols are metabolised during colonic fermentation, mainly into tyrosols, phenolic acids, and lignans, which are partially absorbed by Caco-2 cells. By combining metabolomics with in vitro cellular methods, this research provides new insights into the fate of these phytochemicals in the gut, yielding comprehensive data on their consumption in food matrices.

Microwave (MW) heating belongs to the so-called nonconventional thermal processing technologies that have been developed or are still under investigation with the main aim of overcoming some typical problems associated with conventional thermal technologies. These problems include cost and environmental aspects, but first, the thermal impact on food quality, particularly in terms of loss of nutritional quality. In fact, irrespective of the main purpose of the heating process (preservation, development of taste and flavor, changes in structure to obtain a specific texture), a certain level of thermal damage will occur. Food technologists and engineers have, then, been working in the direction of minimizing as most as possible such thermal impact following a concept of total food quality, which cannot consider only the compulsory safety prerequisite but also the nutritional and sensorial quality of the final product. This chapter provides an overview of the basic mechanisms of MW heating, with a focus on its possible applications in the food sector (pasteurization and sterilization, baking and cooking, heating and tempering, freezing, drying, and extraction), underlining, for each application, the main limits of conventional thermal technologies and the potential advantages of MW treatment, together with its drawbacks. Moreover, to overcome typical limits related to MW application, especially nonuniform temperature distribution, the concept of hybrid/combination approach, also called MW-assisted food processing technologies, will be described. These technologies integrate the advantages of MW energy with unconventional processes (e.g., ultrasonication, ohmic heating, electron irradiation, freezing, osmotic dehydration, infrared heating, and vacuum processing) to enhance product quality and process efficiency and reduce time and operational costs of conventional processes (e.g., drying, extraction, baking, pasteurization/sterilization, tempering) (Verma, Mahanti, Thaku

Objective: School-based fruit and vegetable provision programmes can improve children's eating patterns and health by ensuring access to fruit and vegetables and providing nutrition education. However, the effectiveness of these programmes may be significantly affected by the implementation quality. The objective of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the EU School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme according to Italian teachers' perspective.Design, Setting, and Method: We carried out semi-structured interviews with teachers in two elementary schools in Italy that had participated in the EU School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme for several years. The interview protocol was based on domains, constructs and sub-constructs from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Qualitative data from the interviews were coded deductively using the CFIR to identify the main barriers and facilitators to implementing the EU School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme.Results: Among the main facilitators of implementation of the EU School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme were the quality and variety of the products, as well as the educational intentions behind the scheme, and teachers' overall level of engagement. Barriers were to be found in lack of teacher training, an absence of accompanying measures, limited knowledge about a healthy diet, the low involvement of parents, and finally, problems with product delivery.Conclusions: Providing more comprehensive teacher education and training and extending access to accompanying measures may improve the EU School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme's implementation quality and effectiveness. Moreover, allowing greater flexibility in between suppliers and accounting for each geographic area's unique character are crucial to overcoming the delivery problems that currently act as barriers to the implementation of the scheme.

Plant proteins are attracting much interest as an ingredient in the food sector due to their functional properties. These products are, in fact, widely studied to improve the quality of food products and to develop new types of bio packaging. This paper aims to study and investigate the potential of adding vegetable proteins (specifically soybean and sunflower) to improve the physicochemical stability of hazelnut pastes which are widely used in the food sector as a product itself or as an ingredient for many products, such as pastry, confectionery, and ice cream. To investigate the effect of protein incorporation, hazelnut paste samples were stored under temperature accelerated conditions to simulate at least 10 months of shelf-life under normal storage conditions, and periodically analyzed for water activity, lipid oxidation, tocopherols content and oil separation. The study showed promising results for both added proteins, especially in terms of the physical stabilization of the product.

The impact of duckweed extracts (DEs) on the shelf-life of packaged beef burgers was evaluated through classical assays and untargeted metabolomics. Beef burgers were formulated with an antioxidants-free control (CON), 1 g/kg sodium ascorbate (ASC), and increasing levels of a DEs, namely 1 (DE1), 5 (DE5), and 10 (DE10) g/kg, packaged under modified atmosphere and stored at 4 °C for 19 days. The DEs, abundant in phytochemicals, determined no issues with the hygienic status of the product. DEs modulated the redox status, being ineffective in preserving linolenic acid from peroxidation. However, the oxidation marker 2-nonenoic acid was down-accumulated in the DE10 sample following 19 days of storage, recording a lower glutathione:glutathione disulfide ratio. The accumulation of adipate semialdehyde revealed the inefficiency of DEs in coping with protein oxidation, while DEs prevented the accumulation of biogenic amines. Therefore, this work suggests a potential pro-oxidant role of the formulated DEs.