Beyond the Build Environment: the Role of the Human Dimension towards a Co-ownership in a Sustainable Energy Community

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Shelf-life Assessment of Food Undergoing Oxidation\u2013A Review

Oxidation is the most common event leading to the end of shelf life of microbiologically stable foods. Thus, a reliable shelf-life assessment is crucial to verify how long the product will last before it becomes oxidized to an unacceptable level to the consumers. Shelf-life assessment strategies of foods and beverages suffering oxidation are critically discussed focusing on definition of the acceptability limit, as well as the choice of the proper oxidative indicators, and methodologies for shelf-life testing. Testing methodologies for shelf-life determination under actual and accelerated storage conditions are considered, highlighting possible uncertainties, pitfalls, and future research needs. \ua9 2016, Copyright \ua9 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Technological and consumer strategies to tackle food wasting

Around one-third of the globally produced food is annually discarded worldwide. This amount would be able to satisfy ten times the need of undernourished people. If nothing is done, the mass of discarded food could further rise, compromising the right to food of future generations. Almost all food discards are nowadays disposed of or used for energy recovery. Strategies for recovery of value-added compounds have also been proposed. However, more sustainable options are available. In this context, food science skills are required to develop novel approaches that could allow both reducing disposal of discards and preventing their generation. Effective technological strategies are expected to directly reduce food loss within the production chain but also to drive consumer towards more sustainable choices and behaviours. This review paper summarizes recent developments in possible technological and consumer strategies to tackle food wasting. To this aim, after defining, classifying and quantifying food discards, reasons and responsibilities of discard generation are analysed in the light of the current regulatory efforts. Based on this survey, an overview of possible interventions is provided, underlying their synergistic effects on waste reduction/prevention at industrial and domestic levels

The Oxidative state of LDL is the major determinant of anti/prooxidant effect of coffee on Cu²⁺ catalysed peroxidation

Antioxidants exert contrasting effect on low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation catalysed by metals, acting as pro-oxidants under select in vitro conditions. Through our study on the effect of coffee on LDL oxidation, we identified the parameters governing this phenomenon, contributing to the comprehension of its mechanism and discovering significant implications for correct alimentary recommendations. By measuring conjugated diene formation, we have analysed the quantitative and qualitative effects exerted by an extract of roasted coffee on LDL oxidation triggered by copper sulphate. When the relative effects of different coffee concentrations were plotted against the lag time (LT) of control LDL (C-LDL), the apparently random experimental data arranged in sensible patterns: by increasing the LT the antioxidant activity of coffee decreased progressively to become prooxidant. The critical LT, at which coffee switches from antioxidant to prooxidant, increased by increasing coffee concentration. Also the contrasting results obtained following a delayed addition of coffee to the assay, arranged in a simple pattern when referred to the LT of C-LDL: the prooxidant effect decreased to become antioxidant as the LT of C-LDL increased. The dependence of coffee effect on the LT of C-LDL was influenced by LDL but not by metal catalyst concentration. These novel findings point to the oxidative state of LDL as a major parameter controlling the anti/prooxidant effect of coffee and suggest the LT of C-LDL as a potent analytical tool to express experimental data when studying the action exerted by a compound on LDL oxidation

Health-promoting properties of food bioactives: the case study of quercetin. Preliminary results.

The results here described are part of a wider experimental plan aimed at studying the fate of quercetin contained in model systems simulating apple or its derivatives during the gastrointestinal process. To this purpose, the effect of in-vitro digestion on quercetin antioxidant activity was assessed. Quercetin’s effect on the inhibition of intestinal α-glucosidase in a colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2 was also investigate

insights on pro environmental behavior towards post carbon society

Abstract The increasing phenomena related to urbanization and human impact on landscape leads to re-think the future of the cities. As well as in buildings, a careful design, the use of renewable sources and the use of advanced technical solutions, to achieve a significant energy savings, are strategies not sufficient to define a "Post-Carbon city" or a "Post-Carbon building". It is necessary that the citizen/occupant become a "Post-Carbon society", i.e. they pursue conscious lifestyle marked on energy saving principles. This suggest that the occupant's behaviour plays a fundamental role. In fact, many studies have shown that the human behaviour influences, mainly, the energy performance, explaining, in this way, the discrepancy gap between predicted and real consumptions. Since human behaviour is, in large part, influenced by several factors, a behavioural change towards sustainable lifestyle is desirable and this is possible, for examples, by providing to users feedback and information on comfort condition and energy use. The main goal of this research is to identify the pro-environmental behaviour by a questionnaire survey. Specifically, the structure of the survey will be described in this paper and the main results presented

Power ultrasound decontamination of wastewater from fresh-cut lettuce washing for potential water recycling

The decontamination effect of pulsed and continuous power ultrasound, provided at either controlled or uncontrolled temperature regimes, was studiedwith reference to nativemicroflora and inoculated pathogenic bacteria in wastewater obtained by fresh-cut lamb's lettuce washing. Results showed that decontamination efficacy increased with increasing specific energy and was higher when ultrasound treatment was provided under uncontrolled temperature regime. Continuous ultrasound supplied without temperature control allowed to achieve 3.2 Log reductions of native microflora during 20 min treatment, while 5 Log reductions of inoculated Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica were attained within 5 min of ultrasonication. The heat generated during continuous ultrasound accounted for approximately 58% of the total decontamination effect against L. monocytogenes, while it contributed for 100% to E. coli and S. enterica inactivation. Industrial relevance: The application of power ultrasound combined with in situ generated heat could represent an effective tool for water decontamination and recycling in the fresh-cut industry. In addition, besides safety requirements, this technology would also meet cost-effectiveness criteria and existing standards

Effect of temperature in domestic refrigerators on fresh-cut Iceberg salad quality and waste

The evolution of different quality parameters (firmness, weight loss, colour changes, microbial counts, consumer rejection) of packed fresh-cut Iceberg salad was assessed at 4, 8 and 12 \ub0C to simulate domestic refrigerators running at different conditions. The increase in storage temperature did not affect salad firmness and weight loss but increased colour changes, microbial growth and consumer rejection. A survey among Italian consumers was also carried out and demonstrated that fresh-cut salad was mainly consumed within the first 5 days after purchasing. Consumer rejection data were combined with data relevant to the distribution of salad consumption over the days following product purchase, to estimate salad wasting risk. When salad was stored at 4 and 8 \ub0C, estimated wasted packages within the expiration date (7 days) were < 1%. By contrast, 13% of the packages was estimated to be wasted within 7 days of storage at 12 \ub0C. Quantification of wasting risk is a necessary information to identify efficient and sustainable interventions to tackle food waste. \ua9 2017 Elsevier Lt

Food and food bioactive fighting chronic inflammation

The aim of this project is to evaluate the influence of bioactive compounds contained in raw and processed plant-based foods, and their industrial processing by-products on the immune landscape and homeostasis of the gut affected by chronic inflammation

Effetto di diversi interventi tecnologici sulle proprietà antiossidanti di derivati agrumari

Recent studies clearly indicate the existence of a highly negative correlation between intake of fruits and vegetable and the development of degenerative diseases. A number of bio-active constituents of these foods, such as the natural antioxidants, may account for these effects. Although many studies have been carried out to elucidate how antioxidants act in protecting health, little is known about the influence of processing and storage on content, activity and bio-availability of these compounds. It is worth considering that most of fruits and vegetables are subjected to processing and storage, prior to consumption. In this paper results on changes of overall antioxidants properties of the aqueous phase of some citrus derivatives upon different processing and storage conditions are shown. Results indicate that, despite a considerable loss of ascorbic acid, the overall antioxidant properties of the products were scarcely affected by the different technological operations adopted. The possible role of phenols compounds in maintaining high values of antioxidant activity is elucidated. Recenti studi indicano l'esistenza di una correlazione inversa tra consumo di frutta ed ortaggi ed insorgenza di patologie degenerative. Questi effetti sono stati atbibuiti alla presenza, in tali alimenti, di una complessa serie di molecole bioattive, tra cui gli antiossidanti naturali. Sebbene esistano numerosi studi sui meccanismi alla base dell'azione protettiva di tali sostanze antiossidanti, ben poco è noto sull'influenza dei processi di trasformazione e conservazione sul contenuto, attività e biodisponibilità di questi composti. Tali aspetti risultano di grande interesse in considerazione del fatto che gran parte della frutta e degli ortaggi subisce un qualche intervento conservativo o di trasformaazione, anche di minima intensità, prima del consumo. In questo lavoro vengono presentati i risultati relativi alIo studio sui cambiamenti delle proprietà antiossidanti della frazione idrosolubile di alcuni derivati agrumari sottoposti a trattamenti di trasformazione e conservazione ad intensità crescente. I risultati sembrano indicare come i diversi interventi tecnologici applicati abbiano una scarsa influenza sulle proprietà antiossidanti originarie di questi prodotti benché, in talune condizioni tecnologiche si sia verificata una drastica riduzione del contenuto di acido ascorbico