Sensory Properties and Color Measurements of Dietary Chocolates with Different Compositions During Storage for Up to 360 Days

In this work sensory characteristics (appearance – color, brilliance, shape and surface; texture – structure, break, firmness and chewiness; aroma – odor and taste) of dietary chocolates of different compositions were evaluated, in parallel with color parameter measurements. Color was determined instrumentally on the top and bottom surfaces, using a “MINOLTA” Chroma meter CR 400 thristimulus colorimeter. Sensory evaluation was performed by a group of experienced panelists immediately after the production (0 – 30 days), and then after 90, 180, 270 and 360 days of storage under ambient conditions (t = 18 – 20°C). Results were statistically analyzed by the two-factorial analysis of variance (MANOVA) and with the LSD – test. It was concluded that the storage time up to one year had statistically highly significant (p < 0.01) effects on the sensory attributes of chocolate, as well as on instrumentally measured color parameters

Development of Synbiotic Milk Chocolate Enriched with Lactobacillus paracasei, D-tagatose and Galactooligosaccharide

Background and Objective: Prebiotics are food ingredients that induce the growth or activity of beneficial bacteria (Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli). Galactooligosaccharide and tagatose are two main prebiotic compounds which are used in the food industry. Chocolate is widely consumed all over the world and could be used as an excellent vehicle for delivery of prebiotics. Furthermore, the incorporation of probiotics into chocolate, allows broadening the health claims of chocolate. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of tagatose and galactooligosaccharide on the physicochemical and sensory properties of milk chocolate and the survivability of Lactobacillus paracasei in the optimized formulation. Material and Methods: Probiotic milk chocolate containing Lactobacillus paracasei were formulated by replacing a portion of the sucrose with the galactooligosaccharide powder and tagatose. For this purpose various concentrations of galactooligosaccharide and tagatose (2.5, 5 and 7.5% w w-1) along with stevia were used in chocolate formulation. Nine formulations were examined to determine some physicochemical, mechanical and sensory properties in order to find the optimum concentrations of these components. The lyophilized Lactobacillus paracasei were incorporated in the optimal formulation of prebiotic milk chocolate. The viability of probiotic bacteria in milk chocolate was carried out during storage at 22°C for up to 6 months.Results and Conclusion: In general, chocolate formulations with high levels of galactooligosaccharide, achieved the highest plastic viscosity and yield stress. The lowest viscosity and yield stress were observed for the samples containing high concentrations of tagatose and in control. In addition, galactooligosaccharide at higher ratios induced the least desirable sensorial effects, whereas tagatose improved the overall acceptability. It can be concluded that the overall acceptability of milk chocolate samples were with (7.5), tagatose: galactooligosaccharide ratios of 2.5%-2.5%, presenting the optimal applicable range as prebiotic compounds. Numbers of live Lactobacillus paracasei cells remained above 8.0 log CFU g-1 until 6 months under ambient conditions. Milk chocolate was shown to be an excellent vehicle for the delivery of Lactobacillus paracasei, and the prebiotic ingredients galactooligosaccharide and tagatose did not interfere in its viability. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Food Processing and Its Impact on Phenolic and other Bioactive Constituents in Food

It is our pleasure to present this Special Issue of Molecules entitled “Food Processing and Its Impact on Phenolic and other Bioactive Constituents in Food”. Bioactive compounds including phenolic ingredients have long been used as important constituents of a healthy diet. As a result, consumer awareness about the important role of high-quality products rich in bioactive compounds—especially phenolic compounds—in human nutrition, health, and prevention against diseases has increased. Additionally, methods for food processing, regardless of the technology used, have a huge impact on the quality of the final products. Therefore, the big challenges for scientists lie in the monitoring of changes during food processing and the optimization of technology to achieve the minimal degradation of nutrients (including phenolic compounds). Thus, for this Special Issue, I encourage you to read some interesting papers aimed at bringing the latest scientific news, insights, and advances in the field of food processing and its impact on bioactive constituents in food, especially phenolic compounds. The information presented will certainly arouse considerable interest among a large group of our readers from different disciplines and research fields

The Sensory Quality and Volatile Profile of Dark Chocolate Enriched with Encapsulated Probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Bacteria

peer-reviewedCocoa and dark chocolate have a wide variety of powerful antioxidants and other nutrients that can positively affect human health. Probiotic dark chocolate has the potential to be a new product in the growing number of functional foods. In this study, encapsulated potential probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum 564 and commercial probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum 299v were added in the production of dark chocolate. The results show very good survival of probiotic bacteria after production and during storage, reaching 108 cfu/g in the first 60 days and over 106 cfu/g up to 180 days. No statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) in chemical composition and no major differences in the volatile profiles between control and experimental chocolate samples were observed, indicating no impact of probiotic bacteria on compositional and sensory characteristics of dark chocolate. The sensory evaluation of control and both probiotic dark chocolate samples showed excellent sensory quality after 60 and 180 days of storage, demonstrating that probiotics did not affect aroma, texture and appearance of chocolate. Due to a high viability of bacterial cells and acceptable sensory properties, it can be concluded that encapsulated probiotics Lb. plantarum 564 and Lb. plantarum 299v could be successfully used in the production of probiotic dark chocolate

Chromatographic Identification of Leaf Color Characteristics on Fine-flavor and Bulk Cacao as Selection Indicator

A problem encountered in plant breeding process to determine bean color quality of fine-flavor cocoa is a long selection period. Preliminary results indicatedthat the fine-flavor cocoa has a low color reflectance than bulk cocoa. The objectiveof this study is to find more applicable and easier method to do the early detectionof fine-flavor cocoa on the breeding population. Detection of the leaf color haracteristics was done by chromatographic and spectrophotometry analysis. hromatographic analysis was carried out in Kaliwining Experimental Station, IndonesianCoffee and Cocoa Research Institute using complete random design consistedof two types of cocoa; fine-flavor (10 clones) and bulk cocoa (10 clones). pectrophotometric analysis was conducted at Ma Chung University, Malang, East Java.Four clones of bulk cocoa and six clones of fine flavor cocoa were used in thisanalysis. The results of the study showed that the flush color characteristics of thefine-flavor cocoa were different from the bulk cocoa characteristics as shown bythe differences in the value of L*, b* and anthocyanin content. Flush characteristic s ofthe fine-flavor cocoa had brighter color, more toward green with higher yellowlevel, while the bulk cocoa had darker flush, red and lower yellow level. Thecolor parameter of L* and b* had a higher genetic variation compared with theenvironment variation. However, the parameter a* had a higher environmental variation compared with genetic variation. Grouping of fine-flavor cocoa and bulk cocoacould be done through the detection of flush anthocyanin content, when tendencyof flush anthocyanin content on fine-flavor cocoa was lower than bulk cocoa.The detection of flush color particularly L* and b* parameters through hromatographic analysis and anthocyanin content through spectrophotometric analysismay be used as a criteria for selection the fine flavor cocoa on seedling phase

Applications of Instrumental Methods for Food and Food By-Products Analysis

The analysis of food and food by-products is a particularly important topic dealing with the development and application of various analytical procedures and methods determining the properties and safety of food and food constituents. It is an important tool not only for defining food quality but also for supporting the investigation of new food products and technologies. The continuous development of methodology and access to modern research equipment enable detailed research on the composition, structure, physicochemical properties, thermal characteristics, and stability of food products and, recently, also byproducts of the food industry, which are potentially a source of bioactive compounds and currently present little commercial value and are mostly disposed of as an industrial waste. It is imperative to identify the properties and potential applications of food by-products, which would fit in with current trends in circular ecology. Taking the aforementioned reasons into account, it is important to present procedures and instrumental analytical techniques and methods commonly used to analyze food and food processing byproducts and to discuss their application in food research to detect and characterize specific food components of significance to food science and technology, such as lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates

Functionality of inulin and polydextrose in stevia or thaumatin sweetened dark chocolate

Chocolate is a high energy product with carbohydrates, including sugar, together with fat, as the main sources of energy. Sucrose is utilized up to 30-60% in chocolate and this confers multiple functional properties on chocolate including sweetness, bulkiness and mouthfeel (texture). Today’s consumers are concerned about the high sugar levels, calories and cariogenicity effects in confectionery products, hence growing the popularity of “light” and “sugar-free” products. This has led to the search for low calorie, low glycemic index, healthier alternatives. Polydextrose and inulin are considered as fibers with many interesting functional attributes that meet the needs of the food industry for healthy foods. Stevia and thaumatin are natural high potency (intense) sweeteners with sensory properties superior to those of other sweeteners. This research investigated the functionality of inulin and polydextrose as sucrose replacers (bulking agents) in sugar-free dark chocolates with stevia or thaumatin as intense sweeteners. The type of bulking agent and concentrations used greatly influenced the rheological properties, textural, melting behaviours and other physical quality characteristics of the developed sugar-free chocolates. Microstructural examination revealed that inulin, which had a lower density than polydextrose tend to have more solids per volume and increased particle volume fraction and solid’s surface area, resulting in a higher particle collision and aggregation thereby limiting chocolate flow. This research also reports for the first time, results of a comparative study of the sweetness brought by the intense sweeteners (stevia and thaumatin) in the sugar-free dark chocolates. With opportunity for improvements in quality of reduced calorie chocolates, findings from this research could be applied to develop or reformulate diabetic and/or reduced calorie chocolates to better meet consumer expectations