Nutritional, Safety and Sensory Evaluation of Innovative Siwi Date Snacks with Flavors and Fillings

Background: Due to their nutritional benefits and economic importance, dates are essential for all ages, nations, and civilizations. Dates include some nutritional components that can boost their nutritious worth. Objective(s): We aimed to assess the quality and safety attributes of Siwi semi-dry dates and their products with diverse tastes and fillings by measuring their chemical composition, safety features, and sensory aspects. Methods: Eleven Siwi semi-dry date products were evaluated. The flavors were milk, coconut, Oreo, cinnamon, coffee, Nescafé, cappuccino, caramel, peanut butter, Lotus, and Nutella. Additionally, our study assessed their chemical composition, including vitamin and mineral content besides evaluating their quality, safety, and sensory characteristics. Statistical analysis was performed, with a 5% least significant difference calculated for each treatment. Results: This study investigated Siwi semi-dry date snacks, revealing distinct nutritional profiles. Dark mix whole dates had the highest calorie, protein, and fat content; while plain whole dates had the lowest. Plain whole dates were rich in carbohydrates and sugars. Dark mix whole dates generally showed elevated vitamin and mineral levels. Quality attributes like texture favoured plain whole dates. Microbiological analysis confirmed safety, with no aflatoxins detected. Sensory evaluation ranked milk whole dates as the highest for colour, taste, odour, texture, and overall acceptance. These insights provide comprehensive overview, valuable information for both consumers and producers of Siwi semi-dry date snacks. Conclusion: Our study confirmed that dates are a significant food source for carbohydrates, fibres, minerals, and vitamins

A Spotlight on the Egyptian Honeybee (Apis mellifera lamarckii)

Simple Summary The Egyptian honeybee (Apis mellifera lamarckii) is one of the honeybee subspecies known for centuries since the ancient Egypt civilization. The subspecies of the Egyptian honeybee is distinguished by certain traits of appearance and behavior that were well-adapted to the environment and unique in a way that it is resistant to bee diseases, such as the Varroa disease. The subspecies is different than those found in Europe and is native to southern Egypt. Therefore, a special care should be paid to the vulnerable A. m. lamarckii subspecies and greater knowledge about the risk factors as well as conservation techniques will protect these bees. Additionally, more qualitative and quantitative measures will be taken to obtain deep insights into the A. m. lamarckii products' chemical profile and biological characters. Egypt has an ongoing long history with beekeeping, which started with the ancient Egyptians making various reliefs and inscriptions of beekeeping on their tombs and temples. The Egyptian honeybee (Apis mellifera lamarckii) is an authentic Egyptian honeybee subspecies utilized in apiculture. A. m. lamarckii is a distinct honeybee subspecies that has a particular body color, size, and high levels of hygienic behavior. Additionally, it has distinctive characteristics; including the presence of the half-queens, an excessive number of swarm cells, high adaptability to climatic conditions, good resistance to specific bee diseases, including the Varro disorder, and continuous breeding during the whole year despite low productivity, using very little propolis, and tending to abscond readily. This review discusses the history of beekeeping in Egypt and its current situation in addition to its morphology, genetic analysis, and distinctive characters, and the defensive behaviors of native A. m. lamarckii subspecies