The feasibility of pulsed light processing in the meat industry

Today, the increasing demand for minimally processed foods that are nutritious, sensorially acceptable, and free from microbial, chemical and physical hazards, challenges research and development to establish alternative methods to reduce the level of bacterial contamination. As one of the newly developing non-thermal methods, pulsed light is a technology for the fast, mild, and residue-free surface decontamination of meat and meat contact materials in the meat processing environment. This review provides specific information on pulsed light technology and the feasibility of its application for unpackaged and packaged meat and meat products as well as meat contact materials. The advantages, limitations and achieved effects of pulsed light on microbial inactivation, lipid peroxidation, sensory quality and color of meat, seafood and meat products are illustrated and discussed in relation to its implementation on the industrial level

Facies generadoras de carbón en el Westfaliense superior de la Cuenca Carbonífera Central Asturiana

La Cuenca Carbonífera Central Asturiana constituye una cuenca de antepais individualizada en la Zona Cantábrica durante el Carbonifero Superior coincidiendo con la máxima actividad de la orogenia Hercinica. Durante el Westfaliense, se acumularon en ella importantes volúmenes de material clástico procedentes de los relieves en elevación situados al W. Los abanicos aluviales costeros constituyeron unos sistemas deposicionales muy eficientes en la dispersión de estos materiales, generaron extensas cuñas clásticas en relación con las cuales se originaron capas de carbón explotables. En este trabajo se estudian varios litosomas de edad Westfaliense Superior que representan episodios progradantes de estos sistemas sobre ambientes marinos someros v de transición. El análisis e interpretación de sus facies y geometrías permite la reconstrucción de las condiciones ambientales en que se generaron las capas de carbón asociadas a cada una de las unidades estudiadas. Estas se desarrollaron: 1) en zonas marginales a los lóbulos progradantes y zonas interlóbulos y 2) sobre los mismos una vez que éstos fueron abandonados y previamente a su enterramiento

A Comprehensive Review on Lipid Oxidation in Meat and Meat Products

peer-reviewedMeat and meat products are a fundamental part of the human diet. The protein and vitamin content, as well as essential fatty acids, gives them an appropriate composition to complete the nutritional requirements. However, meat constituents are susceptible to degradation processes. Among them, the most important, after microbial deterioration, are oxidative processes, which affect lipids, pigments, proteins and vitamins. During these reactions a sensory degradation of the product occurs, causing consumer rejection. In addition, there is a nutritional loss that leads to the formation of toxic substances, so the control of oxidative processes is of vital importance for the meat industry. Nonetheless, despite lipid oxidation being widely investigated for decades, the complex reactions involved in the process, as well as the different pathways and factors that influenced them, make that lipid oxidation mechanisms have not yet been completely understood. Thus, this article reviews the fundamental mechanisms of lipid oxidation, the most important oxidative reactions, the main factors that influence lipid oxidation, and the routine methods to measure compounds derived from lipid oxidation in meat

Innovative non-thermal technologies affecting potato tuber and fried potato quality

Background: Potatoes are important tubers for human consumption, providing an essential source of energy and great nutritional characteristics for human health. However, before consumption, potato tubers need to be stored and processed. As frying is the most common technique used in potato processing, fried potato is the most important processed potato product. Some food characteristics, provided by the frying process, are considered desirable, but others are harmful to human health and, thereby the main challenge is to reduce the formation of the undesirable characteristics, without compromising the sensorial attributes. Scope and approach: In this review, the origin, economic importance, morphology and composition of potato tubers are presented. Afterwards, some factors affecting potato tuber quality, not only for human consumption, but also for further processing are addressed. Then, potato processing is discussed with a focus on the frying process, including the textural, chemical and nutritional changes induced by frying and the main characteristics affecting the quality of fried potato products. Finally, a special focus is given to the novel emerging non-thermal technologies and a brief review of their effects on potato tuber and fried potato quality is provided. Key findings and conclusions: Irradiation, cold plasma, ultrasounds, pulsed electric fields and high pressure processing are innovative non-thermal technologies with potential to be an alternative for the traditional treatments of potato tubers and to be applied as a frying pre-treatment, improving time and energy for slicing and cooking, and creating improved and healthier fried potatoes. Further studies are needed to better understand the subjacent biochemical mechanisms.publishe

Application of chemometrics to assess the influence of ultrasound frequency, Lactobacillus sakei culture and drying on beef jerky manufacture: Impact on amino acid profile, organic acids, texture and colour

The effects of ultrasound (US) frequency, addition of Lactobacillus sakei culture and drying time on key nutritional (protein, amino acids, and organic acids) and physicochemical properties (texture and colour) of cultured and uncultured beef jerky were evaluated. Cultured and uncultured jerky samples were subjected to US frequencies of 25 kHz, 33 kHz and 45 kHz for 30 min prior to marination and drying. Principal component analysis demonstrated a significant effect of beef jerky processing conditions on physicochemical properties. Taurine content of jerky samples was found to increase with an increase in ultrasonic frequencies for cultured samples. No significant changes in colour values were observed for ultrasound pre-treated and control samples. Interactive effects of culture treatment, drying and ultrasonic frequency were observed. This study demonstrates that the nutritional profile of beef jerky can be improved through the incorporation of L. sakei

An insight into in vitro antioxidant activity of Cantharellus cibarius hot water extract for the potential application in meat products

The current research was undertaken to estimate the in vitro antioxidant activity of Cantharellus cibarius mushroom extracted by boiling in water for 30 minutes. Several previous studies have shown that the addition of edible mushrooms in meat products affects the reduction of lipid oxidation and prolongs the shelf-life of the final products. Antioxidant capacity of C. cibarius was measured using the following methods: reducing power ability, lipid peroxidation assay, cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Reducing power and antioxidant activity assays of C. cibarius hot water extract showed low antioxidant activity. CUPRAC assay demonstrated positive effect only at the concentration of 10 mg/mL, whereas DPPH radical scavenging activity showed moderate antioxidant activity in comparison with culinary-medicinal mushrooms, with the effective concentration (EC50) from 7.41 mg/mL

Is Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) a Useful Tool for the Valorization of Solid and Liquid Sea Bass Side Streams?: Evaluation of Nutrients and Contaminants

In this study, fresh sea bass’s (Dicentrarchus labrax) heads, skin, viscera, and muscle were evaluated for their potential valorization as a source of nutrients and bioactive compounds. For this purpose, a pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment (1.0 kV/cm field strength and 220.5 kJ/kg specific energy for head, 3.0 kV/cm and 299.4 kJ/kg for skin, 3.0 kV/cm and 123.7 kJ/kg for viscera and muscle) was used. Subsequently, extraction processes were carried out using either 100% water or 50% ethanol. Protein assessment (protein content and bioactive peptides’ identification), as well as ICP-MS analysis of minerals and heavy metals, was conducted on both the solid matrices and liquid extracts. The findings indicate that the choice of solvent (100% water or 50% ethanol) and PEF treatment significantly (p < 0.05) affected protein recovery in the sea bass side streams liquid extracts, while a considerable protein amount was retained in the solid matrices. Furthermore, the ICP-MS analysis of minerals revealed that PEF treatment significantly (p < 0.05) improved mineral recovery in the head and muscle liquid extracts. However, a considerable amount of minerals remained in the solid matrices. Lower contents of heavy metals were found in the liquid extracts compared to the solid matrices, being anyway the quantities of the five heavy metals analyzed within edible and safe limits. Additionally, the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of sea bass side stream extracts was assessed to measure the potential antioxidant bioactive compounds in the liquid extracts. PEF treatments significantly (p < 0.05) increased the TAC of the liquid extracts from sea bass viscera, as opposed to other side streams. Both 100% water and 50% ethanol were effective as extraction solvents, promoting the recovery of high-added-value compounds not only from the liquid extracts but also from solid matrices. Thus, PEF pre-treatment can be considered a valuable technique to enhance fish side stream valorization.publishedVersio

Evaluation of gliadins-diglycosylated cyanidins interaction from litchi pericarp through ultraviolet and fluorescence measurements

The low stability of anthocyanins limits their use in industry, which can be surpassed by gliadins linkage. This work was aimed to study the anthocyanins-gliadins bonding properties. HPLC-DAD-ESI-M..