Biotecnologie applicate alla valorizzazione della \u201cPagnotta di Piana degli Albanesi\u201d

Il presente articolo riassume il progetto di valorizzazione della Pagnotta di Piana degli Albanesi attraverso lo sviluppo di un impasto acido ottenuto da batteri lattici selezionati dalle materie prime, al fine di legare la produzione al territorio e permettere di recuperare le note di tipicit\ue0. Le farine e le semole rappresentano dei veri e propri habitat microbici, la cui composizione pu\uf2 variare in funzione dell\u2019area geografica e delle condizioni di conservazione. Trattandosi di materie prime che non possono essere trattate termicamente prima della trasformazione, esse trasferiscono i loro microrganismi al prodotto in lavorazione. Pertanto, qualora tali microorganismi esprimano propriet\ue0 panarie rappresentano degli utili strumenti per l\u2019esaltazione delle note aromatiche desiderate. Il contributo scientifico riporta le popolazioni lattiche delle materie prime siciliane impiegate nella produzione di pani tipici, la selezione dei batteri lattici e lo scaleup della loro applicazione

Improvement of raw milk cheese hygiene through the selection of starter and non-starter lactic acid bacteria: The successful case of pdo pecorino siciliano cheese

This review article focuses on the technological aspects and microbiological critical points of pressed-cooked cheeses processed from raw ewe’s milk without the inoculation of starter cultures, in particular “Pecorino” cheese typology produced in Italy. After showing the composition of the biofilms adhering to the surface of the traditional dairy equipment (mainly wooden vat used to collect milk) and the microbiological characteristics of PDO Pecorino Siciliano cheese manufactured throughout Sicily, this cheese is taken as a case study to develop a strategy to improve its hygienic and safety characteristics. Basically, the natural lactic acid bacterial populations of fresh and ripened cheeses were characterized to select an autochthonous starter and non-starter cultures to stabilize the microbial community of PDO Pecorino Siciliano cheese. These bacteria were applied at a small scale level to prove their in situ efficacy, and finally introduced within the consortium for protection and promotion of this cheese to disseminate their performances to all dairy factories. The innovation in PDO Pecorino Siciliano cheese production was proven to be respectful of the traditional protocol, the final cheeses preserved their typicality, and the general cheese safety was improved. An overview of the future research prospects is also reported

Microbial ecology of retail ready-to-eat escarole and red chicory sold in Palermo City, Italy

Background: Ready-To-Eat (RTE) foods include any edible food that is commonly consumed raw. This study aimed at evaluation of microbial ecology of retail RTE escarole and red chicory sold in Palermo city, Italy. Methods: A total of 32 mono-varietal RTE samples, including escarole (n=16) and red chicory (n=16) samples were obtained from Palermo, Italy. Both RTE vegetables at expiry date were analyzed to quantify spoilage bacteria, pathogenic bacteria, and yeast. All different colonies were isolated and identified on the basis of phenotypic characteristics and genetic polymorphisms by random amplification of polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and further genotype by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. The statistical analysis was conducted with SAS 9.2 software (Statistical Analysis System Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Results: The level of Listeria monocytogenes and coagulase-positive staphylococci were below the detection. Total microbial counts were above 8 log10 colony forming unit/g in RTE red chicory, while they were about 1 log cycle lower in escarole. In general, escarole showed lower levels for all microbial groups than red chicory with the exception of the total yeast. A total of 13 strains were identified into ten species belonging to six genera as Bacillus, Erwinia, Pantoea, Pseudomonas, Microbacterium, and Rahnella. The most numerous identified genera were Pseudomonas and Pantoea. Conclusion: This work pointed out the relevance of implementing good hygiene practices during processing in order to prolong quality parameters and acceptability of mono-varietal salads

Effect of opuntia ficus-indica mucilage edible coating on quality, nutraceutical, and sensorial parameters of minimally processed cactus pear fruits

Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.) is a non-climacteric fruit with a relatively short postharvest life span, being very sensitive to water loss, darkening and decay. Cactus pear is a spiny fruit, and the presence of glochids limits fruit consumption and diffusion; therefore, minimally processing, as well as peel removing, could be an opportunity to improve its availability, consumption, and diffusion in national and international markets. In this study, cactus pear minimally processed fruits were treated with a mucilage-based coating extracted from Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes and stored at 5◦C for 9 days. The effect of mucilage edible coating on the postharvest life, qualitative attributes, and nutraceutical value of fruit were evaluated by colors, firmness, total soluble solids content, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, betalains and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl). Results showed that mucilage-based coating improved the quality and preserves the nutraceutical value of minimally processed cactus pear fruits during storage. The edible coating was effective in maintaining fruit fresh weight, total soluble solids content, fruit firmness, ascorbic acid and betalain content, sensorial traits, and visual score. Coated fruits showed a significantly lower microbiological growth than uncoated control fruits during the entire cold storage period

A Multivariate Approach to Study the Bacterial Diversity Associated to the Wooden Shelves Used for Aging Traditional Sicilian Cheeses

The present study was carried to correlate the microbial diversity of the biofilms developed on the wooden boards used for aging traditional Sicilian cheeses with cheese typology. To this end, the microbial diversity of the shelves in contact with the cheeses PDO Pecorino Siciliano, PDO Piacentinu Ennese, and TAP Caciocavallo Palermitano, during ripening, was evaluated by a multivariate statistical approach. The shelf biofilms of this study were previously analyzed for their microbial composition, but no correlation between biodiversity and cheese type was investigated. Canonical discriminant analysis confirmed a cheese typology effect on the microbial loads of the wooden shelves investigated. Regarding the plate count data, the centroids of different cheeses were statistically distant from one another. This analysis also showed a good graphic separation of data regarding bacterial order operational taxonomy units (OTUs). Thus, the microbiological differences imputed to the cheese typologies were not affected by the environmental conditions of the facilities. Furthermore, wooden shelf lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were investigated for their ability to inhibit the main dairy pathogens. Although inhibitors were mainly enterococci, P. pentosaceus WS287 and W. paramesenteroides WS581 showed the highest inhibition activity, indicating their possible application to control the undesired bacteria in situ

Evaluation of the fermentation dynamics of commercial baker’s yeast in presence of pistachio powder to produce lysine-enriched breads

The present work was carried out to evaluate the microbiological, physicochemical, and sensory characteristics of fortified pistachio breads. Pistachio powder (5% w/w) was added to flour or semolina and fermented by a commercial baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Pistachio powder did not influence the biological leavening of the doughs. The kinetics of pH and total titratable acidity (TTA) during dough fermentation showed that the leavening process occurred similarly for all trials. The concentration of yeasts increased during fermentation and reached levels of 108 CFU/g after 2 h. Pistachio powder decreased the height and softness of the final breads and increased cell density of the central slices. The amount of lysine after baking increased in pistachio breads and this effect was stronger for semolina rather than flour trials. Sensory evaluation indicated that fortified breads processed from semolina were those more appreciated by the judges. This work clearly indicated that the addition of pistachio powder in bread production represents a promising strategy to increase the availability of lysine in cereal-based fermented products

Effect of Mucilage-Based Edible Coating Enriched with Oregano Essential Oil on Postharvest Quality and Sensorial Attributes of Fresh-Cut Loquat

Due to pulp browning, weight loss, firmness loss, and decay, loquat fruits, and even more minimally processed fruits have a very short post-harvest life. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage-based edible coating enriched with oregano oil on postharvest quality, microbial growth, and sensorial attributes of fresh-cut cv Martorana loquat fruit during cold storage. Fresh-cut loquat fruits were dipped in the mucilage-based solution enriched with oregano essential oil (MO-EC) and in distilled water used as control (CTR). According to our results, the mucilage-based edible coating enriched with oregano oil significantly improved the postharvest life of minimally processed loquat fruits by preserving quality, nutraceutical value, and sensory aspects. MO-EC had a barrier effect on fresh-cut loquat fruit, reducing weight and firmness losses, inhibiting TSS, TA, ascorbic acid content decrease, and enhancing the antioxidant activity until the end of the cold storage period (11 days at 5 C). Microbiological analysis revealed that coated loquat fruits were characterized by a cell density of spoilage microorganisms 1 Log cycle lower than control fruits. The mucilage-based coating enriched with OEO positively affects the visual appearance of fresh-cut loquat fruits, at the end of the cold storage period, MO-EC samples did indeed report visual ratings that were five times greater than CTR samples. Our research suggests that applying mucilage-based coating enriched with OEO improves peeled loquat fruit shelf-life and allows the producers to sell products that are usually considered unmarketable (fruit with epicarp with large spot areas) to the market

Effect of Opuntia ficus-indica Mucilage Edible Coating in Combination with Ascorbic Acid, on Strawberry Fruit Quality during Cold Storage

Strawberry fruit is a nonclimacteric fruit and is one of the most consumed berries in the world. It is characterized by high levels of vitamin C, folate, vitamin E, β-carotene, and phenolic constituents as well asanthocyanins that are strictly related to health benefits. Strawberries are highly perishable fruit with a very short postharvest life due to their susceptibility to mechanical injury, rapid texture softening, physiological disorders, and infection caused by several pathogens (yeast and mold) that can rapidly reduce fruit quality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the application of Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage in combination with ascorbic acid, as edible coating, on quality, sensorial parameters, and microbiological characteristics of strawberry fruit during cold storage at 4 ± 0.5°C and 85% RH. Strawberries were characterized by a linear increase of weight loss during the storage at 4°C that was significantly higher (+11.3% on average) in the uncoated strawberries. The coating affected the ascorbic acid content of the strawberries that increased by 36.0% in coated strawberries; total soluble solid content and color of the strawberries were only affected by storage. Visual quality and sensorial analysis recorded higher scores in the coated samples at the end of the cold storage period. Furthermore, the mucilage coating did not negatively affect the natural taste of strawberries. The application of O. ficus-indica gel-based edible coating in combination with ascorbic acid, although not able to inhibit the microbial growth, limited significantly their development in coated strawberry fruits. Our results suggest that Opuntia mucilage plus 5% ascorbic acid could be a useful biochemical way of maintaining strawberry fruit quality and extending their postharvest life

Yeasts and moulds contaminants of food ice cubes and their survival in different drinks

Aims: To evaluate the levels of unicellular and filamentous fungi in ice cubes produced at different levels and to determine their survival in alcoholic beverages and soft drinks. Methods and Results: Sixty samples of ice cubes collected from home level (HL) productions, bars and pubs (BP) and industrial manufacturing plants (MP) were investigated for the presence and cell density of yeasts and moulds. Moulds were detected in almost all samples, while yeasts developed from the majority of HL and MP samples. Representative colonies of microfungi were subjected to phenotypic and genotypic characterization. The identification was carried out by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the region spanning the internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) and the 5·8S rRNA gene. The process of yeast identification was concluded by sequencing the D1/D2 region of the 26S rRNA gene. The fungal biodiversity associated with food ice was represented by nine yeast and nine mould species. Strains belonging to Candida parapsilosis and Cryptococcus curvatus, both opportunistic human pathogens, and Penicillium glabrum, an ubiquitous mould in the ice samples analysed, were selected to evaluate the effectiveness of the ice cubes to transfer pathogenic microfungi to consumers, after addition to alcoholic beverages and soft drinks. All strains retained their viability. Conclusions: The survival test indicated that the most common mode of consumption of ice cubes, through its direct addition to drinks and beverages, did not reduce the viability of microfungi. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study evidenced the presence of microfungi in food ice and ascertained their survival in soft drinks and alcoholic beverages

Moral Mediators in the Metaverse: Exploring Artificial Morality through a Talking Cricket Paradigm

As technological innovations continue to shape our social interactions, the Metaverse introduces immersive experiences that reflect real-life practices, accessible by users through their avatars. However, these interactions also bring forth potential negative aspects, including discrimination and cyberbullying. While current automatic detection systems exist, educating users on appropriate behaviour remains crucial. Leveraging recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence, the paper focuses on creating virtual AI-controlled moral agents within the Metaverse to guide users in dealing with moral dilemmas. The research aims to understand how such agents impact users' perceptions and behaviours in ethically challenging virtual environments