Thermal and non-thermal processing technologies on intrinsic and extrinsic quality factors of tomato products: A review

Tomato and tomato-based products play a vital role in human diet due to the presence of bioactive compounds. The conventional heat treatment is designed as a current practice in tomato products industry to ensure food safety but it can lead to undesirable changes both in the nutritional and in the sensory properties of the products. In order to avoid these unfavorable changes during the heat treatment, novel thermal, and non-thermal processing technologies have been receiving much attention with the aim of improving and replacing conventionally processed products. Among them, some of the most promising technologies of high pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, and power ultrasound in comparison to conventional thermal processing technologies are highlighted in this article. This review presents recent scientific information on impact of these technologies on physico-chemical, organoleptic, and microbial properties of tomato-based products. Furthermore, it analyses and discusses the opportunities and drawbacks in commercial applications. Practical applications: The preservation of tomato and tomato products is of primary interest for the food industry. Several novel thermal and non-thermal technologies—discussed in this review—could be utilized for the production of high quality tomato-based products. These technologies are increasingly attracting the attention of food processors as they efficiently provide products with extended shelf life and higher quantities of labile bioactive compounds when compared to conventionally processed products

A mathematical model of exposure of non-target Lepidoptera to Bt-maize pollen expressing Cry1Ab within Europe

Genetically modified (GM) maize MON810 expresses a Cry1Ab insecticidal protein, derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), toxic to lepidopteran target pests such as Ostrinia nubilalis. An environmental risk to non-target Lepidoptera from this GM crop is exposure to harmful amounts of Bt-containing pollen deposited on host plants in or near MON810 fields. An 11-parameter mathematical model analysed exposure of larvae of three non-target species: the butterflies Inachis io (L.), Vanessa atalanta (L.) and moth Plutella xylostella (L.), in 11 representative maize cultivation regions in four European countries. A mortality–dose relationship was integrated with a dose–distance relationship to estimate mortality both within the maize MON810 crop and within the field margin at varying distances from the crop edge. Mortality estimates were adjusted to allow for physical effects; the lack of temporal coincidence between the susceptible larval stage concerned and the period over which maize MON810 pollen is shed; and seven further parameters concerned with maize agronomy and host-plant ecology. Sublethal effects were estimated and allowance made for aggregated pollen deposition. Estimated environmental impact was low: in all regions, the calculated mortality rate for worst-case scenarios was less than one individual in every 1572 for the butterflies and one in 392 for the moth