Safety of frozen vegetables: a case study on carrots

Consumers are confident in frozen foods, which is a consequence of proven safety and quality characteristics of the products. However, safety depends strongly on the quality of the raw materials, the hygienic conditions when handling both at industrial and home processing, and on the temperature conditions during the entire logistic chain. Bacteria survival depends upon a number of factors, such as type of microorganism, freezing process, rate of freezing, storage temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles. The goal of this work was to quantify the impact of the freezing operation per si and frozen storage, at two temperatures (-7º and –20 ºC), on total aerobes, yeast and moulds levels on shredded carrots (Daucus carrota L.). Results showed that, for both temperatures analyzed, the freezing operation itself had a significant effect (p<0,05) in reducing microbial counts, when compared with the initial levels. Storage temperature did not influence significantly mesophilic aerobic flora levels (p<0,05). However, yeasts counts in samples stored at –20ºC presented a gradual decline along the storage period, being significantly lower than samples at -7ºC, after 10 days of storage. Moulds were not detected in all analyzed samples

Sugar, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of integral carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) powder during the simulated gastrointestinal tract digestion as related to the particle-size effect

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) fruit is obtained from the evergreen carob tree, native to the Mediterranean region 1,2 and produced mainly in Portugal, Italy, Morocco and Turkey 3– 5. Portugal has a high-cultivated extent with relevant carob fruit production at low prices. Carob products containing phenolic substances exhibit antioxidant capacity and can promote human health, and aid in preventing chronic diseases 6,7. Currently, carob powder (CP) production is mainly achieved after the pulp separation despite having been demonstrated that seeds improve the extraction efficiency of bioactive compounds like polyphenols 4. This study aimed to produce an integral CP through an innovative process and assess its physicochemical and bioactive properties in different particle sizes throughout a simulated gastrointestinal tract (GIT) digestion. The sugar content profile obtained throughout GIT digestion indicates that the highest present sugar in undigested carob powders is digested and broken into simple sugars like glucose and fructose, potentiating CPs as a functional and within healthy food intake recommendations ingredient to use. The total phenolic content and antioxidant activity obtained for the ≤100 μm fraction are correlated and gastric digestion promotes the increase in TPC value compared to chemically extracted samples (undigested). The >100 μm fractions display a distinct profile from ≤100 μm, possibly due to higher content in insoluble fibers, which hinders the release of these bioactive compounds from the carob matrix. This study showed that the particle-size affects the sugar, antioxidant and total phenol content under gastrointestinal tract digestion. The ≤100 μm fraction obtained the best suitable profile as a functional food ingredient.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Particle size effect of integral carob flour on bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds during simulated gastrointestinal digestion

Carob fruit is native to the Mediterranean region and produced mainly in Portugal, Italy, Morocco and Turkey. The production of the carob fruit in Portugal is highly extensive and sustainable. Currently, carob flour (CF) production is mainly achieved after pulp separation, despite it having been demonstrated that the seeds improve the extraction efficiency of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, promoting human health. This study aimed to produce an integral CF through an innovative process and assess its physicochemical and bioactive properties at different particle sizes throughout simulated gastrointestinal tract (GIT) digestion. The sugar content profile obtained throughout GIT digestion indicated that sucrose, the sugar present at the highest concentration in undigested CF, was digested and broken down into simple sugars, namely glucose and fructose. The total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity obtained for the ≤100 µm fraction were in accordance and gastric digestion promoted an increase in the TPC value compared to the undigested sample. The >100 µm fractions displayed a distinct profile from the ≤100 µm fraction. This study showed that the particle size affects the sugar, antioxidant and total phenolic content of CFs and also their gastrointestinal tract digestion. The ≤100 µm fraction demonstrated the most suitable profile as a functional food ingredient.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The CHEK2 Variant C.349A>G Is Associated with Prostate Cancer Risk and Carriers Share a Common Ancestor.

The identification of recurrent founder variants in cancer predisposing genes may have important implications for implementing cost-effective targeted genetic screening strategies. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence and relative risk of the CHEK2 recurrent variant c.349A>G in a series of 462 Portuguese patients with early-onset and/or familial/hereditary prostate cancer (PrCa), as well as in the large multicentre PRACTICAL case-control study comprising 55,162 prostate cancer cases and 36,147 controls. Additionally, we investigated the potential shared ancestry of the carriers by performing identity-by-descent, haplotype and age estimation analyses using high-density SNP data from 70 variant carriers belonging to 11 different populations included in the PRACTICAL consortium. The CHEK2 missense variant c.349A>G was found significantly associated with an increased risk for PrCa (OR 1.9; 95% CI: 1.1-3.2). A shared haplotype flanking the variant in all carriers was identified, strongly suggesting a common founder of European origin. Additionally, using two independent statistical algorithms, implemented by DMLE+2.3 and ESTIAGE, we were able to estimate the age of the variant between 2300 and 3125 years. By extending the haplotype analysis to 14 additional carrier families, a shared core haplotype was revealed among all carriers matching the conserved region previously identified in the high-density SNP analysis. These findings are consistent with CHEK2 c.349A>G being a founder variant associated with increased PrCa risk, suggesting its potential usefulness for cost-effective targeted genetic screening in PrCa families

Trans-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of prostate cancer identifies new susceptibility loci and informs genetic risk prediction.

Prostate cancer is a highly heritable disease with large disparities in incidence rates across ancestry populations. We conducted a multiancestry meta-analysis of prostate cancer genome-wide association studies (107,247 cases and 127,006 controls) and identified 86 new genetic risk variants independently associated with prostate cancer risk, bringing the total to 269 known risk variants. The top genetic risk score (GRS) decile was associated with odds ratios that ranged from 5.06 (95% confidence interval (CI), 4.84-5.29) for men of European ancestry to 3.74 (95% CI, 3.36-4.17) for men of African ancestry. Men of African ancestry were estimated to have a mean GRS that was 2.18-times higher (95% CI, 2.14-2.22), and men of East Asian ancestry 0.73-times lower (95% CI, 0.71-0.76), than men of European ancestry. These findings support the role of germline variation contributing to population differences in prostate cancer risk, with the GRS offering an approach for personalized risk prediction