Desarrollo de métodos de caracterización y autentificación de aceites de oliva y de otros aceites vegetales

Se han desarrollado métodos rápidos y sensibles para la caracterización de aceites vegetales en función de su origen botánico, y para la caracterización y autentificación de aceites de oliva en relación a su calidad, origen genético y geográfico. En primer lugar, se establecieron los contenidos de tocoferoles y tocotrienoles en aceites de distinto origen botánico mediante electrocromatografía capilar (CEC) y nano cromatografía líquida (LC), y los contenidos de esteroles mediante cromatografía líquida ultra-rápida (UPLC) y CEC. Por otro lado, se aplicaron herramientas quimiométricas como el análisis discriminante lineal (LDA), con el fin de desarrollar métodos capaces de clasificar los aceites vegetales en función de su origen botánico. Para ello, se utilizaron los espectros de infrarrojo de transformada de Fourier (FTIR), el perfil de la fracción alcohólica establecido mediante HPLC usándose la espectrometría de masas (MS) como técnica de detección, y los perfiles de aminoácidos y esteroles obtenidos bien por infusión directa en MS o mediante HPLC-UV-Vis. Posteriormente, se desarrollaron métodos capaces de evaluar la calidad del aceite de oliva, utilizándose el perfil de ácidos grasos libres obtenido mediante infusión directa en MS para construir modelos de LDA capaces de clasificar las muestras en función de su calidad. Por otro lado, se desarrolló un método olfatométrico usando matrices de sensores de óxidos metálicos, para clasificar diversos aceites en función del umbral sensorial, establecido previamente por un panel de cata, de los defectos organolépticos típicos de los aceites de oliva. Estos mismos datos se usaron para cuantificar el porcentaje de defecto presente en las muestras. Por otro lado, y mediante la construcción de modelos de LDA, se desarrollaron métodos capaces de clasificar los aceites de oliva virgen extra (EVOO) en función de su variedad genética. Para ello, se utilizaron los perfiles de ácidos grasos libres y compuestos fenólicos establecidos mediante MS de infusión directa, los perfiles de esteroles establecidos mediante HPLC-MS y UPLC-MS y los espectros de FTIR. A su vez, se desarrollaron métodos con el fin de clasificar EVOOs en función de su origen geográfico, usándose para ello los perfiles de compuestos fenólicos establecidos mediante CEC. Por último, se estudiaron los productos de oxidación del aceite de oliva, y se desarrollaron métodos para su evaluación. Se estudiaron los cambios producidos durante el almacenamiento en dos alícuotas de un aceite de oliva que diferían en su contenido de compuestos fenólicos, ya que una de las mismas fue sometida a un proceso previo de extracción de los mismos. Ambas alícuotas se sometieron a un proceso de envejecimiento acelerado durante 7 semanas, analizándose una porción de cada una de ellas una vez a la semana. Se estudiaron las diferencias obtenidas en los valores de acidez libre, absorbancia en el UV, índice de peróxidos, estabilidad oxidativa, contenido en ácidos grasos y en tocoferoles en función del contenido de fenoles en la muestra de partida, así como la evolución de estos valores con el envejecimiento. También se estudió la transformación experimentada por los compuestos fenólicos durante todo el proceso de oxidación mediante HPLC-MS. Estas mismas muestras fueron también analizadas mediante infusión directa en el MS, y mediante una matriz de sensores de óxidos metálicos con el fin de poderlas clasificar en función de su estado oxidativo. Por último, se construyeron modelos de regresión lineal múltiple con el fin de predecir el contenido de ácidos grasos oxidados de diversas muestras de aceite de oliva, bien mediante FTIR o mediante sensores de óxidos metálicos.The objective of this PhD thesis was the development of fast and sensitive methods for the characterization of vegetable oils according to their botanical origin, and for the characterization and authentication of olive oils in relation to their quality, genetic and geographical origin. For this purpose, the content of tocopherols and tocotrienols in different vegetable oils have been determined by capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and nano liquid chromatography (LC), being sterol contents established by ultra-fast liquid chromatography (UPLC) and CEC. On the other hand, the use of linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was proposed to classify vegetable oils according to their botanical origin using as predictors Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) data, alcohol profiles established by HPLC using mass spectrometry (MS) as detector, and amino acid profiles established by both direct infusion MS and HPLC-UV-Vis. Methods to evaluate olive oil quality have been also developed by using fatty acid profiles as predictors to construct LDA models capable of classifying oils according to their quality. An olfactometric method has been also proposed to classify oils according to the sensory threshold (previously established by a sensory panel) of the different olive oil defects. These data was also used to quantify defect percentage in the samples. LDA models have been also constructed to classify extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) according to their genetic variety using as predictors FTIR data, fatty acid and phenolic profiles established by direct infusion MS and sterol profiles established by HPLC-MS and UPLC-MS. LDA models to classify EVOOs according to their geographical origin have been also constructed using phenolic profiles established by CEC. Finally, methods for the evaluation of olive oil oxidation products have been also developed, in which the chemical changes produced in olive oil samples containing different phenolic contents during an accelerated storage treatment were studied. These samples were also analyzed by direct infusion MS and electronic nose to classify them according to their oxidative status. Finally, multiple linear regression models were constructed to predict oxidized fatty acid contents of several olive oils previously established by FTIR or by electronic nose

Characterization of Spanish powdered seaweeds: Composition, antioxidant capacity and technological properties

[EN] This work aimed to characterise four seaweed species: nori (Phorphyra), kombu (Laminaria), wakame (Undaria) and sea spaghetti (Himanthalia elongata). Their nutritional composition, total phenolic compounds (TPC), antioxidant capacity, oil and water holding capacity (OHC and WHC), and swelling capacity (SC) were determined. Wakame and nori exhibited the highest proteins contents, rich in essential amino acids and in those related to umami flavour. All the samples had a low lipid content and high ash content values. High fibre levels were observed, especially in kombu. The TPC content and antioxidant capacity of sea spaghetti was significantly higher than in the other samples. The OHC, WHC and SC of the seaweeds demonstrated their potential influence on texture of food products. The incorporation of these seaweeds into different foodstuffs could entail an improvement of the nutritional quality and texture properties, and could also reduce the use of Na and synthetic additives.The reported experiment forms part of a project financially supported by the Universitat Politècnica de València ( SaPesAl (UPV-FE-2014-55)), which the authors gratefully acknowledge. M.J. Lerma-García thanks the Universitat Politècnica de València for a postdoctoral contract (PAID-10-14)Fernández Segovia, I.; Lerma-García, MJ.; Fuentes López, A.; Barat Baviera, JM. (2018). Characterization of Spanish powdered seaweeds: Composition, antioxidant capacity and technological properties. Food Research International. 111:212-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2018.05.037S21221911

Classification of Pecorino cheeses produced in Italy according to their ripening time and manufacturing technique using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, followed by linear discriminant analysis of the spectral data, was used to classify Italian Pecorino cheeses according to their ripening time and manufacturing technique. The Fourier transform infrared spectra of the cheeses were divided into 18 regions and the normalized absorbance peak areas within these regions were used as predictors. Linear discriminant analysis models were constructed to classify Pecorino cheeses according to different ripening stages (hard and semi-hard) or according to their manufacturing technique (fossa and nonfossa cheeses). An excellent resolution was achieved according to both ripening time and manufacturing technique. Also, a final linear discriminant analysis model considering the 3 categories (hard nonfossa, hard fossa, and semi-hard nonfossa) was constructed. A good resolution among the 3 categories was obtained

A comparison between NIR and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy for varietal differentiation of Spanish intact almonds

[EN] The rapid and easy classification of almond varieties with similar morphology, different quality properties and, in most cases, different prices is interesting to protect both the almond industry and the consumers from fraud. Therefore, in this work, intact almond kernels from four Spanish varieties (`Guara¿, `Rumbeta¿, `Marcona¿ and `Planeta¿) were analysed using both near infrared (NIR) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. After spectra measurement, NIR and ATR-FTIR spectral data were pre-treated and employed to construct two classification methods (partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA)) in order to check their ability to classify almonds according to their variety. The best overall accuracies (94.45%) were obtained with the PLS-DA model of ATR-FTIR and the QDA model of NIR data. These results confirm that both spectroscopic techniques, if the optimal statistical model is selected, are powerful tools to reliably discriminate almonds according to their varieties.Victoria Cortés López thanks the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports for the FPU grant (FPU13/04202). The authors wish to thank the cooperative Agricoop for kindly providing the samples used in the experiments. This work was partially funded by INIA and FEDER funds through project RTA2015-00078-00-00.Cortes-Lopez, V.; Barat Baviera, JM.; Talens Oliag, P.; Blasco, J.; Lerma-García, MJ. (2018). A comparison between NIR and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy for varietal differentiation of Spanish intact almonds. Food Control. 94:241-248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2018.07.020S2412489

Protection of folic acid through encapsulation in mesoporous silica particles included in fruit juices

[EN] Folic acid (FA) is a synthetic vitamin commonly used for food fortification. However, its vulnerability to processing and storage implies loss of efficiency, which would induce over-fortification by processors to obtain a minimum dose upon consumption. Recent studies have indicated potential adverse effects of FA overdoses, and FA protection during processing and storage could lead to more accurate fortification. In addition, sustained vitamin release after consumption would help improve its metabolism. The objective of this work was to study controlled FA delivery and stability in fruit juices to reduce potential over-fortification risks by using gated mesoporous silica particles (MSPs). The obtained results indicated that FA encapsulation in MSPs significantly improved its stability and contributed to controlled release after consumption by modifying vitamin bioaccessibility. These results confirmed the suitability of MSPs as support for controlled release and protection of bioactive molecules in food matrices in different food production and storage stages.Authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and FEDER-EU (Projects AGL2012-39597-C02-01, AGL2015-70235-C2-1-R, AGL2015-70235-C2-2-R and MAT2015-64139-C4-1-R (MINECO/FEDER)) and the Generalitat Valenciana (Project PROMETEOII/2014/047). M.R.R. is grateful to the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion for her grant (AP2010-4369). The authors also thank the Electron Microscopy Service at the UPV for support.Ruiz Rico, M.; Pérez-Esteve, É.; Lerma-García, MJ.; Marcos Martínez, MD.; Martínez-Máñez, R.; Barat Baviera, JM. (2017). Protection of folic acid through encapsulation in mesoporous silica particles included in fruit juices. Food Chemistry. 218:471-478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.09.097S47147821

Presence of palm oil in foodstuffs: consumers' perception

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to determine the presence of palm oil in food products on sale, and to study and compare consumers' opinions about this oil type in Spain (importing country) and Peru (producing country). Design/methodology/approach - Recent news published in both countries, which could influence consumer perceptions, were analysed. A study on the labelling of foodstuffs in Spain was carried out, as was a survey with Spanish and Peruvian consumers. Findings - Palm oil was found in a large number of products and in a wide range of foods, especially those from the bakery sector. The percentages of saturated fats varied substantially within the same product type. Spanish consumers showed much more interest in the labelling and information on nutritional properties, especially energy values, saturated fats and sugars, while Peruvians focused more on energy values, and protein, vitamin and mineral contents. In Spain, palm oil was considered the worst quality fat/oil and had a clearly negative effect on both health and the environment. In Peru, palm oil was neither perceived by the majority of respondents as low quality oil nor associated with negative health effects. However, they were aware of the environmental problems that could result from its production. Originality/value - These results confirm that the food industry should make efforts to reduce or replace palm oil in foods, mainly in Spain, as most consumers believe that palm oil negatively affects their health and the environmen

Roadmap of cocoa quality and authenticity control in the industry: a review of conventional and alternative methods

[EN] Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) and its derivatives are appreciated for their aroma, color, and healthy properties, and are commodities of high economic value worldwide. Wide ranges of conventional methods have been used for years to guarantee cocoa quality. Recently, however, demand for global cocoa and the requirements of sensory, functional, and safety cocoa attributes have changed. On the one hand, society and health authorities are increasingly demanding new more accurate quality control tests, including not only the analysis of physicochemical and sensory parameters, but also determinations of functional compounds and contaminants (some of which come in trace quantities). On the other hand, increased production forces industries to seek quality control techniques based on fast, nondestructive online methods. Finally, an increase in global cocoa demand and a consequent rise in prices can lead to future cases of fraud. For this reason, new analytes, technologies, and ways to analyze data are being researched, developed, and implemented into research or quality laboratories to control cocoa quality and authenticity. The main advances made in destructive techniques focus on developing new and more sensitive methods such as chromatographic analysis to detect metabolites and contaminants in trace quantities. These methods are used to assess cocoa quality; study new functional properties; control cocoa authenticity; or detect frequent emerging frauds. Regarding nondestructive methods, spectroscopy is the most explored technique, which is conducted within the near infrared range, and also within the medium infrared range to a lesser extent. It is applied mainly in the postharvest stage of cocoa beans to analyze different biochemical parameters or to assess the authenticity of cocoa and its derivatives.The authors wish to acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the Spanish Government and European Regional Development Fund (Project RTC-2016-5241-2). Maribel Quelal Vásconez thanks the Ministry Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (SENESCYT) of the Republic of Ecuador for her PhD grant.Quelal-Vásconez, MA.; Lerma-García, MJ.; Pérez-Esteve, É.; Talens Oliag, P.; Barat Baviera, JM. (2020). Roadmap of cocoa quality and authenticity control in the industry: a review of conventional and alternative methods. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. 19(2):448-478. https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12522S448478192Abdullahi, G., Muhamad, R., Dzolkhifli, O., & Sinniah, U. R. (2018). Analysis of quality retentions in cocoa beans exposed to solar heat treatment in cardboard solar heater box. 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Satisfaction analysis of 'food safety and quality management' master degree's students with the 'comunicat' methodology for the enhancement of the 'effective oral comunication' student outcome

The main goal of the present study is to analyze the satisfaction level of the students from the master degree "Food Safety and Quality Management" with the "ComunicaT" methodology, which was applied to improve the mastery level of the "Effective Oral Communication" student outcome. This methodology is being developed under an innovative and educational improvement research project funded by the Universitat Politècnica de València, and the general idea behind it is that the student, after performing an auto-diagnosis test, becomes capable to autonomously improve its oral communication skills. Thereby, the student, starting from his initial mastery level on this student outcome, follows a selfformative, adapted learning itinerary with proper learning activities for him/her to enhance his masterliness on this topic. The methodology has been carefully designed by several university lecturers coming from different universities, with a wide range of different profiles. It is mandatory to retrieve feedback from the students that participated in this methodology, in order to make it better, simpler and more efficient in further applications. With the results obtained in this work we assess the satisfaction level of the students with the "ComunicaT" methodology, and we identify improvement opportunities that can be exploited in the future

Analysis of the main weaknesses of university students regarding the 'effective oral communication' student outcome

The 'Effective oral communication' is one of the most demanded student outcomes in the workplace, since being a good communicator is essential in any field. Inefficient communication can lead to misinterpretations and erroneous conclusions. Therefore, it is a very important student outcome both in the university and in the workplace. The student or graduate must know how to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, appropriately using the necessary resources and adapting to the characteristics of the situation and the audience. However, despite its importance, the disparity in the mastery level of the oral communication student outcome by students makes it difficult to work this ability in the classroom through collective activities. For this reason, to properly develop this student outcome in a subject, it is important to have an idea of the main weaknesses that students have in terms of effective oral communication, to be able to establish and carry out actions and training activities that can improve that transversal student outcome. This article presents the analysis of the main weaknesses that students of a university subject have. This analysis is made based on a self-assessment survey, a self-diagnosis, which allows the student to detect their weaknesses and strengths in the domain of effective oral communication, and at the same time, gives information to the teacher about the main deficiencies of their students, so the teacher can devise and launch training activities appropriate to the level of their student

Self learning itinerary as a tool to improve effective communication. a qualitative analysis of a pilot experience

[EN] PIMECOE is an Innovation and Educational Improvement Project that aims to work on the student outcome "Effective Communication". Its main objective is to design a methodology that promotes the autonomous improvement of oral communication skills. In order to do so, students can assess their initial level of proficiency of oral communication through the self-diagnosis tools proposed. Once weaknesses and strengths have been detected, they are encouraged to enrol a suggested selfformative itinerary which includes learning activities that may improve their mastery of this student outcome. As part of the design process of this PIMECOE methodology, a preliminary test has been carried out with students of the subject Introduction to Architecture (Fundaments of Architecture Degree) during the first semester of the 2017/2018 academic year. This experimental implementation, called IARexp, aims to evaluate the success of the methodology and to get feedback from the students that will be thoroughly analysed in order to develop an upgraded ulterior version. The present paper firstly presents an introduction to the PIMECOE methodology (context, objectives and specific tools associated). Secondly, the academic context for the IARexp and the chronogram for its implementation is set. Finally, the quantitative and qualitative analysis carried out from the results obtained so far will be exposed.The present research has been developed within the research project called "Autodiagnóstico del nivel de dominio inicial de la competencia transversal "Comunicación Efectiva" y su mejora a través de un itinerario autoformativo" (Ref.: PIME/2017/B/025-14) funded by the Vice-Rectorate for Studies, Quality and Acreditation at Universitat Politècnica de València. The PIMECOE project members would also like to express their gratitude to the students that have been part of this studyBas Cerdá, MDC.; Lerma-García, MJ.; Matarredona Desantes, N.; Oltra Badenes, RF.; Pérez-Esteve, É.; Silvestre Cerdà, JA. (2018). Self learning itinerary as a tool to improve effective communication. a qualitative analysis of a pilot experience. EDULEARN Proceedings (Internet). 4049-4056. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2018.1027S4049405