Identification of the Most Relevant Quality Parameters for Berries – A review

Fresh fruit jointly to vegetables are an essential component of a healthy diet, able to decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In the last years, their consumption has continued to grow rapidly linked to the increased public awareness of their health benefits, even if it remains below the recommended daily intake in many countries, due to barriers such as complacency and lack of willpower to change the diet. The attributes of berries, like chemical-physical and nutritional characteristics, microbial contamination, chemical contaminants as well as sensorial properties represent some very important quality parameters that must be determined in order to establish the quality of berries after ripening and during storage, until they reach their final destination (consumer). The aim of this study was to perform a literature review in order to determine the most relevant quality parameters of berries and to describe methods for their determination

Efects of some drying methods on the content in bioactive compounds in sea buckthorn by-products

Recent research has shown that the consumption of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) berries has many benefits for human health. Large amount of waste which result from sea buckthorn berries processing, yet containing significant quantities of bioactive substances, is being the subject of numerous latest research studies. Sea buckthorn by-products represent a valuable source of bioactive compounds that could be used for their favorable nutritional and functional properties in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries. The aim of this work is to establish a method for drying process of sea buckthorn by-products in order to obtain a powder from dry sea buckthorn waste with minimum loss of the bioactive substances. For this purpose, sea buckthorn by-product (peel and seeds) was dried at different temperatures (30˚C, 40˚C, 50˚C and 60˚C) by conventional hot air drying versus lyophilization method and then the antioxidant activity (DPPH), the content of total polyphenols and ascorbic acid content were determine

Preliminary research on using organic sea buckthorn powder in bread making

Bread is a food product that represents an important element in human nutrition, considered a convenient type of food, being consumed daily in large quantities in many parts of the world. Adding functional ingredients in bakery products was highly researched lately, because of their ability in the reduction of some chronic diseases besides improving of basic nutritional functions. The aim of the present paper was to obtain bread with different quantities of organic dried sea buckthorn powder (Sorana variety), as functional ingredient. For sample characterization, some phisico-chemical (dry matter %, aw) and nutritional parameters (antioxidant activity, total phenolic content) were determined, as well as sensorial analysis. The study obtained promising results regarding the use of sea buckthorn powder as ingredient in bread making

The Experimental Development of Bread with Enriched Nutritional Properties Using Organic Sea Buckthorn Pomace

In this study, sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) pomace resulting from juice extraction was dried and ground in order to obtain a powder that was further used in bread making. Sea buckthorn pomace, an invaluable by-product of the industry, contains bioactive compounds and dietary fibers that promote health. Dried by-products of sea buckthorn are rich sources of nutritional and bioactive compounds, offering great potential for use as nutraceuticals in animal feed, ingredients in functional food, and the pharmaceutical industry. The utilization of sea buckthorn by-products promotes a circular and sustainable economy by implementing innovative methods and strategic approaches to recover high-value products and minimize waste in multiple ways. For this purpose, three organic sea buckthorn varieties were used, namely Mara (M), Clara (C), and Sorana (S). Further, 6%, 8%, and 10% pomace powder were added to wheat flour to prepare functional bread, and its effects on structural, nutritional, and sensorial characteristics were investigated. The volume, porosity, and elasticity of the obtained bread samples were slightly lower compared to the control sample (white bread). The nutritional characteristics revealed that the developed bread presented higher antioxidant activity, polyphenolic content, and crude fiber compared to the control sample. The acceptability test showed that consumer preferences were directed toward the bread samples containing 8% sea buckthorn powder, regardless of the variety, while the addition of 10% pomace powder led to major sensorial changes. The results of this study showed that sea buckthorn pomace powder can be successfully incorporated into bread in order to obtain a food product with enhanced properties

Antimicrobial Active Packaging Containing Nisin for Preservation of Products of Animal Origin: An Overview

The preservation of food represents one of the greatest challenges in the food industry. Active packaging materials are obtained through the incorporation of antimicrobial and/or antioxidant compounds in order to improve their functionality. Further, these materials are used for food packaging applications for shelf-life extension and fulfilling consumer demands for minimal processed foods with great quality and safety. The incorporation of antimicrobial peptides, such as nisin, has been studied lately, with a great interest applied to the food industry. Antimicrobials can be incorporated in various matrices such as nanofibers, nanoemulsions, nanoliposomes, or nanoparticles, which are further used for packaging. Despite the widespread application of nisin as an antimicrobial by directly incorporating it into various foods, the use of nisin by incorporating it into food packaging materials is researched at a much smaller scale. The researchers in this field are still in full development, being specific to the type of product studied. The purpose of this study was to present recent results obtained as a result of using nisin as an antimicrobial agent in food packaging materials, with a focus on applications on products of animal origin. The findings showed that nisin incorporated in packaging materials led to a significant reduction in the bacterial load (the total viable count or inoculated strains), maintained product attributes (physical, chemical, and sensorial), and prolonged their shelf-life

Consumption and attitudes regarding berries-based products - comparative analysis of Romania, France and Turkey

Berry-based products that have beneficial effects on consumer health are competitive on the market only if consumers understand the benefits of such products. The purpose of this research was to gain in-depth analysis of the factors that influence the consumer choices and behavior towards berry based food products in three different countries, from eastern and western Europe: Romania, France and Turkey. These three countries as a three distinctive markets for organic products were chosen to find out similar and different attitudes and behavior towards organic food consumption. This cross-cultural consumer study aims to contribute to socioeconomic research market actors and policy makers. French consumers appear to be the most loyal consumers of berries-based products out of the three countries investigated, preferring mostly fresh berries, jams, and dairy products based on berries. In Turkey and Romania, the berries consumption is mostly occasional. Turkish consumer prefer mainly dried berries while Romanian consumers - the frozen variant and muesli

RESEARCH ON BLANCHING PRETREATMENT AND FREEZING TECHNOLOGY EFFECT ON SELECTED VEGETABLES

Vegetables present high nutritional content, being rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fibres, organic acids and antioxidant compounds. However, fresh vegetables are generally harvested seasonally, being available in their fresh form for short periods of time during the year, and are also highly perishable. Therefore, the necessity of preserving them for a longer period of time has been addressed, freezing becoming the main technique used in this scope, due to its ability to maintain the initial quality of the product. The aim of the present study was to determine the properties of several fresh vegetables in different moments during processing for freezing preservation, namely initial moment (fresh form), after blanching pretreatment, after freezing/thawing process. The vegetables that were studied during this study were green peas, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, oyster mushrooms, Agaricus bisporus mushrooms and eggplants. As quality indicators, the following were determined: acidity, aw, colour, total polyphenolic content, antioxidant activity and ascorbic acid content (where applied). The results showed varied values for the monitored parameters. Generally, significant differences were observed during processing, with increasing and decreasing values of the tested parameters depending on the tested sample and applied treatment