Nutritional behavior and motives of college students for the choice of traditional food in the Republic of Serbia

The aim of this study was to investigate the eating behavior of college students and the reasons for consuming traditional food and to compare the motives for choosing traditional food with the research conducted in 6 European countries. This research was conducted using anonymous online questionnaires. The majority of surveyed students are physically active (75%) and live with their families (57.0%), which can have a positive impact on their diet and a lower level of consumption of "fast-food" (17.5%). Respondents have bad habits in terms of consuming cigarettes (65.0%), alcohol (73.0%) and energy drinks (75.0%). Most students consume all regular meals (73.0%). Based on the Body Mass Index (BMI) of respondents, they belong to the categories: underweight (12%), normal weight (34%), pre-weight (17%), obese (37%); however, 55.0% believed to have "ideal weight". The reasons for choose particular food are: it is not genetically modified, it tastes good, it is nutritious, it makes them happy, it was produced/packaged in an environmentally friendly and ethical way, while the price of food is not important. Connection with family (81%) and food being tasty (54%) are the main reasons for consuming traditional food. When buying traditional food, respondents (59%) generally do not check the declaration on the product. These results indicate the need to educate students about the harmfulness of cigarettes, alcoholic and energy drinks, the importance of BMI and declaration on the product. Comparing obtained results with the results in 6 European countries it can be noticed that the answers of the respondents in Serbia were the most similar to those obtained in Poland

Soy protein modification: A review

Soy protein products such as flour, concentrates and isolates are used in food formulation because of their functionality, nutritional value and low cost. To obtain their optimal nutritive and functional properties as well as desirable flavor different treatments are used. Soybean proteins can be modified by physical, chemical and enzymatic treatments. Different thermal treatments are most commonly used, while the most appropriate way of modifying soy proteins from the standpoint of safety is their limited proteolysis. These treatments cause physical and chemical changes that affect their functional properties. This review discusses three principal methods used for modification of soy protein products, their effects on dominant soy protein properties and some biologically active compounds

Tehno-funkcionalne osobine izolata proteina graška

Due to high nutritive quality, good techno-functional properties and low cost, legume protein products are becoming the most appropriate alternative to protein products of animal origin. In food industries, these products are usually used as techno-functional additives which provide specific characteristics of final food products. Legume proteins are commonly used as flour, concentrates, and isolates. The greatest application on industrial scale has soy proteins, and to a lesser extent, in the past 20 years, pea protein isolates. The modest use of pea protein is partly a result of insufficient information relating to their techno-functional properties. This paper is an overview of techno-functional properties of pea proteins and their isolates. Also, the paper deals with the possible use of limited enzymatic hydrolysis as a method for the improvement of their techno-functional properties.Zahvaljujući visokoj nutritivnoj vrednosti, dobrim tehno-funkcionalnim karakteristikama i niskoj ceni, proteini leguminoza postaju najprihvatljivija alternativa za proteinske proizvode animalnog porekla. U industriji hrane ovi proizvodi najčešće se koriste kao tehno-funkcionalni aditivi kojima se obezbeđuje neka od karakteristika finalnog proizvoda. Proteini leguminoza najčešće se koriste kao proteinska brašna, koncentrati i izolati. U industrijskim razmerama najveću primenu imaju proteini soje i u znatno manjoj meri, u poslednjih 20 godina, proteinski izolati graška. Ređa upotreba proteina graška delom je posledica još uvek nedovoljno informacija o njihovim tehno-funkcionalnim karakteristikama. Ovaj rad predstavlja pregled tehno-funkcionalnih karakteristika proteina graška i njegovih izolata. Takođe, u ovom radu razmatra se i delimična proteoliza kao metod za poboljšanje tehno-funkcionalnih karakteristika proteina graška

Exploring Regulatory Obstacles to the Development of Short Food Supply Chains: Empirical Evidence from Selected European Countries

This paper explores the challenges in meeting the regulatory requirements of short food supply chains in 9 European countries based upon findings from the European H2020 3-year project “SMARTCHAIN”. The assessments of the barriers that small food producers face in meeting different regulatory requirements are presented. Drawing on the results of 10 multi-actor workshops that involved 124 participants, the most problematic policy frameworks for short food supply chains and key obstacles in different regulatory requirements are summarized. This research shows that current EU and national regulation is an obstacle to the development of short food supply chains, meaning that additional efforts are needed to tailor the regulations to small food producers involved in short supply chains. Furthermore, it is necessary to consider the introduction of more effective support measures for short food supply chain

Grape seed flour of different grape pomaces: Fatty acid profile, soluble sugar profile and nutritional value

The aim of this study was to determine fatty acid and soluble sugar profiles of the grape seed flour originated from non-fermented dried pomace of international and autochthonous grape varieties in order to estimate their potential nutritional value. The grape seed flours were obtained from the grapes harvested in technological maturity. It has been shown that grape seed flours contained significant quantities of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), especially linoleic fatty acids, whose content ranged from 61.15 - 83.47 %. Oleic acid mostly contributed to the content of monounsaturated fatty acids, while the stearic acid was the most abundant saturated fatty acid (SFA). Among polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly ω-6 FAs, were the most represented. The tested grape seed flours had the high UFA/SFA ratio (3.63-11.09), low atherogenicity (0.04-0.13) and thrombogenicity (0.16-0.47) indices. Fifteen different sugars were found in analysed samples with the total concentration ranging from 40588 to 91319 mg/kg seed with fructose and glucose as the most abundant. Principal component analysis based on the content of FAs and soluble sugars revealed unique composition of the seed flour of Prokupac variety. These findings indicate that the tested grape seed flours is a good source of nutritionally valuable FAs and sugars that can play an important role in the formulation of a new functional food products

The Influence of the Addition of Polyacrylic Hydrogel on the Content of Proteins, Minerals and Trace Elements in Milk Protein Solutions

Ispitana je mogućnost uporabe poliakrilnog hidrogela za uklanjanje iona teških metala iz otopina koncentrata proteina mlijeka, koncentrata proteina sirutke i albumina iz goveđeg seruma. Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju da bubrenje gelova u ovim otopinama različito utječe na udjel proteina i koncentraciju mineralnih tvari i elemenata u tragovima. Ukupan udjel proteina i koncentracija fosfora povećali su se nakon bubrenja hidrogela u otopinama koncentrata proteina mlijeka i proteina sirutke, bez promjene u sastavu proteina. Osim toga, smanjio se udjel proteina u otopini albumina iz goveđeg seruma. U otopini se proteina mlijeka nakon bubrenja hidrogela koncentracija natrija nije promijenila, dok se u otopini proteina sirutke znatno povećala. Koncentracija se kalcija i magnezija u otopinama koncentrata proteina mlijeka i proteina sirutke nakon bubrenja hidrogela smanjila za 20,3-63,4 %, ovisno o uzorku i mineralnoj tvari. Tijekom bubrenja hidrogela u svim je analiziranim uzorcima koncentracija cinka ostala nepromijenjena, dok su se one Fe, Cu, Mn, Ni i Pb znatno smanjile. Iz dobivenih se rezultata može zaključiti da se dodatkom poliakrilnog hidrogela otopinama koncentrata proteina mlijeka i proteina sirutke bitno smanjuje koncentracija teških metala, bez utjecaja na proteinski sastav otopina. Dobiveni bi se rezultati mogli primijeniti za razvoj novih tehnoloških procesa za uklanjanje iona teških metala iz mliječnih proizvoda.Solutions of milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were treated with polyacrylic hydrogel to establish whether the hydrogel could be used for decontamination of heavy metal ions from milk protein-based products. The obtained results indicated that swelling of hydrogel in these solutions had different effects on their mineral, trace element and total protein content. Total protein and phosphorus content increased in milk protein concentrate and whey protein concentrate solutions after swelling of hydrogel without changes in their protein compositions. On the other hand, the protein content in BSA solution decreased after swelling. The content of Na did not change in milk protein concentrate solution, whereas it significantly increased in whey protein concentrate solution after hydrogel swelling. The content of Ca and Mg was reduced after the swelling in milk protein concentrate and whey protein concentrate solutions for 20.3–63.4 %, depending on the analysed sample and the mineral. The content of Zn did not change during swelling, whereas the content of Fe, Cu, Mn, Ni and Pb significantly decreased after hydrogel swelling in all analysed samples. According to the obtained results, the addition of polyacrylic hydrogel to milk and whey protein concentrate solutions can significantly decrease the content of heavy metal ions without affecting their protein composition. Therefore, this work could be useful in developing a new technological process for heavy metal purification of milk protein-based products

Primarna proteoliza kozjeg bijelog sira u salamuri praćena SDS-PAGE sistemom visokog molariteta

The aim of this work was to investigate primary proteolysis of white brined goat cheese prepared from raw milk and to correlate with the results obtained with high-molarity Tris buffer electrophoretic system. Proteolytic changes of white brined cheese were monitored by three parameters, the total protein, the water soluble proteins and the degree of proteolysis, whereas the change of major casein fractions was followed by electrophoresis in reducing conditions. Ripening caused a decrease of the total protein content, whereas in the first forty days the water soluble protein and the degree of proteolysis increased. Both casein fractions (αs- and β-casein) of goat cheese were susceptible to primary proteolysis but to the different extent. αs1- casein disappeared during processing, whereas during 60-days of ripening the content of αs2 and β-casein was reduced by 38.90 %, and 30.72 %, respectively. Such trends of major casein fractions were strongly correlated with the degree of proteolysis and the moisture content, whereas no correlation was found between them and the water soluble protein content. The results of our investigation clearly suggested that SDS-PAGE method based on high-molarity Tris-buffer system could be a very useful for purposes of monitoring the white goat cheese proteolysis.Cilj ovog rada bio je ispitati proces primarne proteolize bijelog sira u salamuri pripremljenog od sirovog kozjeg mlijeka i staviti u korelaciju s rezultatima dobivenim SDS-elektroforetskom metodom koja se bazira na primjeni Tris pufernog sistema visokog molariteta. Proteolitičke promjene bijelog sira u salamuri praćene su pomoću tri parametra: ukupnih proteina, u vodi topljivih proteina i stupnja proteolize, dok je promjena glavnih kazeinskih frakcija praćena elektroforezom u reducirajućim uvjetima. Zrenje sira uzrokuje pad sadržaja ukupnih proteina, dok sadržaj u vodi topljivih proteina i stupanj proteolize raste tijekom 40 dana zrenja. Obje kazeinske frakcije (αs- i β-kazein) podliježu procesu proteolize, ali u različitom stupnju. αs1-kazein se razgrađuje tijekom pripreme sira, dok se tijekom zrenja sira sadržaji αs2- i β-kazeina reduciraju za 38.90 % i 30.72 %. Ovakva promjena glavnih kazeinskih frakcija u jakoj je korelaciji sa stupnjem proteolize, sadržajem ukupnih proteina i sadržajem vlage, dok nije uočena korelacija između ovih parametara i u vodi topljivih proteina. Rezultati naših istraživanja jasno pokazuju da SDSelektroforetski sistem zasnovan na visoko molarnim Tris- puferima može biti vrlo korisna metoda za praćenje proteolitičkih promjena tijekom zrenja kozjeg bijelog sira u salamuri

Effects of different production methods on content of some microelements in spelt seed (Triticum spelta)

Numerous worldwide studies have shown that there is a difference in the mineral composition between organically and conventionally produced plants and their products. Spelt (Triticum spelta), alternative grain from the family Poaceae, occupies a very important place in the production of healthy food. Also, spelt represents commonly grown organic crops due to the ideally balanced ratio of nutrients. In addition to the macroelements, for the survival and normal plant function some microelements are also needed. The aim of this study was to determine the existence of differences in the content of microelements and (B, Ba, Cu, Li, Mn and Se) in organically and conventionally produced spelt seeds, in period of 2015-2017. The determination of these elements was conducted by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) with previous digestion of samples and results were expressed as mg/kg of dry weight. In samples collected during 2015 and 2016, B and Ba were not detected. In conventional spelt seed, higher quantity of Ba (2.366 mg/kg), Cu (6.356 mg/kg) and Mn (55.878 mg/kg) was determined, while organic spelt seed contained higher content of B (0.875 mg/kg), Li (14.77 mg/kg) and Se (0.275 mg/kg) compared to conventionally grown sample. The obtained results for the examined elements revealed that the lowest content in analyzed seeds was for Li (conventional seed from 2017, 0,008 mg/kg), while Mn was quantified in the highest amount (conventional seed from 2017, 55.878 mg/kg)

Effects of Trichoderma harzianum on Photosynthetic Characteristics and Fruit Quality of Tomato Plants

The beneficial role of fungi from the Trichoderma genus and its secondary metabolites in promoting plant growth, uptake and use efficiency of macronutrients and oligo/micro‐nutrients, activation of plant secondary metabolism and plant protection from diseases makes it interesting for application in environmentally friendly agriculture. However, the literature data on the effect of Trichoderma inoculation on tomato fruit quality is scarce. Commercially used tomato cultivars were chosen in combination with indigenous Trichodrema species previously characterized on molecular and biochemical level, to investigate the effect of Trichoderma on photosynthetic characteristics and fruit quality of plants grown in organic system of production. Examined cultivars differed in the majority of examined parameters. Response of cultivar Gružanski zlatni to Tricho-derma application was more significant. As a consequence of increased epidermal flavonols and decreased chlorophyll, the nitrogen balance index in leaves has decreased, indicating a shift from primary to secondary metabolism. The quality of its fruit was altered in the sense of increased total flavonoids content, decreased starch, increased Bioaccumulation Index (BI) for Fe and Cr, and decreased BI for heavy metals Ni and Pb. Higher expression of swolenin gene in tomato roots of more responsive tomato cultivar indicates better root colonization, which correlates with observed positive effects of Trichodrema