Carbon Monoxide in Meat and Fish Packaging: Advantages and Limits

Due to increased demands for greater expectation in relation to quality, convenience, safety and extended shelf-life, combined with growing demand from retailers for cost-effective extensions of fresh muscle foods'' shelf-life, the food packaging industry quickly developed to meet these expectations. During the last few decades, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) of foods has been a promising area of research, but much remains to be known regarding the use of unconventional gases such carbon monoxide (CO). The use of CO for meat and seafood packaging is not allowed in most countries due to the potential toxic effect, and its use is controversial in some countries. The commercial application of CO in food packaging was not then considered feasible because of possible environmental hazards for workers. CO has previously been reported to mask muscle foods'' spoilage, and this was the primary concern raised for the prohibition, as this may mislead consumers. This review was undertaken to present the most comprehensive and current overview of the widely-available, scattered information about the use of CO in the preservation of muscle foods. The advantages of CO and its industrial limits are presented and discussed. The most recent literature on the consumer safety issues related to the use of CO and consumer acceptance of CO especially in meat packaging systems were also discussed. Recommendations and future prospects were addressed for food industries, consumers and regulators on what would be a "best practice" in the use of CO in food packaging. All this promotes high ethical standards in commercial communications by means of effective regulation, for the benefit of consumers and businesses in the world, and this implies that industrialized countries and members of their regulatory agencies must develop a coherent and robust systems of regulation and control that can respond effectively to new challenges

Olive Leaves Extract from Algerian Oleaster (Olea europaea var. sylvestris) on Microbiological Safety and Shelf-life Stability of Raw Halal Minced Beef during Display

Oleaster (wild olive tree) by-products represent a renewable and low-cost source of biopolyphenols. Leaf extracts (sylv.OLE) of Algerian oleaster, locally called a'hachad (Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris), were applied at 1 and 5% (v/w) to raw Halal minced beef (HMB) in order to test its safety and shelf-life prolongation during retail/display. The total phenolic compound content in the extract was 198.7 +/- 3.6 mg gallic acid equivalent. Ten compounds were identified in the sylv.OLE by High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Diode Array Detector (HPLC/DAD), of which oleuropein was the most abundant (43.25%). Samples treated with 5% sylv.OLE had significantly higher antimicrobial and antioxidant effects than those treated with 1% extract (p < 0.05). The addition of sylv.OLE reduced psychrotrophic counts as well as the level of pathogens (Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7). A thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) value of 2.42 +/- 0.11 was reached throughout six days of retail/display in control samples, while the addition of 5% sylv.OLE reduced TBARS value by 58% (p < 0.05). The presence of sylv.OLE at the tested concentrations did not negatively influence the overall acceptability and bitterness of HMB

Effects of cooking over the stability of fatty acids as bioactive compounds in enriched pasta with a fish by-product

Background and objectives: Fusilli pasta enriched with sea bass concentrate (Dicentrarchus labrax) was developed with the aim of increasing its content in proteins and especially in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) like Omega-3. Pasta made from two types of cereals (wheat and spelt) and fish by-product with or without a natural antioxidant were cooking prior to consumption, and nutritional and physicochemical characteristics were evaluated. Findings: Enriched developed pasta showed high levels of protein, fat, and fiber, and the fatty acid profiles confirmed a substantial enrichment in bioactive compounds (omega-3 fatty acids). The cooking of pasta before consumption was able to reduce bacterial loads guaranteeing food safety and improving nutritional availability. Furthermore, an increase in the MUFA and PUFA content was revealed, which could represent an advantage to offer a better source of functional ingredients (EPA & DHA). Conclusions: The combination of heat from cooking with formulations containing antioxidants seems to offer a remarkable synergistic effect to preserve unsaturated fatty acids with desirable nutritional properties. Significance and novelty: Pasta enriched with bioactive compounds from fish by-product after cooking treatment before consumption appears to be an effectiveness option to improve healthy human nutrition

Gluten-free pasta enriched with fish by-product for special dietary uses: Technological quality and sensory properties

Gluten-free pasta enriched with fish can support a nutritive and suitable option for people with celiac disease that allows achieving the benefits of fish consumption, especially the consumption of O-3 fatty acids; however, this requires that the pasta has adequate technological and sensory properties. For this purpose, four optimal formulations, obtained with an iterative process, were analyzed to determine the effect of the different ingredients (yellow corn flour, white corn flour, and rice flour) in gluten-free pasta compared to commercial wheat pasta. An evaluation of the color, texture, and technological properties were conducted, and the pasta was sensorially characterized. The enriched gluten-free pasta required shorter cooking times (˜3 min) and was characterized by lower hardness, springiness, gumminess, chewiness, and fracturability, and had higher values of adhesiveness than wheat pasta. In addition, the incorporation of yellow corn gives gluten-free pasta a similarity in color to commercial pasta, with a value of ¿E between 5.5 and 8.0. Regarding the sensory analysis, gluten-free pasta was characterized by slight fishy aromas and flavors with some aftertaste compared to commercial pasta. Finally, the use of different cereals to obtain gluten-free pasta could be a good and feasible alternative despite the technological and sensory modifications observed. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Relation of quality and sensory perception with changes in free amino acids of thawed seabream

[EN] This study aimed to investigate how the freshness before frozen storage affect the quality and sensory characteristics of seabream in different commercial presentations and to correlate the findings with free amino acids composition. The fish were slaughtered, allocated to three processing treatments (whole, gutted and filleted) and stored at refrigeration (0±1 °C) for different times (5, 9, 11 and 18 days) before one-month frozen storage (¿30 °C). After this time, physicochemical (pH, TVB-N, TBARS and free amino acids), bacterial count and sensory evaluation (Torry Index & Quality Descriptive Analysis -QDA-) were studied. Significant differences were found among treatments over time for TVB-N, TBARS and bacterial growth. The quality index (Torry) exhibited a gradual decrease. QDA showed that fillets had the lowest assessment. Free amino acids contents varied significantly during frozen storage with a particular behavior that depended on the previous treatment applied and the fish freshness degree (elapsed days before frozen)This study was financially supported by the Gobierno de Aragón (Grupo Consolidado de Calidad y Tecnología de la Carne, Ref: A04), Instituto Agroalimentario Mixto de Aragón (IA2) and Institute of Animal Science and Technology, Polytechnic University of Valencia.Calanche, J.; Tomas-Vidal, A.; Martínez-Llorens, S.; Jover Cerda, M.; Alonso, V.; Roncales, P.; Beltrán, J. (2019). Relation of quality and sensory perception with changes in free amino acids of thawed seabream. Food Research International. 119:126-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2019.01.050S12613411

Cryogenically preserved RBCs support gametocytogenesis of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro and gametogenesis in mosquitoes

Background: The malaria Eradication Research Agenda (malERA) has identified human-to-mosquito transmission of Plasmodium falciparum as a major target for eradication. The cornerstone for identifying and evaluating transmission in the laboratory is standard membrane feeding assays (SMFAs) where mature gametocytes of P. falciparum generated in vitro are offered to mosquitoes as part of a blood-meal. However, propagation of "infectious" gametocytes requires 10-12 days with considerable physico-chemical demands imposed on host RBCs and thus, "fresh" RBCs that are ≤ 1-week old post-collection are generally recommended. However, in addition to the costs, physico-chemical characteristics unique to RBC donors may confound reproducibility and interpretation of SMFAs. Cryogenic storage of RBCs ("cryo-preserved RBCs") is accepted by European and US FDAs as an alternative to refrigeration (4 °C) for preserving RBC "quality" and while cryo-preserved RBCs have been used for in vitro cultures of other Plasmodia and the asexual stages of P. falciparum, none of the studies required RBCs to support parasite development for > 4 days. Results: Using the standard laboratory strain, P. falciparum NF54, 11 SMFAs were performed with RBCs from four separate donors to demonstrate that RBCs cryo-preserved in the gaseous phase of liquid nitrogen (- 196 °C) supported gametocytogenesis in vitro and subsequent gametogenesis in Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. Overall levels of sporogony in the mosquito, as measured by oocyst and sporozoite prevalence, as well as oocyst burden, from each of the four donors thawed after varying intervals of cryopreservation (1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks) were comparable to using ≤ 1-week old refrigerated RBCs. Lastly, the potential for cryo-preserved RBCs to serve as a suitable alternative substrate is demonstrated for a Cambodian isolate of P. falciparum across two independent SMFAs. Conclusions: Basic guidelines are presented for integrating cryo-preserved RBCs into an existing laboratory/insectary framework for P. falciparum SMFAs with significant potential for reducing running costs while achieving greater reliability. Lastly, scenarios are discussed where cryo-preserved RBCs may be especially useful in enhancing the understanding and/or providing novel insights into the patterns and processes underlying human-to-mosquito transmission

Extrait de feuilles d’olivier; tests in vitro vis-à-vis de Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Enteritidis et Pseudomonas aeruginosa; application sur la viande de dinde

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