Chemical Characterization Of Commercial Balsamic Vinegar Glaze

The present study reports the chemical characterization of commercial balsamic vinegar glaze (BVG), a side product of the world-famous Aceto Balsamico di Modena (ABM). BVG, originally a homemade sweet and sour sauce, is now produced on an industrial scale and is gaining a growing success. The determination of total titratable acidity, dry matter, ash, metals, sugars, phenolic acids and furfurals is reported for BVG samples of different batches and years of production. Principal component analysis (PCA) and ANOVA test were applied to evaluate the experimental data. The results showed that the chemical characteristics of the product are almost unchanged in the investigated years and well reflect the characteristics of the ABM. Moreover, it was found that potentially harmful species, namely furfural compounds and heavy metals, were at a lower concentration than that of homologous products. In particular, the concentration of heavy metals, such as Cu, Zn and Pb, suggests that a preventive demetallization of the BVG starting raw materials occurs

Mixture design and multivariate image analysis to monitor the colour of strawberry yoghurt purée

Food colour is a commercial added value, since it represents the first appealing factor for consumers. In this context, this study was aimed at evaluating the effect of strawberry yoghurt purée (SYP) formulation on the corresponding colour and on its variation over time, which is mainly due to degradation and browning phenomena. To this aim, a combined approach was used that included mixture design and multivariate analysis of RGB images. Strawberry purée, sugar, lemon juice and two types of thickener were mixed in different proportions by I-optimal mixture design to obtain 44 SYP formulations. The samples were subjected to light and temperature stress conditions for five weeks; during this time the RGB images of the samples were acquired using a flatbed scanner, along with the images of the corresponding control samples. The dimensionality of the acquired images was reduced by two different approaches: i) the conversion of images into signals, namely colourgrams, which can be seen as the colour fingerprint of the imaged samples, and ii) the calculation of the median values of various colour-related parameters. The colourgrams dataset was then subjected to exploratory data analysis using Principal Component Analysis, while the median values of colour-related parameters were analysed using Response Surface Methodology and Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis. The aim of data analysis was both to find the best colour parameters to describe colour variability over time, and to investigate the cause-effect relationship between mixture proportions and colour response. The results highlighted that, among the considered colour parameters, relative green (i.e., the ratio of green to lightness) and red could be used to monitor colour changes. Colour variation due to stress conditions was more pronounced for samples with a high percentage of strawberry purée, and the type of thickener also affected the colour degradation kinetics

Multivariate image analysis for the rapid detection of residues from packaging remnants in former foodstuff products (FFPs)–a feasibility study

From a circular economy perspective, feeding livestock with food leftovers or former foodstuff products (FFPs) could be an effective option aimed at exploiting food leftover resources and reducing food losses. FFPs are valuable energy sources, characterised by a beneficial starch/sugar content, and also fats. However, besides these nutritional aspects, safety is a key concern given that FFPs are generally derived from packaged food. Packaging materials, such as plastics and paper, are not accepted as a feed ingredient which means that residues should be rigorously avoided. A sensitive and objective detection method is thus essential for an accurate risk evaluation throughout the former food production chain. To this end, former food samples were collected in processing plants of two different European countries and subjected to multivariate analysis of red, green, and blue (RGB) microscopic images, in order to evaluate the possible application of this non-destructive technique for the rapid detection of residual particles from packaging materials. Multivariate Image Analysis (MIA) was performed on single images at the pixel level, which essentially consisted in an exploratory analysis of the image data by means of Principal Component Analysis, which highlighted the differences between packaging and foodstuff particles, based on their colour. The whole dataset of images was then analysed by means of a multivariate data dimensionality reduction method known as the colourgrams approach, which identified clusters of images sharing similar features and also highlighted outlier images due to the presence of packaging particles. The results obtained in this feasibility study demonstrated that MIA is a promising tool for a rapid automated method for detecting particles of packaging materials in FFPs

Status of a DEPFET pixel system for the ILC vertex detector

We have developed a prototype system for the ILC vertex detector based on DEPFET pixels. The system operates a 128x64 matrix (with ~35x25 square micron large pixels) and uses two dedicated microchips, the SWITCHER II chip for matrix steering and the CURO II chip for readout. The system development has been driven by the final ILC requirements which above all demand a detector thinned to 50 micron and a row wise read out with line rates of 20MHz and more. The targeted noise performance for the DEPFET technology is in the range of ENC=100 e-. The functionality of the system has been demonstrated using different radioactive sources in an energy range from 6 to 40keV. In recent test beam experiments using 6GeV electrons, a signal-to-noise ratio of S/N~120 has been achieved with present sensors being 450 micron thick. For improved DEPFET systems using 50 micron thin sensors in future, a signal-to-noise of 40 is expected.Comment: Invited poster at the International Symposium on the Development of Detectors for Particle, AstroParticle and Synchrotron Radiation Experiments, Stanford CA (SNIC06) 6 pages, 12 eps figure

Radiation protection issues after 20 years of LHC operation

Since November 2009, the LHC commissioning progresses very well, both with proton and lead beams. It will continue in 2011 and nominal LHC operation is expected to be attained in 2013. In parallel, plans for various LHC upgrades are under discussion, suggesting a High-Luminosity (HL) upgrade first and a High-Energy (HE) upgrade in a later state. Whereas the upgrade in luminosity would require the modification of only some few key accelerator components like the inner triplets, the upgrade in beam energy from 7 TeV to 16.5 TeV would require the exchange of all dipoles and of numerous other accelerator components. The paper gives an overview of the radiation protection issues related to the dismantling of LHC components prior to the installation of the HE-LHC components, i.e. after about 20 years of LHC operation. Two main topics will be discussed: (i) the exposure of workers to ionizing radiation during the dismantling of dipoles, inner triplets or collimators and experiments and (ii) the production, conditioning, interim storage and final disposal of radioactive waste.Comment: 3 pages, contribution to the EuCARD-AccNet-EuroLumi Workshop: The High-Energy Large Hadron Collider, Malta, 14 -- 16 Oct 2010; CERN Yellow Report CERN-2011-003, pp. 134-13

Former Foodstuff Products (FFPs) as Circular Feed: Types of Packaging Remnants and Methods for Their Detection

Alternative feed ingredients in farm animal diets are a sustainable option from several perspectives. Former food products (FFPs) provide an interesting case study, as they represent a way of converting food industry losses into ingredients for the feed industry. A key concern regarding FFPs is the possible packaging residues that can become part of the product, leading to potential contamination of the feed. Although the level of contamination has been reported as negligible, to ensure a good risk evaluation and assessment of the presence of packaging remnants in FFPs, several techniques have been proposed or are currently being studied, of which the main ones are summarized in this review. Accordingly visual inspections, computer vision (CV), multivariate image analysis (MIA), and electric nose (e-nose) are discussed. All the proposed methods work mainly by providing qualitative results, while further research is needed to quantify FFP-derived packaging remnants in feed and to evaluate feed safety as required by the food industries

Preliminary investigation of the use of digital image analysis for raw ham evaluation

In order to find objective parameters for the evaluation of pig thighs to be used for PDO processing, digital images of the external surface of 384 left thighs were acquired, to be used for multivariate image analysis. The following parameters were also measured on the same samples: weight, length, circumference, thickness of fat and thigh, globosity index and colour of skin. Moreover, a subjective evaluation of veining and red skin defects was also made by an expert assessor. Multivariate analysis of the digital images showed a separation of the analysed samples in two clusters, whose differences were then investigated on the basis of the other traits. Various differences between the two clusters where found, mainly for the size-related parameters