Edible oil structuring : an overview and recent updates

In recent years, research dealing with edible oil structuring has received considerable interest from scientific community working in the area of food formulation. Much of this interest is linked to the possibility of using structured oil in development of newer product formats with improved nutritional profile (trans fat-free, low in saturated fats and high in mono and/or poly unsaturated fatty acids). In addition to the obvious industrial need of finding the alternative formulation approach, the interesting properties of structured systems (particularly, oleogels) also makes them a fascinating subject for fundamental studies. In this paper, we attempt to give a comprehensive and concise overview of the field of oil structuring with special emphasis on the updates from recent years. Specifically, several categories of food-grade oleogelators and their potential food applications are summarized with typical examples along with a discussion on the general principles and unresolved challenges related to this emerging area

Industrial manufacture of sugar-free chocolates: applicability of alternative sweeteners and carbohydrate polymers as raw materials in product development

Chocolate is dense suspension of solid particles comprising 60-70% sugar and non-fat cocoa solids. Until recently, it was rarely produced as a sugar-free product due to the multi-functional properties of sweetness, bulkiness and textural characteristics that sugar offers to products. Today's consumers are concerned about the high sugar levels, calories and cariogenicity effects in confectionery products, hence increasing popularity of 'light' and 'sugar-free' products. Development of sugar-free chocolates is most challenging since all sugar needs to be replaced. In-depth understanding of the applicability of alternative sweeteners and carbohydrate polymers as ingredients in sugar-free chocolate manufacture would therefore have significant industrial applications

A global coating quality model for top-spray fluidized beds: spray sub model

Fluidized beds are amongst others used in industrial applications for coating particles. Little research has been performed in developing a quality model for a coating process. A quality model is able to predict the quality of the process in terms of coating thickness and uniformity and the occurrence of unwanted side-effects, including agglomeration, attrition and spray loss. The quality of the coating process in a fluidized bed is largely determined by the spray characteristics and the particle motion. A new quality model was developed for the coating process in a top-spray fluidized bed. The first step in the development of the new model was the creation of an accurate spray sub-model that describes the movement and the heat and mass balances of the droplets in the coating process. The second step was the creation of a particle sub-model that describes the movement and the heat and mass balances of the particles in the fluidized bed. The third and final step will be the development of the global coating quality model by combining the spray and the particle sub model. Experimental validation of the spray sub-model has already been carried out and is presented in this paper

Linking behavioral control to frontline employee commitment and performance: a test of two alternative explanations using motivation theories

We propose and empirically test a model in which behavioral control is linked to frontline employee commitment and performance. We test two alternative explanations by examining the intermediate role of job autonomy and situational learning orientation. The hypotheses are tested using multiple-source survey data from a sample of 1184 frontline employees and their supervisors. Results indicate that situational learning orientation is an important construct in linking behavioral control to performance. Job autonomy shows to be important in explaining employee outcomes but is only marginally related to behavioral control. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed