Real-time monitoring of apples (Malus domestica var. Gala) during hot-air drying using NIR spectroscopy

Among commercial fruits, apple shows a growing trend to its worldwide consumption, where dried apple plays a major part in food industry as raw material to produce snacks, integral breakfast foods, chips, etc., which have become popular in the diet of modern consumers in parallel with the human consumption of organic products. Despite apple tissue exhibits extensive and non-homogeneous discoloration during drying, it is nowadays often dried by conventional methods which, however, are usually uncontrolled and then prone to product quality deterioration. However, because no all conventional drying treatments are allowed by the European Organic Regulation (i.e. EC No. 834/2007 and EC No. 889/2008), drying of organic apples should be carefully optimized to obtain comparable results to conventional methods. Therefore, the main objective of the proposed study was to investigate the feasibility of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as smart drying technology to proactively and non-destructively detect and monitor quality change in organic apple wedges during hot-air drying

Innovative solution for reducing the run-down time of the chipper disc using a brake clamp device

Wood-chippers are widely used machines in the forestry, urban and agricultural sectors. The use of these machines implies various risks for workers, primarily the risk of contact with moving and cutting parts. These machine parts have a high moment of inertia that can lead to entrainment with the cutting components. This risk is particularly high in the case of manually fed chippers. Following cases of injury with wood-chippers and the improvement of the technical standard (Comit\ue9Europ\ue9en de Normalisation-European Norm) EN 13525: 2005 + A2: 2009, this technical note presents the prototype of an innovative system to reduce risks related to the involved moving parts, based on the \u201cbrake caliper\u201d system and electromagnetic clutch for the declutching of the power take-off (PTO). The prototype has demonstrated its potential for reducing the run-down time of the chipper disc (95%) and for reducing the worker\u2019s risk of entanglement and entrainment in the machine\u2019s feed mouth

Innovative solution for reducing the run-down time of the chipper disc using a brake clamp device

Wood-chippers are widely used machines in the forestry, urban and agricultural sectors. The use of these machines implies various risks for workers, primarily the risk of contact with moving and cutting parts. These machine parts have a high moment of inertia that can lead to entrainment with the cutting components. This risk is particularly high in the case of manually fed chippers. Following cases of injury with wood-chippers and the improvement of the technical standard (ComitéEuropéen de Normalisation-European Norm) EN 13525: 2005 + A2: 2009, this technical note presents the prototype of an innovative system to reduce risks related to the involved moving parts, based on the “brake caliper” system and electromagnetic clutch for the declutching of the power take-off (PTO). The prototype has demonstrated its potential for reducing the run-down time of the chipper disc (95%) and for reducing the worker’s risk of entanglement and entrainment in the machine’s feed mouth

Mantenimento della qualità organolettica in alcuni ortofrutticoli tipici della regione Lazio minimamente processati

The research has the aim of enhancing the storability of some lightly processed foods typical of Lazio Region. The vegetables involved in this research are: artichoke, fennel, zucchini squash and chicory. Results shown reveal the importance of using first quality raw material, low temperature (5°C) through the entire process, and chlorinated water (100 ppm). In addition to this, a packaging using a low permeability plastic film, controlled atmosphere and a storage temperature of 4°C are crucial to slow down tissue browning, to reduce water loss and to maintain the organoleptic quality requested by the consumer.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore http://www.soihs.it

METROPOLITAN AGRICULTURE, SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC DYNAMICS AND THE FOOD-CITY RELATIONSHIP IN SOUTHERN EUROPE

Peri-urban agriculture is a pivotal issue in the debate on sustainable management of land in metropolitan regions worldwide. Multiple socioeconomic and environmental solutions introduced by new models of peri-urban agriculture are playing an important role in planning and management of fringe land. The recent development of peri-urban agriculture in Southern European cities was supposed to reflect latent, crisis-driven processes of 'coming back to land': new land has been extensively cultivated, and new relations have been created between farmers, communities and territories within peri-urban areas. This study describes some relevant experiences of peri-urban farming in 6 metropolitan regions (Lisbon, Barcelona, Marseille, Rome, Athens, Istanbul) representative of different socioeconomic contexts in Southern Europe, outlining strengths and weaknesses in the use of fringe land for cropping, and evidencing relevant implications for urban sustainability