Preparation of apple powder as a value added product

The influence of different pre-treatments and drying air temperature on produce quality and drying behaviour of apples was investigated in three section of experiment. Firstly, the interaction of drying air temperature (50°C and 70°C), hot water blanching and use of acids in combination with hot water blanching pre-treatments with moisture content, colour changes and hyperspectral imaging were measured continuously. Based on these results, the effect of ascorbic and citric acid in combination with 50°C blanched slices dried at 70°C had significant influence based upon the overall size of slices, colour and drying rate. However, the results from the second experiment were contradictory with the first experiment while producing apple powder. These variations were assumed due to the last harvested apples differing in the structure itself, influence of scale up process and also divergence in controlling system of dryer in two places (Agrartechnik- first experiment and Innotech- second experiment). Furthermore, it was shown from the third experiment; the effect of waiting time prior to drying with acids blanched pre-treatment leads to negative impact on quality. As such the longer the processing duration- the greater the change in quality was accomplished. Thus, it was found that if the process is anticipated with the consideration of such negligible factors that is, the effect of waiting period prior drying; undesirable degradation can be minimized to produce a good quality product. Additional, hyperspectral imaging system were applied that showed a good fitness model to predict moisture and colour of dried apples. Moreover, analysis of apple powder reflects acceptable quality in both pre-treatments since no significant difference was found in water activity, total phenol content and bulk density. Therefore, a control of processing parameters during drying and performing simulations using accurate kinetic parameters can contribute to the optimization of the process for quality product output. A study on the socioeconomic investigation of apple farmers was conducted in two important District of Nepal during March and April, 2015. The aim of the study was to identify the trends of apple cultivations in two study area and to address for equitable economic development of the people living in two districts (its impact on the socioeconomic development of people living in two districts). Information was collected through the semi-structured method and personal interviews during field trips. Respondents were selected based on those involved in apple cultivation or apple product development. Among two districts, Jumla district was observed to be highly indulged in apple cultivation and its product diversifications whereas Mustang is known as apple kingdom due to the quality of apples profound. Nevertheless, people in both districts are highly inspired to cultivate more orchards and to produce more products to reach the town. The accessibility of road way is of great importance in supporting people’s healthcare, income and stabilization. In spite of deprived of many infrastructures, farmers are ready to adopt any feasible technology to produce apple products so that local commodity could be promoted which parallel enhances the livelihood. Efficiently more apples cultivation and diversifying into many different products would take a competitive market share meeting the customer needs with related economic criteria. Thus, apple products (viz.apples powder) could be unique feature to reduce losses that ultimately offers a chance to people living in those pocket area of Nepal for the economic stability

Organic apples (cv. Elstar) quality evaluation during hot-air drying using Vis/NIR hyperspectral imaging

[♥EN] Organic dried apples are common snacks fulfilling functional as well as nutritional aspects. However, appearance of dried slices does not always satisfy consumer requirements, thus, improvements are needed. In this study, partial least squares (PLS) regression models were successfully developed to monitor changes in colour and moisture content in apple slices during the drying process over the Vis/NIR spectral range. The regression vector analysis results suggested that features at 580, 750 and 970 nm are better for predicting moisture content, while 580 and 680 nm allow to measure the (a*/b*) colour ratio.The authors gratefully acknowledge CORE Organic Plus for financial support through the SusOrganic project titled: ‘Development of quality standards and optimized processing methods for organic produce’ (Nr: 2814OE006)Shrestha, L.; Moscetti, R.; Crichton, S.; Hensel, O.; Sturm, B. (2018). Organic apples (cv. Elstar) quality evaluation during hot-air drying using Vis/NIR hyperspectral imaging. En IDS 2018. 21st International Drying Symposium Proceedings. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 973-980. https://doi.org/10.4995/IDS2018.2018.7689OCS97398

Lessons from cholera response in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

The first recorded cholera epidemic in Nepal took place in 1823, followed by a series of epidemics occurring in the Kathmandu Valley in 1831, 1843, 1856, 1862 and 1887. Kathmandu Valley still witnesses cholera and other water borne disease cases almost every year. In 2015 and 2016, cholera cases for the valley was highest with 76 and 150 confirmed cases respectively along is with huge caseload on Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD). WASH Situation of the Valley especially of City Centres comes with lots of challenges owing to the complexities of urban set-up and thus the city centres are the potential hotspots in context to outbreak vulnerabilities. Based on lesson learned in 2016 cholera response, this paper presents a way forward for minimizing the occurrence of cholera and AWD which includes developing a system for cholera prevention and outbreak response

Impact of processing temperature on drying behavior and quality changes in organic beef

[EN] The drying of beef has gained an increasing interest and the organic market shows an increasing demand for dried beef products. In this study, organic beef meat slices were dried at 50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C. Moisture content and color was measured throughout the drying process alongside Vis/VNIR hyperspectral images of the slices. The results of the total color difference (ΔE) showed the biggest change for samples dried at 50 °C (ΔE = 25.6). The aw value was the lowest for slices dried at 50 °C (0.744). The hyperspectral data gave promising results regarding non-invasive prediction of moisture content and color.The Authors wish to thank the Core Organic Plus Programme for the financial support within the SusOrganic project (Project Number: BLE - 2814OE006), and the SusOrgPlus Project (Project Number: BLE – 2817OE005) and the Reload Project (Project No.: BMBF - 031A247A).Von Gersdorff, G.; Shrestha, L.; Raut, S.; Retz, S.; Hensel, O.; Sturm, B. (2018). Impact of processing temperature on drying behavior and quality changes in organic beef. En IDS 2018. 21st International Drying Symposium Proceedings. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1823-1830. https://doi.org/10.4995/IDS2018.2018.7792OCS1823183

Processing and Quality Guidelines for Organic Food Processing

ForewordThese guidelines on quality and processing of organic foods have been prepared as part of the Core Organic Plus funded project “SusOrganic - Development of quality standards and optimi-sed processing methods for organic produce”. They intend to support actors in the organic food processing sector to simultaneously increase resource efficiency and product quality of their produce by providing deeper insights in raw material, process and product relevant aspects. The main focus of the presented work lies on the preservation of fruits, herbs, vegetables, fish and meat by the means of drying and chilling/freezing. THE AIMS OF THESE GUIDELINES ARE TO PROVIDE THE PROCESSORS WITH: • Drying related aspects • A deeper understanding for naturally occurring heterogeneities in raw materials and their impact on drying characteristics • Information on the impact of pre-treatment and holding time between preparation and drying on the resulting product quality • Information on the impact of drying and the related process settings on product quality • Information on improved drying strategies and process control concepts • Best practice examples for processing • Best practice based on LCA and LCCA • Food drying and related food logistics • Chilling and Freezing related aspects • General aspects of superchilling • Superchilling for organic meat and fish • Effects of freezing and freezing rate on organic fruit

On-farm Untersuchungen zum Nanovirus PNYDV (Pea necrotic yellow dwarf virus) an Ackerbohne (Vicia faba)

Pea necrotic yellow dwarf virus (PNYDV) ist ein neuer Nanovirus in Mitteleurope, der verschiedene Leguminosen befällt und persistent durch Blattläuse übertragen wird. In dieser on-farm Studie untersuchten wir sechs Ackerbohnen-Felder mit PNYDV-symptomatischen Nestern mittels multispektraler Drohnen-Aufnahmen, die mit ground-truth Pflanzenwachstumsparametern korreliert werden. Symptomatische Pflanzen zeigten einen signifikanten Rückgang der Sprosslänge, oberirdische Trockenmasse, Hülsenzahl sowie Anzahl und Trockenmasse N-fixierender Wurzelknöllchen. Im Gegensatz zu gesunden Pflanzen hatten symptomatische Pflanzen keine rosa oder rot gefärbten Knöllcheninhalte, stattdessen höhere Anteile zerfallender und inaktiver Knöllchen. Verschiedene Indices der multispektralen Aufnahmen zeigten einen deutlichen Unterschied in der spekteralen Information von symptomatischem Infektionsherd gegenüber der umgebenden Referenz

West Nile virus and its emergence in the United States of America

Zoonotic West Nile virus (WNV) circulates in natural transmission cycles involving certain mosquitoes and birds, horses, humans, and a range of other vertebrates are incidental hosts. Clinical infections in humans can range in severity from uncomplicated WNV fever to fatal meningoencephalitis. Since its introduction to the Western Hemisphere in 1999, WNV had spread across North America, Central and South America and the Caribbean, although the vast majority of severe human cases have occurred in the United States of America (USA) and Canada. By 2002–2003, the WNV outbreaks have involved thousands of patients causing severe neurologic disease (meningoencephalitis and poliomyelitis-like syndrome) and hundreds of associated fatalities in USA. The purpose of this review is to present recent information on the epidemiology and pathogenicity of WNV since its emergence in North America

Ancestral diversity improves discovery and fine-mapping of genetic loci for anthropometric traits — The Hispanic/Latino Anthropometry Consortium

Hispanic/Latinos have been underrepresented in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for anthropometric traits despite their notable anthropometric variability, ancestry proportions, and high burden of growth stunting and overweight/obesity. To address this knowledge gap, we analyzed densely imputed genetic data in a sample of Hispanic/Latino adults to identify and fine-map genetic variants associated with body mass index (BMI), height, and BMI-adjusted waist-to-hip ratio (WHRadjBMI). We conducted a GWAS of 18 studies/consortia as part of the Hispanic/Latino Anthropometry (HISLA) Consortium (stage 1, n = 59,771) and generalized our findings in 9 additional studies (stage 2, n = 10,538). We conducted a trans-ancestral GWAS with summary statistics from HISLA stage 1 and existing consortia of European and African ancestries. In our HISLA stage 1 + 2 analyses, we discovered one BMI locus, as well as two BMI signals and another height signal each within established anthropometric loci. In our trans-ancestral meta-analysis, we discovered three BMI loci, one height locus, and one WHRadjBMI locus. We also identified 3 secondary signals for BMI, 28 for height, and 2 for WHRadjBMI in established loci. We show that 336 known BMI, 1,177 known height, and 143 known WHRadjBMI (combined) SNPs demonstrated suggestive transferability (nominal significance and effect estimate directional consistency) in Hispanic/Latino adults. Of these, 36 BMI, 124 height, and 11 WHRadjBMI SNPs were significant after trait-specific Bonferroni correction. Trans-ancestral meta-analysis of the three ancestries showed a small-to-moderate impact of uncorrected population stratification on the resulting effect size estimates. Our findings demonstrate that future studies may also benefit from leveraging diverse ancestries and differences in linkage disequilibrium patterns to discover novel loci and additional signals with less residual population stratification