Annex 2.5 : Nutritional comparison of millets with other super foods

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC)The emphasis of this paper, annex to the larger project “Scaling Up Small Millet Post-Harvest and Nutritious Food Products” (CIFSRF Phase 2) is a comparison of the nutritional aspects of millets with 12 known “superfoods” such as flax, quinoa and chia seeds

Scaling up private sector engagement in food security through convergent food innovation : proof of concept and theory of change

To help food businesses develop nutritious food products and make them commercially viable, the project developed the Food Convergent Innovation Accelerator, a virtual platform comprising global and Indian partners spanning societal and industrial sectors. Collaborative leadership was fostered between various partners, including the McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics (MCCHE, Montreal, Canada) and the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) – a public research university (Sonipat district of Haryana, India). The programme initially focused on pulse foods (and later, millets) as naturally nutritious agricultural commodities that promise high human and economic development impact in India

Processing of pulses : a platform for innovation

The paper is a guide for the food sector in identifying processing and milling strategies to achieve pulse flour/protein specifications with nutritional profiles needed for a wide range of food applications. It discusses roasting techniques that can create foods that better meet consumer demands, while also contributing to health and economic systems across agri-food value chains. Traditional processing conditions for pulses (dry beans, broad dry beans, dry peas, chickpeas, dry cowpeas, pigeon peas, lentils, Bambara beans, vetches, lupins and minor pulses) include: dehusking, splitting, soaking, germinating, drying/roasting, and or fermentation

Effect of Postharvest LED Application on Phenolic and Antioxidant Components of Blueberry Leaves

Light from red (661 nm) and blue (417 nm) LEDs were applied for 12, 24, and 48 h on freshly harvested blueberry leaves of different cultivars mixed together. The extracts obtained through microwave extraction of these leaves were analysed in terms of total phenolic content, total monomeric anthocyanin content, and antioxidant activity as measured by % scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP). It was observed that although the content of total phenolic content was high in the untreated leaves, there was an increase in the phenolic content and monomeric anthocyanin content of the leaves treated with blue light. DPPH inhibition activity and FRAP for all the samples were high; however, there was an increase in the FRAP of samples treated with light for different durations, which varied with type of light and the time of application of the LED light

Techno-Economic Analysis of the Multiple-Pass Ultrasonication with Mechanical Homogenization (MPUMH) Processing of Processed Carrot Discards to Puree

A sustainable valorization process for puree processing from processed carrot discards (PDCs) was proposed by using multiple-pass ultrasonication with mechanical homogenization (MPUMH), optimized at 9 min ultrasonication followed by mechanical homogenization for 1 min, subjected to three passes. Techno-economic analysis of the puree processing plant was studied for two process models using SuperPro Designer for a plant with a capacity of 17.4 MT/day, operational for 26 weeks, with a 20-year lifetime. The two scenarios were (i) base case (PDCs processed without peels and crowns) and (ii) case 2 (PDCs and carrots (50:50, w/w) processed with peels and crowns). Both scenarios were economically feasible with an internal rate of return (IRR) and return on investment (ROI) at 24.71% and 31.04% (base case) and 86.11% and 119.87% (case 2), respectively. Case 2 had a higher total capital investment (Can$13.7 million) but a lower annual operating cost (Can$8.9 million), resulting in greater revenue generation (Can$29.7 million), thus offering a higher ROI. Sensitivity analysis related to the number of passes on puree quality and price is suggested to lower the capital investment. For the base case, a lower ROI was due to the high labor cost incurred for manual peeling of PDCs, indicating the critical need for developing a commercial peeler equipped to cut labor costs and increase profitability. The study casts insights into the techno-economic performance of a sustainable process for the valorization of PDCs

Wood-based biochar for small fruit production in southern Quebec, Canada

The market for small fruits (grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries) is valued at more than CAD100 million per year in Quebec, Canada. Wood-based biochar is an amendment that improves soil quality, which may boost small fruit growth and production. The objective of this research was to determine if wood-based biochar could increase the yield and quality of grape, blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry in southern Quebec. We evaluated the fruit yield as well as the quality parameters like average fruit weight, fruit firmness, color, juice pH, total soluble solids, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. Field trials were established on commercial farms with grape, blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry production systems in plots that received wood-based biochar and no biochar in spring (April to May). Small fruits were harvested at their ripening stage for yield and quality evaluation in fall (July to October). Biochar application did not improve yield and quality parameters of small fruits except it gave a marginal higher yield of grape (3.7 vs. 4.4 t ha-1, P = 0.08) and a higher average fruit weight of strawberry (11.9 vs. 13.2 g, PThe accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Effect of Dielectric Properties of a Solvent-Water Mixture Used in Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Antioxidants from Potato Peels

The dielectric properties of a methanol-water mixture were measured at different temperatures from 20 to 80 °C at two frequencies 915 MHz and 2450 MHz. These frequencies are most commonly used on industrial and domestic scales respectively. In this study, the dielectric properties of a methanol-water mixture were found to be dependent on temperature, solvent concentration, and presence of plant matrix. Linear and quadratic equations were developed to establish the dependency between factors. At 2450 MHz, the dielectric constant of methanol-water mixtures was significantly affected by concentration of methanol rather than by temperature, whereas the dielectric loss factor was significantly affected by temperature rather than by methanol concentration. Introduction of potato peel led to an increase in the effect of temperature on the dielectric properties of the methanol fractions. At 915 MHz, both the dielectric properties were significantly affected by the increase in temperature and solvent concentration, while the presence of potato peel had no significant effect on the dielectric properties. Statistical analysis of the dissipation factor at 915 and 2450 MHz revealed that both temperature and solvent concentration had a significant effect on it, whereas introduction of potato peels at 915 MHz reduced the effect of temperature as compared to 2450 MHz. The total phenolic yield of the microwave-assisted extraction process was significantly affected by the solvent concentration, the dissipation factor of the methanol-water mixture and the extraction time