One of the main challenges the food industry has to deal with is the growing need for fast and cost-effective methods of detecting allergens and pathogens in foods. Biosensors provide an express method of detecting pathogens, allergens, and pesticide residues in food products. In addition, they can detect contaminants, verify food composition, and define its freshness. As a rule, only qualified experts in food science and agriculture can conduct chemical and microbiological analyses, which are expensive and time-consuming because of long sampling or pre-treatment procedures. Biosensors can optimize this process: they are fast, non-destructive, and affordable. In general, biosensors can advance digital agriculture and food production. This article provides an overview of biosensors used in the food industry and their prospects.

Various methods are used to prevent the deterioration of the biotechnological properties of brewer’s yeast during storage. This paper studied the use of artificial neural networks for the mathematical modeling of correcting the biosynthetic activity of brewer’s seed yeast of the C34 race during storage with natural minerals. The input parameters for the artificial neural networks were the suspending medium (water, beer wort, or young beer); the type of the zeolite-containing tuff from Siberian deposits; the tuff content (0.5–4% of the total volume of the suspension); and the duration of storage (3 days). The output parameters were the number of yeast cells with glycogen, budding cells, and dead cells. In the yeast stored with tuffs, the number of budding cells increased by 1.2–2.5 times, and the number of cells with glycogen increased by 9–190% compared to the control sample (without tuff). The presence of kholinskiy zeolite and shivyrtuin tuffs resulted in a significant effect. The artificial neural networks were required for solving the regression tasks and predicting the output parameters based on the input parameters. Four networks were created: ANN1 (mean relative error = 4.869%) modeled the values of all the output parameters; ANN2 (MRE = 1.8381%) modeled the number of cells with glycogen; ANN3 (MRE = 6.2905%) modeled the number of budding cells; and ANN4 (MRE = 4.2191%) modeled the number of dead cells. The optimal parameters for yeast storage were then determined. As a result, the possibility of using ANNs for mathematical modeling of undesired deviations in the physiological parameters of brewer’s seed yeast during storage with natural minerals was proven.

An in silico study that featured the effect of starter cultures on the bioactivity and other health benefits of peptides in semi-hard cheese is presented in this contribution. Model Caciotta-type cheese samples were obtained in laboratory conditions in two variations. Sample A included starter cultures of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris. Sample B included starter cultures of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, and a culture of lactobacilli Lacticaseibacillus casei. The in silico method showed that the peptides inhibited angiotensin-converting enzymes (ACE) and ipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4), as well as possessed antioxidant properties. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris had a greater effect on the formation of bioactive peptides.

The effective innovation activity in the region depends on the state and development of its innovative potential. The authors used theoretical, statistical, comparative, and analytical methods to describe the concept of innovative potential, evaluate its current state in the Kemerovo Region, and identify the promising areas for its development. The article introduces a comparative analysis of innovative and entrepreneurial activity in the Kemerovo Region in 2016–2020. The methodology developed by the Higher School of Economics of the National Research University made it possible to compare the indicators of innovative development in different regions of the Siberian Federal District. The analysis included the dynamics of the factors in order to calculate the indicators of innovative development and rank the regions. In terms of innovation activity, the Kemerovo Region appeared to be inferior to such leading regions of the Siberian Federal District as Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, and Krasnoyarsk. However, the region has good potential opportunities for innovative development. The authors recommend several promising directions that could develop the innovative potential of the region, create competitive advantages, attract additional investment, develop its digitalization potential, and increase its participation in the federal innovative, scientific, and technical policy, as well as to make it attractive for young people.

Modern methods of physical and chemical analysis make it possible to determine the composition of wine with great accuracy, define its belonging to the extended group of the category, as well as to quantify and qualitatively evaluate the foreign impurities contained in it. However, these methods cannot give a complete assessment of wine authenticity, which is based on the complex interaction of the aroma and its components. Therefore, it is impossible to assess the quality of wines, especially special flavored wines, without auxiliary models for organoleptic analysis. A “blind” organoleptic analysis without these models does not allow the taster reliably determining the type and category of wines, as well as their authenticity. This paper presents the method of determining a sample of tasted vermouth as a category of special flavored wines by comparing it with the initial parameters of taste, aroma and bouquet of the “authentic vermouth”. These parameters are presented in the form of two models: schematic five-stage qualimetric and multidimensional mathematical models. All parameters are based on the previously obtained results of the study of unique parameters of taste compositions of the varieties of vermouth samples purchased from retail chains. The veracity of the developed models was tested using the generally recognized triangular diagram of the Vedel’s triangle.

Excessive formation of free radicals in the human body leads to the biologically active compounds destruction, jeopardizing well-being, causing decrease in immunity and leading to premature aging. Inter alia, the use of soft drinks containing antioxidants (flavonoids, phenolic compounds and other organic substances) can reduce the harmful oxidative process impact on the body. A man used medicinal sage (Salvia officinalis), peppermint (Mentha piperita L.), sand immortelle (Helichrysum arenarium L.) as sources of biologically active compounds during the study. The research aims at studying the chemical composition and acute toxicity of decoctions from a mixture of medicinal sage, peppermint, sand immortelle, recommended in the non–alcoholic beverages production. The authors prepared three decoctions, differing in the quantitative content of herbs mixture; then determined an antioxidant activity and quantitative content of biologically active compounds in herbal decoctions. They used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify the phenolic composition; the flavonoids content was determined on a spectrophotometer SF-46, the quantitative active substances content of plant raw materials - on a chromatograph “Cvet Yauza-04”. A man studied acute toxicity on CD-I outbred mice (males and females) by injecting the maximum permissible volume of herbal decoctions into the stomach through a probe – 0.8 ml per 29 g, which was a dose of 5.0 g/kg of animal weight. The study results demonstrated that herbal decoctions are safe / low-toxic for mice. According to the research results, decoctions from herbs mixture of medicinal sage, peppermint and sand immortelle can be recommended as a ready-made drink in the capacity of flavonoids, phenolic compounds and other organic substances.

The renewable energy sector is becoming increasingly important in the global energy balance. This process can be explained by the depletion of fossil resources and the global environmental concern. Economies need more energy-efficient technologies to meet the growing volume of energy consumption. In the last quarter of the century, the European Union has seen a rapid development of renewable energy sources. Its aim is not only to diversify energy consumption, but to switch to renewable sources in order to reduce its dependence on traditional energy imports. The article examines the strategy of the European Union in the field of renewable energy technologies and their prospects. In the European Union, the renewable energy sector is regulated both at the organizational and national levels. The current regulatory framework is being improved; it establishes uniform requirements for all member states. However, each country has adopted its own national plans for renewable energy development. The European Union countries can independently determine the measures of state stimulation and support of renewable energy development. The most effective of them are: tax incentives, green tariffs, grants and loans. Despite certain difficulties, including those associated with the current level of technology development, renewable energy has a very high potential for further development, and the share of energy generated from renewable sources is increasing every year.

Reasonable use and waste-free deep processing of milk raw materials represent serious issues for the most milk processing companies. Therefore, processing of milk whey and manufacturing products of full biological value is a promising trend. Its resources are enormous, exceeding 5 million tons per year, although only 40 % are recycled throughout the country. In addition, this problem is of high environmental importance. Milk whey is a product of cheese, cottage cheese and casein manufacturing. The chemical composition of milk whey is unique owing to biologically active peptides of whey proteins, which participate in physiological processes of human body. It contains 50 % dry milk substances and about 200 types of different compounds. Up to date engineering and technology processes aimed at the dehydration offer a solution to the problem of whey processing. The paper reports on low temperature technologies used in whey processing to produce protein concentrate. When freezing out water, a nutritionally valuable protein casein and albumin mass are concentrated. The cryoconcentration of milk whey on the inner surface of a crystallizer was carried out at a temperature of the heat exchanging surface minus 4 ± 2 ° C. Chemical composition, physical, chemical, and organoleptic characteristics of the whey concentrate have been investigated. The chemical composition of the whey protein concentrate contains 20.19 % of dry substances, 12.80 % of protein, 2.87 % of whey proteins. The freezing out of water in the set conditions has brought about a 25-time increase of whey protein fraction. Therefore, a whey mass can be recommended as a source of animal protein in human diets.