Agro-food Products Research Articles

A Comprehensive Review of Membrane Distillation and Osmotic Distillation in Agro-Food Applications

Membrane distillation (MD) and osmotic distillation (OD) are emerging athermal processing techniques of great interest in agro-food production where the most part of products is sensitive to thermal treatments. With respect to conventional methods, MD and OD are competitive alternatives, able to work in an environmental-friendly and cost-efficient way, for preserving the nutritional and sensorial attributes of processed foods, in agreement with the increased expectations of consumers and producers. This review will provide an overview of the current status and recent developments in the use of MD and OD in agro-food applications. Theoretical aspects and specific applications in the field of fruit juice concentration, milk and dairy industry, wine dealcoholization and agro-food waste processing, are presented and discussed. The integration of these processes with other membrane operations within the logic of the process intensification strategy is also evaluated in order to overcome specific challenges for a sustainable industrial development.

Environmental sustainability of typical agro-food products: a scientifically sound and user friendly approach

The paper introduces an approach, developed in Agriculture & Quality programme, to evaluate the environmental sustainability of Apulian quality agro-food products that is integrated in the regional quality scheme “Quality Products”. It highlights the methodological approach adopted, the sustainability themes identified and the indicators selected. Indicators measurable at the farm/firm level were selected in relation to the following environmental themes: biodiversity, land use and management, energy use and climate change, use of chemical inputs, and responsible management of by-products and waste. A scoring scale was developed for each indicator; going from 0 (unsustainable) to 10 (very sustainable) with 5 corresponding to the sustainability threshold or reference value. The presented approach is both robust and user friendly and is in line with the principle entailing continuous improvement; the key sustainability thresholds will be periodically reviewed and updated. It represents a practical and innovative way to develop an information scheme for typical agri-food products and can be, with some refinement and contextualisation, easily scaled up to other territories.

The effects of agro-food supply chain integration on product quality and financial performance: Evidence from Chinese agro-food processing business

Aiming at the unique characteristics of agro-food supply chain, this study builds a comprehensive model to investigate the impact of agro-food supply chain integration, composed of internal, supplier and customer integration, on agro-food product quality and financial performance. It explores the relationships among these factors using the data from 162 Chinese agro-food processing businesses. The findings reveal that internal integration and supplier integration are the critical factors to improve product quality within the context of agro-food supply chain. Moreover, the product quality fully mediates the relationship between internal integration and financial performance, and the relationship between supplier integration and financial performance. This study indicates that securing product quality and food safety is an effective way to achieve better financial performance for agro-food processing businesses. This study could help agro-food processing businesses understand the value creation roles of agro-food supply chain integration and provide valuable guidance for them to decide how to respond to various challenges and manage agro-food supply chain integration in order to improve product quality and achieve higher financial performance. A unique contribution of this study is to provide a theoretical framework for advancing the agro-food supply chain integration literature, which thereby could be expected to open a starting point for more agro-food supply chain integration research in the future.

Effectiveness of specularity removal from hyperspectral images on the quality of spectral signatures of food products

Specularity or highlight problem exists widely in hyperspectral images, provokes reflectance deviation from its true value, and can hide major defects in food objects or detecting spurious false defects causing failure of inspection and detection processes. In this study, a non-iterative method based on the dichromatic reflection model and principle component analysis (PCA) was proposed to detect and remove specular highlight components from hyperspectral images acquired by various imaging modes and under different configurations for numerous agro-food products. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, the details of the proposed method were described and the experimental results on various spectral images were presented. The results revealed that the method worked well on all hyperspectral and multispectral images examined in this study, effectively reduced the specularity and significantly improves the quality of the extracted spectral data. Besides the spectral images from available databases, the robustness of this approach was further validated with real captured hyperspectral images of different food materials. By using qualitative and quantitative evaluation based on running time and peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), the experimental results showed that the proposed method outperforms other specularity removal methods over the datasets of hyperspectral and multispectral images.

THE AGRO-FOOD EXPORT TRENDS IN UKRAINE: FOCUS ON GRAIN CROP MARKET

The analysis of agro-food export trends in Ukraine on the example of grain crop market during 2006-2019 was done. According to study data the share of grain exports as raw materials among all agro-food products increased from 28.73% in 2006 to 43.50% in 2019. The share of flour-grinding products and ready-made grain products in total agro-food export was almost unchangeable (increase from 0.77% to 0.91% and from 2.44% to 1.22% respectively). The amount of flour-grinding products and ready-made grain products export were in 100-200 times less than the amount of grain export as raw material. Our data has shown that export revenue from sale of grain crop and flour-grinding grain products were positively correlated with export amount (r=0,9228 and 0,8836 respectively, p˂0.001). By contrast, the relation between export price and export revenue was not significant (r=0,1498 and -0,0806 respectively). At the same time, export revenue from the sale of ready-made grain products had a significant impact both on export price and export amount, which confirms positive association between evaluated parameters (r=0,9733 and 0,9706 respectively, p˂0.001). This fact has confirmed the possibility of increasing the currency revenue from ready-made grain products export compared to the grain export as raw materials. In addition to direct positive impact on the economics, an increase of processing grain crop export should have a number of accompanying positive effects.

Effect of solvent composition and its interaction with ultrasonic energy on the ultrasound-assisted extraction of phenolic compounds from Mango peels (Mangifera indica L.)

Ultrasound has been used to intensify the extraction of phenolic compounds from many agro-food products. However, there is still a lack of understanding on how the ultrasonic energy is influenced by blends of different solvents and how this impacts the extraction process. This work studied the effect of ethanol, acetone and hexane blends on the ultrasonic power density (UPD) generated during the extraction of phenolic compounds from Mango peel, using an ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) and a conventional solvent extraction (CSE). A simplex centroid mixture design and a special cubic regression model were used to evaluate the total phenolic compounds (TPC), antioxidant activity (AA) and ultrasonic intensity (UI) as a function of the solvents proportions. The greatest TPC was obtained with the ethanol–acetone blend (60–40%) for CSE (205.08mg GAE/100g DM) and UAE (1493.01mg GAE/100g DM). Likewise, an increase (avg. 630%) was observed in TPC when the ultrasound was applied for all solvents and their blends. The TPC showed a good correlation (r=0.81) with the UPD, with higher UPD resulting in larger amounts of TPC extracted. Nevertheless, for the ethanol–acetone blend there was a decrease of 14.2% of the AA for the UAE, which could be due to the sonochemical reactions taking place at the high UPD achieved for that blend. The results of this work indicate that the solvent composition and use of ultrasound should be carefully selected to achieve the desired extraction objectives.

Sensory and spectroscopic characterization of Argentinean wine and balsamic vinegars: A comparative study with European vinegars

In Argentina, vinegars are cheap agro-food products without exhaustive regulation and the production of high-quality vinegars has not been exploited yet. In fact, Argentinean vinegars have not been studied. In this context, a first study of Argentinean balsamic and wine vinegars was carried out by a sensory and spectroscopic characterization and by a comparison with well-recognized European vinegars. For that, ultraviolet–visible and fluorescence spectroscopies were applied together with principal component analysis (PCA) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) performed on each data set, respectively. Results showed differences between acetification processes, origin countries and a wide variability within Argentinean production. The sensory characterization on Argentinean wine vinegars was performed by triangular and ordering preference tests showing statistically significant preferences toward the traditional and the rapid vinegars. This work highlights the effect of production on quality in order to provide added value to the Argentinean vinegars.

Valorization of onion extracts as anti-browning agents

The enzymatic browning, whose main responsible is polyphenol oxidase (PPO, EC 1.14.18.1), is involved in the phenolic oxidation and colour alteration of minimally-processed fruits and vegetables. Currently, the research of new strategies to inactivate PPO is moving towards replacing synthetic additives such as organic acids and sulphites with natural inhibitors. The present study is focused on investigating the anti-browning performance of juices and distillates obtained from three onion varieties (white, yellow, and red) and Borettana onion wastes (inner layers). Their inhibitory activity on a commercial mushroom tyrosinase and some plant PPOs has been evaluated by spectrophotometric and electrophoretic analysis. The in vivo trials has been also carried out by monitoring over time at room temperature the colour change on potato slices under accelerated browning conditions. The effectiveness of onion samples in limiting enzymatic browning was affected by not only the enzyme source but also inhibitor type. Although distillates had higher anti-PPO capacity as confirmed by in vitro assays, juices showed better in vivo effectiveness. Hence, onions and their wastes can be valorised as a natural source of anti-browning agents to control PPO activity thus preserving sensory, antioxidant and nutritional properties of agro-food products.

The relationship between marketing strategies and innovative market orientation on performance of halal-certified agro-food SMEs

Changes in Malaysian’s lifestyle have resulted in an increased demand for trusted agrofood products. Therefore, it is becoming a challenge for halal-certified agro-food SMEs in Malaysia to fulfil the demand by implementing marketing strategies and innovative market orientation. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between marketing strategies and innovative market orientation on performance of halal-certified agro-food SMEs. A systematic random sampling was used to select 321 halal-certified agro-food SMEs located in Peninsular Malaysia and a self-administered questionnaire using a structured questionnaire was employed to obtain responses from the target SMEs. Descriptive analysis, Chi-square analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis were carried out to analyse the data. Majority of the halal-certified agro-food SMEs involved in the study were categorised as small-sized companies with at least 5 to 75 employees. The finding revealed that there was no association between annual average sales and overall performance of halal-certified agro-food SMEs. The finding further indicated that there was a strong positive relationship between the performance (market share, sales, profitability, and growth rate) of halal-certified agro-food SMEs and marketing strategies and innovative market orientation. It is suggested that the halal-certified agro-food SMEs utilize their experience to develop more effective marketing strategies for better performance.

Identifying and mapping terrons in Denmark

Spatial assessment of terroir is creating a new possibility for enhancement of high quality agro-food product and to minimize negative environmental effects such as soil degradation and associated risks. The classification and mapping of particular terroir units could be a competitive marketing tool with a major impact on farmers’ incomes. For this purpose, Carré and McBratney (2005) proposed the terron concept to establish combined soil and landscape entities as the first investigative step to identify terroirs. The main objective of the present work was to assemble various environmental factors (i.e. soil, terrain and climate), to identify and then to map terrons in Denmark. First, for representing soil factors, a national soil spectral library was utilized to measure taxonomic distances between 34 Danish reference soil profiles and the Danish national soil profile database (586 soil profiles). Second, the terrain and climate factors for each soil profile location were then compiled as represented by relative slope position, valley depth, valley bottom flatness, vertical distance to the channel network, number of frost days, annual number of growing days, global solar radiation, and precipitation. Third, nine Danish terron classes were established by fuzzy c-means clustering based on an integrated matrix including all soil, terrain and climate factors whereby each terron class is characterized by soil, terrain and climate as a whole entity. Finally, the spatial distribution of Danish terrons was mapped using Cubist regression rules. The results were compared with a soil map derived from the same profile database. We concluded that the map of terrons described natural environment quantitatively and formally in terms of soil, landscape and climatic information better than just a soil class or soil attribute map. Further investigations are needed to discover whether the terron classes give better predictions of landscape-dynamic processes and allow better management options than soil alone. This study also demonstrated several advantages of using soil spectral data and ancillary data to identify and map terrons. The next step will be to validate the terron map by incorporating crop yield data and social factors to delineate natural Danish terroir units.

Production management as an ordering of multiple qualities: negotiating the quality of coffee in Timor-Leste

ABSTRACTThe emergence of close-knit global–local links in many agro-food production systems has necessitated rigorous coordination between the key stakeholders to ensure that quality and safety standards are met. To analyze this new supply chain configuration, agro-food studies inspired by convention theory have drawn significant attention to the plurality of quality conventions. In the literature specifically focusing on the inter-relationships between multiple quality conventions, the ways of interpreting a specific value orientation are perceived to have important implications. This view may lead to a questioning of how the configuration of multiple quality conventions can be stabilized if conflicting justification principles are not easily reconciled. The argument is further connected with an examination of situated plurality in a particular context, focusing on how the boundary among multiple quality conventions is stabilized on the ground. In this paper, through a case analysis of coffee quality management in Timor-Leste, I attempt to demonstrate that commoditization is to be reformulated as the process in which the qualification of objects and regularization of action are constituted through the differentiation of consumable quality as generality from heterogeneous cultural elements as particularity.

Rome, a Policy without Politics: The Participatory Process for a Metropolitan Scale Food Policy.

In light of the challenges that all cities face today, food is offered as a prism through which to read and intervene on various areas that affect the quality of life of the population: circular economy, urban metabolism, social relations, economies, and food quality. In the Roman context, in recent years, numerous initiatives have revitalized the debate on food and brought the discussion to the center of the interest of an ever-increasing number of citizens. However, these experiences appear unrelated and there is a lack of coordination and political coherence. Faced with this evidence, starting from a territorial analysis, this contribution analyzes the process that led a local group of stakeholders to formulate a proposal for a food policy for the city of Rome. The proposal contains a series of possible actions that aim, on the one hand, to recompose the relations between the city and its territory, with a view to re-localization and re-territorialization of agro-food productions and, on the other hand, to reconnect the economic and social relations that the industrialization of food chains has compromised. The network analysis of the bottom-up process, which mainly investigates networking and negotiation skills between various interests, is carried out and related to a careful analysis of the food system in the Roman context. Furthermore, an overview of the state of the art of urban food policies in Italy has been provided to better contextualize the study case. The findings show actors and topics involved in the process, identifying further development towards a more comprehensive participatory process for a systemic food strategy at the metropolitan level.

Возможности цифровой трансформации в пищевой индустрии

The paper presents the results obtained during the study of using digital technologies and successful practices of digitalization to increase efficiency of agricultural production and food products. Based on the analysis of economic publications of EconLit database in JEL macro categories as at the end of 2018, it has been revealed that the number of foreign and domestic publications on digitalization of agro-food complex for the period 2010-2018 is generally insufficient, with no any significant increase in the publications in this category being found. The proposed approach for the first time links such categories as digital technology, needs and agro-food complex by taking into account a set of consumer characteristics of agricultural and food products and production technologies. In order to assess the sectoral digital needs, the article considers such significant characteristics as the end-product complexity index, high value added products environment within the product category and their relationship with production technologies. The study proposes a methodology for determining digital priorities of agro-food products based on such characteristics as complexity index of products, product environment and its relationship with production technologies. The proposed approach develops the modern theory of economic complexity and allows us to assess the possibilities of using artificial intelligence technologies and big data analysis based on the linkage between upstream and downstream in value chain cycle activities.

An analysis of baffles designs for limiting impact on the directional response for a partially filled tank with agro-food liquids

A directional response for a partially filled tank with agro-food liquids incorporates the motion of the free surface due to roll and longitudinal accelerations into the dynamic tank model. This paper presents an analysis of efficaciousness of different designs of baffles for two different tank, to limit the impact of the response given by the liquid on the tank walls. In this paper modelling of the behaviour of the cross-section circular and ellipsoidal tank with baffles, partially filled with liquids agro-food, was developed, which performs a braking-in-a-turn manoeuver. Two different tank truck models have been used to simulate the sloshing effect of agro-food liquid cargo. Is also studied the two geometric models of the tank was done by using SolidWorks and simulating the behaviour of the tank ANSYS-CFX. In this study, there were simulated and modeled two models of tank-type “X”, respectively type “Y” used for the storage and transport of liquid agro-food products, namely water, for different speeds (v = 14m / s and v = 20m / s) and two filling levels of the tank trucks (40% and 80%). The results obtained were compared the behaviour of the tank partially filled into a braking-in-a-turn manoeuver, in which the total values of the deformations that appear as a result of the impact due to the movement of the liquid inside the tank trucks.

НАПРАВЛЕНИЯ И ФОРМЫ АДАПТАЦИИ ОПЫТА СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННОГО ПРОИЗВОДСТВА К ИНТЕГРАЦИИ В ЦИФРОВЫЕ ПЛАТФОРМЫ ФУНКЦИОНИРОВАНИЯ АПК

The article discusses the main directions and forms of adaptation of agricultural production experience to integration into digital platforms for the functioning of the agricultural sector. The informational and statistical basis of the study is determined; a circle of modern research centers that deal with the use of digital technologies in the agricultural sector is outlined; the technologies used in the agricultural sector are classified based on the cliometric approach, that demonstrated by analyzing the yield of grain crops in Russia from 1850 to 2019. Digital platforms for the functioning of the agro-industrial complex are highlighted, allowing to implement areas and forms of adaptation of agricultural production experience to integration into them. Concrete recommendations are given on the use of digital technologies in the field of agricultural production from the standpoint of increasing the competitiveness of agro-food products.

MARKETS OF GEORGIAN AGRO-FOOD PRODUCTS AND EXPORT STIMULATING ECONOMIC POLICY

The article substantiates the importance of the development of food markets in the solution of food security problem. It is argued that the tendency of demand for food has an increasing trend and the development of food markets still remains one of the most important challenges of contemporary world. The study analyzes the markets of Georgian agro- food products and studies the modern challenges in these markets. Comparative analysis of Georgian and Spanish food markets is conducted. The article estimates the positive and negative trends of export of Georgian agro-food products as well as the possibilities of diversification of products in the food markets. According to “The Impact-Immediacy” matrix the hindering factors of Georgian agro products export are identified. Using the «Priority Scheme» the priorities of economic policy stimulating the export of agro-food products are revealed. In terms of geographical orientation of the export the possibilities of diversification of food markets are discussed, especially in European markets. The conclusion is made that, in general, European food market is characterized by the growing tendency. However, in these markets there is no similar tendency for Georgian agro-food products. According to the study of the share of Georgian products and export growth rates in different countries the positive correlation between these variables is determined. But this circumstance is not considered to be sufficient for the positive impact on the economic growth. The conclusion is made that using effective mechanisms of export stimulation allows the diversification of export of Georgian agro products on the traditional but growing food markets on the one hand and on the other hand the expansion of geographical area of export markets.

Identification of toxigenic fungal species associated with maize ear rot: Calmodulin as single informative gene

Accurate identification of fungi occurring on agrofood products is the key aspect of any prevention and pest management program, offering valuable information in leading crop health and food safety.Fungal species misidentification can dramatically impact biodiversity assessment, ecological studies, management decisions, and, concerning toxigenic fungi, health risk assessment, since they can produce a wide range of toxic secondary metabolites, referred to as mycotoxins. Since each toxigenic fungal species can have its own mycotoxin profile, a correct species identification, hereby attempted with universal DNA barcoding approach, could have a key role in mycotoxins prevention strategies. Currently, identification of single marker for species resolution in fungi has not been achieved and the analysis of multiple genes is used, with the advantage of an accurate species identification and disadvantage of difficult setting up of PCR-based diagnostic assays.In the present paper, we describe our strategy to set up a DNA-based species identification of fungal species associated with maize ear rot, combining DNA barcoding approach and species-specific primers design for PCR based assays. We have (i) investigated the appropriate molecular marker for species identification, limited to mycobiota possibly occurring on maize, identifying calmodulin gene as single taxonomically informative entity; (ii) designed 17 sets of primers for rapid identification of 14 Fusarium, 10 Aspergillus, 2 Penicillium, and 2 Talaromyces species or species groups, and finally (iii) tested specificity of the 17 set of primers, in combination with 3 additional sets previously developed.

Tracing the metabolic riftin Colombia's greengrocer: an environmental historyof the Anaime Valley

This paper stems from research to reconstruct an environmental history of agriculture in the Anaime Canyon Valley and better understand the environmental consequences of having transformed the area into “Colombia's g reeng rocer”. We trace the origins and development of agro-food production and explore how commercial agriculture and dairy operations have transformed the landscape and local ecosystems in the Anaime valley, in light of Marx's concept of metabolic rift. Research is based on archival sources and a par ticipator y reconstr uction of the Anaime landscape from the historical memory of the campesinos, or rural inhabitants. The data shows how inter nal mig ration, rapid urban growth and improved transportation infrastructure in the valley dur ing the mid-twentieth century hastened the turn toward intensive commercial agriculture . Increasing links to Colombia's urban markets have led to agricultural intensification and specialization in arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza) production in the Anaime Canyon. As a result, soils and ecosystems have been depleted and agr iculture depends increasingly on chemical inputs including fertilizers, indicating a growing metabolic rift.

Creativity, innovation and future ‒ the key points regarding the “architecture” for the production of agro-textiles

The twenty-first century represents the period of the most remarkable discoveries and transformations of the human civilization, but also the period of the most important changes regarding the evolution of the environment. At the present stage of the evolution of the society, the knowledge of the behaviour of the world economy cannot be conceived outside the environmental approach, as a system, structure and dynamics, its connections and implications on life on earth. Agriculture is an important source of emission of two greenhouse gases with a significant share in the influence of the global warming process. The key to protecting the environment from the harmful effects of widespread and unsafe farming practices is through implementing sustainable practices. Sustainable agriculture incorporates both the conservation of available resources and the use of agricultural practices aimed at protecting the environment. Given the increasing awareness of the environment and the specific knowledge of the various interdisciplinary technologies, special attention has been paid to unconventional technical applications, such as the use of textile structures in the agriculture and horticulture sectors to increase the quality and efficiency of agro-food products in terms of ensuring a healthy environment, social economic equity and a profitable economy. In this context, the textile sector and the field of technical textiles, through the potential of functionalities, can make a special contribution to achieving a level of coherence between agriculture, environment and rural development through the intelligent and sustainable capitalization of agricultural lands and labour force. For agro-textiles ‒ weight domain for the technical textile sector ‒ design is a problem-solving approach, based on common human technical/scientific skills or knowledge, which starts from understanding and observing the phenomena of the field in which these textile elements/products will be used. In this sense, the paper presents the logical matrix regarding the interactions between the problems that need to be solved, the elements that can influence the studied phenomenon the functions that the designed product has to fulfill and the effects produced by its use under real conditions of use.

Analyzing Alternative Food Networks sustainability in Italy: a proposal for an assessment framework

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the sustainability of Alternative Food Networks in Italy through the construction of a composite indicator, the Global Sustainability Index. The index is able to provide decision-makers with indications on synergies and tradeoffs between the different dimensions of sustainability. The methodological approach is of the quantitative type, and the information used in the study comes from a direct survey that involved 226 producers. The results show that the environmental indicators that take the greatest value are those concerning problems of great impact on the actual debate such as the loss of genetic diversity and the use of packaging for agro-food products. Regarding economic sustainability, the indicator with the highest value is related to the ability of the Alternative Food Networks to diversify sales channels. This evidence confirms the producers’ increasing difficulty to adopt mono-directional strategies, favoring a differentiation of markets and, consequently, a reduction of economic risks. In terms of social sustainability, two interesting evidences emerge: the considerable importance attributed to the information of the features of the products and the increase in work involvement following participation in the Alternative Food Networks.