Powdered Food Products Research Articles

Development of barnyard millet flour rich in bioactive compounds with enhanced functional properties by application of multipin atmospheric cold plasma

AbstractCold plasma, a nonthermal technology, aids in modifying food materials with the least thermal damage and negligible rise in temperature. This research explains the implications of multipin atmospheric cold plasma (MACP) treatment on barnyard millet flour (BMF), focusing on its functional properties and bioactive compounds, such as total phenols and flavonoids, along with antinutrients, as well as its physicochemical properties, including color, pH, moisture content, proximate composition, and morphological alterations. Dehulled and ground barnyard millet was treated with MACP at different power levels (10–30 kV) for 10–30 min. The higher voltage–time treatments (30 kV:20 min and 30 kV:30 min) were found significantly affecting the samples compared to the control. Specifically, the 30 kV:30 min treatment showed a prominent increase in water solubility index (0.83–3.92 g/g), water absorption capacity (1.08–1.59 g/g), viscosity (164.31–180.14 centipoise), oil absorption (1.94–2.35 g/g), emulsifying (37.40%–44.51%), and foaming capacity (20.61%–24.99%), along with the bioactive compounds such as phenol content (229.33–280.54 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g) and flavonoid content (173.75–244.71 mg quercetin equivalents/100 g). Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis revealed shifts in functional groups, X‐ray diffraction analysis demonstrated changes in crystallinity, and scanning electron microscopy imaging depicted morphological alterations post‐MACP treatment. The antinutrient factors, phytic and tannic acid, decreased significantly (p < .05), with the most prominent decrease at 30 kV:20 min for the latter. The 30 kV:30 min treated flour, in particular, demonstrated significant improvements in BMF properties, and MACP can be further employed for better solubility and dispersibility of powdered food products, offering versatile applications in baked, functional, and gluten‐free products.Practical applicationsBarnyard millet, a naturally gluten‐free grain rich in protein and fiber, upon the multipin atmospheric cold plasma treatment, offers opportunities in a wide range of practical applications due to the increased functional properties, including water solubility, water absorption, oil binding capacity, foaming–emulsifying abilities, and viscosity. Additionally, the enhanced properties allow for the development of better extruded products, including nutritious breakfast cereals and healthy snacks with improved texture and stability, while promoting the utilization of underutilized grains like barnyard millet.

Nanosized Additives: Silicon Dioxide's Potential Role in Development of Food Sensitivities in Mice.

The anticaking agent, used in a wide variety of powdered food products, interfered with immune tolerance of ovalbumin, a model antigen; and it worsened gut inflammation in a mouse model of celiac disease.

Characterization of nanoparticles in silicon dioxide food additive

Silicon dioxide (SiO2), in its amorphous form, is an approved direct food additive in the United States and has been used as an anticaking agent in powdered food products and as a stabilizer in the production of beer. While SiO2 has been used in food for many years, there is limited information regarding its particle size and size distribution. In recent years, the use of SiO2 food additive has raised attention because of the possible presence of nanoparticles. Characterization of SiO2 food additive and understanding their physicochemical properties utilizing modern analytical tools are important in the safety evaluation of this additive. Herein, we present analytical techniques to characterize some SiO2 food additives, which were obtained directly from manufacturers and distributors. Characterization of these additives was performed using dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) after the food additive materials underwent different experimental conditions. The data obtained from DLS, spICP-MS, and electron microscopy confirmed the presence of nanosized (1–100 nm) primary particles, as well as aggregates and agglomerates of aggregates with sizes greater than 100 nm. SEM images demonstrated that most of the SiO2 food additives procured from different distributors showed similar morphology. The results provide a foundation for evaluating the nanomaterial content of regulated food additives and will help the FDA address current knowledge gaps in analyzing nanosized particles in commercial food additives.

Storage stability of a fluidized-bed agglomerated spray-dried strawberry powder mixture.

Background: Strawberry is a fruit with a high antioxidant capacity due to its richness in phenolic compounds that suffer a rapid post-harvest deterioration. Spray drying is an alternative to reduce losses; however, these powders present problems of instantanisation, making it necessary to implement agglomeration processes. During storage, powdered food products can undergo a series of changes in their amorphous state from a product initially in a vitreous state to a gummy state, where all properties are substantially modified due to the increased mobility of water in the matrix. Methods: The research objective was to evaluate the storage stability (6 months) of a fluidized bed agglomerated strawberry powder mixture at three temperatures (15, 25 and 25°C), a controlled environment at 65% relative moisture, and PET foil laminated film bags as packaging. Moisture, water activity, bulk and compacted density, Carr and Hausner indices, solubility, hygroscopicity, wettability, angle of repose, antioxidant capacities, total phenols, anthocyanins, vitamin C, color (CIE-Lab) and particle size were monitored. Results: ANOVA showed statistically significant differences (p<0.05) for all dependent variables concerning storage time; storage temperature had no significant effect on S, ABTS, DPPH and Hu. The time-temperature interaction during storage had no significant effect (p>0.05) on S, ABTS, DPPH, Hu and L. The agglomerate showed moisture and aw values that confer excellent stability against deterioration reactions; it retained good fluidity, low cohesiveness, and retentions above 50% for antioxidant capacity, 76% for total phenols, 39% for anthocyanins, and 40% for vitamin C; particle size was retained during the evaluation. The color was only affected in the 35°C treatment from the fifth month onwards. Conclusions: The study will serve as a tool for the determination of the shelf life of the chipboard once the critical values of the attributes selected as predictors of shelf life are defined.

3D Printers for Food Printing – Advantages and Drawbacks of Market Ready Technical Solutions

The article takes a closer look at the basics of food 3D printing techniques in order to point out the real problems of this technology, especially through the perspective of the latest technical solutions (3D printers) available on the market in 2022. Food 3D printing technique is attracting the interest both in research and on the market. In the case of food, the most common technique used is paste extrusion, in which the material is placed in a syringe-shaped container and extruded while the print head moves and puts on the layers one by one, reproducing the final shape. Although research has been done on other additive processes, such as binder jetting and selective laser sintering using powdered food products, it is still debatable whether these processes are feasible for food printing.

Hyperspectral Shortwave Infrared Image Analysis for Detection of Adulterants in Almond Powder with One-Class Classification Method.

The widely used techniques for analyzing the quality of powdered food products focus on targeted detection with a low-throughput screening of samples. Owing to potentially significant health threats and large-scale adulterations, food regulatory agencies and industries require rapid and non-destructive analytical techniques for the detection of unexpected compounds present in products. Accordingly, shortwave-infrared hyperspectral imaging (SWIR-HSI) for high throughput authenticity analysis of almond powder was investigated in this study. Two different varieties of almond powder, adulterated with apricot and peanut powder at different concentrations, were imaged using the SWIR-HSI system. A one-class classifier technique, known as data-driven soft independent modeling of class analogy (DD-SIMCA), was used on collected data sets of pure and adulterated samples. A partial least square regression (PLSR) model was further developed to predict adulterant concentrations in almond powder. Classification results from DD-SIMCA yielded 100% sensitivity and 89–100% specificity for different validation sets of adulterated samples. The results obtained from the PLSR analysis yielded a high determination coefficient (R2) and low error values (<1%) for each variety of almond powder adulterated with apricot; however, a relatively higher error rates of 2.5% and 4.4% for the two varieties of almond powder adulterated with peanut powder, which indicates the performance of quantitative analysis model could vary with sample condition, such as variety, originality, etc. PLSR-based concentration mapped images visually characterized the adulterant (apricot) concentration in the almond powder. These results demonstrate that the SWIR-HSI technique combined with the one-class classifier DD-SIMCA can be used effectively for a high-throughput quality screening of almond powder regarding potential adulteration.

Identification of Water Vapour Transmission Rate (WVTR) of Aluminum Foil Packaging Barrier using The Gravimetric Testing Method

The packaging is the most important thing for packing the food product. The main function of packaging is protecting the product from external factors such as light, water vapour, oxygen, and humidity. Sometimes the damage of food products occurs because of the contaminations of water vapour like a clumping on powdered food products. However, aluminum foil is a good barrier to protect food products. The packaging barrier needs to be tested to assure which one is the best to protect food products, especially from water vapour. Water vapour transmission rates are used to test how much the vapour can be absorbed by the packaging and the test results can be used as a reference for product packaging. The identification of water vapour transmission absorbed on the aluminum foil is tested using the gravimetric testing method and refers to the ASTM E96 standard. The result shows the thicker aluminum foil has used to protect the food products, the lower they absorb water vapour.

Genotyping, Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Biofilm Formation of Bacillus cereus Isolated from Powdered Food Products in China.

This study was conducted to reveal the genotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility, and biofilm formation of Bacillus cereus isolated from powdered food products in China. Five hundred powdered food samples were collected from five provinces in China: 100 samples each of powdered infant formula (PIF), soy milk powder (SMP), lotus root powder (LRP), walnut powder (WP), and rice flour (RF). The genotyping of isolates was analyzed using multilocus sequence typing; meanwhile, antimicrobial susceptibility, and ability of biofilms formation on stainless steel tube of isolates were evaluated. Forty-two B. cereus strains were detected with an overall contamination rate of 8.4%, as well as, the highest B. cereus contamination rate was found in SMP (10%), followed by LRP (9%), WP (9%), RF (8%), and PIF (6%). These isolates were divided into 22 sequence types (STs); among them, ST32 (4/42, 9.5%) was the predominant ST. Phylogenetic relationships showed that the 42 strains of B. cereus were divided into three groups (group I, group II, and group III). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing indicated that all isolates were susceptible to tetracycline, gentamicin, erythromycin, and chloramphenicol, while resistant to ampicillin, cefepime, oxacillin, and rifampin. The analysis of ability of biofilm formation on stainless steel tube showed optical density (OD)595 value of 66.7% of B. cereus isolates was greater than 1. The OD595 level of isolates belonging to group III was higher compared with the other two groups, and OD595 values of B. cereus HB1 and HN5 were greater than 2. These findings improved the understanding of the characteristics of B. cereus isolated from powdered food products in China, and provided a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of B. cereus in food industry.

Characterization of Bacillus cereus group isolates from powdered food products

Mashed potato powder as well as powdered infant formula (PIF) are frequently contaminated with Bacillus cereus sensu lato (B. cereus s.l.), mainly with its spores. These products have also been implicated in foodborne illnesses. Here, we characterized B. cereus s.l. isolates originating from powdered products based on sporulation assays, toxin gene profiling, and panC typing combined with a SplitsTree analysis. Furthermore, cytotoxicity assays with B. cytotoxicus isolates were performed. 78% of PIF tested positive for B. cereus s.l., whereas 92% of all mashed potato powders were positive. In total, 43 isolates were further characterized. The nhe and cytK2 genes were most frequently detected. Moreover, a cereulide-producer was detected from PIF. Most isolates were assigned to panC group III, but members of group II, IV, V, and VII could also be found. Nine B. cytotoxicus were isolated out of nine mashed potato powders. All panC group VII isolates were positive for cytK1. Cytotoxicity assays of these nine isolates revealed one highly cytotoxic strain, while all other isolates exhibited no detectable cytotoxicity, underpinning that cytotoxicity of a certain B. cereus group strain cannot be deduced from the sole presence or absence of toxin genes.

Calibration and testing of a Raman hyperspectral imaging system to reveal powdered food adulteration.

The potential adulteration of foodstuffs has led to increasing concern regarding food safety and security, in particular for powdered food products where cheap ground materials or hazardous chemicals can be added to increase the quantity of powder or to obtain the desired aesthetic quality. Due to the resulting potential health threat to consumers, the development of a fast, label-free, and non-invasive technique for the detection of adulteration over a wide range of food products is necessary. We therefore report the development of a rapid Raman hyperspectral imaging technique for the detection of food adulteration and for authenticity analysis. The Raman hyperspectral imaging system comprises of a custom designed laser illumination system, sensing module, and a software interface. Laser illumination system generates a 785 nm laser line of high power, and the Gaussian like intensity distribution of laser beam is shaped by incorporating an engineered diffuser. The sensing module utilize Rayleigh filters, imaging spectrometer, and detector for collection of the Raman scattering signals along the laser line. A custom-built software to acquire Raman hyperspectral images which also facilitate the real time visualization of Raman chemical images of scanned samples. The developed system was employed for the simultaneous detection of Sudan dye and Congo red dye adulteration in paprika powder, and benzoyl peroxide and alloxan monohydrate adulteration in wheat flour at six different concentrations (w/w) from 0.05 to 1%. The collected Raman imaging data of the adulterated samples were analyzed to visualize and detect the adulterant concentrations by generating a binary image for each individual adulterant material. The results obtained based on the Raman chemical images of adulterants showed a strong correlation (R>0.98) between added and pixel based calculated concentration of adulterant materials. This developed Raman imaging system thus, can be considered as a powerful analytical technique for the quality and authenticity analysis of food products.

Enhancing The Food Product Drying with Air Dehumidified by Zeolite

The demand of powdered food products such as soups, sauces, dried yeasts and herbal medicine is increasing for consumer convenience. Mostly, these products have been produced with drying process either, direct sunlight, conventional, or modern dryer. The direct sunlight dryer depends on the daily weather both in the product quality and process continuity. Meanwhile, conventional dryer results high energy consumption as well as low product quality due to the introduction of hot air. In addition, modern dryer process can improve the product quality, but the energy efficiency was fair. This study discusses the design and application of adsorption dryer with zeolite for food product. As samples, the carrageenan isolated from seawed and roselle extract were dried. Here, the air as drying medium was dehumidified by zeolite to enhance the driving force at lower temperature. The study was conducted in various air velocity, temperature and relative humidity. Results showed that the air temperature had the most superior effect both on product quality and drying rate. The higher temperature, the higher drying rate but the lower product quality. Air dehumidification had a positive effect on product quality and drying for low operational temperature. For all cases, it was recommended that the drying around70°C or below was favorable for reasonable quality and drying rate.

Adhesion mechanisms between water soluble particles

Abstract In order to obtain powdered food products of good handling and dissolution properties, single food particles are agglomerated and transformed into a particle network. This paper analyses the importance of well known particle adhesion mechanisms with a focus on aspects of mechanical and rheological material properties, which are strongly linked with the processing conditions, e.g. time and moisture content. The physical state of the material (amorphous or crystalline) and the dominating adhesion principle (Van der Waals forces, liquid bridges, viscoelastic bridges or solid bridges) are defining the process parameters (temperature, moisture, velocity, pressure) necessary to establish a proper connection between the particles and to form stable agglomerates. For dynamic agglomeration processes, e.g. fluid bed agglomeration, it could be shown, that the impact energy dissipation is detrimental to avoid a rebound of impacting particles and thus a sustainable contact creation. The impact energy can be absorbed by the particle body itself, liquid droplets or layers on the surface of impacting particles. Especially the energy dissipation capacity of amorphous material is strongly depending on temperature and moisture content. For agglomeration processes with limited particle motion, e.g. compaction or sintering, energy dissipation effects are of less importance. More important is the creation of contact area by plastic or viscoelastic deformation. Once stable contacts have been created various mechanisms can lead to maturation/stabilization of the particle contact (sintering, concentration or re-crystallization). Different factors affecting the maturation/stability of agglomerates such as the physical state of the material, mechanical and rheological properties and their relation to the selected process conditions are discussed.

Development of a sensitive potentiometric sensor for determination of fumaric acid in powdered food products

Abstract A new potentiometric sensor, namely, Pt|Hg|Hg2 FUM|graphite, where FUM represents the fumarate ion was developed for the measurement of fumaric acid in foods. The characteristics, performance and application of the technique are described. The sensitivity of the electrode to FUM was (−29.2 ± 0.6) mV decade−1 over a wide concentration range (7.5 × 10−7–1.0 × 10−2 mol L−1), at pHs between 6.0 and 9.0, and the detection limit was 5.8 × 10−7 mol L−1. The electrode is easily constructed at a relatively low cost, has a fast response time (within 15–30 s) and can be used for up to 5 months without showing any significant changes in performance. The sensor displayed good selectivity in the presence of a variety of other anions (carboxylates and inorganic anions). It was successfully used for the determination of fumaric acid in powdered food products including gelatin dessert powders, instant pudding powder and ice cream powders.

Measurement of the flow properties of powders

Summary. Published literature on the flow of powders through orifices is reviewed. A new powder flow meter is described, and results obtained with some powdered food products are given. The mass flow rate is found to be proportional to the bulk density and to the 28th power of the orifice diameter. The flow meter permits comparison of the flow properties of powders and prediction of their behaviour in food machinery and plant.

A Method of Determining Heat Transfer Through Powdered Food Products

A Method of Determining Heat Transfer Through Powdered Food Products