Preserve Food Quality Research Articles

Experimental Study of Thermal Performance of Different Fruit Packaging Box Designs

Packaging was recently identified as an essential element in addressing the key challenge of sustainable food supply and is gaining interest among researchers. It is a central element in food quality preservation due to its role in heat and mass exchange with the external atmosphere, contributing to the preservation of food quality during storage and extending food shelf life. This work proposes three new packaging configurations with the same size but different geometry and ventilation hole sizes and geometry, that change the conditions in which the heat and mass exchange occurs, during either the cooling period of fruits, inside the cooling chamber, or during the period when the packaging is exposed to ambient conditions, outside the cooling chamber. For this purpose, packages with fruit models that replicate the properties of real fruit were subjected to a cooling process inside a cooling chamber for 8 h. Subsequently, during the heating phase, the packages were exposed to ambient conditions for 10 h. Thermal conditions were also monitored, both inside and outside the chamber. Additionally, for comparative purposes, the thermal behavior of commercial packaging was also evaluated for the same operating conditions in the cooling and heating phases. The results show that the new packages do not substantially promote the preservation of fruits in the cooling phase, but in the heating phase, they ensure an extension of the period with proper thermal conditions of up to 50% in relation to the conventional packaging. This result is particularly important since the heating phase, in which fruits are outside the storage chamber, is the period with the greatest impact on the fruits’ useful life.

The Use of Modeling Tools to Better Evaluate the Packaging Benefice on Our Environment

Packaging play a key role on food quality preservation and shelf-life increase. Even if the link between shelf life and food loss has not yet clearly been formalized, it is generally observed that a well-designed packaging contributes to reduce food loss and waste and thus the corresponding useless negative impact that producing and distributing uneaten or inedible food has on our environment and economy. In order to anticipate the usage benefit of a given packaging, decision making tools are needed to be developed. While some authors' separately showed the importance of shelf life model, food loss and waste prediction model and Life Cycle Analysis, so far no connection was really made between them. In this context, this paper aims to analyze the different mathematical modeling approaches proposed in the available scientific literature, from the prediction of food shelf life gain thanks to well-designed packaging to the environmental benefice due to the decrease of food loss and waste. The article presents a review of 29 models developed on this thematic during the last two decades. The analyzed models were split in three categories: (1) the food shelf life models, (2) the models linking shelf life to food loss and waste, and (3) the Life Cycle Analysis including direct (production, processing and end of life) and indirect (food loss and waste) packaging environmental impacts. In one hand, the review showed that if many predicting approaches were conducted to assess food shelf life, only few of them were enough mechanistic (by coupling mass transfer to food deterioration) to be used in other conditions than the ones initially studied. Moreover, the consumers' practices and believes being strongly influent on the quantity of food waste at household, it should be more systematically integrated in the food loss and waste estimation for a fairer evaluation. On the other hand, this review highlighted that even if indirect environmental benefit of packaging, e.g., through food loss and waste decrease, is more and more integrated in life cycle analyses of the food packaging system, most of studies were only based on rough estimation and not on real quantification of the food loss and waste reduction obtained thanks to the well-designed packaging. Therefore, further research is needed to facilitate the representation/quantification of the links between shelf life increase for packed food, resulting food loss and waste reduction and environmental benefit to support the packaging sectors to choose and validate the best packaging solution to decrease the environmental impact of food/packaging system.

Developments and Advances of High Intensity Pulsed Light and its Combination with Other Treatments for Microbial Inactivation in Food Products

High-intensity pulsed light (HIPL) technology is increasingly utilized to disinfect foods by inactivating microorganisms. Short-duration, high-intensity, broad-spectrum light bursts delay food spoilage and inactivate or destroy pathogenic microorganisms through photothermal, photochemical, and photophysical mechanisms. These effects are predominantly derived from the ultraviolet (UV) fraction of HIPL; however, the technique possesses certain limitations that have impeded widespread adoption by the food industry. HIPL primarily acts on the surface of foods and is currently only applicable to transparent fluids, unlike UV disinfection. In recent years, improvements in the design of HIPL treatments include kinetic systems that move particles around a light source and modalities that combine HIPL with other techniques. Studies have shown that HIPL could increase the effectiveness of ultrasound, edible coatings, and sanitizer washes in certain instances. The converse has also been demonstrated, with added treatments improving the efficacy of HIPL processes. The goal of combination technologies is to reduce the intensity of any one treatment to better preserve food quality. Research on combination methods for HIPL treatment is ongoing and is focused on equipment refinements that confer better treatments over a wider range of applications. This review provides a summary of the current design criteria and effects of HIPL as well as recent research on interactions of HIPL with other food disinfection technologies.

Comparison between essential oils and supercritical extracts into chitosan-based edible coatings on strawberry quality during cold storage

Plant extracts are being studied in the development of novel edible food coatings. The antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds that naturally occur in some plants are the key substances that contribute to preserving food quality. Besides the plant material, the method utilized to produce the extract influences its chemical and preservative characteristics. In general, hydrodistillation produce plant products (essential oils) that are well recognized for containing high concentration of antioxidant or antimicrobial volatile compounds. Supercritical fluid technology produces high quality bioactive extracts with higher yield but lower concentration of volatile compounds, in comparison with hydrodistillation. In this work, six different natural extracts of five different plants were produced by hydrodistillation and supercritical fluid extraction, and their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were compared. The most active extracts were used to produce chitosan-based edible coatings with the aim of assessing the effect of essential oils versus supercritical extracts on the preservation of strawberries.

Current status of biobased and biodegradable food packaging materials: Impact on food quality and effect of innovative processing technologies.

Fossil-based plastic materials are an integral part of modern life. In food packaging, plastics have a highly important function in preserving food quality and safety, ensuring adequate shelf life, and thereby contributing to limiting food waste. Meanwhile, the global stream of plastics into the oceans is increasing exponentially, triggering worldwide concerns for the environment. There is an urgent need to reduce the environmental impacts of packaging waste, a matter raising increasing consumer awareness. Shifting part of the focus toward packaging materials from renewable resources is one promising strategy. This review provides an overview of the status and future of biobased and biodegradable films used for food packaging applications, highlighting the effects on food shelf life and quality. Potentials, limitations, and promising modifications of selected synthetic biopolymers; polylactic acid, polybutylene succinate, and polyhydroxyalkanoate; and natural biopolymers such as cellulose, starch, chitosan, alginate, gelatine, whey, and soy protein are discussed. Further, this review provides insight into the connection between biobased packaging materials and innovative technologies such as high pressure, cold plasma, microwave, ultrasound, and ultraviolet light. The potential for utilizing such technologies to improve biomaterial barrier and mechanical properties as well as to aid in improving overall shelf life for the packaging system by in-pack processing is elaborated on.

Fabrication and characterization of LDPE/silver-copper/titanium dioxide nanocomposite films for application in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) packaging

Proper packaging is an essential issue in seafood safety leads to the preservation of food quality and extending the shelf life. In this study, fabrication and characterization of LDPE/Ag/TiO2 and LDPE/Ag + Cu/TiO2 nanocomposite films for application in Nile Tilapia packaging were evaluated. After investigation of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), disk diffusion test, minimum inhibitory concentration, and minimum bactericidal concentration, the antimicrobial effect of produced nanocomposite films was evaluated on the Tilapia fish samples stored at 4 °C and − 20 °C for 5 and 10 days. Chemical features (pH, protein and fat concentrations, and free fatty acid profile) of the Tilapia fish covered with the produced nanocomposites and nanoparticle migration were also assessed. EDS and SEM techniques confirmed the presence of nanoparticles on the polymer surface and their relative homogeneity. The antibacterial tests of LDPE/Ag + Cu/TiO2 nanocomposite film exhibited strong antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes bacteria (P = 0.000). The microbiological tests revealed that Ag + Cu-contained film had significantly higher antimicrobial efficacy on the Nile Tilapia samples (P < 0.05). The overall result of the series of chemical experiments showed that Tilapia samples packed in Ag + Cu film had the least changes in chemical properties compared to fresh samples (P < 0.05 for pH, fat concentration, and free fatty acid profile). Besides, the migration of Ag and Cu nanoparticles from the film to Tilapia samples was slightly (the amount of Ag and Cu release was < 2.0 µg/Kg and < 10 µg/Kg, respectively). From the obtained results, it could be concluded that a film containing 2.5 % silver, 2.5 % copper, and 5 % titanium dioxide nanoparticles had the most significant antimicrobial effect on the Nile Tilapia fish. Therefore, using LDPE/Ag + Cu/TiO2 nanocomposite film can be a promising approach to create active packaging in the seafood industry.

Comparison of heating performance between inverter and cycled microwave heating of foods using a coupled multiphysics-kinetic model

Non-uniform heating has been a challenging problem in microwave heating due to ‘standing wave pattern’ and ‘thermal runaway’ problems. Cycled microwave heating was used to improve microwave heating uniformity of frozen products, while a relatively new approach of inverter heating was claimed to help preserve food quality during thawing/heating. In this study, finite-element-method-based coupled multiphysics-kinetic models were developed, validated, and used to investigate these controversial results by comparing the heating performances of average temperature, heating non-uniformity, and nutritional value change between the inverter and cycled microwave heating of foods. The effect of food sizes/shapes and material properties (dielectric loss) was evaluated. Results showed that there was little difference in average temperature, heating uniformity, and Vitamin C content between cycled and inverter heating for different food products. A relatively more uniform heating and lower nutritional value degradation were observed for small size low loss material; however, the improvement was not significant enough to claim the benefit of inverter heating.

Exploration of sodium lactate as the draw solute of forward osmosis for food processing

This work explored the feasibility of sodium lactate as a novel draw solute to conduct the forward osmosis (FO) process in the field of food processing. As a common low-cost food addictive, sodium lactate is non-toxic and shows high osmotic pressure. Based on this knowledge, the results of this work further revealed the combinative effect of osmotic pressure and viscosity of sodium lactate solution on the FO performance. The effect of draw solution concentration, membrane orientation and temperature on the FO performance were also investigated. The results revealed that a maximal average water flux of 56 LMH was reached during the FO experiments with sodium lactate as draw solute. Taking into account the average water flux and the reverse solute flux, 7.1 M was the optimal concentration of the sodium lactate solution for FO process. The application of such draw solution into the concentration of sugar solution and orange juice then validated its promising performance in terms of efficiency, food quality preservation and membrane regeneration.

The safety future of fruit preservation with biomaterials

Food quality preservation is as important as with food production. It is highly necessary for ensuring food security and sustainability on the earth. However, at the same time, food preservation methods, i.e. agrochemicals, may cause some food safety issues under misuse and/or excessive use conditions. Therefore, safety methods should be studied by the scientific world and to be commercialized by the industries for ensuring food safety and security. Herein, biomaterials are the most promising and safety alternatives to the agrochemicals. In this perspective paper, we aimed to highlight the importance of the subject and to summary the critical points (importance, advantages, disadvantages, mode of action and successful application) of the biomaterials for lighting the way for new researchers to commercialize such techniques. We believe that the biomaterials constitute an important part within the safety future of fruit preservation.

Active meat packaging from thermoplastic cassava starch containing sappan and cinnamon herbal extracts via LLDPE blown-film extrusion

• Active packaging from conventional blown extrusion of herb compounding TPS/LLDPE. • Films with sappan and cinnamon gave antimicrobial and preserved redness of beef. • Cinnamon gave higher compatible nano- and micro-structures between starch and LLDPE. Compounding of starch and herbal extracts containing antimicrobial functions possibly produces active packaging to preserve food quality. Active meat packaging was developed from thermoplastic starch (TPS) containing herbal extracts namely sappan or cinnamon powders via LLDPE blown-film extrusion. Higher TPS and herbal contents caused dispersion of clumps within film matrices, giving decreased mechanical properties (60–80 % for tensile strength and 30–90 % for elongation at break) due to non-homogeneous microstructures. Surface topography indicated increased roughness by 2.0–4.0 times with addition of TPS and herbal extracts and revealed nanovoids in films containing high sappan contents. Infrared spectra indicated hydrogen bonding between starch and herbal extracts which limited disruptions of starch granules during extrusion. Increased TPS raised water vapor permeability (WVP) but decreased oxygen permeability (OP) due to increased hydrophilicity of the film matrices. Cinnamon gave higher WVP (1.7–2.0 times) than sappan but similar OP. Increased herbal contents at 2 times increased OP by 1.8–2.9 times due to the formation of microvoids. Furthermore, films were used as minced beef packaging (direct contact) and determined for meat appearance and microbial counts. Films containing ≥ 8.6 % sappan and ≥ 6.7 % cinnamon showed preserved redness of packaged minced beef due to phenolic interaction. Moreover, films containing ≥ 3.3 % herbal extracts (sappan and cinnamon) gave lower total microbial counts in packaged meat due to antimicrobial capacity of sappan and cinnamon extracts, prolonging the shelf-life of minced beef. TPS films containing sappan and cinnamon extracts effectively preserved redness and delayed microbial growth, producing active packaging.

Non-Destructive Technologies for Detecting Insect Infestation in Fruits and Vegetables under Postharvest Conditions: A Critical Review.

In the last two decades, food scientists have attempted to develop new technologies that can improve the detection of insect infestation in fruits and vegetables under postharvest conditions using a multitude of non-destructive technologies. While consumers’ expectations for higher nutritive and sensorial value of fresh produce has increased over time, they have also become more critical on using insecticides or synthetic chemicals to preserve food quality from insects’ attacks or enhance the quality attributes of minimally processed fresh produce. In addition, the increasingly stringent quarantine measures by regulatory agencies for commercial import–export of fresh produce needs more reliable technologies for quickly detecting insect infestation in fruits and vegetables before their commercialization. For these reasons, the food industry investigates alternative and non-destructive means to improve food quality. Several studies have been conducted on the development of rapid, accurate, and reliable insect infestation monitoring systems to replace invasive and subjective methods that are often inefficient. There are still major limitations to the effective in-field, as well as postharvest on-line, monitoring applications. This review presents a general overview of current non-destructive techniques for the detection of insect damage in fruits and vegetables and discusses basic principles and applications. The paper also elaborates on the specific post-harvest fruit infestation detection methods, which include principles, protocols, specific application examples, merits, and limitations. The methods reviewed include those based on spectroscopy, imaging, acoustic sensing, and chemical interactions, with greater emphasis on the noninvasive methods. This review also discusses the current research gaps as well as the future research directions for non-destructive methods’ application in the detection and classification of insect infestation in fruits and vegetables.

Magnetic Fields in Food Processing Perspectives, Applications and Action Models

Magnetic fields (MF) are increasingly being applied in food processing to preserve food quality. They can be static (SMF), oscillating (OMF) or pulsed (PMF) depending on the type of equipment. The food characteristics can be influenced by several configurations of the applied magnetic field as its flux density, frequency, polarity and exposure time. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the effects of magnetic fields on foods. Some of them propose interactions at the subatomic particle level that show quantum behavior, such as the radical pair and cyclotron resonance mechanisms. Other proposals are at the level of DNA, compounds, subcellular organelles and cells. The interactions between food and magnetic fields are addressed in a general way in this work, highlighting the applications and action models involved and their effects on the physicochemical, enzymatic and microbiological characteristics of food.

Influence of PH on the properties of sodium alginate films with norbixin salt

Environmental pollution caused by synthetic packaging materials has increased interest in biodegradable polymers. Sodium alginate is a linear polymer with the ability to form biodegradable films with good mechanical properties. Norbixin is a carotenoid with hydrophilic character and antioxidant properties that can be incorporated in the polymeric matrix. This work's objective was to evaluate the influence of pH (3.0, 7.0, and 11.0) on the properties of biodegradable sodium alginate films with norbixin salts. The pH did not influence water solubility, hydration capacity, colorimetric parameters, thermal properties, and the migration of the pigments into acidic aqueous solutions. The film prepared with pH 11.0 showed a more cohesive structure, with better sodium alginate-norbixin interaction. In addition, it showed lower water activity, higher tensile strength, and higher pigment migration in the lipid medium and good antioxidant activity in sunflower oil stored at accelerated conditions for up to 3 days. Practical applications Although biodegradable films are not intended to completely replace traditional synthetic packaging, they have the potential to reduce their use, in addition to acting as controlled release systems for bioactive compounds. The use of alternative materials, such as polysaccharides with the incorporation of carotenoids, allows biodegradable packaging to be obtained which has functional properties to preserve food quality and prolong its shelf life. The sodium alginate films with norbixin added can be used as packaging for foods with a high lipid content and susceptible to oxidation, in order to improve their stability during storage.

Effect of java citronella essential oil addition on the physicochemical properties of Gelidium corneum-chitosan composite films.

A new composite film was developed by combining Gelidium corneum (GC) with chitosan to enhance the physicochemical characteristics of GC film. In addition, to confer new functional property on the GC-chitosan composite film, various amounts (0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5%) of java citronella essential oil (JCEO) were incorporated into the film. As the concentration of JCEO increased, the extensibility of the GC-chitosan film improved. In addition, the film became more opaque due to decreased light transmission. Especially, ultraviolet light was completely blocked in the composite films containing JCEO. Radical scavenging activities of the films also increased with increasing JCEO content, indicating that the films have antioxidant activity. Therefore, GC-chitosan composite film containing JCEO is applicable in food packaging to preserve food quality by retarding lipid oxidation.

Analytical Approaches for Analysis of Safety of Modern Food Packaging: A Review.

Nowadays, food packaging is a crucial tool for preserving food quality and has become an inseparable part of our daily life. Strong consumer demand and market trends enforce more advanced and creative forms of food packaging. New packaging development requires safety evaluations that always implicate the application of complex analytical methods. The present work reviews the development and application of new analytical methods for detection of possible food contaminants from the packaging origin on the quality and safety of fresh food. Among food contaminants migrants, set-off migrants from printing inks, polymer degradation products, and aromatic volatile compounds can be found that may compromise the safety and organoleptic properties of food. The list of possible chemical migrants is very wide and includes antioxidants, antimicrobials, intentionally added substances (IAS), non-intentionally added substances (NIAS), monomers, oligomers, and nanoparticles. All this information collected prior to the analysis will influence the type of analyzing samples and molecules (analytes) and therefore the selection of a convenient analytical method. Different analytical strategies will be discussed, including techniques for direct polymer analysis.

Numerical Simulation of Heat and Mass Transfer Along with Shrinkages in Brinjal (Eggplant/Solonummelongena)

Heat and mass transfer plays a major role in food processing. During storage of food due to environmental conditions, the food is dehydrated and leads to a loss in weight. To maintain the food quality, basically drying method is used. Food material with a high quantity of moisture content experiences shrinkage during the drying process. The main aim of this present work was to simulate the drying shrinkage-deformation mechanism of Solonum Melongena (Eggplant/Brinjal) during the drying process. Heat and mass transfer model is coupled with structural mechanics and solved by COMSOL Multi physics tool. The mathematical model is validated by hot air drying experiment, for different temperature condition was conducted to study the heat and mass transfer along with deformations, including stresses. Temperature and moisture distribution of brinjal (eggplant) during drying were uniform, during drying material changes in shapes/dimensions. This prediction of results will help maintain the ambient conditions and preserve food quality.

Natural biostimulants enhance crop resistance to abiotic stress

The exposure of fatty products to environmental light can trigger lipid oxidation in food through a sensitized-photooxidation process, which involves the participation of the species singlet oxygen (O2(1Δg)). Therefore, preservation of food quality represents a subject of great economic interest to the food industry. In this sense, the phenolic compounds are natural antioxidants widely used in food industry.In this contribution we studied the interactions of phenolic derivatives (Phd), tyrosol and tyrosol derived isomers, with O2(1Δg) and their possible protective effect against the oxidative degradation of unsaturated fatty acids and amino acids. Besides, a potential synergistic interaction between Phd and antioxidants used in food industry were investigated.Phd substrates showed properties as antioxidant additives due to their high ability deactivating O2(1Δg) through a physical process and synergistic effect in the presence of commercial antioxidants. Phd presented an antioxidant protective effect toward O2(1Δg)-mediated degradation of methyl linoleate and tryptophan.

Cactus Mucilage for Food Packaging Applications

Natural polymers have been widely investigated for the development of eco-friendly materials. Among these bio-polymers, cactus mucilage is attracting increasing interest regardless of the plant species or the plant organ used for extraction. Mucilage, which is a highly branched heteropolysaccharide, has been previously studied for its chemical composition, structural features, and biotechnological applications. This review highlights the mucilage application in the food packaging industry, by developing films and coatings. These cactus-based biomaterials will be discussed for their functional properties and their potential in preserving food quality and extending shelf life.

Life after Harvest: Circadian Regulation in Photosynthetic Pigments of Rocket Leaves during Supermarket Storage Affects the Nutritional Quality.

Vegetables, once harvested and stored on supermarket shelves, continue to perform biochemical adjustments due to their modular nature and their ability to retain physiological autonomy. They can live after being harvested. In particular, the content of some essential nutraceuticals, such as carotenoids, can be altered in response to environmental or internal stimuli. Therefore, in the present study, we wondered whether endogenous rhythms continue to operate in commercial vegetables and if so, whether vegetable nutritional quality could be altered by such cycles. Our experimental model consisted of rocket leaves entrained under light/darkness cycles of 12/12 h over 3 days, and then we examined free-run oscillations for 2 days under continuous light or continuous darkness, which led to chlorophyll and carotenoid oscillations in both constant conditions. Given the importance of preserving food quality, the existence of such internal rhythms during continuous conditions may open new research perspective in nutrition science. However, while chromatographic techniques employed to determine pigment composition are accurate, they are also time-consuming and expensive. Here we propose for the first time an alternative method to estimate pigment content and the nutritional quality by the use of non-destructive and in situ optical techniques. These results are promising for nutritional quality assessments.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC FARMING IN BULGARIA - STATE AND OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract: In recent years, Bulgarian organic agriculture is one of the sectors that is developing rapidly despite of the overall stagnation in Bulgarian agriculture and is continuously growing in farming areas as well as in number of farmers. This development is related to the suitable conditions for its adoption in our country - ecologically preserved areas; awareness and willingness of consumers to eat healthy; the realization of the benefits to the environment and rural areas; institutional support for organic farming and the good perception of organic products on international markets.Aim: Examine the condition and opportunities for development of sustainable organic farming in Bulgaria.Design / Research methods: The methods used to complete the tasks are systematic and comparative analysis, an estimated constructive method; method of statistical groupings, inductive and deductive methods of forming generalizations.Conclusions / findings: Organic farming combines the best environmental practices, biodiversity heightening, nature conservation and high production standards. At the same time, it provides public goods in terms of rural development and responds to specific consumer demand for clean and healthy products.Originality / value of the article: Organic production is an international, European and national priority. Organic farming plays an important part in the Common agricultural policy of EU for the 2014-2020 period, as well as for Bulgarian agricultural policy as a tool in regards to the sustainable management of natural resources, the preservation of food quality and safety and the humane farming means.