Deterioration Of Product Quality Research Articles

Green and Sustainable Forward Osmosis Process for the Concentration of Apple Juice Using Sodium Lactate as Draw Solution.

China is the world's largest producer and exporter of concentrated apple juice (CAJ). However, traditional concentration methods such as vacuum evaporation (VE) and freeze concentration cause the loss of essential nutrients and heat-sensitive components with high energy consumption. A green and effective technique is thus desired for juice concentration to improve product quality and sustainability. In this study, a hybrid forward osmosis-membrane distillation (FO-MD) process was explored for the concentration of apple juice using sodium lactate (L-NaLa) as a renewable draw solute. As a result, commercial apple juice could be concentrated up to 65 °Brix by the FO process with an average flux of 2.5 L·m-2·h-1. Most of the nutritional and volatile compounds were well retained in this process, while a significant deterioration in product quality was observed in products obtained by VE concentration. It was also found that membrane fouling in the FO concentration process was reversible, and a periodical UP water flush could remove most of the contaminants on the membrane surface to achieve a flux restoration of more than 95%. In addition, the L-NaLa draw solution could be regenerated by a vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) process with an average flux of around 7.87 L∙m-2∙h-1 for multiple reuse, which further enhanced the long-term sustainability of the hybrid process.

Antifungal activity and mechanisms of ε-poly-l-lysine (ε-PL) against Colletotrichum lagenarium in marrow squash

Fungal diseases are major adverse factors leading to quality deterioration and spoilage of post-harvest horticultural products. ε-PL is widely recognized as a natural antibacterial agent because of its broad spectrum antimicrobial property. This study was to investigate the antifungal activity of ε-PL against C. lagenarium, and elucidate the underlying mechanism involved. In vivo were also confirmed that ε-PL treatment showed an obvious inhibitory effect for control of anthracnose caused by C.lagenarium in marrow squash. Moreover, in vitro assay showed that ε-PL exerted strongly antifungal activity against mycelial growth on colony diameter, spore germination and mycelium dry weight of C.lagenarium, with the increase of the concentration of ε-PL. Furthermore, compared with the control, damage the cell membrane of C.lagenarium and increase MDA content, significant leakages of intercellular electrolytes, nucleic acid, protein and sugar, suggested that ε-PL treatment increased the membrane permeability of C. lagenarium. Simultaneously, ε-PL significantly inhibited the activity of enzyme related to energy metabolism in C.lagenarium. The results were observed by SEM and TEM that ε-PL treatment damaged the morphology of C.lagenarium. In conclusion, ε-PL concentration higher than 400 mg L−1 might be used as an antifungal agents to control anthracnose caused by C.lagenarium in marrow squash.

Perishable food supply chain contract with asymmetric freshness information

Food suppliers and retailers are grappling with challenging pricing and operational policies due to the deterioration of product quality over time. This problem is exacerbated by the food supplier’s intentions to provide false information about the freshness of the food. A principal-agent model optimisation for food retailer pricing is constructed to anticipate asymmetric freshness information from the food supplier. This study introduces novel modelling by incorporating a quality deterioration function with information asymmetry in case the food supplier attempts to conceal information about the freshness of the food. Retailers should charge non-discriminatory and low wholesale prices to encourage food suppliers to report their less fresh food. Overall, the supplier’s benefits are decreased when they decide not to share information regarding food freshness. However, the supplier remains profitable when the retailer believes in the less fresh food condition based on the contract design.

A dynamic condition-based maintenance policy for heterogeneous-wearing tools with considering product quality deterioration

The wear of a cutting tool can lead to tool failure and product quality deterioration, and thus timely maintenance of tools is crucial. Meanwhile, the wear of tools from a same population usually exhibits heterogeneous patterns. Therefore, this paper proposes a dynamic condition-based maintenance (CBM) policy for heterogeneous-wearing tools with considering the product quality deterioration caused by tool wear. The tool wear is modelled by an Inverse Gaussian (IG) process, and the wear rate is assumed to be a random variable to characterise the heterogeneity among tool wear processes. The posterior distribution of reciprocal of tool wear rate is dynamically estimated using the online wear data based on a Bayesian approach. Moreover, the impact of tool wear on product quality deterioration is modelled. The IG process is discretized into a discrete time Markov chain (DTMC). Under the frame of the DTMC, a cost function, containing product quality loss, preventive maintenance (PM) cost and corrective maintenance cost, is developed to determine the optimal PM threshold. The cost function updates dynamically with the dynamic estimation of tool wear rate and thus enables the optimal PM threshold to be dynamically revised. The effectiveness of the proposed CBM policy is demonstrated through a case study.

A comparison of different technologies to improve temperature control in refrigerated containers: A table grape export case

PurposeTable grapes are exported in refrigerated (reefer) containers owing to their temperature sensitivity. Previous studies have found that insufficient airflow around pallets of fruit cause hotspots in reefer containers, which could negatively affect fruit quality. This study compared the efficacy of two technologies fitted inside reefer containers to improve airflow for table grape shipments. MethodAmbient and pulp temperature sensors were inserted in two shipments of three containers each; each shipment had one container fitted with airflow Technology 1, one fitted with airflow Technology 2, and a control container. Sensors were placed in cartons in the top, middle and bottom layers of six pallets per container to obtain the ambient and pulp temperature profiles of table grapes along the export cold chain from the cold store in South Africa until the destination distribution centre in the Netherlands. Descriptive statistics and two-way ANOVA tests were used to analyse the datasets. FindingsThe largest number of temperature breaks and the longest temperature breaks were recorded in the control containers. Overall, the containers fitted with airflow technologies fared better than the control containers. The containers fitted with Technology 2 performed marginally better than those fitted with Technology 1. However, the sample size of this study was too small to draw definitive conclusions. Further research with larger sample sizes is required for more definitive results. OriginalityThis article identifies areas along the table grape export cold chain where temperature deviations occur more frequently and links the temperature deviations to product quality. It also ascertains which airflow technologies can help to limit the deterioration of product quality and cut financial losses.

Infrared radiation drying application in agriculture

World agricultural products, in general, are very diverse, and Vietnam is no exception. In the current trend, high quality agricultural products are increasingly receiving attention and modern methods are applied to improve their quality. Among many methods for improve quality, the infrared radiation drying method is evaluated to minimize drying time, reduce deterioration of agricultural product quality and limit environmental impact. Therefore, this article focuses on applying infrared radiation drying method to agricultural products composed of seafood. The article describes and compares the technical conditions when drying plants and animals using the infrared radiation drying method in combination with other drying methods.

Evaluation of the quality and stability of freeze-dried fruits and vegetables pre-treated by pulsed electric fields (PEF)

This study investigates the application of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) technology to improve the freeze-drying process, the final product quality and the stability of kiwi fruits, red bell peppers, and red beetroots. Freeze-drying is a fundamental drying technology that aims to maintain the natural attributes of food, but it often leads to challenges such as prolonged drying times and quality degradation. To further understand the implications of applying PEF before freeze-drying, the storage stability of the freeze-dried samples was investigated under both illuminated and dark conditions. PEF treatment was carried out at constant electric field strength of E = 1.0 kV/cm, and specific energy input was varied between 0.2 and 20.8 kJ/kg. This study revealed that PEF treatment significantly decreased the freeze-drying time (2-fold) exclusively for bell peppers. PEF treatment substantially improved volume retention and rehydration capacity for both kiwi fruits and bell peppers, indicating enhanced structural integrity. However, applying PEF had an overall adverse impact on the colour stability of the freeze-dried samples (ΔE > 3). The quality decline was mitigated storing the samples in dark conditions. The results of this study suggest that applying PEF before freeze-drying can represent a promising strategy to enhance the quality of freeze-dried products with improved drying kinetics, volume retention, and rehydration capacity. Careful consideration of storage conditions is essential to prevent the deterioration of product quality over time.

Filament extrusion state monitoring in fused filament fabrication using Bhattacharyya distance and K-nearest neighbor

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the most popular techniques of additive manufacturing. However, product quality issues still limit the further application of FFF technology. Filament extrusion state has a great influence on the quality of FFF fabricated products, since both under-extrusion and over-extrusion can lead to the deterioration of product quality. Therefore, monitoring the filament extrusion states is vital and essential. This paper aims to monitor the filament extrusion state by acoustic emission (AE). To achieve this goal, experiments are conducted on a desktop FFF machine, where the states of under-extrusion and over-extrusion are induced by different extrusion speeds. Original AE signals are collected during the experiments. Confronted with the challenge posed by the susceptibility of AE signals to noise during the complex extrusion process and different conditions, one calculates the statistical distribution of the features defined on the raw AE signals, without the need for noise reduction steps. The k-nearest neighbor algorithm is then adopted to identify the different extrusion states, where the Bhattacharyya distance is employed to measure the distances or similarities of the calculated distributions. The findings demonstrate the successful identification of various extrusion states induced by different extrusion speeds through the presented method. The outcomes of this study pave the way for the development of an affordable in-situ FFF monitoring system with comprehensive capabilities.

Research on the quality deterioration of UHT milk products during shelf life: core microorganisms and related characteristics

Research on the quality deterioration of UHT milk products during shelf life: core microorganisms and related characteristics

Effect of coating with combined chitosan and gallic acid on shelf-life stability of Jeju black cattle beef.

Beef of Jeju black cattle (JBC) is considered as a healthy meat type due to its significantly higher unsaturated fatty acids (UFA). Lipid (e.g., UFA) is highly susceptible to oxidizing agents, which results in the quality deterioration and economic value loss of meat products. Therefore, development and application of novel preservative techniques is necessary to improve the shelf-life stability of high-UFA beef. The objective of this study was to assess the applicability of chitosan-based coatings in preservation of JBC beef. Different coating solutions: 2% chitosan alone, and 2% chitosan containing 0.1% or 0.3% gallic acid were prepared to investigate their applicability in preservation of fresh beef during storage. Jeju black cattle beef (2-cm thick steaks) were non-coated (control) or coated with the above coating solutions, placed on trays, over-wrapped with plastic film and stored at 4°C. The microbiological indices, color, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) and lipid oxidation of the beef were investigated after 1, 10, and 21 days of storage. Coating with 2% chitosan alone reduced the spoilage bacteria count, TVBN and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances levels in the beef compared with control during storage (p<0.05). Noticeably, coating with 2% chitosan containing 0.1% or 0.3% gallic acid was more effective on retardation of spoilage bacteria growth, lipid oxidation and discoloration in the beef compared to the chitosan coating alone over the storage period (21 days) (p<0.05). Taken together, the combined chitosan and gallic acid coating could be used as a bio-preservative technique in the meat industry.

Evaluation of Platelet Storage Lesion (PSL) Markers in SSP+ Platelet Additive Solution Added Canine Platelet Concentrates (CPC)

Background: To evaluate the Platelet Storage Lesion (PSL) markers and extended storage time for SSP+ added Canine Platelet Concentrates (CPC) beyond five days at 22°C.Fresh Canine CPCundergo certain metabolic and morphologic changes during storage. Estimation of PSL markers helps us better understand quality of the canine PC and to estimate the efficacy of SSP+ in increasing the life span of stored CPC. Method:CPC was prepared from 350 ml of whole blood, collected from 6 apparently healthy donor dogs by buffy coat methodin a quadruple bag closed system. CPC was divided into four aliquots of 15 ml each with one control and three test groups with SSP+ additive solution in different concentrations (65%, 75%, 85%). TheIn vitro PSL markers including swirling, pH, glucose, lactate, bicarbonate, pO2, pCO2, platelet concentration, MPV and PDWwere evaluated on day 1, 5, 9 and 13 of storage. Result:The results were analysed by Two-way ANOVA wherein swirling, pH, glucose, lactate, bicarbonate, pO2, pCO2, platelet concentration, MPV showed significant difference (p less than 0.01) between the groups. Interaction between the additive concentrations and the days of storage revealed a pH on day 9 for 65% SSP+ to be similar to day 5 for Plasma stored CPC while swirling, lactate and bicarbonate were also better maintained for 65% SSP+ PAS added CPC till day 9.Addition of 65% SSP+ PAS to CPC evidenced increased shelf life up to 9 days at 22°C under agitation without significant deterioration in product quality.

Recent advances in the effects of protein oxidation on aquatic products quality: mechanism and regulation

SummaryAquatic products are delicious and rich in high‐quality proteins, and thus have high‐food value and are popular among consumers; however, deterioration of their quality can easily occur when being stored and processed. Proteins, the main components of the muscle tissue of aquatic products, are closely related to the quality of aquatic products, and protein oxidation has become a research hotspot for studying the regulatory mechanisms of aquatic product quality changes. Protein oxidation is one of the main causes of quality deterioration of aquatic products, mainly because of protein cross‐linking and protein degradation caused by oxidation. Related studies have also shown that the changes in the electrostatic charge of proteins owing to oxidation are associated with the muscle water‐holding capacity (WHC). This article introduces the induction mechanism of protein oxidation in aquatic products, focusing on its effects on the quality, such as colour, texture, WHC and summarises the current research progress of aquatic products quality control on this basis to provide theoretical reference for future research.

Modification of low-salt myofibrillar protein using combined ultrasound pre-treatment and konjac glucomannan for improving gelling properties: Intermolecular interaction and filling effect

The quality deterioration of low-salt meat products has been gained ongoing focus of researchers. In this study, konjac glucomannan (KGM) was used to alleviate the finiteness of ultrasound treatment on the quality improvement of low-salt myofibrillar protein (MP), and the modification sequence was also investigated. The results revealed that the single and double sequential modification by utilizing KGM and ultrasound significantly influenced the gelation behavior of low-salt MPs. The uniform MP-KGM mixture formed by a single ultrasound treatment had limited protein unfolding, resulting in relatively weak intermolecular forces in the composite gel. Importantly, ultrasound pre-treatment combined with KGM modification promoted the unfolding and moderate thermal aggregation of proteins and remarkably improved the rheological behaviors and gel strength of the composite gel. This result could also be corroborated by the highest percentage of trans-gauche-trans conformation of SS bridges and maximum β-sheet proportion. Furthermore, molecular dynamic simulation and molecular docking elucidated that the hydrogen bond length between protein and KGM was shortened after ultrasound pre-treatment, which was the molecular basis for the enhanced intermolecular interactions. Therefore, ultrasound pre-treatment combined with KGM can effectively improve the gelling properties of low-salt MPs, providing a practical method for the processing of low-salt meat products.

Investigation of the changes in gelation properties of hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate-surimi gel under different gelation-freezing treatments.

Frozen storage often leads to quality deterioration of surimi-based products. At present, most of the research focuses on improving the quality of surimi products by adding cryoprotectants, and there are few studies available on preparation technology. Therefore, the effects of different gelation-freezing treatments, high temperature heating-freezing treatment (HF), low temperature heating-high temperature heating-freezing treatment (LHF) and low temperature heating-freezing-high temperature heating treatment (LFH) on the quality changes of surimi gels containing hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate (HPDSP) during frozen storage were investigated. With the extension of frozen storage time, the quality of surimi gel in all groups decreased, but the quality of surimi gel with HPDSP was better than that of surimi gel without HPDSP. Compared with HF and LHF, the change range of breaking force, hardness, gumminess, whiteness and disulfide bond content of HPDSP-surimi gel treated with LFH was the least during the frozen storage. In the reheating process of LFH, HPDSP could absorb the water lost during freezing. Therefore, the change in the transverse relaxation time of HPDSP-surimi gels treated with LFH was smaller, with more immobile water and less free water and P22 of 96.81% and P23 of 0% at 16 weeks. In addition, the breaking deformation, cohesiveness, resilience, springiness and protein composition of surimi gels with and without HPDSP treated with HF, LHF and LFH did not change significantly during frozen storage. The combination of LFH and HPDSP could effectively reduce the quality change of surimi gel during frozen storage. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of hazelnut skin and dry tomato peel on the oxidative stability, chemical and sensory properties of pork burgers during refrigerated storage

The quality deterioration of meat products due to lipid oxidation could be controlled by utilizing agri-food by-products rich in antioxidants. This study evaluated the effect of adding hazelnut skin and dry tomato peel to pork burgers against oxidation phenomena. Three types of burgers were prepared: a control (C) with a basic formulation, and two formulations with 2.5% hazelnut skin (HS) or with 2.5% dry tomato peel (DTP). Microbiological, sensorial, and physio-chemical analyses were performed during 7 days of refrigerated storage (0–4 °C). Results showed a high inhibition of oxidation in HS burgers at all sampling times, both raw and cooked burgers, while in DTP burgers this phenomenon occurred only when cooked. Both by-products provided a significant amount of fiber, increased the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content, and improved the omega-6/omega-3 ratio.

Gallic and ferulic acids suppress proteolytic activities and volatile trimethylamine production in the food-borne spoiler Rahnella aquatilis KM05.

Rahnella aquatilis is a recognized microbial threat that alters the sensory properties of seafood. The high frequency with which R. aquatilis is isolated from fish has prompted a search for alternative preservatives. In this work, in vitro and fish-based ecosystem (RS) approaches were used to validate the antimicrobial effects of gallic (GA) and ferulic (FA) acids against R. aquatilis KM05. The results were compared with data describing the response of KM05 to sodium benzoate (SB). Bioinformatics data of the whole genome was used to analyze the potential for fish spoilage by KM05 in detail, and the results revealed the main physiological characteristics that underlie reduced seafood quality. In the KM05 genome, the most abundantly enriched GO terms were 'metabolic process', 'organic substance metabolic process' and 'cellular process'. Through an evaluation of the Pfam annotations, 15 annotations were found to be directly involved in the proteolytic activity of KM05. Peptidase_M20 was the most abundantly represented (abundance value of 14 060). Proteins representing the CutC family (abundance value of 427) indicated the potential for KM05 degradation of TMAO. Subinhibitory concentrations of GA and FA suppressed the proteolytic activities of KM05 both in vitro and in RS medium by an average of 33-45%. These results were confirmed by RT-qPCR experiments, which also showed that the expression levels of genes involved in proteolytic activities and volatile TMA production were also decreased. Phenolic compounds can be used as potential food additives for preventing quality deterioration of fish products. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Effect of Different Genotypes and Harvest Times of Sage (Salvia spp. Labiatae) on Lipid Oxidation of Cooked Meat.

Lipid oxidation is the primary non-microbial reason for quality deterioration of meat and meat products. Lipid oxidation can be prevented or delayed by antioxidants. In this study, 15 sage (Salvia spp. Labiatae) extracts (five genotypes, three harvest times) were tested for their ability to reduce lipid oxidation (peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)) in ground, uncured, cooked porcine and bovine meat (60%/40% mixture) during 14 days of refrigerated storage. Additionally, total phenolic content was determined, and the antioxidant capacity of the extracts was measured as radical scavenging activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay), reducing power, and superoxide anion scavenging activity. All 15 sage extracts were able to reduce lipid oxidation, though showing expected differences depending on genotype and harvest time. The extracts of S. officinalis accession from Foggia, Italy performed better than the other genotypes when looking at the entire storage period and considering both PV and TBARS. Of the applied methods for determining antioxidant capacity, superoxide anion scavenging activity proved to be the best determinant of the ability of sage to reduce lipid oxidation in the meat sample.

Effect of multiple freeze–thaw cycles on water migration, protein conformation and quality attributes of beef longissimus dorsi muscle by real-time low field nuclear magnetic resonance and Raman spectroscopy

Repeated freezing and thawing (F-T) happens during long-term storage and transportation due to the temperature variation, causing quality deterioration of beef products and influencing consumer acceptance. This study was aimed to investigate the relationship between quality attributes, protein structural changes and water real-time migration of beef with different F-T cycles. The results showed that multiply F-T cycles damaged the muscle microstructure and protein structure tended to denature and unfold, led lower population of water reabsorbed, thus triggering the decrease of water capacity, especially a decrease of T21 and A21 of completely thawed beef samples, finally affected the quality, such as tenderness, color and lipid oxidation of beef muscle. Beef should not be abused by F-T cycles >3 times, the quality extremely degraded when subjected to 5 or more F-T cycles, and real-time LF-NMR provided a new aspect to help us control the thawing process of beef.

Quality deterioration of Litopenaeus vannamei associated with protein changes during partial freezing storage

Proteins play a substantial role in the deterioration of partial freezing shrimp product quality. In this study, traditional protein indicators were used to determine changes in shrimp muscle quality during storage, and the changed proteins were identified using proteomic analysis. The decrease in total sulfhydryl (SH) content and the increase in carbonyl content indicate protein is denatured. The decrease in Ca²⁺-ATPase activity and the increase in surface hydrophobicity also indicate protein denatured. The increase of hydrophobic interaction and disulfide bonds suggest a larger and closer network among proteins. A total of eight changed protein bands were detected on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) diagram under partial freezing storage. Three of them were identified as <i>α</i>-actinin (97 kDa), invertebrate connectin (I-connectin (55 kDa)), and troponin I (30 kDa), respectively, which are essential components of myofibrillar protein. The results of the bioinformatic analysis showed that <i>α</i>-actinin and troponin I are unstable proteins with a secondary structure dominated by <i>α</i>-helix, while I-connectin is a stable protein with a secondary structure dominated by random coil. All three proteins are hydrophilic and predicted to be non-toxic on ToxinPreds.

Improvement of fatty systems biotechnological interesterification with immobilized enzyme preparation usage

This work research object was fat systems interesterification biotechnology using the Lipozyme TL IM immobilized enzyme preparation. The problem of enzyme preparation activation by moistening with sodium bicarbonate aqueous solution with 7.4 ... 7.7 (3 % wt.) pH was solved in the work. The obtained results made it possible to minimize the interesterification process duration with high-quality product obtaining. The proposed enzyme preparation processing made it possible to reduce the duration of the biointeresterification process in a model fat mixture (palm stearin, coconut and soybean oils in a ratio of 1:1:1, respectively) to 3.5...3.7 hours. The product with high quality indicators, namely up to 0.26 mg KOH/g acid number, up to 0.60 mmol ½ O/kg peroxide number and 1.70 c.u. anisidine number, was obtained as a result. The obtained data can be explained by a fact that effective biocatalysis with lipolytic enzymes as the protein molecules requires the existence of two phases – lipid and water. This fact was provided by the activation parameters justified in the study. The obtained results feature was possibility of enzyme preparation activation, which is not provided under industrial conditions due to the threat of raw materials and finished products hydrolytic processes, which leads to the finished product quality deterioration. The research results made it possible to minimize hydrolytic processes in fat system during interesterification with simultaneous process efficiency increase. From a practical point of view, the discovered activation mechanism made it possible to adjust the enzyme preparation processing conditions in fat systems interesterification technology. The applied aspect of scientific result using was the possibility of improving the typical technological process of fat interesterification