Role Of Food Quality Research Articles

Evaluating Customer Satisfaction Through Customer Value: The Role Of Food Quality, Service Quality, And Physical Environment

This study investigates the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer value, focusing on the significance of food quality, service, and physical environment in Mie Gacoan Indonesia Restaurant located in South Tangerang City. By employing a case study approach, data was collected from customers to assess their perceptions and satisfaction levels regarding the mentioned factors. Statistical analysis techniques were applied to analyze the data and determine the impact of food quality, service, and physical environment on customer satisfaction. The findings reveal important insights into the dynamics of customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry and emphasize the critical role of customer value in enhancing overall satisfaction. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence and practical implications for restaurant management aiming to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

PERANAN METODE PENYIMPANAN BAHAN MAKANAN DALAM MENINGKATKAN KUALITAS MAKANAN DI HOTEL BINTANG LABUHAN BAJO FLORES

Bintang Flores Hotel is a 4 -star hotel in Labuan Bajo Flores It has types of food ranging from appetizers to desserts that are served at breakfast until dinner so that the quality of the food served is good, a method of storing food ingredients is needed so that the quality of the food served every day can be guaranteed. This research is descriptive descriptive qualitative. The data is done by collecting primary data and secondary data. The data and information obtained through field research were then analyzed. Data reduction techniques, data presentation, and triangulation were used in analyzing the data. The results showed that the storage method has a role in food quality. Storage can be done in various ways, starting from food labeling, maintaining the circulation of goods using the FIFO system, and checking both the temperature and the expiration time of the goods. These various methods can improve the quality of food from various sides ranging from attractive appearance, appropriate taste, and attractive color to good texture so that it can make consumers interested in enjoying the food

Novel Features of Cellulose-Based Films as Sustainable Alternatives for Food Packaging.

Packaging plays an important role in food quality and safety, especially regarding waste and spoilage reduction. The main drawback is that the packaging industry is among the ones that is highly dependent on plastic usage. New alternatives to conventional plastic packaging such as biopolymers-based type are mandatory. Examples are cellulose films and its derivatives. These are among the most used options in the food packaging due to their unique characteristics, such as biocompatibility, environmental sustainability, low price, mechanical properties, and biodegradability. Emerging concepts such as active and intelligent packaging provides new solutions for an extending shelf-life, and it fights some limitations of cellulose films and improves the properties of the packaging. This article reviews the available cellulose polymers and derivatives that are used as sustainable alternatives for food packaging regarding their properties, characteristics, and functionalization towards active properties enhancement. In this way, several types of films that are prepared with cellulose and their derivatives, incorporating antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds, are herein described, and discussed.

Manifesting sustainable food packaging from biodegradable materials: A review

AbstractThe application of petroleum‐based plastic worldwide causes the accumulation of plastic waste in landfills, which negatively impacts the environment such as reducing the quality of soil and may cause soil and water pollution. Most of the conventional plastics used have a long lifespan to completely degrade. According to the rapid development of the food industry, plastic packaging plays a key role in food quality and safety, thus making it a major role in controlling the food security system. The alternative use of plastic sources from biopolymers is one of the methods to support environmental sustainability actions. This review provides an overview of studies on principles and challenges of sustainable packaging including different types of biopolymer compounds properties and biodegradability of bioplastics in soil by microorganisms. The biopolymers composition in biodegradable plastic is important in designing better mechanical, physical, and barrier properties during degradation by microorganisms and application in food industries.

Special Issue on “Phenolic Compounds: Extraction, Optimization, Identification and Applications in Food Industry”

Interest has grown regarding natural plant extracts in food and beverage applications, their vital role in food quality and technology, and their therapeutic use in inhibiting several diseases [...]

Impact of superheated steam on the moisture transfer, structural characteristics and rheological properties of wheat starch

Superheated steam treatment (SST) can improve cereal-based foodstuff quality. Starch is the major component of cereal-based foodstuffs, playing a key role in food quality. For understanding the effect of SST on the moisture distribution, lamellar structure and molecular weight of wheat starch, the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and size exclusion chromatography were employed. Compared with native starch, SST reduced the average thickness of crystalline layer and induced the depolymerization of starch molecules, which were attributed to the limited moisture transfer resulting in the partial gelatinization of starch granules. The structural variations had a synergistic effect on the rheological properties of starch samples. Upon SST, treated samples exhibited a weaker pseudoplasticity behavior and increased the deformability and mobility of gels systems. Furthermore, the lower tanδ values of treated starch samples were observed, indicating that the gels systems tended to the solid-like behaviors.

Research on the Application of Computer Technology in Food Safety Traceability System

At present, food safety incidents occur from time to time, which reveals that the food safety traceability system has some outstanding problems and phenomena, such as low credibility of information transmission, large distortion in the process of information transmission and circulation. It is urgent to build an effective food safety traceability system. Based on this, this paper first analyses the value and role of food quality and safety traceability system, then studies the value and role of food quality and safety traceability system, and finally gives the specific utilization; of computer tech in food safety traceability system.

A Potentiometric Electronic Tongue as a Discrimination Tool of Water-Food Indicator/Contamination Bacteria

Microorganism assessment plays a key role in food quality and safety control but conventional techniques are costly and/or time consuming. Alternatively, electronic tongues (E-tongues) can fulfill this critical task. Thus, a potentiometric lab-made E-tongue (40 lipid sensor membranes) was used to differentiate four common food contamination bacteria, including two Gram positive (Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus) and two Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Principal component analysis and a linear discriminant analysis-simulated annealing algorithm (LDA-SA) showed that the potentiometric signal profiles acquired during the analysis of aqueous solutions containing known amounts of each studied bacteria allowed a satisfactory differentiation of the four bacterial strains. An E-tongue-LDA-SA model (12 non-redundant sensors) correctly classified 98 ± 5% of the samples (repeated K-fold-CV), the satisfactory performance of which can be attributed to the capability of the lipid membranes to establish electrostatic interactions/hydrogen bonds with hydroxyl, amine and/or carbonyl groups, which are comprised in the bacteria outer membranes. Furthermore, multiple linear regression models, based on selected subsets of E-tongue sensors (12–15 sensors), also allowed quantifying the bacteria contents in aqueous solutions (0.993 ± 0.011 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.998 ± 0.005, for repeated K-fold-CV). In conclusion, the E-tongue could be of great value as a preliminary food quality and safety diagnosis tool.

Blockchain-Based Traceability System That Ensures Food Safety Measures to Protect Consumer Safety and COVID-19 Free Supply Chains.

The world is facing an unprecedented socio-economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The virus is also spreading through the import and export food supply chains. The Chinese authorities have discovered the COVID-19 virus in various imported frozen meat packages. Traceability plays a vital role in food quality and food safety. The Internet of Things (IoT) provides solutions to overseeing environmental conditions, product quality, and product traceability. These solutions are traditionally based on a centralized architecture, which does not guarantee tamper-proof data sharing. The blockchain is an emerging technology that provides tamper-proof data sharing in real-time. This article presents a blockchain-enabled supply chain architecture to ensure the availability of a tamper-proof audit trail. This tamper-proof audit trail helps to make sure that all safety measures are undertaken to minimize the risk of COVID-19 and other bacteria, fungi, and parasites being present in the frozen meat supply chain.

Inhibitory Activity on the Formation of Reactive Carbonyl Species in Edible Oil by Synthetic Polyphenol Antioxidants.

Food lipids play an important role in food quality, and their attributes contribute to texture, flavor, and nutrition. However, high-temperature processing leads to lipid peroxidation, degradation, and the formation of reactive carbonyl species (RCS), such as acrolein (ACR), glyoxal (GO), and methylglyoxal (MGO). We investigated the changes in the peroxidation value (POV), Rancimat induction time, formation and total amount of RCS, and inhibitory effects of synthetic polyphenol antioxidants on ACR/GO/MGO in plant oils during heating processing through an accelerated oxidation test using Rancimat. With increasing temperature and heating time, the amounts of ACR, GO, and MGO in oil increased and the level of ACR was about several times higher than that of GO and MGO. We also found that some amounts of ACR, GO, and MGO were produced at the initial stage before reaching the peak value of POV, even before oil oxidative rancidity, and the common antioxidant butyl hydroxyanisole (BHA)/butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) could not remove them once they were generated. This is first time to purify PG-ACR-MGO and elucidate the structure based on analysis of their high resolution mass spectrometry and 1H, 13C, and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance. We further found that PG rather than BHT and BHA efficiently trapped ACR, OG, and MGO to form adducts in oil and roasted beef burgers with corn oil. Additionally, after incubation at 80 °C, the trapping order of PG was as follows: ACR, MGO, and GO, and the adduct of PG-ACR was formed within 1 min; after 10 min, PG-MGO was generated; and three adducts formed at 15 min. However, PG could not trap ACR, GO, or MGO to form adducts at room temperature. This study provided novel knowledge to advance our understanding of the ability of synthetic polyphenol antioxidants to scavenge RCS simultaneously, such as ACR, MGO, and GO. Our findings demonstrated that PG, as an inhibitor of RCS, is suitable for medium- and high-temperature food processing but not for normal-temperature storage.

Low food quality hinders male height growth more than female’s in Burkina Faso

As in many developing countries, stunting is a public health problem in Burkina Faso. More than one in four children does not reach his or her growth potential. In addition, all nutrition surveys conducted in the country reveal that boys are more affected. This stunting gender bias is supported by the Trivers-Willard theory that there is a natural discriminating investment in reproduction according to sex through sociodemographic characteristics, behaviour and biology. The present study is intended to investigate the role of food quality in the occurrence of this phenomenon.
 This cross-sectional and explanatory study of children under five years of age is based on data from Burkina Faso’s latest 2010 Demographic and Health Survey. Analyses were carried out on only the subsample of 6994 under-five year old children on which the anthropometric measures were taken. The assessment of child growth is based on the anthropometric index height-for-age z-score and the food quality assessment is based on the joint WHO/Unicef standard. The explanatory model used to examine the effect of the food quality is based on logistic regression.
 The prevalence of balanced diets among the children was 7.2% and there was no gender difference. On the other hand, stunting prevalence was significantly higher for boys (37.7% versus 32.6%). Children who were subjected to suboptimal feeding practices had three times more adjusted risk of stunting for both sexes. In addition, poor feeding practices led to a significantly higher growth deficit in boys compared to girls. However, when the diet was adequate, this risk gap dwindled. The higher prevalence of stunting of boys in the absence of food discrimination led us to single out behaviour and biology effects as the likely explanatory variables. Girls' natural resilience to certain infections and nutritional deficiencies could explain this difference in risk.
 Improved under-five year old child feeding practices contribute to improving overall growth stature and contribute also to bridging the gender gap in stunting.

Unsatisfactory microbiological aspects of UHT goat milk, soymilk and dairy beverage of goat milk and soy protein: A public health issue

Abstract Spore forming bacteria can play an important role in food quality and safety as spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms due to resistance to heat-treatment. However, there are limited number of studies focused on evaluate the microbiological quality and the occurrence of these bacteria in UHT goat milk, soymilk and dairy beverage of goat milk and soy protein. In this context, 75 samples of these beverages were evaluated regarding heterotrophic mesophilic microorganisms by conventional plate count and selective methods to detect microorganisms from Bacillus cereus group and Clostridium perfringens. Population counts greater than 104 CFU.ml-1 of heterotrophic mesophilic microorganisms were observed in 80% of the lots of goat milk and 100% of the lots of soymilk and dairy beverage of goat milk and soy protein. The presence of bacteria belonging to B. cereus group was observed in 16%, 52% and 44% of goat milk, soymilk and dairy beverage of goat milk and soy protein, respectively. C. perfringens was isolated from 8% samples of UHT soymilk. The frequency of genes hblA, hblB, hblC, nheA, nheB, nheC in 29 isolates obtained from these products was 62%, 48.2%, 96.5%, 79.3%, 68.9% and 79.3%, respectively. The microbiological quality of the evaluated products was unsatisfactory.

Volatilomics for food quality and authentication

Volatilomics technology plays a significant role in food quality and authenticity assessment. Its main advantage is the generation of a plethora of data that can be rapidly analyzed and provide in short-time estimation on products’ quality. Technical aspects of volatilome analysis, including sample preparation, extraction methods, analytical conditions, instrumentation and multivariate data analysis are considered to be a significant part of the volatilomics approach. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) combined with GC–MS is the most frequently used analytical method while sensor-based techniques such as e-nose are gaining gradually ground in volatilome analysis. Multivariate analysis, in terms of both supervised and unsupervised methods such as principal component analysis (PCA), discriminant analysis (DA) and partial least squares regression (PLS) is of critical importance for the success of the volatilomics concept. Depending on the applied technique, volatilome profile analysis can contribute to the discrimination of samples in groups, the identification of specific compounds (biomarkers) that are crucial for quality and/or authenticity assessment and the prediction of several factors associated with food quality. The fact that each food commodity has its own distinctive volatilome profile that is differentiated depending on environmental conditions, geographical or biological origin, processing conditions and several other factors, renders volatilomics a promising tool in food quality and authenticity assessment.

Development of a fast gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for volatile aromatic compound analysis in oenological products.

Aroma plays an important role in food quality, and knowledge of volatile composition is essential to support technological choices during industrial transformation processes. In this study, an innovative GC-MS/MS method useful for fast analysis of the broad aroma profile of oenological products was developed. Fifty volatile compounds of oenological interest belonging to the main chemical classes (acetates, acids, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, phenols, terpenes, and thiols) were identified and quantified in a single chromatographic run taking only 15minutes. The high sensitivity of the mass spectrometer, combined with accurate fast chromatography performed with a suitable capillary column, allowed us to avoid further concentration steps after solid phase extraction. Validation of the method was performed in relation to the limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity range, repeatability, reproducibility, and recovery. Once validated, the method was successfully tested on commercial oenological samples, demonstrating its applicability to fast routine multiaroma analysis.

Fine-scale infaunal community and food web patch mosaics from Barkley methane hydrates (British Columbia, Canada): The role of food quality

In order to assess the influence of organic matter patchiness on deep-sea biodiversity, we examined organic matter patchiness and macrofauna at small spatial scales (meters – 100 s of meters) in a chemosynthetic environment (Barkley methane hydrates, British Columbia continental slope, ~900 m depth). Specifically, we assessed quantity, quality, and sources of organic matter and their influence on the associated infaunal community and food web structure (feeding guild composition) at the methane outcrop, as well as at sites 20 m and 600 m away. We found greater patchiness in food composition at the outcrop site (containing clam beds) than the more distant locations. Trophic diversity (ES[10]) was significantly greater at the outcrop compared to that at the 20 m site, suggesting that the outcrop added rather than replaced trophic niche opportunities. Diversity (ES[10]) was lower at the outcrop compared to the other two sites, although not significantly so. We re-analysed the community data at higher spatial resolution (5–10 m, and lower replication) to identify the distance of influence of the hydrates habitat and found a transition from outcrop to background at 9 and 15 m away from the most active site, with greater similarity in the communities at 28 m to those at 600 m than the outcrop itself. Although not major controlling factors, food quality (i.e., nutritional value for benthic organisms) and source played a significant role in determining food web structure, outweighing the influences of food quantity and sediment type. However, our distance-based linear model (distLM) using all variables, food quality, or topography explained only 33.56%, 33.54%, and 33.18% respectively of the total variation in feeding guild composition, suggesting important roles for other environmental variables. We conclude that the higher food patchiness in Barkley Hydrates compared to ambient sediments likely contributed to increased trophic niche opportunities. We emphasize the importance of sampling at adequate spatial scales to detect the limits of the influence of methane hydrates in infaunal communities and food webs.

Microbial consortia in meat processing environments

Microbial contamination in food processing plants can play a fundamental role in food quality and safety. The description of the microbial consortia in the meat processing environment is important since it is a first step in understanding possible routes of product contamination. Furthermore, it may contribute in the development of sanitation programs for effective pathogen removal. The purpose of this study was to characterize the type of microbiota in the environment of meat processing plants: the microbiota of three different meat plants was studied by both traditional and molecular methods (PCR-DGGE) in two different periods. Different levels of contamination emerged between the three plants as well as between the two sampling periods. Conventional methods of killing free-living bacteria through antimicrobial agents and disinfection are often ineffective against bacteria within a biofilm. The use of gas-discharge plasmas potentially can offer a good alternative to conventional sterilization methods. The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (APP) surface treatments against bacteria in biofilms. Biofilms produced by three different L. monocytogenes strains on stainless steel surface were subjected to three different conditions (power, exposure time) of APP. Our results showed how most of the culturable cells are inactivated after the Plasma exposure but the RNA analysis by qPCR highlighted the entrance of the cells in the viable-but non culturable (VBNC) state, confirming the hypothesis that cells are damaged after plasma treatment, but in a first step, still remain alive. The understanding of the effects of APP on the L. monocytogenes biofilm can improve the development of sanitation programs with the use of APP for effective pathogen removal.

Antibiotic mixture effects on growth of the leaf-shredding stream detritivore Gammarus fossarum

Pharmaceuticals contribute greatly to human and animal health. Given their specific biological targets, pharmaceuticals pose a significant environmental risk by affecting organisms and ecosystem processes, including leaf-litter decomposition. Although litter decomposition is a central process in forest streams, the consequences of exposure to pharmaceuticals remain poorly known. The present study assessed the impact of antibiotics as an important class of pharmaceuticals on the growth of the leaf-shredding amphipod Gammarus fossarum over 24 days. Exposure scenarios involved an antibiotic mixture (i.e. sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, erythromycin-H2O, roxithromycin, clarithromycin) at 0, 2 and 200 µg/L to assess impacts resulting from exposure to both water and food. The antibiotics had no effect on either leaf-associated fungal biomass or bacterial abundance. However, modification of leaf quality (e.g. through shifts in leaf-associated microbial communities) may have triggered faster growth of gammarids (assessed in terms of body mass gain) at the low antibiotic concentration relative to the control. At 200 µg/L, however, gammarid growth was not stimulated. This outcome might be due to a modified ability of the gut microflora to assimilate nutrients and carbon. Furthermore, the observed lack of increases in the diameter of the gammarids’ peduncles, despite an increase in gammarid mass, suggests antibiotic-induced effects in the moulting cycle. Although the processes responsible for the observed effects have not yet been identified, these results suggest a potential role of food-quality, gammarid gut microflora and alteration in the moulting cycle in mediating impacts of antibiotics on these detritivores and the leaf decomposition process in streams.

Isolation and Identification of Aerobic Bacteria Carrying Tetracycline and Sulfonamide Resistance Genes Obtained from a Meat Processing Plant.

Microbial contamination in food-processing plants can play a fundamental role in food quality and safety. The purpose of this study was to investigate aerobic bacteria carrying tetracycline and sulfonamide resistance genes from a meat processing plant as possible sources of meat contamination. One hundred swab samples from surfaces of conveyor belts, meatslicers, meat knives, benches, plastictrays, gloves, and aprons were analyzed. A total of 168 isolates belonging to 10 genera were obtained, including Pseudomonas sp. (n = 35), Acinetobacter sp. (n = 30), Aeromonas sp. (n = 20),Myroides sp. (n = 15), Serratia sp. (n = 15), Staphylococcus sp. (n = 14), Enterobacter sp. (n = 11), Escherichia coli (n = 10), Lactococcus sp. (n = 10), and Klebsiella sp. (n = 8). Of the 168 isolates investigated, 60.7% showed resistance to tetracycline and 57.7% to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. The tetracycline resistance genes tetL, tetA, tetB, tetC, tetE, tetM, tetS, tetK, and tetX were found in the frequency of 7.7%, 6.0%, 4.8%, 4.8%, 3.6%, 3.6%, 3.6%, 1.2%, and 0.6%, respectively. Sulfonamide resistance genes sul1 and sul2 were observed in the frequency of 17.9% and 38.1%, respectively. The tetracycline resistance genes tetX was first found in Myroides sp. This investigation demonstrated that food contact surfaces in a meat processing plant may be sources of contamination of aerobic bacteria carrying tetracycline and sulfonamide antibiotic resistance genes.

Reducing bias in complex microbial community analysis in shrimp based on propidium monoazide combined with PCR-DGGE

Microbial community plays a prominent role in food quality and safety, which was regarded as the major cause for food spoilage and foodborne disease. Pre-PCR propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment is an effective approach to exclude DNA amplification signal from dead cells, and application of this method in the analysis of bacterial community might help us better understand the diversity and distribution of viable bacteria in food. In this study, the effects of PMA treatment on bacterial community characteristics in shrimp were assessed by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) fingerprinting technique. The results showed that the microbial diversity was dramatically influenced by PMA treatment. During storage at 4 °C, Shannon–Wiener index and PCoA analysis indicated there were significant differences between bacterial diversity in samples treated with and without PMA. At the level of species, compared with samples without PMA treatment, Vibrio cholera, Exiguobacterium acetylicum, Aeromonas enteropelogenes, Eubacterium multiforme, Vibrio mimicus in PMA-treated samples disappeared during storage. When samples stored at 25 °C, PMA treatment has little influence on banding patterns in DGGE profiles. In conclusion, this study provides an effective tool for precisely monitoring the diversity of viable bacteria in food samples, especially at low temperature.

Physicochemical interactions of maize starch with ferulic acid

Ferulic acid is widely present in diverse foods and has great health benefits. Starch is a major food component and can be flexibly employed to formulate various products. In this study, the effect of ferulic acid addition on various physicochemical properties of normal maize starch was explored. The properties including swelling, pasting, steady shear and dynamic oscillation rheology, gelatinization, retrogradation, and gel texture were affected by ferulic acid to various extents, depending on the addition level. Enzyme susceptibility of granular starch to α-amylase was not affected. These influences may be explained by the functions of solubilized as well as insoluble ferulic acid which was in the form of crystals in starch matrix. On the molecular level, V-type amylose–ferulic acid inclusion complex formation was not observed by both co-precipitation and acidification methods. The results of this study may inspire further studies on the interactions of phenolics with other food ingredients and their role in food quality.