Removal of Rancid-Acid Odor of Expeller-Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil by Gamma Irradiation: Evaluation by Sensory and Electronic Nose Technology

Chemical and sensory analyses of cultivated pork fat tissue as a flavor enhancer for meat alternatives

The emerging field of cellular agriculture has accelerated the development of cell-cultivated adipose tissue as an additive to enhance the flavor of alternative meat products. However, there has been limited research to evaluate the sensory profile of in vitro-grown tissues compared to conventionally obtained animal fat. This study aimed to investigate the aromatic characteristics of cell-cultivated fat tissue as a flavor enhancer for meat alternatives. Porcine dedifferentiated fat (PDFAT) cells were clonally isolated and differentiated into adipocytes. This cultured adipose tissue was then analyzed alongside native porcine fat using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) coupled with descriptive sensory analysis by human consumers. This evaluation enabled quantitative and qualitative assessments of volatile compounds released during cooking for both in vitro and in vivo porcine fats. The volatile profiles generated during the cooking process and fatty aroma characteristics reported by sensory consumers were largely similar between the two fat sources, with some differences in select compounds and aroma attributes. Ultimately, the consumers found comparable overall liking scores reported between the conventional and cultured porcine fats. These findings provide valuable sensory evidence supporting the viability of cell-cultivated adipose tissue as a flavor component of meat alternatives, substituting for conventional animal fat.

A SMART methodology for assessment of hexanal in potato crisps using electronic nose technology: sensor screening by scalar machine learning classifier method

There is a pertinent need to develop a rapid and accurate methodology for the detection of the onset and the progression of rancidity in the most popular savory product worldwide, viz. fried potato crisps for food safety and health concerns. Rancidity in the fried crisps-one set prepared using C18:2-lean deodorized virgin coconut oil under modified deep frying conditions (140 °C, 5 min),-and another set deep fried (170 °C, 3 min) in C18:2-rich oil (simulating commercial frying conditions) was determined by 'rancidity indices' generated (using Mahalanobis distance) from the data obtained by MO-based electronic nose analysis of hexanal (in Likens-Nickerson extract of volatiles from potato crisps), the most prominent rancidity marker, using screened sensors calibrated with standard hexanal, and classified using support vector machine. This also allowed unambiguous discrimination of the two sets of potato fries. The correlation of hexanal contents with the said indices yielded robust regression models which could accurately predict rancidity status of the crisps, forgoing GC-FID analysis of rancidity marker in the same. The 'SMART' models developed would allow rapid-cum-accurate detection of the onset and progression of rancidity in fried potato crisps on an industrial scale, forgoing the need to conduct biochemical analyses.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05831-y.

Acrylamide mitigation and 2,4-decadienal elimination in potato-crisps using L-proline accompanied by modified processing conditions

Presence of toxic compounds such as acrylamide and 2,4-decadienal in fried products are dependent on frying temperature and time and the frying oil. Combination treatments such as aqueous pre-treatments of potato slices prior to frying; addition of L-proline to pre-treated samples; moisture reduction of samples pre-frying, replacement of refined soybean oil by deodorized-virgin-coconut oil (DVCO) as frying medium; and modification of frying time-temperature regime, were implemented to mitigate acrylamide and 2,4-decadienal in fried potato-crips, concomitantly enhancing their organoleptic quality. Based on similarity values of % acrylamide mitigation, experimental conditions were classified into four main clusters and the optimized conditions of the combination treatments obtained by central composite rotatable design were: blanching at 70 °C for 20 min; addition of 2% L-proline to pre-treated potato slices; and deep-frying in DVCO under modified frying conditions (140 °C, 5 min) successfully alleviated acrylamide (~ 99%) (confirmed by HR-MS and quantified by RP-HPLC) and 2,4-decadienal (quantified by RP-HPLC) in the fried potato-crisps, improving them sensorically. High Pearson's correlation co-efficient (r = 0.9955) was obtained between sensory scores and texture profile analyses data of the fried crisps. This mitigation strategy can be successfully extrapolated to industrial-scale frying for enhanced safety and sensory appeal of fried products.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05328-6.

Low-energy X-ray irradiation: A novel non-thermal microbial inactivation technology

Over the last several decades, food irradiation technology has been proven neither to reduce the nutritional value of foods more than other preservation technologies, nor to make foods radioactive or dangerous to eat. Furthermore, food irradiation is a non-thermal food processing technology that helps preserve more heat sensitive nutrients than those found in thermally processed foods. Conventional food irradiation technologies, including γ-ray, electron beam and high energy X-ray, have certain limitations and drawbacks, such as involving radioactive isotopes, low penetration ability, and economical unfeasibility, respectively. Owing to the recent developments in instrumentation technology, more compact and cheaper tabletop low-energy X-ray sources have become available. The generation of low-energy X-ray, unlike γ-ray, does not involve radioactive isotopes and the cost is lower than high energy X-ray. Furthermore, low-energy X-ray possesses unique advantages, i.e., high linear energy transfer (LET) value and high relative biological effect (RBE) value. The advantages allow low-energy X-ray irradiation to provide a higher microbial inactivation efficacy than γ-ray and high energy X-ray irradiation. In the last few years, various applications reported in the literature indicate that low-energy X-ray irradiation has a great potential to become an alternative food preservation technique. This chapter discusses the technical advances of low-energy X-ray irradiation, microbial inactivation mechanism, factors influencing its efficiency, current applications, consumer acceptance, and limitations.

Application of gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) and ultrafast gas chromatography electronic-nose (uf-GC E-nose) to distinguish four Chinese freshwater fishes at both raw and cooked status

The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in four Chinese freshwater fishes (i.e., Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (H), Aristichthys nobilis (A), Lateolabrax japonicus (L), Parabramis pekinensis (P)) were separated using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) and ultrafast gas chromatography electronic-nose (uf-GC E-nose). Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to distinguish the VOCs identified from the four freshwater fishes in both raw and cooked states. Twenty compounds were identified from the spectral database of GC-IMS, including five aldehydes, eight alcohols, six ketones, and three esters. In addition, using GC E-nose, 32 compounds were isolated by the first column MTX-5, and 24 compounds were isolated by the second column MXT-1701. PCA results showed that the four fishes could be well discriminated against. The odor profiles of raw and cooked fishes were clearly different. This study demonstrated that specific signals provided from GC-IMS could differentiate freshwater fishes. GC-IMS and uf-GC E-nose could be developed further to distinguish aquatic products based on VOCs. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Two new methods, gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) and ultrafast gas chromatography electronic-nose (uf-GC E-nose), were used to analyze the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in four Chinese freshwater fishes at raw and cooked status. GC-IMS has the characteristics of fast detection speed and high sensitivity. The accuracy of the qualitative analysis of the compounds is better with GC-IMS (larger data volume, leading to a better in-depth statistical analysis). Uf-GC E-nose could provide a nondestructive, fast, relatively low cost, and trustworthy way for flavor analysis. According to the techniques, the established fingerprints of VOCs provided an additional tool for food analysis.

A comprehensive review on the techniques for coconut oil extraction and its application

Virgin coconut oil is a useful substance in our daily life. It contains a high percentage of lauric acid which has many health benefits. The current industry has developed several methods to extract the oil out from the coconut fruit. This review paper aims to highlight several common extraction processes used in modern industries that includes cold extraction, hot extraction, low-pressure extraction, chilling, freezing and thawing method, fermentation, centrifugation, enzymatic extraction and supercritical fluid carbon dioxide. Different extraction methods will produce coconut oil with different yields and purities of lauric acid, thus having different uses and applications. Challenges that are faced by the industries in extracting the coconut oil using different methods of extraction are important to be explored so that advancement in the oil extraction technology can be done for efficient downstream processing. This study is vital as it provides insights that could enhance the production of coconut oil.

Comparison of electronic sensing techniques for screening dried shrimps irradiated using three types of approved radiation with standard analytical methods

Rapid analytical methods for screening irradiated foods are required to comply with the approved standards for international trade. Dried shrimps irradiated at 1-7 kGy with gamma rays, electron beam (E-beam), and X-rays were screened with an electronic nose (E-nose) and electronic tongue (E-tongue). The data were compared with those from European standard methods (photostimulated luminescence, PSL) and direct epifluorescent filter technique/aerobic plate count, DEFT/APC). All irradiated shrimp samples were clearly discriminated from the non-irradiated control based on PSL photon count measurements and DEFT/APC microbial enumeration. The volatile patterns and taste attributes of the irradiated (>1 kGy from three sources) and control samples could be distinguished by the E-nose and E-tongue analyses through principal component analysis. Verification through electron spin resonance and thermoluminescence analyses validated screening results. The results indicate that E-sensing techniques showed potential for the rapid screening of irradiated foods like dried shrimps.

Smart Animal Agriculture: Application of Real-Time Sensors to Improve Animal Well-Being and Production

Consumption of animal products such as meat, milk, and eggs in first-world countries has leveled off, but it is rising precipitously in developing countries. Agriculture will have to increase its output to meet demand, opening the door to increased automation and technological innovation; intensified, sustainable farming; and precision livestock farming (PLF) applications. Early indicators of medical problems, which use sensors to alert cattle farmers early concerning individual animals that need special care, are proliferating. Wearable technologies dominate the market. In less-value-per-animal systems like sheep, goat, pig, poultry, and fish, one sensor, like a camera or robot per herd/flock/school, rather than one sensor per animal, will become common. PLF sensors generate huge amounts of data, and many actors benefit from PLF data. No standards currently exist for sharing sensor-generated data, limiting the use of commercial sensors. Technologies providing accurate data can enhance a well-managed farm. Development of methods to turn the data into actionable solutions is critical.

Development of a new equation in fuzzy logic analysis for ascertaining appropriate dose of gamma irradiation of virgin coconut oil

Our previous investigation had established 4.2 kGy to be the appropriate dosage of gamma irradiation for removal of obnoxious rancid-acid-odor of virgin coconut oil (VCO) on the basis of sensory and electronic nose (e nose) studies. This study endeavored to revalidate the sensory data employing fuzzy logic analysis. An equation has been developed for the first time for deriving defuzzified scores, when the sum of the first and third coordinates of the triplet (a b c) of overall sensory score was greater than 100, i.e. (a + c) > 100. This study reaffirmed 4.2 kGy to be the most preferred dose for deodorization of VCO. Besides, ranking of the VCO samples were similar by either approach.

•

According to the fuzzy logic method, overall sensory scores were assigned to the VCO samples under investigation, these sensory scores have been represented by a triangle and a polygon when (a+c) is less and more than100, respectively.

•

The coordinates of the polygon were determined and a new equation has been developed for evaluating defuzzified scores, which has been validated by similarity value analysis.

•

This new methodology of fuzzy logic analysis can be used to rank samples rapidly and reliably, without any complexity of conventional similarity value approach.