Quality attributes and consumer acceptance of new ready-to-eat frozen restructured chicken

Prevalence of consumption of mechanically separated meat, consumer profile, nutrient intake and food choices among manufacturing workers in Northeastern Brazil

Mechanically separated meat (MSM) is widely used in the food industry, however, there is a lack of studies on its consumption in populations. The objective of this study was to identify the frequency and amount of MSM consumption, factors associated with MSM consumption, nutrient intake and preferential choice of food groups among MSM consumers. This was an observational, cross-sectional prospective study based on a probability sample of manufacturing workers, conducted in Brazil. Logistic and linear multiple regression with robust standard errors were used. 921 workers from 33 manufacturing companies were studied, with an average age of 38.2 ± 10.7 years, 55.9% males. MSM products are consumed by 28.8% and represent in average 10% of total daily caloric intake, and 47.3% of the daily kcal from ultra-processed products. Younger age and greater waist circumference are associated with MSM consumption. Younger age and lesser educational level are associated with increased contribution of MSM to total daily kcal intake. MSM consumers have greater consumption of energy, fats, carbohydrates and sodium. Their dietary patterns are characterized by lower consumption of in natura and minimally processed foods, such as tubers and roots, fruits, white and red meat, and eggs and greater consumption of ultra-processed foods and beverages.

Preparation, characterization and wound healing effect of alginate/chitosan microcapsules loaded with polysaccharides from Nostoc Commune Vaucher

Biologically active coating materials could promote the growth of granulation tissue as auxiliary materials, while natural polysaccharides could promote vascular regeneration and wound healing. Therefore, in this study, ultrasound-assisted extract of Nostoc commune Vaucher polysaccharides (UAP) yield after the process optimization was 12.89 ± 0.24%, which was used to prepare microcapsules by emulsification and cross-linking. The effect of alginate/chitosan-UAP composite materials on wound healing in an experimental rat model for 14 d and its physical properties were evaluated. In vitro experiments indicated that the UAP microcapsule material had a porous and loose three-dimensional network structure, and had good biocompatibility and swelling properties as a wound healing material. Animal experiments indicated that UAP microcapsules could extremely significantly promote wound healing (P < 0.01), and wound closure rate reached 79.16 ± 3.91% on 14th day. Meanwhile UAP microcapsules might promote angiogenesis and granulation growth by enhancing immunity and increasing the expression of VEGF and miR-21. Therefore, the composites of UAP microcapsules have shown encouraging results as a potential dressing for wound healing.

Optimization of lipid profile and hardness of low-fat mortadella following a sequential strategy of experimental design

This study aims to optimize simultaneously the lipid profile and instrumental hardness of low-fat mortadella. For lipid mixture optimization, the overlapping of surface boundaries was used to select the quantities of canola, olive, and fish oils, in order to maximize PUFAs, specifically the long-chain n-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic-EPA, docosahexaenoic acids-DHA) using the minimum content of fish oil. Increased quantities of canola oil were associated with higher PUFA/SFA ratios. The presence of fish oil, even in small amounts, was effective in improving the nutritional quality of the mixture, showing lower n-6/n-3 ratios and significant levels of EPA and DHA. Thus, the optimal lipid mixture comprised of 20, 30 and 50% fish, olive and canola oils, respectively, which present PUFA/SFA (2.28) and n-6/n-3 (2.30) ratios within the recommendations of a healthy diet. Once the lipid mixture was optimized, components of the pre-emulsion used as fat replacer in the mortadella, such as lipid mixture (LM), sodium alginate (SA), and milk protein concentrate (PC), were studied to optimize hardness and springiness to target ranges of 13-16 N and 0.86-0.87, respectively. Results showed that springiness was not significantly affected by these variables. However, as the concentration of the three components increased, hardness decreased. Through the desirability function, the optimal proportions were 30% LM, 0.5% SA, and 0.5% PC. This study showed that the pre-emulsion decreases hardness of mortadella. In addition, response surface methodology was efficient to model lipid mixture and hardness, resulting in a product with improved texture and lipid quality.