Using an image processing based technique and predictive models for assessing lipid oxidation in rainbow trout fillet

Virtual Teaching Assistant for Capturing Facial and Pose Landmarks of the Students in the Classroom Using Deep Learning

This research focuses on the learning challenges that both students and teachers face during the learning process. It addresses the different techniques and methods used for face recognition. The proposed VTA model uses the convolutional neural networks to recognize the identities of the student. It gathers the facial expressions and body poses of each student in the classroom and predicts the attention level of that student, thus determining his/her learning capabilities. This research will help the students achieve their learning objectives by being able to get an accurate and real evaluation of their contribution and attention during the classes. Also, the proposed VTA model helps the teacher get some insight into his/her teaching methodologies during the class as the model will observe and record the attentiveness of the students. This research will have a significant positive impact on student success and on effective lecturing.

Current progress in the utilization of smartphone-based imaging for quality assessment of food products: a review

The cell phone has been merely used for image acquisition and transmission in the last decades. Owing to the recent technological progress, its new generation, i.e., the smartphone, draws remarkable attention to food quality assessment with versatile applications. Smartphones possess high-resolution cameras, enabling them to be used instead of digital cameras in the computer vision system. Furthermore, their programmability and portability have recently encouraged researchers to introduce smartphone-based image processing in food analytical studies. This promising approach has advantages such as high sensing capability, being user friendly, and cost-effective over the conventional method, and therefore might be considered an emerging nondestructive technique for quality control purposes. However, there is a great effort to tackle implementation, calibration, as well as industrialization issues. In this context, this review aims to highlight the most recent studies of smartphone-based imaging systems in various food systems such as dairy, meat, fruit, and vegetables. Besides, the existing challenges and future trends for applying smartphones in food quality control are discussed. Although moving the computer vision systems toward a portable tool like a smartphone improves its versatility, more research works are needed to resolve its set-up weakness and limitations.

Quality Properties of Chicken Emulsion-Type Sausages Formulated with Chicken Fatty Byproducts

During poultry slaughtering, fatty byproducts are generated, mainly comprising abdominal and gizzard fat, which are mostly discarded and result in consequent environmental problems. The objective of this work was to use these fatty byproducts as fatty raw material in the production of chicken sausages (emulsion-type). They were applied for the partial replacement (40% and 50%) of chicken skin (fatty source usually used in chicken sausages). The effect of these partial replacements on the quality properties (proximate composition, lipid profile, color, texture, and microbiological and sensory properties) of chicken sausages were assessed. Sausages with fatty byproducts added (40% and 50%) showed lower moisture but higher fat content than control. Nevertheless, all of them meet the nutritional requirements of the Colombian regulation for this type of meat product. Sausages with 40% and 50% substitution level showed similar texture properties and microbiological quality as control. When these fatty byproducts were used at 50% substitution level, differences in several color properties and sensorial attributes (color, flavor, and meat taste) were noticed with respect to control. When the substitution level was reduced to 40%, no sensorial differences were detected. Chicken fatty byproducts can be successfully applied as partial replacement of chicken skin in emulsion-type sausages.

Effect of vacuum pressure on Yamú fish (Brycon amazonicus) meat during cold storage

Abstract This study aimed to assess the cryoprotectant effect of vacuum packaging (35 and 45 kPa) on cold preserved (0 °C and -18 °C) fillets of Yamú (Brycon amazonicus), during 5 days of storage. We analyzed the physicochemical and microbiological changes in the fillets during storage time. Yamú’s water holding capacity, nitrogenated bases content (TVB-N) and texture (N) were affected (p ≤ 0.05) by time and temperature. Bacterial colonies in fillets did not represent a risk for human health after five days of storage. In conclusion, vacuum packing positively (p ≤ 0.05) reduces the effect of cold over Yamú fillets properties.

Partial and total replacement of meat by plant-based proteins in chicken sausage: evaluation of mechanical, physico-chemical and sensory characteristics

The processed meats are classified in the first category of carcinogenic compounds due to its numerous health issues. For this reason, there is a growing interest to utilize healthy ingredients for formulation of meat-based products. The objective of this study was to replace completely and partially meat by plant proteins in sausage formulation and compare the characteristics of these novel formulae with full meat sample. The results showed that the plant proteins minimized the cooking loss and shrinkage and improved emulsion stability by creating a strong structural network in cooked emulsion. In contrast, the full meat samples had better strength/elasticity in terms of folding score (4.67 out of 5) and gel strength (2553.68 g mm) when compared to meat-reduced and meat-free samples. The sensory assessment showed that replacement of chicken meat by plant proteins was highly acceptable in terms of texture, odor, color and overall acceptance. Overall, it is concluded that plant proteins can be regarded as promising ingredients to replace 80-100% meat in sausage.