On account of trans fatty acids and cardiovascular disease risk - There is still need to upgrade the knowledge and educate consumers

Food contaminants: Impact of food processing, challenges and mitigation strategies for food security

Food preparation involves the blending of various food ingredients to make more convenient processed food products. It is a long chain process, where each stage posing a risk of accumulating hazardous contaminants in these food systems. Protecting the public health from contaminated foods has become a demanding task in ensuring food safety. This review focused on the causes, types, and health risks of contaminants or hazardous chemicals during food processing. The impact of cooking such as frying, grilling, roasting, and baking, which may lead to the formation of hazardous by-products, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heterocyclic amines (HCAs), acrylamide, advanced glycation end products (AGEs), furan, acrolein, nitrosamines, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and trans-fatty acids (TFAs). Potential health risks such as carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and cardiovascular effects are emerging as a major problem in the modern lifestyle era due to the increased uptakes of contaminants. Effects of curing, smoking, and fermentation of the meat products led to affect the sensory and nutritional characteristics of meat products. Selecting appropriate cooking methods include temperature, time and the consumption of the food are major key factors that should be considered to avoid the excess level intake of hazardous contaminants. Overall, this study underscores the importance of understanding the risks associated with food preparation methods, strategies for minimizing the formation of harmful compounds during food processing and highlights the need for healthy dietary choices to mitigate potential health hazards.

Enhanced cold plasma hydrogenation with glycerol as hydrogen source for production of trans-fat-free margarine

The quest for better nutritious foods has encouraged novel scientific investigations to find trans-fat reduction methods. This research proposes an innovative approach for the production of healthier trans-fat-free margarine from palm oil by the use of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma technology with glycerol serving as the principal source of hydrogen. The effectiveness of DBD plasma in hydrogenating palm olein was investigated. By employing a methodical series of experiments and thorough analytical approaches, examination of the saturated fatty acid conversion experienced its iodine value (IV) reduction from 67.16 ± 0.70 to 31.61 ± 1.10 under the optimal process parameters of 1 L min-1 He flow rate, 35 W plasma discharge power, 10 mm gap size, ambient initial temperature, and 12 h reaction time with solid texture. According to the method for producing trans-fat-free margarine in the absence of a catalyst and H2 gas, the hydrogenation rate of the prepared mixture of palm olein-glycerol was remarkably improved; the trans-fat content in the produced product was zero; the efficacy of incorporating cis- and trans-isomerization was lowered, and the method has a promising industrial application prospect.

The role of C18 fatty acids in improving the digestion and retrogradation properties of highland barley starch

In this study, five C18 fatty acids (FA) with different numbers of double bonds and configurations including stearic acid (SA), oleic acid (OA), elaidic acid (EA), linoleic acid (LA), and α-linolenic acid (ALA), were selected to prepare highland barely starch (HBS)-FA complexes to modulate digestibility and elaborate the underlying mechanism. The results showed that HBS-SA had the highest complex index (34.18 %), relative crystallinity (17.62 %) and single helix content (25.78 %). Furthermore, the HBS-C18 FA complexes were formed by EA (C18 FA with monounsaturated bonds) that had the highest R1047/1022 (1.0509) and lowest full width at half-maximum (FWHM, 20.85), suggesting good short-range ordered structure. Moreover, all C18 FAs could form two kinds of V-type complexes with HBS, which can be confirmed by the results of CLSM and DSC measurements, and all of them showed significantly lower digestibility. HBS-EA possessed the highest resistant starch content (20.17 %), while HBS-SA had the highest slowly digestible starch content (26.61 %). In addition, the inhibition of HBS retrogradation by fatty acid addition was further proven, where HBS-SA gel firmness (37.80 g) and aging enthalpy value were the lowest, indicating the most effective. Overall, compounding with fatty acids, especially SA, could be used as a novel way to make functional foods based on HBS.

Low intake of ruminant trans fatty acids ameliorates the disordered lipid metabolism in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet

Currently, the health benefits of ruminant trans fatty acids (R-TFA) are still controversial. Our previous investigations indicated that R-TFA at higher dosages (1.3% and 4% E) caused disordered lipid metabolism in mice; however, through collecting R-TFA intake data in 9 provinces of China, it was suggested that, in 2021, the range of R-TFA intake for Chinese residents was about 0.053-0.307 g d-1. Based on the 2022 Nutritional Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents, the recommended daily energy supply from R-TFA was about 0.11%-0.15% E. However, the health effects of R-TFA at a lower dosage are still unknown; therefore, our current research aims to further explore the effects of R-TFA on health. Through in vivo experiments, it was shown that R-TFA (0.15% E) decreased body weight gain and serum cholesterol levels in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet, while it had no significant effect on mice fed a low-fat diet. Besides, hepatic histopathology analysis suggested that R-TFA (0.15% E) ameliorated the degree of hepatic steatosis and reduced intrahepatocyte lipid droplet accumulation in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet. Through lipidomics analysis, we further screened 8 potential lipid metabolites that participate in regulating the dysregulation of lipid metabolism. Finally, it was suggested that R-TFA (0.15% E) down-regulated the expression of genes related to inflammation and cholesterol synthesis while up-regulated the expression of genes related to cholesterol clearance, which might partially explain the salutary effect of R-TFA (0.15% E) in ameliorating the hepatic steatosis and improving disordered lipid metabolism in mice fed a high-fat diet. Our current research will provide a reference for the intake of R-TFA and, furthermore, give some insights into understanding the health effects of R-TFA.

Variability of Fatty Acid Composition and Lignan Content in Sesame Germplasm, and Effect of Roasting

Sesame (Sesamum indicum) seeds are highly valued for their culinary applications and for producing a premium-quality oil. This study investigated the polyphenol content and fatty acid composition of a set of sesame accessions and examined their association with seed colors. Among the different colors, black-seeded accessions exhibited the highest total lignan content, while white-seeded accessions had average lower levels. Brown-seeded accessions showed relatively lower concentrations of sesamol and intermediate levels of sesamolin and sesamin than other colors. The oil derived from these seeds contained unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SFAs), nutritionally crucial for human consumption. Brown varieties exhibited higher concentrations of these fatty acids. Roasting black and white sesame seeds at increasing temperatures (180 and 250 °C) significantly affected lignan and UFAs concentrations. Higher temperatures resulted in elevated levels of detrimental t-oleic and t-linoleic acids. Furthermore, sesamolin content notably decreased at 180 °C and became undetectable at 250 °C. The temperature also caused a marked increase in sesamol, regardless of seed color. PCA analysis highlighted clusters between white and black varieties according to roasting temperature, displaying the potential application of chemometrics to assess processing effects and ensure sesame quality and safety. This research provides valuable insights for exploiting sesame within agrosystems in Mediterranean climates.

INTERCEPT Pathogen Reduction in Platelet Concentrates, in Contrast to Gamma Irradiation, Induces the Formation of trans-Arachidonic Acids and Affects Eicosanoid Release during Storage

Pathogen inactivation techniques for blood products have been implemented to optimize clinically safe blood components supply. The INTERCEPT system uses amotosalen together with ultraviolet light wavelength A (UVA) irradiation. Irradiation-induced inactivation of nucleic acids may actually be accompanied by modifications of chemically reactive polyunsaturated fatty acids known to be important mediators of platelet functions. Thus, here, we investigated eicosanoids and the related fatty acids released upon treatment and during storage of platelet concentrates for 7 days, complemented by the analysis of functional and metabolic consequences of these treatments. Metabolic and functional issues like glucose consumption, lactate formation, platelet aggregation, and clot firmness hardly differed between the two treatment groups. In contrast to gamma irradiation, here, we demonstrated that INTERCEPT treatment immediately caused new formation of trans-arachidonic acid isoforms, while 11-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (11-HETE) and 15-HETE were increased and two hydroperoxyoctadecadienoic acid (HpODE) isoforms decreased. During further storage, these alterations remained stable, while the release of 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX) products such as 12-HETE and 12-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid (12-HEPE) was further attenuated. In vitro synthesis of trans-arachidonic acid isoforms suggested that thiol radicals formed by UVA treatment may be responsible for the INTERCEPT-specific effects observed in platelet concentrates. It is reasonable to assume that UVA-induced molecules may have specific biological effects which need to be further investigated.

Effect of Gelled Emulsions Elaborated with Soybean Oil, Maca (Lepidium meyenni) Flour, and Chincho (Tagetes elliptica Sm.) Essential Oil upon Animal Fat Substitution in Beef Burgers

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of pork backfat (PB) substitution in a meat burger with a gelled emulsion (GE) elaborated with maca flour, soybean oil, and chincho essential oil (CEO). Lipid profile (gas chromatography—GC), health indices, physicochemical properties (CIELAB color, pH, texture profile—TPA), and cooking and sensory characteristics of meat burgers were analyzed. Five formulations were evaluated: control (BC) (80% beef meat and 20% PB); BSM (10% PB + 10% GE); BSMC0.25 (BSM + 0.25% CEO); BSMC0.5 (BSM + 0.5% CEO), and BSMC1.0 (BSM + 1.0% CEO). GE substitution in meat burgers provided a healthier lipid profile; the amount of SFA was reduced (p < 0.05), while PUFA content was significantly increased (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the use of GE resulted in healthier PUFA/SFA ratios and lower atherogenic and thrombogenic indices. The addition of GE increased moisture content and decreased fat and protein contents. Color parameters (L*, b*, and C*) decreased after cooking. Hardness (p < 0.05), cooking losses, and shrinkage changes decreased with GE addition. Lipid oxidation levels were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by GE substitution. Therefore, the substitution of PB by GE can be considered as an effective strategy to produce healthier meat burgers without negatively affecting their physicochemical and technological properties.