A critical review on protein-based smart packaging systems: Understanding the development, characteristics, innovations, and potential applications

Recent progress in plant-based proteins: From extraction and modification methods to applications in the food industry

Plant proteins can meet consumers' demand for healthy and sustainable alternatives to animal proteins. It has been reported to possess numerous health benefits and is widely used in the food industry. However, conventional extraction methods are time-consuming, energy-intensive, as well as environmentally unfriendly. Plant proteins are also limited in application due to off-flavors, allergies, and anti-nutritional factors. Therefore, this paper discusses the challenges and limitations of conventional extraction processes. The current advances in green extraction technologies are also summarized. In addition, methods to improve the nutritional value, bioactivity, functional and organoleptic properties of plant proteins, and strategies to reduce their allergenicity are mentioned. Finally, examples of applications of plant proteins in the food industry are presented. This review aims to stimulate thinking and generate new ideas for future research. It will also provide new ideas and broad perspectives for the application of plant proteins in the food industry.

Recent Advances in the Understanding of Stress Resistance Mechanisms in Probiotics: Relevance for the Design of Functional Food Systems

In recent years, more and more scientific community, food producers, and food industry show increased interest in functional foods containing probiotics, which is a big challenge. The consumption of probiotics in the context of a balanced diet through the consumption of functional foods or through the intake of pharmaceutical preparations has proven to contribute to the improvement of human health, even contributing to the prevention of diseases. In order for probiotics to be considered suitable for consumption, they must contain a minimum concentration of viable cells, namely, at least 107 colony forming units of beneficial microbes per gram. Ensuring the viability of bacterial cells until the moment of consumption is the overriding priority of functional probiotic food manufacturers. Probiotic bacteria are subject to stress conditions not only during food manufacturing but also during gastrointestinal passage, which limit or even compromise their functionality. This paper first examines all the stressful conditions faced by probiotic cells in their production stages and related to the conditions present in the bioreactor fermentation and drying processes as well as factors related to the food matrix and storage. The stress situations faced by probiotic microorganisms during the gastrointestinal transit especially during stomach and intestinal residence are also analyzed. In order to understand the adaptation mechanisms of probiotic bacteria to gastrointestinal stress, intrinsic and adaptive mechanisms identified in probiotic strains in response to acid stress and to bile and bile acid stress are analyzed. In addition, improvement strategies for multiple stress tolerance of lactic acid bacteria through directions dealing with stress, accumulation of metabolites, use of protectants, and regulation of technological parameters are examined. Finally, the definition of postbiotics, inanimate microorganisms and/or their components conferring health benefits, is also introduced. Postbiotics include cell lysates, enzymes, and cell wall fragments derived from probiotic bacteria and may represent an alternative to the use of probiotics, when they do not tolerate stressful conditions.

Humidity-adjustable functional gelatin hydrogel/ethyl cellulose bilayer films for active food packaging application

A sustainable functional bilayer film composed of gelatin hydrogel/ethyl cellulose was fabricated using a simple LBL casting method. The outer layer was hydrophobic ethyl cellulose (EC), while the inner layer was hydrophilic gelatin (GEL) hydrogel. Tannic acid (TA) served as a green cross-linker for GEL hydrogel preparation and as a reductant for AgNPs synthesis in-situ within the hydrogel network. Physicochemical and functional properties of the bilayer films containing different TA content were studied. When 3 wt% TA was added, the AgNPs@GT-3/EC bilayer film exhibited superior UV-light barrier, possessed desirable humidity-adjustable capability and oxygen barrier due to denser hydrogel network structure, and effectively inactivated foodborne pathogens S. aureus and E. coli with bacteriostatic rates of 99 %. The application results indicated that this bilayer film effectively maintained the postharvest quality of white button mushrooms and prolonged their shelf-life to 7 days under ambient storage, demonstrating its promising potential for fresh food packaging.