The concept of food matrix has received much attention lately in reference to its effects on food processing, nutrition and health. However, the term matrix is used vaguely by food and nutrition ...scientists, often as synonymous of the food itself or its microstructure. This review analyses the concept of food matrix and proposes a classification for the major types of matrices found in foods. The food matrix may be viewed as a physical domain that contains and/or interacts with specific constituents of a food (e.g., a nutrient) providing functionalities and behaviors which are different from those exhibited by the components in isolation or a free state. The effect of the food matrix (FM-effect) is discussed in reference to food processing, oral processing and flavor perception, satiation and satiety, and digestion in the gastrointestinal tract. The FM-effect has also implications in nutrition, food allergies and food intolerances, and in the quality and relevance of results of analytical techniques. The role of the food matrix in the design of healthy foods is also discussed.
The group of elderly people (e.g., 65 + years old) exhibits the fastest growth rate among all populations segments. By 2050 worldwide there will be more than 400 million individuals aged over 80 ...years. Providing soft, palatable and healthy texture modified (TM) foods for seniors, particularly those with masticatory/swallowing dysfunctions and/or needing special nutrition, is a major challenge for the food industry.
This review starts with the most frequent physiological dysfunctions related to the food intake and specific nutritional needs that develop in aging. Bases for formation of soft TM foods, particularly soft gels and microparticles from food biopolymers, are revised. Technological approaches to soften foods, produce small soft particles and microgels, and emerging structuring microtechnologies are presented.
Feeding the elderly with tasty and nutritious foods is a preoccupation in many countries of the world. TM foods are classified according to their textural and rheological properties from thin liquids to softened foods. Japan and South Korea appear to lead in commercial efforts. In the meantime, scientific knowledge is accumulating on the characteristics of raw materials to be used, mechanisms leading to structure formation and the control of desirable properties, particularly those related to texture. Several opportunities arise for the design of soft and tasty products and carriers to feed the elderly safely and nutritiously.
•By 2050 there will be more than 400 million individuals aged over 80 years.•Providing soft, palatable and healthy texture-modified foods is a major challenge for industry.•Abundant scientific knowledge on mechanisms leading to soft structure formation is available.•Designed soft and tasty products to feed the elderly safely and nutritiously are in progress.
The consumption of cultivated berry species (e.g., strawberries, blueberries) has increased dramatically in the last two decades after consumers appreciated them as flavorful, convenient and healthy ...fruits. Wild berries and similar small wild fruits are traditionally consumed around the world by local people as safe, nutritious, tasty, and versatile foods. These wild fruits have played an important role in the nutrition and bio-cultural aspects of rural communities. Like their commercial counterparts, wild berries contain important nutrients and bioactive compounds that may prevent or delay some chronic diseases attributed to oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. This review provides a comprehensive appraisal of the chemical and bioactive components in wild berry species and their traditional uses as foods around the globe. Presently, wild berries and similar wild small fruits are novel food sources that inspire applications as culinary products, processed foods, and nutraceuticals. Further research is needed to validate the content and action of bioactive components responsible for health claims. Sustainable commercial exploitation of wild berries should consider biocultural, environmental, and socio-economic aspects.
► Blueberry’s SSC and firmness were predicted using hyperspectral reflectance images. ► Images were acquired in an in-house built pushbroom hyperspectral imaging system. ► Better predictions for ...firmness (R=0.87) than for SSC (R=0.79) were achieved. ► Fruit orientation had no or little effect on the prediction of firmness and SSC. ► Results show this technique is promising for assess internal quality of blueberries.
Currently, blueberries are inspected and sorted by color, size and/or firmness (or softness) in packing houses, using different inspection techniques like machine vision and mechanical vibration or impact. A new inspection technique is needed for effectively assessing both external features and internal quality attributes of individual blueberries. This paper reports on the use of hyperspectral imaging technique for predicting the firmness and soluble solids content (SSC) of blueberries. A pushbroom hyperspectral imaging system was used to acquire hyperspectral reflectance images from 302 blueberries in two fruit orientations (i.e., stem and calyx ends) for the spectral region of 500–1000nm. Mean spectra were extracted from the regions of interest for the hyperspectral images of each blueberry. Prediction models were developed based on partial least squares method using cross validation and were externally tested with 25% of the samples. Better firmness predictions (R=0.87) were obtained, compared to SSC predictions (R=0.79). Fruit orientation had no or insignificant effect on the firmness and SSC predictions. Further analysis showed that blueberries could be sorted into two classes of firmness. This research has demonstrated the feasibility of implementing hyperspectral imaging technique for sorting blueberries for firmness and possibly SSC to enhance the product quality and marketability.
To know the prevalence, associated factors and temporal trends of disabilities for basic and instrumental activities of daily living in older people in Spain from 2009 to 2017.
Disability in older ...people is associated with health problems, increased health costs and low quality of life. There are no updated data in Spain with a representative sample about disability.
Cross-sectional study with 25,465 non-institutionalized older people who participated in the European Health Survey in 2009 and 2014 and the National Health Survey in 2011/12 and 2017 in Spain. The prevalence rates of disability were evaluated using the Katz Scale and Lawton and Brody Scale. Logistic regression was used to determine if there was an association between basic and instrumental activities of daily living and sociodemographic characteristics.
More individuals had disability for instrumental activities of daily living (31.9%) than disability for basic activities of daily living (11.1%). The most predominant disability for instrumental activities of daily living was performing severe housework (34%). The prevalence of disabilities decreased from 2009 to 2017. In general, disability was associated with female gender, advanced age, lower education, restricted daily activity, being bedridden and higher pain levels.
There is a considerable prevalence of disabilities for basic and instrumental activities of daily living in older people in Spain. Although the disability prevalence has decreased slowly from 2009 to 2017, it continues to remain a health problem. Gender may influence the disabilities for basic and instrumental activities of daily living. Health policymakers should establish prevention strategies and effective interventions (e.g., physical exercise) for prevention and reduction of the disabilities for basic and instrumental activities of daily living, particularly in older females.
Relating Food Engineering to Cooking and Gastronomy Aguilera, José Miguel
Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety,
July 2018, 2018-Jul, 2018-07-00, 20180701, Volume:
17, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Modern consumers are increasingly eating meals away from home and are concerned about food quality, taste, and health aspects. Food engineering (FE) has traditionally been associated with the ...industrial processing of foods; however, most underlying phenomena related to FE also take place in the kitchen during meal preparation. Although chemists have positively interacted with acclaimed chefs and physicists have used foods as materials to demonstrate some of their theories, this has not been always the case with food engineers. This review addresses areas that may broaden the vision of FE by interfacing with cooking and gastronomy. Examples are presented where food materials science may shed light on otherwise empirical gastronomic formulations and cooking techniques. A review of contributions in modeling of food processing reveals that they can also be adapted to events going on in pots and ovens, and that results can be made available in simple terms to cooks. Industrial technologies, traditional and emerging, may be adapted to expand the collection of culinary transformations, while novel equipment, digital technologies, and laboratory instruments are equipping the 21st‐century kitchens. FE should become a part of food innovation and entrepreneurship now being led by chefs. Finally, it is suggested that food engineers become integrated into gastronomy's concerns about safety, sustainability, nutrition, and a better food use.
Freezing is the process of ice crystallization from supercooled water. Ice crystal morphology plays an important role in the textural and physical properties of frozen and frozen-thawed foods and in ...processes such as freeze drying, freeze concentration, and freeze texturization. Size and location of ice crystals are key in the quality of thawed tissue products. In ice cream, smaller ice crystals are preferred because large crystals results in an icy texture. In freeze drying, ice morphology influences the rate of sublimation and several morphological characteristics of the freeze-dried matrix as well as the biological activity of components (e.g., in pharmaceuticals). In freeze concentration, ice morphology influences the efficiency of separation of ice crystals from the concentrated solution. The cooling rate has been the most common variable controlling ice morphology in frozen and partly frozen systems. However, several new approaches show promise in controlling nucleation (consequently, ice morphology), among them are the use of ice nucleation agents, antifreeze proteins, ultrasound, and high pressure. This paper summarizes the fundamentals of freezing, methods of observation and measurement of ice morphology, and the role of ice morphology in technological applications.
A computer vision system (CVS) was implemented to quantify standard color of fruit and vegetables in
sRGB,
HSV and
L
*
a
*
b
* color spaces, and image capture conditions affecting the results were ...evaluated. These three color spaces are compared in terms of their suitability for color quantification in curved surfaces. The results show that
sRGB standard (linear signals) was efficient to define the mapping between
R′
G′
B′ (no-linear signals) from the CCD camera and a device-independent system such as CIE
XYZ. The CVS showed to be robust to changes in sample orientation, resolution, and zoom. However, the measured average color was shown to be significantly affected by the properties of the background and by the surface curvature and gloss. Thus all average color results should be interpreted with caution.
L
*
a
*
b
* system is suggested as the best color space for quantification in foods with curved surfaces.
The behavior of nanoemulsion-based delivery systems within the gastrointestinal tract determines their functional performance. In this study, the influence of particle radius (30–85 nm) on the
...in vitro digestion of nanoemulsions containing non-ionic surfactant stabilized lipid (corn oil) droplets was examined using simulated small intestine conditions. Nanoemulsions were prepared by a combination of high-pressure homogenization and solvent (hexane) displacement. Lipid droplets with different sizes were prepared by varying the oil-to-solvent ratio in the disperse phase prior to homogenization. The fraction of free fatty acids (FFA) released from emulsified triacylglycerols (TG) during digestion was measured by an
in vitro model (pH-Stat titration). Nanoemulsions exhibited a lag-period before any FFA were released, which was explained by inhibition of lipase adsorption to the oil–water interface by free surfactant. After the lag-period, the digestion rate increased with decreasing oil droplet diameter (increasing specific surface area). The total amount of FFA released from the emulsions increased from 61% to 71% as the mean droplet radius decreased from 86 nm to 30 nm. The incomplete digestion of the emulsified lipids could be explained by inhibition of lipase activity by the release of fatty acids and/or by interactions between lipase and surfactants molecules.
O/W emulsions with oil droplets in the nanometer range (
radius <100 nm) were prepared by a combination of high-pressure homogenization and solvent displacement, where the digestion rate increased with decreasing oil droplet diameter.
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► O/W nanoemulsions were made by high-pressure homogenization and solvent displacement. ► By varying the organic phase composition, oil droplets with radii 30–85 nm were obtained. ► Nanoemulsions with a low polydispersity were fabricated. ► Nanoemulsions containing the smaller oil droplets appear to be translucent. ► The digestion rate was increased with decreasing of oil droplet size in nanoemulsions.
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