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Special Issue "Non-thermal Technologies in Food Science, Volume II"

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A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Process Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 September 2024 | Viewed by 3647

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. César Ozuna

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Guest Editor

Food Department, Division of Life Sciences, Campus Irapuato-Salamanca, University of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
Interests: non-thermal technologies; drying; food structure; food science and technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Sueli Rodrigues

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Guest Editor

Departamento de Engenharia de Alimentos, Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza 60440-900, CE, Brazil
Interests: food processing and engineering; food chemistry; bioprocess engineering; chemical engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Fabiano André Narciso Fernandes

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Guest Editor

Departamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza 60440-900, CE, Brazil
Interests: food processing and engineering; chemical engineering; food chemistry; food analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growing consumer demand for healthy processed foods with clean labels has motivated the food industry to seek new conservation methods that would preserve and prolong their organoleptic and nutritive properties. Conventionally used thermal treatments entail the use of high temperatures or/and prolongated treatment times, and these can cause adverse effects on the quality of the treated products. In addition, there exists a need for the development of sustainable processes in the area of food science that would enable the use of renewable energies for specific operations, such as the extraction and modification of food ingredients, that traditionally require elevated processing temperatures and high energy demands. Consequently, great interest in the use of non‑thermal technologies for food processing has been reported in recent years, especially in the field of enhancing the processes that are already used in this area by employing green technologies.

With the success of the previous Special Issue, “Non-thermal Technologies in Food Science”, we decided to organize a second Special Issue on this subject: “Non-thermal Technologies in Food Science, Volume II”. This Special Issue on “Non-thermal Technologies in Food Science, Volume II” is seeking. original and high-quality papers that focus on the latest advances in the use of non‑thermal technologies in the development of diverse food processes, healthy and nutritious products, and novel food ingredients. The topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

High hydrostatic pressure;
Ozone;
Plasma;
Pulsed electric fields;
Pulsed light;
Supercritical carbon dioxide;
Ultrasound;
UV-C irradiation.

Prof. Dr. César Ozuna
Prof. Dr. Sueli Rodrigues
Prof. Dr. Fabiano André Narciso Fernandes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

high hydrostatic pressure
ozone
plasma
pulsed electric fields
pulsed light
supercritical
carbon dioxide
ultrasound
UV-C irradiation

Related Special Issue

Non-thermal Technologies in Food Science in Processes (10 articles)

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 2734 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of the Effects of Infrared and Hot Air Oven Drying Methods on Drying Behaviour and Colour Parameters of Red Delicious Apple Slices

and

Processes 2023, 11(10), 3027; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11103027 - 20 Oct 2023

Viewed by 427

Abstract

This present study investigated thin-layer drying characteristics of dried apple slices for a range of temperatures from 40 °C to 80 °C at a constant drying time of 10 h under infrared (IR) and hot air oven (OV) drying methods. The fresh apples were cut into a cylindrical size of thickness of 8.07 ± 0.05 mm and a diameter of 66.27 ± 3.13 mm. Fourteen thin-layer mathematical models available in the literature were used to predict the drying process. The goodness of fit of the drying models was assessed by the root mean square error (RMSE), chi-square (χ²), coefficient of determination (R²) and modelling efficiency (EF). The results showed that the lightness and greenness/redness of the dried sample, total colour change, chroma change, colour index, whiteness index, bulk density, final surface area and final volume significantly (p-value < 0.05) correlated with the drying temperature under IR. Under OV, however, only the final surface area and bulk density of the dried samples showed significant (p-value < 0.05) with the drying temperature. Shrinkage values for OV and IR methods showed both increasing and decreasing trends along with the drying temperatures. The Weibull distribution model proved most suitable for describing the drying processes based on the statistical validation metrics of the goodness of fit. In future studies, the combined effect of the above-mentioned drying methods and other drying techniques on apple slices among other agricultural products should be examined to obtain a better insight into the drying operations and quality improvement of the final product for preservation and consumer acceptability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-thermal Technologies in Food Science, Volume II)

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21 pages, 18456 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of High-Voltage Electric Field on Thawing Kinetics and Quality Characteristics of Frozen Beef

Yu Tian

and

Changjiang Ding

Processes 2023, 11(9), 2567; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11092567 - 27 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 642

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of high-voltage electric field (HVEF) thawing technology on the thawing rate, water retention characteristics, microstructure, and nutritional composition of thawed beef. Compared with the control group, in which thawing occurred under natural conditions, the experimental group, in which beef was thawed under HVEF (12 kV, 16 kV, 20 kV, 24 kV, 28 kV), showed a significantly shorter thawing time, and the higher the voltage was, the faster the thawing rate. The total loss rate of thawed beef reached its minimum value of (54.2 ± 0.62) % at 28 kV, and the water retention of the experimental group was significantly better than that of the control group (p < 0.05). Therefore, it can be concluded that HVEF thawing enhances the water retention ability of beef. In a color comparison, it was evident that the color of the beef thawed by HVEF was significantly better than that of the control group. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that thawing beef by HVEF can reduce the damage to the myofibril structure. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) showed that beef thawed by HVEF had a significantly increased bound water content. According to the determination of malondialdehyde content, beef thawed by HVEF had a reduced degree of lipid oxidation; the content at 16 kV was 2.4 mg/kg, and the degree of lipid oxidation was the lowest. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis revealed that the absorption peak positions of the beef samples did not show significant changes under different conditions. However, the absorption peak intensity in the experimental group was generally higher than that in the control group. Examination of the protein secondary structure via infrared spectroscopy revealed that, compared with the control group, HVEF thawing transformed the proteins from an ordered structure to a disordered structure. The increase in disordered structure reduced the fiber gap of the sample and improved the water retention of the beef. The above experimental results indicate that HVEF thawing can improve the water-holding capacity of the sample and reduce the thawing damage to the quality of the sample. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-thermal Technologies in Food Science, Volume II)

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12 pages, 1024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Treatment of Commercial Sweetener Solutions Modulates the Metabolic Responses in C57BL/6 Mice during a 24-Week-Long Exposition

Elizabeth Nieto-Mazzocco

Elena Franco-Robles

Adriana Saldaña-Robles

Neith Pacheco

and

César Ozuna

Processes 2023, 11(8), 2445; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11082445 - 14 Aug 2023

Viewed by 528

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the effect of thermal treatment (TT: 121 ± 2 °C, 15 min) on the composition of commercial sweeteners diluted in water (10 °Brix). Additionally, we evaluated the impact of this TT on metabolic responses in C57BL/6 mice during a 24-week treatment. The sweeteners included in this study were sucrose (SC), glucose-63 (GLU63), agave syrup (AS), sucralose (SUC), and steviol glycosides (STG). HPLC analysis showed changes in the concentration of simple sugars of GLU63 and AS after TT. Importantly, in all sweeteners, TT modulated metabolic responses in mice. The mice drinking thermally treated sweetener solution showed an increase of 10–13% (p < 0.05) in food intake (AS, SUC, and STG), beverage intake (2–21%; SC and GLU63), weight gain (38%; SUC), energy (10–13%; AS, SUC, and STG), glucose levels (11–17%; SC and STG), GLP-1 (30%; SC) and insulin (88%; AS) release, and the generation of protein carbonyl (SC) and malondialdehyde (all sweeteners tested) compared to mice drinking solution without TT. In conclusion, TT of sweetener solutions accentuates the metabolic responses of healthy mice, which can be related to overweight and its comorbidities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-thermal Technologies in Food Science, Volume II)

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11 pages, 769 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Treatment on Corn Starch Properties

Mayara L. Goiana

and

Fabiano A. N. Fernandes

Processes 2023, 11(7), 1966; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11071966 - 29 Jun 2023

Viewed by 533

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma technology on some physicochemical and structural properties of corn starch. Amylose content, solubility, water absorption index, turbidity, structural relationships, and surface morphology were measured at 100, 200, and 300 Hz excitation frequencies and at 10 and 20 min exposure times. The plasma treatment at 200 Hz and 20 min promoted the most significant modifications in amylose content, solubility, the water absorption index, and surface morphology. Turbidity did not change significantly. The surface of the granule became smoother with the presence of pores. Slight changes were observed in the ordered structure of starch. Plasma changed several physicochemical properties, significantly decreasing the amylose to amylopectin ratio. Plasma treatment at 200 Hz is recommended to increase the amylopectin content in starches. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-thermal Technologies in Food Science, Volume II)

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16 pages, 2372 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Physical and Sensory Attributes of Date-Based Energy Drink Treated with Ultrasonication: Modelling Changes during Storage and Predicting Shelf Life

Mohammad Fikry

Yus Aniza Yusof

Alhussein M. Al-Awaadh

Syahrul Anis Hazwani Mohd Baroyi

Nashratul Shera Mohamad Ghazali

Kazunori Kadota

Shuhaimi Mustafa

Hazizi Abu Saad

Nor Nadiah Abdul Karim Shah

and

Saleh Al-Ghamdi

Processes 2023, 11(5), 1399; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11051399 - 05 May 2023

Viewed by 1171

Abstract

Sonication is a relatively new and eco-friendly method used to extend the shelf life of food products. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ultrasonication and thermal treatments on the physical and sensory properties of an energy drink made from dates during cold storage at 4 °C. The study compared the effects of ultrasonication for 20, 30, and 40 min at 50% amplitude with thermal treatment at 90 °C for 5 min, aiming to model the changes in properties of processed drinks over time and predict their shelf life by integrating quality attributes. The results showed that total soluble solids (TSS) and electrical conductivity (EC) were not affected by cold storage and did not differ significantly between sonicated, thermally processed, and untreated samples. However, significant differences in pH; L*, a*, and b* values; Chroma; and sensory attributes were detected among the sonicated, thermally processed, and untreated samples. The sensory properties of the sonicated samples for 30 and 40 min and the thermally processed samples remained acceptable for up to 21 days. The study also found a positive correlation between the pH and the sweetness of the drink, as well as between the L* value and the appearance of the drink. Based on these findings, the zero-order model was able to accurately describe the real values of pH, colour characteristics, and sensory properties. Furthermore, the predicted shelf life of the drink sonicated for 40 min was longer than that of the control and thermally processed drinks, based on the colour change and pH of the drink. These results could be beneficial for beverage manufacturers seeking to control the quality properties of their products during processing and storage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-thermal Technologies in Food Science, Volume II)

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