Biniam Tamiru Kebede

Headspace components that discriminate between thermal and high pressure high temperature treated green vegetables: Identification and linkage to possible process-induced chemical changes

For the first time in literature, this study compares the process-induced chemical reactions in three industrially relevant green vegetables: broccoli, green pepper and spinach treated with thermal and high pressure high temperature (HPHT) processing. Aiming for a fair comparison, the processing conditions were selected based on the principle of equivalence. A comprehensive integration of MS-based metabolic fingerprinting techniques, advanced data preprocessing and statistical data analysis has been implemented as untargeted/unbiased multiresponse screening tool to uncover changes in the volatile fraction. For all vegetables, thermal processing, compared to HPHT, seems to enhance Maillard and Strecker degradation reaction, triggering the formation of furanic compounds and Strecker aldehydes. In most cases, high pressure seems to accelerate (an)aerobic thermal degradation of unsaturated fatty acids leading to the formation of aliphatic aldehydes and ketones. In addition, both thermal and HPHT processing accelerated the formation of sulfur-containing compounds. This work demonstrated that the approach is effective in identifying and comparing different process-induced chemical changes, adding depth to our perspective in terms of studying a highly complex chemical changes occurring during food processing.

Headspace fingerprinting as an untargeted approach to compare novel and traditional processing technologies: a case-study on orange juice pasteurisation

As a rule, previous studies have generally addressed the comparison of novel and traditional processing technologies by a targeted approach, in the sense that only the impact on specific quality attributes is investigated. By contrast, this work focused on an untargeted strategy, in order to take into account unexpected and unintended effects of (novel) processing, and to possibly uncover unknown compounds resulting from alternative processing. The potential of headspace GC-MS fingerprinting was explored as a tool to compare the impact of thermal, high pressure (HP) and pulsed electric field (PEF) processing for mild pasteurisation of orange juice. This study demonstrated that when processing conditions are selected based on equivalent microbial safety, the impact of heat, HP and PEF pasteurisation on the volatile profile of orange juice can be considered comparable. During refrigerated storage, however, indirect impact differences were revealed, which were attributed to differences in degree of enzyme inactivation.

Effect of high pressure high temperature processing on the volatile fraction of differently coloured carrots

To get deeper insight into the effect of high pressure high temperature (HPHT) processing on the volatile fraction of carrots, differently coloured cultivars exhibiting orange, purple, red and yellow hues were investigated. The impact of HPHT sterilisation was compared with thermal sterilisation based on equivalent microbiological inactivation. The results of this study demonstrated HPHT sterilisation to exert a distinct effect on important chemical reactions in comparison to thermal sterilisation. A comprehensive integration of MS-based metabolomic fingerprinting (HS-SPME-GC-MS) and chemometric tools has been implemented as an untargeted multivariate screening tool to identify differences. In all carrot cultivars, two dominant discriminative quality-related reactions were found: oxidative degradation and the Maillard reaction. Regarding the first reaction, oxidative terpenes, free fatty acids and carotenoids degradation products were detected at higher levels after HPHT sterilisation. Regarding the latter reaction, HPHT sterilisation appeared to suppress the formation of Maillard and Strecker degradation products.

Comparing the Effects of High Hydrostatic Pressure and Thermal Processing on Blanched and Unblanched Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Nectar: Using Headspace Fingerprinting as an Untargeted Approach

The effects of high hydrostatic pressure and thermal processing on blanched and unblanched mango nectar were addressed by headspace GC-MS fingerprinting as an untargeted approach. Comparison between high hydrostatic pressure and thermal processing was performed based on the principle of equivalence. A considerable number of volatiles with higher concentrations were observed in unblanched mango nectar compared to blanched mango nectar. Both for high hydrostatic pressure and thermal processing, changes of mango nectar volatiles (composition and concentration) became more pronounced upon increasing processing intensity. However, based on a fair comparison, different process-induced chemical changes were detected for high hydrostatic pressure and thermal processing. For unblanched mango nectar, thermal processing seems to favor the formation of sulfur-containing compounds (dimethyl sulfide), whereas high hydrostatic pressure seems to enhance the oxidation of free fatty acids, leading to increased concentration of aldehyde and alcohol volatile compounds (1-penten-3-ol, (Z)-2-penten-1-ol, and (E)-2-pentenal) in mango nectar. For blanched mango nectar, less significant differences were found between high hydrostatic pressure and thermal processing. This work demonstrates that different processing steps, for example blanching, high hydrostatic pressure, and thermal processing, have influence on the volatile profiles of the processed products.

Study of chemical changes in pasteurised orange juice during shelf-life: A fingerprinting-kinetics evaluation of the volatile fraction

The current work used fingerprinting-kinetics for the first time to monitor shelf-life changes in a low-pH, pasteurised, shelf-stable product, more particular in orange juice. Orange juice samples were stored as a function of time at four different storage temperatures (20, 28, 35 and 42°C). To obtain insight into chemical changes in the volatile food fraction, samples were fingerprinted with headspace GC-MS. The objectives of this work were twofold: (i) to identify major chemical changes of pasteurised orange juice during shelf-life and (ii) to study the kinetics of selected shelf-life compounds in the context of accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT). At 20°C, changes in terpenes and a decrease in aldehydes were observed. Oxides and sulphur compounds increased and esters decreased at increased storage temperatures (at 28°C and above). Concerning ASLT, four volatile compounds had clear temperature and time dependent kinetics within the investigated temperature range.

Furan formation during storage and reheating of sterilised vegetable purées

To this day, research for furan mitigation has mostly targeted the levels of food production and handling of prepared foods by the consumer. However, part of the furan concentrations found in commercially available food products might originate from chemical deterioration reactions during storage. A range of individual vegetable purées was stored at two different temperatures to investigate the effects of storage on the furan concentrations of shelf-stable, vegetable-based foods. After 5 months of storage at 35°C (temperature-abuse conditions), a general increase in furan concentrations was observed. The furan formation during storage could be reduced by storing the vegetable purées at a refrigerated temperature of 4°C, at which the furan concentrations remained approximately constant for at least 5 months. Following storage, the vegetable purées were briefly reheated to 90°C to simulate the effect of the final preparation step before consumption. Contrary to storage, furan concentrations decreased as a result of evaporative losses. Both refrigerated storage and the reheating step prior to consumption showed the potential of mitigation measures for furan formation in vegetable-based foods (e.g. canned vegetables, ready-to-eat soups, sauces or baby foods). Next to furan, the vegetable purées were analysed for 2- and 3-methylfuran. Tomato was very susceptible to the formation of both alkylated derivatives of furan, as opposed to the other vegetables in this study. Methylfuran concentrations rapidly decreased during storage, which was contrary to the results observed for furan. Graphical Abstract

Evaluating the potential of high pressure high temperature and thermal processing on volatile compounds, nutritional and structural properties of orange and yellow carrots

The present study compares the impact of thermal and high pressure high temperature (HPHT) processing on volatile profile (via a non-targeted headspace fingerprinting) and structural and nutritional quality parameter (via targeted approaches) of orange and yellow carrot purees. The effect of oil enrichment was also considered. Since oil enrichment affects compounds volatility, the effect of oil was not studied when comparing the volatile fraction. For the targeted part, as yellow carrot purees were shown to contain a very low amount of carotenoids, focus was given to orange carrot purees. The results of the non-targeted approach demonstrated HPHT processing exerts a distinct effect on the volatile fractions compared to thermal processing. In addition, different coloured carrot varieties are characterised by distinct headspace fingerprints. From a structural point of view, limited or no difference could be observed between orange carrot purees treated with HPHT or HT processes, both for samples without and with oil. From nutritional point of view, only in samples with oil, significant isomerisation of all-trans-β-carotene occurred due to both processing. Overall, for this type of product and for the selected conditions, HPHT processing seems to have a different impact on the volatile profile but rather similar impact on the structural and nutritional attributes compared to thermal processing.

Effect of oxygen availability and pH on the furan concentration formed during thermal preservation of plant-based foods.

ABSTRACT Thermally treated fruit- and vegetable-based foods are important contributors to the furan exposure of children and adults. Furan reduction by adding or removing precursors from the product has proven to be challenging because of major food constituents and interactions involved in the reaction pathways leading to furan formation. Instead of intervening at the precursor level, it might be more feasible to influence these formation pathways by adjusting the matrix properties of the product. As opposed to many previous literature sources, the present study investigated the effects of oxygen availability (normal versus reduced) and pH (acid versus low acid) on the furan formation in a real food system. Different combinations of both matrix properties were prepared in a reconstituted potato purée and subjected to a thermal treatment with a pasteurisation or sterilisation intensity. Irrespective of the addition of the furan precursors ascorbic acid, fructose and fatty acids, a considerable furan reduction was observed for the sterilised purées (F12110 = 15 min) with either a reduced oxygen availability (0.1–1.8 mg l–1) or at pH 3. The effects of both matrix properties were less pronounced in the pasteurised purées (P9010 = 10 min), because of the lower furan concentrations. Even though the mechanisms of furan reduction for both types of matrix properties could not be fully elucidated, the results showed that lowering the oxygen concentration or pH prior to thermal processing offers a powerful, additional strategy for furan mitigation in thermally treated plant-based foods.

Shelf-life dating of shelf-stable strawberry juice based on survival analysis of consumer acceptance information: Shelf-life dating of shelf-stable strawberry juice

BACKGROUND Accurate shelf-life dating of food products is crucial for consumers and industries. Therefore, in this study we applied a science-based approach for shelf-life assessment, including accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT), acceptability testing and the screening of analytical attributes for fast shelf-life predictions. Shelf-stable strawberry juice was selected as a case study. RESULTS Ambient storage (20 °C) had no effect on the aroma-based acceptance of strawberry juice. The colour-based acceptability decreased during storage under ambient and accelerated (28-42 °C) conditions. The application of survival analysis showed that the colour-based shelf-life was reached in the early stages of storage (≤11 weeks) and that the shelf-life was shortened at higher temperatures. None of the selected attributes (a* and ΔE* value, anthocyanin and ascorbic acid content) is an ideal analytical marker for shelf-life predictions in the investigated temperature range (20-42 °C). Nevertheless, an overall analytical cut-off value over the whole temperature range can be selected. CONCLUSIONS Colour changes of strawberry juice during storage are shelf-life limiting. Combining ASLT with acceptability testing allowed to gain faster insight into the change in colour-based acceptability and to perform shelf-life predictions relying on scientific data. An analytical marker is a convenient tool for shelf-life predictions in the context of ASLT.

The potential of kiwifruit puree as a clean label ingredient to stabilize high pressure pasteurized cloudy apple juice during storage

In the fruit juice industry, high pressure (HP) processing has become a commercial success. However, enzymatic browning, cloud loss, and flavor changes during storage remain challenges. The aim of this study is to combine kiwifruit puree and HP pasteurization (600 MPa/3 min) to stabilize cloudy apple juice during storage at 4 °C. A wide range of targeted and untargeted quality characteristics was evaluated using a multivariate approach. Due to high ascorbic acid content and high viscosity, kiwifruit puree allowed to prevent enzymatic browning and phase separation of an apple-kiwifruit mixed juice. Besides, no clear changes in organic acids, viscosity, and particle size distribution were detected in mixed juice during storage. Sucrose of apple and mixed juices decreased with glucose and fructose increasing during storage. The volatile changes of both juices behaved similar, mainly esters being degraded. Sensory evaluation demonstrated consumer preferred the aroma of mixed juice compared to apple juice.