Kanishka Bhunia

Migration of Chemical Compounds from Packaging Polymers during Microwave, Conventional Heat Treatment, and Storage

Polymeric packaging protects food during storage and transportation, and withstands mechanical and thermal stresses from high-temperature conventional retort or microwave-assisted food processing treatments. Chemical compounds that are incorporated within polymeric packaging materials to improve functionality, may interact with food components during processing or storage and migrate into the food. Once these compounds reach a specified limit, food quality and safety may be jeopardized. Possible chemical migrants include plasticizers, antioxidants, thermal stabilizers, slip compounds, and monomers. Chemical migration from food packaging is affected by a number of parameters including the nature and complexity of food, the contact time and temperature of the system, the type of packaging contact layer, and the properties of the migrants. Researchers study the migration of food-packaging compounds by exposing food or food-simulating liquids to conventional and microwave heating and storage conditions, primarily through chromatographic or spectroscopic methods; from these data, they develop kinetic and risk assessment models. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the migration of chemical compounds into food or food simulants exposed to various heat treatments and storage conditions, as well as a discussion of regulatory issues.

Improving functional properties of pea protein isolate for microencapsulation of flaxseed oil

Abstract Unhydrolysed pea protein (UN) forms very viscous emulsions when used at higher concentrations. To overcome this, UN was hydrolysed using enzymes alcalase, flavourzyme, neutrase, alcalase–flavourzyme, and neutrase–flavourzyme at 50 °C for 0 min, 30 min, 60 min, and 120 min to form hydrolysed proteins A, F, N, AF, and NF, respectively. All hydrolysed proteins had lower apparent viscosity and higher solubility than UN. Foaming capacity of A was the highest, followed by NF, N, and AF. Hydrolysed proteins N60, A60, NF60, and AF60 were prepared by hydrolysing UN for 60 min and used further for microencapsulation. At 20% oil loading (on a total solid basis), the encapsulated powder N60 had the highest microencapsulation efficiency (ME = 56.2). A decrease in ME occurred as oil loading increased to 40%. To improve the ME of N60, >90%, UN and maltodextrin were added. Flowability and particle size distribution of microencapsulated powders with >90% microencapsulation efficiency and morphology of all powders were investigated. This study identified a new way to improve pea protein functionality in emulsions, as well as a new application of hydrolysed pea protein as wall material for microencapsulation.

Oxidation‐reduction potential and lipid oxidation in ready‐to‐eat blue mussels in red sauce: Criteria for Package Design

BACKGROUND Ready-to-eat in-package pasteurized blue mussels in red sauce requires refrigerated storage or in combination with an aerobic environment to prevent the growth of anaerobes. A low barrier packaging may create an aerobic environment; however, it causes lipid oxidation in mussels. Thus, evaluation of the oxidation-reduction potential (Eh) (aerobic/anaerobic nature of food) and lipid oxidation is essential. Three packaging materials with oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of 62 (F-62), 40 (F-40) and 3 (F-3) cm3 m-2 day-1 were selected for this study. Lipid oxidation was measured by color changes in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) at 532 nm (TBARS@532) and 450 nm (TBARS@450). RESULTS Significantly higher (P < 0.05) TBARS@532 was found in mussels packaged in higher OTR film. TBARS@450 in mussels packaged with F-62 and F-40 gradually increased during refrigerated storage (3.5 ± 0.5 °C), but remained constant after 20 days of storage for mussels packaged with F-3. The Eh of pasteurized sauce was not significantly affected (P > 0.05) by OTR and remained negative (< -80 mV) during storage. Negative Eh values can support the growth of anaerobes such as Clostridium botulinum. The headspace oxygen concentration was reduced by about 50% from its initial value during pasteurization, and then further declined during storage. The headspace oxygen concentration was higher in trays packaged with higher OTR film. CONCLUSION Mussels packed with high OTR film showed higher lipid oxidation, indicating that high barrier film is required for packaging of mussels. Pasteurized mussels must be kept in refrigerated storage to prevent growth of anaerobic proteolytic C. botulinum spores under temperature abuse.

Headspace oxygen as a hurdle to improve the safety of in-pack pasteurized chilled food during storage at different temperatures

This study investigated the use of headspace oxygen in a model food system to prevent the growth of anaerobic pathogenic bacteria in in-pack pasteurized food at various storage temperatures. Three model food formulations prepared with tryptic soy broth and three agar concentrations (0.1, 0.4 and 1.0%) were sealed without removing the air from the package in high oxygen barrier pouches (OTR=0.3cm3/m2·day·atm). Important properties influencing bacterial growth, including pH and water activity (aw) were determined. The oxygen sorption kinetics of each model food were obtained at three different storage temperatures (8, 12, and 20°C) using an OxySense Gen III 300 system. An analytical solution of Ficks second law was used to determine the O2 diffusion coefficient. Growth challenge studies at 12 and 20°C were conducted at three selected locations (top, center and bottom layers) in model foods containing 1% agar. Model foods were inoculated with Clostridium sporogenes PA 3679 (300spores/mL), and were classified as low-acid (pH>4.5, aw>0.85). When the storage temperature decreased from 20 to 8°C, the oxygen diffusion decreased from 0.82×10-9m2/s to 0.68×10-9m2/s. As the agar concentration was increased from 0.1 to 1.0%, the effective oxygen permeability decreased significantly (p=0.007) from 0.88×10-9m2/s to 0.65×10-9m2/s. When the inoculated model foods were stored at 12°C for 14days, C. sporogenes PA 3679 was unable to grow. As the storage temperature was increased to 20°C, significant bacterial growth was observed with storage time (p<0.0001), and the C. sporogenes PA 3679 population increased by around 6logCFU/g. However, the location of the food did not influence the growth distribution of C. sporogenes PA 3679. These results demonstrate that oxygen diffusion from the pouch headspace was primarily limited to the food surface. Findings suggest that the air/oxygen present in the package headspace may not be considered as a food safety hurdle in the production of pasteurized packaged food.

Non-invasive measurement of oxygen diffusion in model foods

In this study, we developed a non-invasive method to determine oxygen diffusivity (DO2) in food gels using an Oxydot luminescence sensor. We designed and fabricated a transparent diffusion cell in order to represent oxygen transfer into foods packaged in an 8-ounce polymeric tray. Oxydots were glued to the sides (side-dot) and bottom (bottom-dot) of the cell and filled with 1, 2, and 3% (w/v) agar gel as a model food. After deoxygenation, local oxygen concentrations in the gels were measured non-invasively at 4, 12 and 22°C. Effective oxygen diffusivities in gels (DO2g) and water (DO2w) were obtained after fitting experimental data to the analytical solution (data from side-dot) and the numerical solution (data from bottom-dot) to Ficks second law. Temperature had significant positive influence (P<0.05) on oxygen diffusivity estimated for different medium and analysis methods. The DO2obtained from both methods were statistically different (P<0.05) at 12 and 22°C but not at 4°C. Results show that DO2g values decreased by 72-92%, compared to DO2w. Results also show that decreasing the temperature from 22 to 4°C reduced the DO2w and DO2g values by 55-60%. No significant difference (P>0.05) was found between the activation energy (Ea) of water and gels (1-3% w/v) for temperatures ranging from 4 to 22°C. We used a combined obstruction and hydrodynamic model to explain why DO2g decreased as gel concentration increased. The method developed in this study can be used to study the oxygen diffusivity in foods.

Gas Barrier Packaging

Gas barrier packaging prolongs the shelf life of foods by protecting food quality and providing consumer safety. Advances in food processing technology have led to the development of new gas barrier materials to replace glass and metal packaging. Although the use of polymeric packaging is now commonplace, researchers still strive to improve gas barrier packaging and thus the quality of the food supply. Polymers such as ethylene vinyl alcohol, nylons, and polyethylene terephthalate in a multilayer structure significantly enhance the barrier functionality. However, there is a need of further improvement in barrier performance. Nanotechnology and other techniques such as layer multiplication and smart blending have shown considerable promise in high-barrier food packaging innovations. This article summarizes recent advances in high-barrier food packaging technology.