Manzoor Ahmad Shah

Plant extracts as natural antioxidants in meat and meat products.

Antioxidants are used to minimize the oxidative changes in meat and meat products. Oxidative changes may have negative effects on the quality of meat and meat products, causing changes in their sensory and nutritional properties. Although synthetic antioxidants have already been used but in recent years, the demand for natural antioxidants has been increased mainly because of adverse effects of synthetic antioxidants. Thus most of the recent investigations have been directed towards the identification of natural antioxidants from various plant sources. Plant extracts have been prepared using different solvents and extraction methods. Grape seed, green tea, pine bark, rosemary, pomegranate, nettle and cinnamon have exhibited similar or better antioxidant properties compared to some synthetic ones. This review provides the recent information on plant extracts used as natural antioxidants in meat and meat products, specifically red meat.

Understanding the Role of Plasma Technology in Food Industry

The need for enhancing microbial food safety and quality, without compromising the nutritional, functional, and sensory characteristics of foods, has created an increasing interest in innovative technologies in food industry. Plasma is an emerging, green processing technology offering many potential applications and fulfills the need of the industry. The present review presents the latest developments and applications of plasma technology in food industry. Recent research investigations showed that plasma processing have caught the interest of various areas of industry including cereal, meat, poultry, dairy, fruits, vegetables, packaging, etc. Plasma processing helps to modify the food material for the desirable trait, and maintains the nutritional and textural properties in addition to microbial decontamination.

Effect of puffing on physical and antioxidant properties of brown rice.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of puffing process on the physical, antioxidant properties and mineral composition of brown rice. Bulk density significantly varied (P<0.05) among the puffing stages and was lowest in expanded rice. From Hunter colour analysis, the lowest L(∗) value and highest a(∗) and b(∗) values were observed for parboiled rice (P<0.05). A-type of diffraction pattern, observed in raw rice was altered by puffing process and led to the formation of B- and V-type patterns. Raman spectrum showed the intense peaks in raw rice and the intensity of those peaks was decreased during the puffing process. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a highly porous structure of expanded rice kernel. Significant decrease in the antioxidant properties was observed upon puffing process as compared to raw rice samples. Hence the present study demonstrates that the puffing process leads to the significant changes in the properties of brown rice.

Microgreens: Production, shelf life, and bioactive components

ABSTRACT Microgreens are emerging specialty food products which are gaining popularity and increased attention nowadays. They are young and tender cotyledonary leafy greens that are found in a pleasing palette of colors, textures, and flavors. Microgreens are a new class of edible vegetables harvested when first leaves have fully expanded and before true leaves have emerged. They are gaining popularity as a new culinary ingredient. They are used to enhance salads or as edible garnishes to embellish a wide variety of other dishes. Common microgreens are grown mainly from mustard, cabbage, radish, buckwheat, lettuce, spinach, etc. The consumption of microgreens has nowadays increased due to higher concentrations of bioactive components such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than mature greens, which are important for human health. However, they typically have a short shelf life due to rapid product deterioration. This review aimed to evaluate the postharvest quality, potential bioactive compounds, and shelf life of microgreens for proper management of this specialty produce.

Supercritical Impregnation of Active Components into Polymers for Food Packaging Applications

Supercritical impregnation is one of the novel technologies exploited for incorporation of active components into packaging material. This technique uses carbon dioxide as solvent to incorporate the active components in the polymeric matrix. The major advantages of using supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent rely on the possibility to operate under mild temperature and so to process with thermo-sensitive active components. This technique permits the impregnation of diverse natural and synthetic polymers which is the main advantage of this process. This review covers recent developments in the application of supercritical impregnation technology for incorporation of active components in polymers for food packaging applications.

Process Optimization and Characterization of Popped Brown Rice

The popping process was optimized for brown rice based on an expansion ratio. A central composite design with interactive effect of three independent variables, including salt content (1–2.5 g/100 g raw material), moisture content (13–17 g/100 g raw material), and popping temperature (210–240°C) was used to study their effects on the expansion ratio of rice using response surface methodology. The experimental values of expansion ratio were ranged from 5.24 to 6.85. On fitting the experimental values of expansion ratio to a second order polynomial equation, a mathematical model with the predictability was developed with the statistical adequacy and validity (p ˂ 0.05). From the model, the optimal condition including salt content (1.75 g/100 g raw material), moisture content (15 g/100 g raw material), and popping temperature (225°C) were predicted for a maximum expansion ratio of 6.79, which was then proved to be 6.85 through experiment. Raw and popped brown rice were investigated for physical properties including hardness, L*, a*, and b* value, length/breadth ratio, bulk density, and minerals, which showed the significant differences. The optimized popped rice sample was evaluated for structural, spectroscopic, and thermal properties, which showed the significant difference from raw rice.

Physicochemical and structural properties of starches isolated from corn cultivars grown in Indian temperate climate

ABSTRACT Starches isolated from five corn cultivars namely C4, C5, C6, C8, and C15 were investigated for their physicochemical and structural properties. The amylose content of corn starches varied from 24.74 to 30.32 g/100 g among the cultivars. The starch granules showed polyhedral granule shapes and differences in their mean granule size ranged from 2.3 to 19.5 μm. The starch samples showed A-type diffraction pattern with strong reflection at 15.25, 18.11, and 23.33°. Pasting profile, textural, and thermal properties of corn starch showed the cultivar differences. Raman spectroscopy showed the major band intensities at 1340, 1082, 940, 865, 523, 485, 440, and 412 cm−1. Syneresis and turbidity of gelatinized pastes of starches varied among the cultivars and increased progressively with the increase in storage period. The present study can be used for identifying differences between corn genotypes for starch quality and could provide guidance to possible industries for their end use.

Postharvest Biology and Technology of Peach

Peach is a climacteric fruit and undergoes rapid ripening after harvest. The fast ripening of the fruit is responsible for its short shelf life and represents a serious constraint for its efficient handling and transportation. Quick softening of the fruit after harvest and subsequent mold growth leads to huge losses in the marketing chain of the fruit. This chapter mainly sums up recent studies about the maturation parameters, ripening, physiological disorders, microbiological disorders, and postharvest techniques (cold storage, controlled atmosphere storage, and modified atmosphere packaging) of peach fruit. Various treatments, including physical (heat treatment, intermittent warming, irradiation, and edible coatings) and chemical methods (1-methylcyclopropene, salicylic acid, methyl jasmonate, calcium chloride, oxalic acid, melatonin, and nitric oxide), have been applied to peach fruit to enhance its shelf life.

Postharvest Biology and Technology of Loquat

Loquat, a non-climacteric fruit, is well known for its taste, juiciness and high nutrition value. Loquat is mainly consumed as fresh fruit and the important quality attributes are skin color, flesh firmness, soluble solids content, acidity and soluble solids content/acidity ratio. It has a short shelf life at ambient temperatures and is susceptible to various physical, mechanical and nutritional losses. A number of technologies have been evaluated for extending the shelf-life of loquat fruit and include cold storage, controlled atmosphere storage, modified atmosphere packaging, edible coatings, chemical and heat treatments.

Postharvest Biology and Technology of Cherry

Cherry is a non climacteric fleshy drupe cultivated in the temperate regions of the world. The two commercially important species of cherries are sweet and sour cherries. Cherries are highly perishable and very difficult to handle after harvest. They are susceptible to bruising, desiccation and browning of stem. They are also susceptible to various physiological and microbial disorders. Several postharvest technologies have been developed to increase the shelf life and market value of cherries. These include controlled atmosphere storage, modified atmosphere storage (MAP), irradiation, edible coatings and some chemical treatments. The other methods meant for processed cherry products like dehydration, freezing and canning have also been adopted for processing of cherries.