Rui P. Queirós

Hyperbaric storage of melon juice at and above room temperature and comparison with storage at atmospheric pressure and refrigeration

Hyperbaric storage (8h) of melon juice (a highly perishable food) at 25, 30 and 37°C, under pressure at 25-150 MPa was compared with atmospheric pressure storage (0.1 MPa) at the same temperatures and under refrigeration (4°C). Comparatively to the refrigerated condition, hyperbaric storage at 50/75 MPa resulted in similar or lower microbial counts (total aerobic mesophiles, enterobacteriaceae, and yeasts/moulds) while at 100/150 MPa, the counts were lower for all the tested temperatures, indicating in the latter case, in addition to microbial growth inhibition, a microbial inactivation effect. At 25 MPa no microbial inhibition was observed. Physicochemical parameters of all samples stored under pressure (pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, browning degree and cloudiness) did not show a clear variation trend with pressure, being the results globally similar to refrigeration storage. These results show the potential of hyperbaric storage, at and above room temperature and with potential energy savings, comparatively to refrigeration.

Preservation under pressure (hyperbaric storage) at 25°C, 30°C and 37°C of a highly perishable dairy food and comparison with refrigeration

Hyperbaric storage (HS) under mild pressure of requeijão, a traditional Portuguese whey cheese, as a case study of a highly perishable dairy food, was evaluated as a possible energy costless alternative to refrigeration. Whey cheese was stored for 4 and 8 hours, at different pressure levels (0.1, 100 and 150 MPa) and temperatures (25°C, 30°C and 37°C), and the results were compared with refrigeration (4°C). Microbial analyses showed that storage for 4 hours at 100 MPa was able to maintain microbial counts similar to refrigeration and initial load, ≈3 Log10 CFU/g, at all tested temperatures. By increasing the pressure to 150 MPa and the storage time to 8 hours, microbial loads were reduced to undetectable counts, with the exception for total aerobic mesophiles that were reduced to about ≈1 Log unit. HS in general maintained pH, water activity and lipid oxidation values, at levels similar to that in refrigeration.

A first study comparing preservation of a ready-to-eat soup under pressure (hyperbaric storage) at 25°C and 30°C with refrigeration.

Abstract Hyperbaric storage (HS), storage under pressure at 25°C and 30°C, of a ready‐to‐eat (RTE) soup was studied and compared with refrigeration. Soup was stored at different time (4 and 8 h), temperature (4°C, 25°C, and 30°C), and pressure (0.1, 100, and 150 MPa) conditions, to compare microbial loads and physicochemical parameters. HS resulted in similar (microbial growth inhibition) to better (microbial inactivation) results compared to refrigeration, leading to equal and lower microbial loads, respectively, at the end of storage. Lower/higher pressure (100 vs. 150 MPa) and shorter/longer storage times (4 vs. 8 h) resulted in more pronounced microbial growth inhibition/microbial inactivation. Aerobic mesophiles showed less susceptibility to HS, compared to Enterobacteriaceae and yeast and molds. HS maintained generally the physicochemical parameters at values similar to refrigeration. Thus, HS with no need for temperature control throughout storage and so basically energetically costless, is a potential alternative to refrigeration.

High pressure extraction of phenolic compounds from citrus peels

This study evaluated the effect of high pressure processing on the recovery of high added value compounds from citrus peels. Overall, the total phenolic content in orange peel was significantly (P < .05) higher than that in lemon peel, except when pressure treated at 500 MPa. However, lemon peel demonstrated more antioxidant activity than orange peel. Pressure-treated samples (300 MPa, 10 min; 500 MPa, 3 min) demonstrated higher phenolic content and antioxidant activity comparatively to the control samples. For more severe treatments (500 MPa, 10 min), the phenolic content and antioxidant activity decreased in both lemon and orange peels.

High pressure and thermal pasteurization effects on sweet cherry juice microbiological stability and physicochemical properties

This study evaluated high pressure processing (P1 – 400 MPa/5 min; P2 – 550 MPa/2 min) and thermal pasteurization (TP – 70°C/30 s) effects on sweet cherry juices microbiological and physicochemical parameters, during four weeks of refrigerated storage. All treatments reduced the microbiological load to undetectable levels not affecting total soluble solids and titratable acidity. The pH increased with all treatments, however, it decreased during storage. Phenols were differently affected: TP increased them by 6%, P1 had no effect while P2 decreased them by 11%. During storage, phenols in control and TP samples decreased by 26% and 20%, P1 samples decreased them by 11% whereas P2 showed no variation. TP had no effect on anthocyanins, while pressure treatments increased them by 8%. Anthocyanins decreased during storage, particularly in the control and P1 (decreasing 41%). All treatments had no effect on antioxidant activity until the 14th day, thereafter high pressure processing samples showed the highest antioxidant activity.

Evaluation of resistance development and viability recovery by toxigenic and non-toxigenic Staphylococcus aureus strains after repeated cycles of high hydrostatic pressure.

In this work, the development of resistance and the recovery of growth after several consecutive cycles of high hydrostatic pressure (HPP) were for the first time evaluated in different strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Three strains of this important and highly resilient to HPP foodborne pathogen were used: a non-enterotoxigenic ATCC 6538 strain, treated with 600 MPa for 30 min at 20 °C, and the toxigenic strains 2153 MA (with enterotoxin A) and 2065 MA (with the enterotoxins A, G and I), treated with 600 MPa for 15 min at 20 °C. After the first treatment, surviving colonies were used to produce new bacterial cultures. This procedure was repeated nine times more for each bacterium or until total inactivation occurred. The inactivation profile of non-enterotoxic strain and the two enterotoxic strains did not change after consecutive cycles, but the toxic strain with three enterotoxins was completely inactivated after the fourth cycle. The three strains did not recover their viability after 14 days. The results indicate that HPP effectively inactivates non-toxigenic and toxigenic strains of S. aureus after a single treatment. The surviving bacteria did not develop resistance after 10 cycles of pressurization and did not recover their viability after 14 days of incubation.

Effect of 300 and 500 MPa pressure treatments on starch–water adsorption/desorption isotherms and hysteresis

Pressure treatments of 300 and 500 MPa during 15 min were found to change starch–water sorption (adsorption and desorption) isotherms and the hysteresis effect, particularly the 500 MPa. This last treatment shifted the adsorption/desorption isotherms downward, compared with non-treated starch and starch treated at 300 MPa. The observed hysteresis effect decreased with the increase in pressure level in the whole aw range, indicating that adsorption and desorption isotherms became closer. Guggenheim–Anderson–De Boer and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller model parameters Cb, Cg, K and Mm also showed changes caused by pressure, the latter being lower in the pressure-processed samples, thus indicating possible changes on microbial and (bio)chemical stabilities of pressure-processed food products containing starch.

Liquid by-products from fish canning industry as sustainable sources of ω3 lipids

Fish canning industry generates large amounts of liquid wastes, which are discarded, after proper treatment to remove the organic load. However, alternative treatment processes may also be designed in order to target the recovery of valuable compounds; with this procedure, these wastewaters are converted into liquid by-products, becoming an additional source of revenue for the company. This study evaluated green and economically sustainable methodologies for the extraction of ω3 lipids from fish canning liquid by-products. Lipids were extracted by processes combining physical and chemical parameters (conventional and pressurized extraction processes), as well as chemical and biological parameters. Furthermore, LCA was applied to evaluate the environmental performance and costs indicators for each process. Results indicated that extraction with high hydrostatic pressure provides the highest amounts of ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (3331,5 mg L-1 effluent), apart from presenting the lowest environmental impact and costs. The studied procedures allow to obtain alternative, sustainable and traceable sources of ω3 lipids for further applications in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Additionally, such approach contributes towards the organic depuration of canning liquid effluents, therefore reducing the overall waste treatment costs.

Pulsed Electric Field Processing of Fruit Juices

Abstract Fruit juices and other liquid foods constitute an important source of bioactive compounds. However, the techniques used for their processing may cause alterations in their contents, and consequently they do not provide the benefits expected by the consumer. This fact has led to the increasing use of nonthermal processing technologies, such as pulsed electric field (PEF), which have been developed over recent decades as alternative technologies to thermal pasteurization of liquid foods. Researchers have previously studied the effects of PEF on the main compounds affecting the quality and the health-related properties. The reported results show that PEF could be used to pasteurize fruit juices with minimal modifications of the physicochemical and nutritional properties, or even a significantly higher amount of health-related phytochemicals.

EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND COMPRESSION/DECOMPRESSION RATES ON HIGH PRESSURE INACTIVATION OF LISTERIA

The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of temperature and different compression/ decompression rates on the efficiency of Listeria inactivation by HPP. Stationary phase cultures of Listeria innocua were subjected to 300 MPa for 5 min at 4, 10, and 20 °C using different compression and decompression rates. Inactivation was more efficient at low temperature and with lowest compression and decompression rates (1.5 MPa s–1 and 3.2 MPa s–1, respectively). Kinetics of pressure building up and decompression, as well as temperature, have a significant impact on the outcome of Listeria inactivation by HPP. The results may contribute to the design of HPP protocols that ensure food safety, while preserving nutritional and organoleptic properties better.