Tajul A. Yang

Muslim attitude and awareness towards Istihalah

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitude and awareness towards Istihalah of Muslim Malaysian students in Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. This study aims to indicate the alertness of Muslim students about Istihalah in their daily life.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 450 students from the university were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The self‐administered questionnaire focused on attitude and awareness towards Istihalah and their interest to learn more about Istihalah.Findings – A total of 99.1 percent of respondents agreed that the Muslim community lack of exposure about the Istihalah concept. Male students are more agreeable than female students (100.0 percent vs 98.2 percent). More than 94.7 percent of the respondents believe that Istihalah concept is very important to Muslim consumers. A total of 100.0 percent of the respondents are interested to know more about Istihalah.Research limitations/implications – The respondents in this research w...

Application of Response Surface Methodology to Optimize Roasting Conditions in Cocoa Beans Subjected to Superheated Steam Treatments in Relevance to Antioxidant Compounds and Activities

Roasting is an essential technological process used to produce high-quality cocoa-based products. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the roasting conditions in cocoa beans based on antioxidant compounds (total phenolic, total flavonoids) and their activity (percentage inhibition of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl [DPPH] radical and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay) using two variables: temperature and time. Cocoa beans were roasted at temperature ranging between 150 and 250°C for 10–50 min using superheated steam. The effects of the roasting conditions on the antioxidant properties of cocoa beans were investigated using a second-order central composite design. Results showed that roasting temperature and time significantly affect antioxidants in cocoa beans. Numerical optimization and superimposed contour plots suggested the optimal roasting conditions to be 192°C for temperature with 10 min of roasting time (R 2 = 0.99). These conditions can be used for roasting of cocoa beans to produce high-quality cocoa products in terms of antioxidant properties.

Influences of superheated steam roasting on changes in sugar, amino acid and flavour active components of cocoa bean (Theobroma cacao ): Influences of superheated steam roasting of cocoa bean

BACKGROUND Roasting is one of the important unit operations in the cocoa-based industries in order to develop unique flavour in products. Cocoa beans were subjected to roasting at different temperatures and times using superheated steam. The influence of roasting temperature (150-250°C) and time (10-50 min) on sugars, free amino acids and volatile flavouring compounds were investigated. RESULTS The concentration of total reducing sugars was reduced by up to 64.61, 77.22 and 82.52% with increased roasting temperature at 150, 200 and 250°C for 50 min, respectively. The hydrophobic amino acids were reduced up to 29.21, 36.41 and 48.87% with increased roasting temperature at 150, 200 and 250°C for 50 min, respectively. A number of pyrazines, esters, aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, carboxyl acids and hydrocarbons were detected in all the samples at different concentration range. Formation of the most flavour active compounds, pyrazines, were the highest concentration (2.96 mg kg-1 ) at 200°C for 10 min. CONCLUSION The superheated steam roasting method achieves the optimum roasting condition within a short duration Therefore, the quality of cocoa beans can be improved using superheated steam during the roasting process.

General guideline for applying Islamic dietary requirement in HACCP programme

This paper highlights the potential benefits of applying Islamic dietary laws to food production standards using the hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) concept. Currently, Islamic dietary specifications and obligations are being coordinated with standard guidelines in some countries without enforcing the use of safety standards. The HACCP concept approach with the identification of halal critical control points are discussed, ideally allowing the harmonisation and integration of common principles towards safe halal wholesome food. Eventually this approach leads to the easy and effective application of religious prescriptions by the food chain from farm to table systematically without compromising the law.

Effects of Incorporation of Jackfruit Rind Powder on Chemical and Functional Properties of Bread

Nowadays, there is a rising interest towards consuming health beneficial food products. Bread–as one of the most popular food products–could be improved to ‘healthy bread’ by addition of ingredients high in protein, dietary fiber and low in calorie. Incorporating Jackfruit rind powder (JRP) as a by-product rich in dietary fiber in bread, could not only provide health beneficial bread products, but also lead to develop an environmental friendly technology by solving the problem of waste disposal of residues. In this study, addition of jackfruit rind powder (JRP) as a high dietary fiber and functional ingredient in bread was examined. The results showed that incorporation of JRP in bread improved functional properties of flour such as Oil Holding Capacity (OHC), Water Holding Capacity (WHC) and pasting properties. Addition of 5%, 10% and 15% of JRP in wheat flour caused significantly (p < 0.05) higher insoluble, soluble and total dietary fiber in flour and bread products. Results from proximate composition indicated that all breads substituted with JRP, contained significantly (p < 0.05) higher fiber, moisture and fat. Obtained results confirmed that the JRP has great potential in development of functional foods especially functional bread products.

PRODUCTION OF INSTANT NIGELLA SATIVA L. BEVERAGE POWDER BY DRUM DRYING USING ARABIC GUM AS ADJUNCT

This study determined the feasibility of drum drying process in producing drum dried Nigella sativa L. beverage powder using the response surface methodology to determine the effect and relationship between percentage of Arabic gum and drying temperature on the quality of the Nigella sativa powder produced. About 32.7 % of Arabic gum and 119.1°C of drying temperature were the optimum parameters for the production of Nigella sativa powder. Antioxidants and calcium content of Nigella sativa powder decreased significantly, while the iron, manganese, and sodium contents increased significantly after the drum drying process.

Effect of carrier agents on chemical properties and sensory evaluation of spray-dried Nigella sativa

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of spray-drying with two coating agents, maltodextrin (MD) and gum arabic (AG) on antioxidant activity, mineral content, proximate content and sensory evaluation. Results showed that spray-dried sample decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in caffeine content, from 3.8% in control sample to 1.6% in AG and 1.9% in MD. Fat content in spray-dried sample also declined significantly from 21.4% in a pre-dried sample to 0.8% in MD and 2.4% in AG. Antioxidant activities slightly decreased in both AG and MD samples while the mineral content of spray-dried samples significantly increased in AG as compared with MD sample. The significantly higher yield found in MD (72.85%) sample than AG (40.71%). Spray-dried Nigella sativa powders have viable potential in improving food quality that may be beneficial to consumers as well as to industry.

Kinetics of Texture and Colour Changes in Chicken Sausage during Superheated Steam Cooking

Abstract The aim of this study was to develop a kinetic model to describe the texture and colour changes of chicken sausage during superheated steam cooking. Chicken sausages were cooked at temperature ranging from 150-200°C with treatment times ranging from 2-6 mins. The texture profile was evaluated in terms of hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess, and chewiness, while the colour parameters were estimated in terms of lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*), and total colour difference (∆E). Experimental data showed a gradual reduction in texture parameters as cooking times and temperatures increased. The L* value of the colour showed a linear reduction with cooking condition, while the a*, b*, and ∆E values showed a contrary effects. The decrease in texture parameters and L*-value of colour parameter followed the first-order kinetic model. While, zero-order kinetic model was adapted to fit the a* and b*. The modified first order kinetic showed a good fit for total ∆E. Significant correlations between colour and texture parameters were observed, which showed that a* alone could be used to predict the texture of chicken sausage.

Is there a market for Istihalah food product in Indonesia

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the awareness of Muslim students regarding Istihalah in their daily life. The study was carried out to investigate attitude and awareness towards Istihalah among Muslim students in Universiti Pertanian Bogor (UPB), Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 456 students were randomly selected from the university. A self-administered questionnaire was handed out to consenting students focusing on attitude and awareness towards Istihalah and eagerness to learn more about Istihalah. Findings – Results showed that Muslim students lacked information about Istihalah. From the total number of students 86.18 per cent agreed that information and knowledge of Istihalah is scarce. 40.1 per cent believed that Ulamas (Muslim scholars) are a very important source of knowledge regarding Istihalah, and 87.50 per cent are willing to learn more about Istihalah. Research limitations/implications – The respondents in this study were Muslim students in UPB, Indonesia. The resul...

Perceived versus actual knowledge of alcohol and halal food among food technology undergraduate students in a Malaysian university

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to evaluate the perceived knowledge of the general concept of halal food and actual knowledge of halal food principles with emphasis on alcohol (alcoholic drinks and ethanol). Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional descriptive survey, using quantitative research methods, was utilized. A self-administered survey was distributed to 188 undergraduate students of the food technology programme at Universiti Sains Malaysia, and a total of 114 responses were obtained. Findings – Results indicate that respondents believed that they have above average competence regarding the concept, sources, ingredients, processing and the overall production of halal foods (score: 3.75-4.18). In addition, all of the 114 respondents also agreed that alcoholic drinks are fundamentally prohibited in Islam. However, the survey also revealed that the respondents were less certain about the application of alcohol in halal food production. Respondents’ actual knowledge on these issues was...