Search results for "Food quality."
showing 10 items of 107 documents
Effect of legume grains as a source of dietary protein on the quality of organic lamb meat.
2011
BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the effects on lamb growth, carcass traits and meat quality of replacing conventional soybean meal in the diet with alternative legume grains. RESULTS: Twenty-eight male lambs of Comisana breed weighing 16.9 ± 2.7 kg at weaning (66 ± 6 days old) were assigned to one of four diets. Until slaughter at 129 ± 6 days of age, each group received ad libitum pelleted alfalfa hay and concentrates differing in the source of protein: chickpea, faba bean, pea or soybean meal. Lambs fed chickpea showed higher dry matter and protein intakes from concentrate than those fed soybean. Lambs' growth, carcass weight and net dressing percentage did not vary by protein source, al…
Importance of food labeling as a means of information and traceability according to consumers
2015
Consumption patterns have considerably changed over recent years. We are witnessing more and more frequently to a lack of information (i.e. information asymmetry) between food producers and consumers, this generate in the consumer the latter need to access information related to processes of production of food and food distribution. Decisionmaking, in absence of further information, leads consumers to pay attention to food labeling. Food labels become the only tool for consumers to acquire additional information about products in order to make the purchase decision. In today’s modern and globalized market, labels limitations can be partially overcome by using Mobile Marketing tools, such as…
Inferring phytoplankton community composition with a fatty acid mixing model
2015
Abstract. The taxon specificity of fatty acid composition in algal classes suggests that fatty acids could be used as chemotaxonomic markers for phytoplankton composition. The applicability of phospholipid-derived fatty acids as chemotaxonomic markers for phytoplankton composition was evaluated by using a Bayesian fatty acid-based mixing model. Fatty acid profiles from monocultures of chlorophytes, cyanobacteria, diatoms, euglenoids, dinoflagellates, raphidophyte, cryptophytes and chrysophytes were used as a reference library to infer phytoplankton community composition in five moderately humic, large boreal lakes in three different seasons (spring, summer and fall). The phytoplankton commu…
Analysis of the filtration efficiency of white wines using different filter aids
2010
The global wine market, having recently entered into full crisis, is suffering some changes in its production and marketing. The reasons for these changes are mainly due to new trends in consumer demand for wine safety and quality standards at low cost. Social cellars, in order to be included in this new trend, should focus on the rationalization of the production techniques to reduce the costs and improve the quality of wine. In the case of winemaking for the production of a wine stored in a bag-in-box, filtration is a very important technique because it gives the finished product clearness and stability. The experimentation was based on the application of a low cost filtration technique o…
Meat quality of commercial chickens reared in different production systems: industrial, range and organic
2020
Abstract Meat is an important part of the human diet since it provides several nutrients. However, the amount of these nutrients can differ according to several factors. With this in mind, the present research was designed with the main objective of evaluating the effect of production system of broiler chickens (industrial, range and organic) on meat quality. The physicochemical, chemical and nutritional characteristics were determined in breast and drumstick meat. The organic chickens presented the lowest amounts of fat and cholesterol and the highest amounts of protein. The colour was also influenced by the production system, where organic and range chickens had the highest values of redn…
Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni as a natural antioxidant/antimicrobial for high pressure processed fruit extract: Processing parameter optimization
2013
Response surface methodology was used to evaluate the optimal high pressure processing treatment (300-500 MPa, 5-15 min) combined with Stevia rebaudiana (Stevia) addition (0-2.5% (w/v)) to guarantee food safety while maintaining maximum retention of nutritional properties. A fruit extract matrix was selected and Listeria monocytogenes inactivation was followed from the food safety point of view while polyphenoloxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) activities, total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (TEAC and ORAC) were studied from the food quality point of view. A combination of treatments achieved higher levels of inactivation of L. monocytogenes and of the oxidative enzymes, s…
Current and future strategies to reduce salt consumption
2020
Abstract The development of healthier lifestyles is of great importance in modern societies. Due to the increasingly sedentarism of population, our current diets need to be adapted to reduce the consumption of salt, fats, and sugar to prevent chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases, among others. For example, salt consumption is increasing considerably worldwide, which has been accompanied by the increased rates of heart disease incidence, mainly in developed countries. The food industry is making considerable efforts to provide lower salt food with similar taste, texture, and shelf-life as conventional food to promote not only healthier consumpt…
All-Food-Seq (AFS): a quantifiable screen for species in biological samples by deep DNA sequencing.
2013
Background DNA-based methods like PCR efficiently identify and quantify the taxon composition of complex biological materials, but are limited to detecting species targeted by the choice of the primer assay. We show here how untargeted deep sequencing of foodstuff total genomic DNA, followed by bioinformatic analysis of sequence reads, facilitates highly accurate identification of species from all kingdoms of life, at the same time enabling quantitative measurement of the main ingredients and detection of unanticipated food components. Results Sequence data simulation and real-case Illumina sequencing of DNA from reference sausages composed of mammalian (pig, cow, horse, sheep) and avian (c…
Quality Perception and Consumer Choice of Cactus Pear: Results of Direct Survey in Italy
2015
Today, alongside the traditional search and experience quality attributes, credence attributes increasingly affect individual consumption. The aim of this paper is to identify and measure the principal attributes of quality in cactus pear and their effect on consumer choice. The hypothesis underlying the study is that credence attributes have a major influence on consumer choice compared to the other quality attributes. With this in mind a questionnaire was administered to 92 cactus pear consumers in Italy, and by means of an econometric model the relationship that single attributes have on the amount of cactus pear consumption was analysed. Results confirm that credence attributes are impo…
Antiviral and antioxidant properties of active alginate edible films containing phenolic extracts
2018
In this work, novel active edible films having antiviral activity were developed through the solvent casting method. Emulsified edible films were prepared by adding lipids into alginate films in order to improve their water vapour permeability. In addition, two natural extracts rich in phenolic compounds, specifically a green tea extract (GTE) and a grape seed extract (GSE) were used as active agents. Interestingly, incorporating GTE or GSE within the biopolymer matrix, the films exhibited significant antiviral activity against murine norovirus (MNV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) since ∼2 log reduction were recorded for the 0.75 g extract/g alginate in the film, being GTE more efficient than …