Foods最新文献

{"title":"Designer Enzymes: Food-System-Oriented Biocatalysts for Mitigating Mycotoxin Contamination and Reducing Postharvest Grain Loss.","authors":"Yiyang Zhang, Miao Long","doi":"10.3390/foods15193538","DOIUrl":"10.3390/foods15193538","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mycotoxin contamination remains a major challenge to food and feed safety, agricultural productivity, and postharvest resource utilization. Although numerous mycotoxin-transforming enzymes have been discovered and increasingly improved through protein engineering, only a limited number have progressed from laboratory characterization to practical food or feed applications. This translational gap arises because catalytic efficiency alone does not address matrix interference, processing stress, scalable production, formulation, degradation-product safety, and application-specific regulatory requirements. This review critically examines the development of enzyme-based detoxification across major mycotoxin classes, including aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol and related trichothecenes, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, and fumonisins, while explicitly distinguishing the deployment requirements of food and feed systems. Building on evidence from natural enzymes, engineered variants, matrix studies, animal evaluations, and commercially advanced systems, we use the term \"Designer Enzymes\" to describe a literature-derived, deployment-oriented engineering concept in which intended-use conditions are defined before optimization and used to guide molecular, manufacturing, formulation, safety, and regulatory decisions. A five-dimensional framework encompassing Mechanistic Understanding, Predictive Design Integration, Multi-Objective Optimization, Deployment Readiness, and Safety and Regulatory Preparedness is used as a qualitative diagnostic tool to identify translational bottlenecks rather than as a formally validated numerical scoring system. Representative systems targeting ZEN, DON, AFB1, OTA, and fumonisins are compared to illustrate their contrasting trajectories from mechanistic discovery to practical deployment. Structure-guided engineering, AI-assisted mutation prioritization, stability optimization, Design-Build-Test-Learn workflows, synthetic biology, multi-enzyme systems, scalable production, formulation, and existing pilot-scale or commercial translation are further evaluated according to the specific bottlenecks they are intended to address. Overall, this review argues that the future of enzymatic mycotoxin detoxification depends less on maximizing technological complexity than on integrating mechanistic evidence, application-specific performance, manufacturability, degradation-product safety, and regulatory readiness. The Designer Enzyme concept therefore provides a structured roadmap for directing promising detoxification enzymes toward credible, safe, and scalable food and feed applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":12386,"journal":{"name":"Foods","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13665256/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of Different Thermal Treatments on Quality and Myofibrillar Protein Properties of Shelled Chinese Mitten Crab (<i>Eriocheir sinensis</i>) Meat.","authors":"Xihao Li, Changhu Xue, Zihao Wei","doi":"10.3390/foods15193540","DOIUrl":"10.3390/foods15193540","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To reduce the difficulty of shell-meat separation while minimizing quality deterioration, this study compared the effects of two thermal treatments, traditional steaming (TS) and a part-specific mild steaming (MS) strategy, on the quality and myofibrillar protein (MP) properties of Chinese mitten crab meat, using raw crab meat (RM) as the reference. Results showed that the MS group exhibited pH and moisture content closer to those of RM, while no significant difference was observed in total volatile basic nitrogen and centrifugal loss compared with RM, suggesting that MS treatment caused less pronounced changes in physicochemical quality and water-holding properties. Meanwhile, electronic nose and electronic tongue analyses revealed that MS closely resembled RM, whereas TS deviated markedly, suggesting that MS treatment effectively preserved the natural sensory quality of crab meat. MS induced only moderate decreases in MP content, total and active sulfhydryl contents, and surface hydrophobicity. Its turbidity, particle size, and ultraviolet absorption spectra remained largely consistent with RM, while endogenous fluorescence and circular dichroism spectra exhibited substantially smaller changes than those in TS. These findings indicate that MS causes only mild conformational adjustments of MPs and less pronounced protein aggregation than TS. Overall, MS effectively reduces shell-meat separation difficulty while maximally preserving the inherent quality of crab meat.</p>","PeriodicalId":12386,"journal":{"name":"Foods","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13665232/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in the Molecular Forces and Rheological Properties of Pork Myosin with Sodium Bicarbonate.","authors":"Yu Zheng, Zhan-Peng Zhu, Qin Hou, Wang-Li Cheng, Xue-Hua Zhang, Zhuang-Li Kang","doi":"10.3390/foods15193539","DOIUrl":"10.3390/foods15193539","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To investigate how sodium bicarbonate concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 mM) modulate the turbidity and molecular interactions of pork myosin, the pH, turbidity, particle size, active and total thiol content, surface hydrophobicity, rheology properties, and chemical forces were analyzed. Results revealed that increasing sodium bicarbonate concentration from 0 to 50 mM significantly elevated (<i>p</i> < 0.05) pH, surface hydrophobicity, apparent viscosity, active thiol content, and storage modulus (G'), while significantly reducing (<i>p</i> < 0.05) turbidity, mean particle size, gel whiteness, and ionic bonding strength. The alkalinization-induced pH reduced protein turbidity and enhanced molecular unfolding, thereby exposing hydrophobic regions and reactive thiol groups; this promoted hydrophobic interactions and facilitated disulfide bond formation during heat-induced gelation. Consequently, higher sodium bicarbonate levels (40 and 50 mM) markedly strengthened intermolecular forces and improved the rheological performance of the resulting myosin gels.</p>","PeriodicalId":12386,"journal":{"name":"Foods","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13665567/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing Botanical Authenticity of Honey Through DNA-Metabarcoding-Based Pollen Analysis: A Preliminary Study.","authors":"Lucia Ranieri, Roberta Piredda, Anna Mottola, Chiara Intermite, Martina Denami, Lucilia Lorusso, Angela Di Pinto","doi":"10.3390/foods15193542","DOIUrl":"10.3390/foods15193542","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Honey is highly vulnerable to botanical mislabeling and fraud, highlighting the need for dedicated analytical approaches capable of reliably supporting authenticity assessment. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to integrate traditional melissopalynology and <i>rbcL</i> DNA metabarcoding for the botanical characterization of honeys collected from Apulian beekeepers. Melissopalynological analysis confirmed the labeled floral source in 6/10 (60%) samples, while four samples were reclassified. One cherry honey was identified as polyfloral, and one robinia (acacia) honey as crimson clover honey. The two samples labeled as polyfloral showed a predominance of chestnut and coriander pollen. In contrast, molecular results confirmed label declarations for chestnut and cherry honeys, whereas robinia (acacia) honeys highlighted known limitations associated with under-represented pollen taxa. In terms of biodiversity, DNA metabarcoding identified 128 plant families, whereas melissopalynology detected only 42. Despite this difference in taxonomic resolution, both approaches converged on the core botanical composition of the honey matrix, sharing 39 plant families that represent the principal nectariferous and entomophilous taxa. Overall, melissopalynology proved decisive for regulatory label verification, while DNA metabarcoding provided a broader qualitative description of the botanical composition. As a preliminary pilot study, the combined application of melissopalynology and DNA metabarcoding may contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of honey botanical origin and traceability; however, molecular detection alone cannot be considered sufficient to establish compliance with legal requirements for unifloral honey labeling.</p>","PeriodicalId":12386,"journal":{"name":"Foods","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664935/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In Situ <i>Fusarium</i> Mycotoxin Mitigation During Wholegrain Wheat Flour Fermentation with Sourdough Lactic Acid Bacteria and Further Insights into Reduction Mechanisms.","authors":"Giuseppe Perri, Claudia Sardella, Lorenzo Ciraldo, Valentina Scarpino, Simona Carbone, Federico Rametta, Massimo Blandino, Carlo Giuseppe Rizzello, Erica Pontonio","doi":"10.3390/foods15193543","DOIUrl":"10.3390/foods15193543","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Fusarium</i> mycotoxins are major contaminants of cereal-based products, yet effective clean-label mitigation strategies are still limited. Although lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been extensively investigated as biological tools for mycotoxin reduction, evidence is largely based on in vitro studies. Here, nineteen LAB strains representative of sourdough microbiota were screened for their ability to reduce deoxynivalenol (DON) in wholegrain wheat dough. Pronounced strain-dependent differences were observed, leading to the selection of <i>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</i> 1A7, <i>Limosilactobacillus fermentum</i> 10B, and <i>Pediococcus pentosaceus</i> I76 for further evaluation against a broader panel of <i>Fusarium</i> regulated and emerging mycotoxins, including modified DON derivatives, moniliformin, and enniatins. After 48 h of fermentation, with LAB populations reaching approximately 9 log CFU g^-1, the selected strains achieved comparable reduction efficiencies across multiple analytes, decreasing mycotoxin levels by approximately 50% and lowering DON concentrations from 1270 µg kg^-1 to below the European regulatory limit of 600 µg kg^-1 for cereal milling products. To gain insight into the mechanisms involved, fermentations were performed using both viable and heat-inactivated cells. The lower reduction efficiency observed with inactivated cells was consistent with a contribution of cell wall-mediated adsorption, although additional contributions from LAB metabolic activity cannot be excluded. Overall, sourdough LAB effectively reduced multiple mycotoxins in a complex cereal matrix, with the observed effects indicating a reduction in extractable mycotoxin levels without providing conclusive evidence of detoxification. These findings provide new insights into LAB-mycotoxin interactions and support fermentation-based strategies for mycotoxin mitigation in wheat-based foods.</p>","PeriodicalId":12386,"journal":{"name":"Foods","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664850/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated Multi-Omics Analysis Reveals Associations Between Flavor Variation, Bacterial Communities, Metabolites, and Lipids in Commercial Dry-Cured Grass Carp.","authors":"Tianxiao Zhang, Ji Wang, Xuhui Huang, Lili Zhang, Xuechen Pei","doi":"10.3390/foods15193547","DOIUrl":"10.3390/foods15193547","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Commercial dry-cured grass carp products exhibit considerable flavor variation, but the microbial and biochemical characteristics associated with this variation remain unclear. In this study, six commercial products were comparatively characterized using electronic nose and tongue analyses, GC-MS, full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metabolomics, and lipidomics. Among the six sampled products, Group F exhibited distinct aroma and taste profiles and showed a greater diversity and higher measured levels of volatile compounds on a wet-weight basis, with 1-octen-3-ol, hexanal, nonanal, and (<i>E</i>)-4-decenal among its prominent aroma-active compounds. Bacterial community structures differed significantly among the sampled products, with distinct species-level profiles; notably, <i>Edwardsiella piscicida</i> predominated in Group D, whereas <i>Staphylococcus equorum</i> and <i>Staphylococcus xylosus</i> were abundant in Groups E and F. Metabolomic and lipidomic analyses further revealed pronounced product-specific differences, particularly in organic acid- and amino acid-related metabolites and in glycerolipid and glycerophospholipid profiles. Exploratory correlations suggested potential product-level associations among bacterial taxa, lipid and metabolite profiles, and aroma-active volatiles, although none remained statistically significant after FDR correction. Overall, the results reveal coordinated differences in flavor, bacterial communities, metabolites, and lipids among the six commercial dry-cured grass carp products examined in this study and provide a compositional basis for further investigation of flavor formation.</p>","PeriodicalId":12386,"journal":{"name":"Foods","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664989/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development and Characterization of Clean-Label Hybrid Deli Ham with Pulse Flours as Partial Meat Replacers.","authors":"Lisiane Carvalho, Soundary Seriacaroupin, Adriana Ferreira, Cláudia S C Marques-Dos-Santos, Teresa J S Matos, Isabel Sousa, Anabela Raymundo","doi":"10.3390/foods15193541","DOIUrl":"10.3390/foods15193541","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Growing interest in sustainable and clean-label foods has increased the need for meat products with reduced animal meat content. This study comparatively characterized three deli ham formulations: a conventional control, a hybrid formulation in which 50% of the pork meat mass was replaced with chickpea flour, red lentil flour and potato protein isolate, and a clean-label hybrid formulation with the same meat replacement. For physicochemical, nutritional, texture and rheological analyses, one production batch was prepared for each formulation. A second, independently produced batch of each formulation was prepared for the sensory evaluation. The hybrid formulations showed lower moisture (48%) and in vitro protein digestibility (66%) than the control (78% and 87.4%, respectively) although all samples exhibited predominantly elastic behaviour. Mineral content and in vitro bioaccessibility varied according to the mineral and formulation. From a nitrogen footprint perspective, the hybrid formulations exhibited lower estimated nitrogen footprint values than the control under the assumptions and system boundaries applied in the model. Overall, sensory responses differed among formulations for several evaluated attributes, indicating differences in sensory acceptance across formulations. These findings show that partial replacement of pork meat modified the physicochemical, nutritional, technological and sensory characteristics of deli ham, while providing a potential approach for reducing the modelled nitrogen footprint of the product.</p>","PeriodicalId":12386,"journal":{"name":"Foods","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13665332/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Orange Juice as a Substrate for Milk and Water Kefir Grains: Production and Characterization of Novel Kefir-like Beverages.","authors":"Eduardo Balvis Outeiriño, Marta Abajo Justel, Nelson Pérez Guerra","doi":"10.3390/foods15193544","DOIUrl":"10.3390/foods15193544","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Orange juice was investigated as a substrate for the production of novel kefir-like beverages using milk kefir grains (MKG) and water kefir grains (WKG). Fermentation was monitored for 48 h to characterize changes in physicochemical parameters, substrate consumption, metabolite production, microbial populations, antibacterial activity, vitamin and mineral composition, and volatile compounds. Both kefir grain types supported the growth of lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, and yeasts, reaching final populations of approximately 6-7, 5-6, and 8 log CFU/mL, respectively. WKG promoted greater early production of lactic acid and consistently higher levels of acetic acid, ethanol, and antibacterial activity, whereas MKG produced a slightly higher lactic acid concentration after 48 h and was associated with greater increases in potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium. Vitamins B1, B2, and C decreased during fermentation with both MKG and WKG. The volatile profile was substantially altered during fermentation, with the potential aroma contribution shifting from predominantly balsamic and citrus notes toward fruity and sweet characteristics, particularly after 48 h. Overall, kefir grain type and fermentation time strongly influenced the physicochemical, microbiological, nutritional, antibacterial, and volatile characteristics of fermented orange juice. These findings demonstrate the potential of both grains for developing non-dairy kefir-like beverages.</p>","PeriodicalId":12386,"journal":{"name":"Foods","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664867/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bioactive Compounds in Fruits and Vegetables: From Matrix to Metabolism.","authors":"Jian Li, Junjie Li","doi":"10.3390/foods15193546","DOIUrl":"10.3390/foods15193546","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The notion that plant-rich diets confer long-term health advantages is no longer a hypothesis but a well-established principle in nutritional science [...].</p>","PeriodicalId":12386,"journal":{"name":"Foods","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13665376/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Volatile Chemistry and Aroma Differences in Commercial Soy Sauces: Sensory Links and Odorant-Receptor Interactions.","authors":"Kun Zhao, Qinguo Quan, Ping Wang, Siqi Hu, Baoguo Sun, Dandan Pu","doi":"10.3390/foods15193545","DOIUrl":"10.3390/foods15193545","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Volatile and sensory differences among 28 commercial soy sauces were investigated using HS-GC-IMS, check-all-that-apply (CATA) evaluation, aroma addition experiments, and molecular docking. Ninety-nine volatile compounds from 14 chemical classes were detected. Total semiquantitative volatile concentrations ranged from 2024.56 to 6279.59 μg/mL, with esters, alcohols, and aldehydes accounting for 70.68% of the total. Of the 24 CATA descriptors, 13 were retained for product-level correlation analysis. Exploratory Pearson analysis indicated that alcoholic, savory, and malty attributes were associated with a group dominated by fatty acids, branched-chain alcohols, and esters, whereas woody and chocolate-like attributes showed an opposing pattern involving several aldehydes, ketones, and alkylpyrazines. Fifteen candidate compounds were evaluated by single-compound addition. Benzaldehyde and ethyl propanoate enhanced savory perception; 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine enhanced the alcoholic attribute; methyl 2-methylbutyrate enhanced smoky, meaty, and alcoholic attributes; and ethyl acetate enhanced malty, meaty, and alcoholic attributes. Several other additions produced opposing or nonsignificant effects, indicating matrix- and concentration-dependent responses. Among the binary docking models, guaiacol-2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine and homofuraneol-benzaldehyde produced the lowest scores with OR10G4 (-10.10 kcal/mol) and OR5M3 (-13.32 kcal/mol), respectively. In combination, these results show that product-level correlations can guide candidate selection but require matrix-based sensory verification, while docking provides structural hypotheses for odorant co-binding.</p>","PeriodicalId":12386,"journal":{"name":"Foods","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13665231/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149192664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}