NPJ Science of Food最新文献

{"title":"Effects of wall materials on the physicochemical properties of spray-dried bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) powders","authors":"Yuanyuan Deng, Guang Liu, Huimin Zhang, Pengfei Zhou, Xiaojun Tang, Ping Li, Zhihao Zhao, Yan Zhang, Zhangying Wang, Zhencheng Wei, Mingwei Zhang","doi":"10.1038/s41538-024-00278-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41538-024-00278-7","url":null,"abstract":"Bitter gourd has numerous health-promoting effects on the human body. However, its use has been greatly limited due to its poor acceptance by consumers, resulting from its strong bitterness. This study investigated the effects of five wall materials, namely, soybean protein isolate, gum arabic, maltodextrin, resistant starch, and a soybean lecithin calcium caseinate mixture, on the physicochemical properties of spray-dried bitter gourd powders. The results showed that all five wall materials reduced the moisture content, water activity, browning degree, agglomeration, and bitterness of the spray-dried bitter gourd powder. Maltodextrin was found to be the most effective at reducing water activity, while soybean protein isolate was best at protecting the colour, and the soybean lecithin calcium caseinate mixture was best at reducing hygroscopicity and masking bitterness. Additionally, all five wall materials improved the preservation of flavonoids, saponins, and vitamin C, with soybean protein isolate being the most effective in improving the total flavonoid retention ratio and the soybean lecithin calcium caseinate mixture being the best in improving the retention ratios of total saponins and vitamin C. The spray-dried bitter gourd powder prepared with soybean protein isolate had the highest antioxidant activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. These results are significant for understanding the relationship between wall materials and the physicochemical properties of spray-dried powder. Additionally, these materials provide bitter gourd product manufacturers with useful guidance for producing high-quality products. Furthermore, the results could provide useful insights for processing fruits with similar product characteristics, thus contributing to the enrichment of food processing knowledge.","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":" ","pages":"1-16"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00278-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141432451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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":"A novel approach to identify critical knowledge gaps for food safety in circular food systems","authors":"Stefan P. J. van Leeuwen, A. M. Verschoor, H. J. van der Fels-Klerx, M. G. M. van de Schans, B. J. A. Berendsen","doi":"10.1038/s41538-024-00265-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41538-024-00265-y","url":null,"abstract":"The transition from linear production towards a circular agro-food system is an important step towards increasing Europe’s sustainability. This requires re-designing the food production systems, which inevitably comes with challenges as regards controlling the safety of our food, animals and the ecosystem. Where in current food production systems many food safety hazards are understood and well-managed, it is anticipated that with the transition towards circular food production systems, known hazards may re-emerge and new hazards will appear or accumulate, leading to new -and less understood- food safety risks. In this perspective paper, we present a simple, yet effective approach, to identify knowledge gaps with regard to food safety in the transition to a circular food system. An approach with five questions is proposed, derived from current food safety management approaches like HACCP. Applying this to two cases shows that risk assessment and management should emphasize more on the exposure to unexpected (with regards to its nature and its origin) hazards, as hazards might circulate and accumulate in the food production system. Five knowledge gaps became apparent: there’s a need for (1) risk assessment and management to focus more on unknown hazards and mixtures of hazards, (2) more data on the occurrence of hazards in by-products, (3) better understanding the fate of hazards in the circular food production system, (4) the development of models to adequately perform risk assessments for a broad range of hazards and (5) new ways of valorization of co-products in which a safe-by-design approach should be adopted.","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00265-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141427358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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":"Microbial lysates repurposed as liquid egg substitutes","authors":"Kyeong Rok Choi, Da-Hee Ahn, Seok Yeong Jung, Yu Hyun Lee, Sang Yup Lee","doi":"10.1038/s41538-024-00281-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41538-024-00281-y","url":null,"abstract":"Microbial lysates, rich in protein and essential nutrients, demonstrate remarkable capabilities in forming gels and stable foams when heated and whisked, similar to liquid eggs. These characteristics make them an excellent alternative to animal-derived liquid eggs, contributing to sustainable food production and consumption while maintaining high nutritional value. Their versatility positions microbial lysates as promising ingredients in culinary applications, offering a sustainable and nutritious substitute.","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":" ","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00281-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141427360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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":"Framework for evaluation of food safety in the circular food system","authors":"H. J. van der Fels-Klerx, E. D. van Asselt, B. Berendsen, M. F. Focker","doi":"10.1038/s41538-024-00276-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41538-024-00276-9","url":null,"abstract":"In order to minimise food waste, side streams from feed and food production are increasingly being (re-) used in food supply chains. Such reuse contributes to the desire to implement circularity in food and agricultural systems. However, the reuse of side products in circular food systems may impact food safety, for instance, contaminant residues present at low levels in biomass may accumulate when reusing streams. In order to assess potential food safety issues related to circular food systems, a framework has been developed in this study. Based on this framework, appropriate actions can be taken to prevent from human health risks. The framework consists of three steps: 1. Describing the changes in the food supply chain as a result of the circularity transition; 2. Identifying potential food safety hazards related to the change; and 3. Prioritising food safety hazards related to the circularity transition. For the prioritisation, both the presence of the hazards in final foods and the effects of the hazards on human health need to be assessed. Persistence of the hazard in the environment and potential transfer from the environment to the final food product are relevant elements to include. The framework was tested in three case studies, showing that it allows for a prioritisation between hazards. Based on the case study results, circularity not so much influences the health effects of the hazards, but rather their presence depending on the persistence and transfer of food safety hazards in a circular system.","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00276-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141427359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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":"Sleep promoting and omics exploration on probiotics fermented Gastrodia elata Blume","authors":"Chao-Qi Zhang, Xu-Dong Zhang, Yan Wang, Yi-Han Liu, Cun-Li Zhang, Qiang Zhang","doi":"10.1038/s41538-024-00277-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41538-024-00277-8","url":null,"abstract":"Fermenting Chinese medicinal herbs could enhance their bioactivities. We hypothesized probiotic-fermented gastrodia elata Blume (GE) with better potential to alleviate insomnia than that of unfermented, thus the changes in chemical composition and the insomnia-alleviating effects and mechanisms of fermented GE on pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced insomnia zebrafish were explored via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectroscopy-coupled HPLC (HPLC-MS), phenotypic, transcriptomic, and metabolomics analysis. The results demonstrated that probiotic fermented GE performed better than unfermented GE in increasing the content of chemical composition, reducing the displacement, average speed, and number of apoptotic cells in zebrafish with insomnia. Metabolomic investigation showed that the anti-insomnia effect was related to regulating the pathways of actin cytoskeleton and neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions. Transcriptomic and reverse transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR) analysis revealed that secondary fermentation liquid (SFL) significantly modulated the expression levels of neurod1, msh2, msh3, recql4, ercc5, rad5lc, and rev3l, which are mainly involved in neuron differentiation and DNA repair. Collectively, as a functional food, fermented GE possessed potential for insomnia alleviation.","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00277-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141420096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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":"Efficient removal of allicin from the stalk of Allium fistulosum for dietary fiber production","authors":"Ye Li, Jiayin Ma, Yubin Cao, Dong Yang","doi":"10.1038/s41538-024-00275-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41538-024-00275-w","url":null,"abstract":"The stalk of Allium fistulosum contains dietary fibers with complicated monosaccharide composition and glycosidic bond linkages, which renders it a better dietary fiber supplement. However, the unfavorable odor, majorly contributed by allicin, limits its applications. Although many physical and chemical methods have been developed to remove allicin, there is currently no comparison between their efficiencies. Here, we comprehensively compare all these methods of eliminating allicin in the Allium stalk by starting with optimization of the allicin extraction method. Results indicate that incubation of the chopped Allium stalk with water for 20 min and extraction with 75% ethanol reached a maximal extraction yield. Different methods of allicin elimination are examined, and physical removal of allicin by blanching at 100 °C reaches a maximal clearance rate of 73.3%, rendering it the most efficient and effective method eliminating allicin from the stalk of Allium fistulosum for the preparation of a totally green dietary fiber.","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":" ","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00275-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141321324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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":"Socio-demographic and cross-country differences in attention to sustainable certifications and changes in food consumption","authors":"Jatziri Mota-Gutierrez, Antonina Sparacino, Valentina Maria Merlino, Simone Blanc, Filippo Brun, Fabrizio Massimelli, Emanuela Vassallo, Danielle Borra, Stefano Massaglia","doi":"10.1038/s41538-024-00274-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41538-024-00274-x","url":null,"abstract":"Food labeling can influence, sometimes facilitate, changes in consumer diets to support environmental sustainability and in response to climate change. However, a significant impediment to this dietary shift may arise from the consumers’ tendency to underestimate the environmental impact of their food choices and from their limited knowledge about sustainable certifications. These aspects are influenced by the characteristics and geographical affiliations of individuals. In such a context, the aim of this research has been to identify the main factors that drive the food purchasing frequency and the changes in food consumption associated with consumers’ concerns about climate change and interest in sustainable food certifications by comparing different food products and countries (Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, the USA, and China). A cross-country survey was conducted on 6500 consumers of various food products. The obtained mean scores were then compared, using generalized linear mixed-effect models, to evaluate the associations between the consumers’ food purchasing frequency, the importance of sustainable certifications, and changes in food consumption due to climate change concerns. Much of the variation in food consumption, purchasing behaviors, and interest in sustainable certifications was found to depend on such factors as age, gender, and country of origin. Indeed, Chinese consumers exhibited a heightened interest in sustainable food certifications, yet their consumption scores for all food products overall were higher. Conversely, adult and elderly Danish consumers demonstrated a decrease in the consumption of cheeses, meat, fruits, and vegetables, and their interest scores in all sustainable food certifications were lower. Despite the challenges posed by various consumers’ interests and minimal changes in food consumption patterns, our findings suggest that sustainable certifications present a promising avenue for straightforward interventions to promote the adoption of sustainable diets and to address climate change.","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00274-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141186587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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":"Food fraud threats in UK post-harvest seafood supply chains; an assessment of current vulnerabilities","authors":"Sophie Lawrence, Christopher Elliott, Wim Huisman, Moira Dean, Saskia van Ruth","doi":"10.1038/s41538-024-00272-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41538-024-00272-z","url":null,"abstract":"Seafood fraud is commonly reported on food fraud databases and deceptive practices are highlighted by numerous studies, with impacts on the economy, health and marine conservation. Food fraud assessments are a widely accepted fraud mitigation and prevention activity undertaken to identify possible points of deception within a supply chain. This study aims to understand the food fraud vulnerability of post-harvest seafood supply chains in the UK and determine if there are differences according to commodity, supply chain node, business size and certification status. The SSAFE food fraud vulnerability assessment tool was used to assess 48 fraud factors relating to opportunities, motivations and controls. The analysis found seafood supply chains to have a medium vulnerability to food fraud, with the highest perceived vulnerability in technical opportunities. Certification status was a stronger determinant of vulnerability than any other factor, particularly in the level of controls, a factor that also indicated a higher perceived level of vulnerability in smaller companies and the food service industry. This paper also reviews historic food fraud trends in the sector to provide additional insights and the analysis indicates that certain areas of the supply chain, including uncertified prawn supply chains, salmon supply chains and food service companies, may be at higher risk of food fraud. This study conducts an in-depth examination of food fraud vulnerability relating to the UK and for seafood supply chains and contributes to a growing body of literature identifying areas of vulnerability and resilience to food related criminality within the global food system.","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00272-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141156760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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":"Characterization of spring and durum wheat using non-destructive synchrotron phase contrast X-ray microtomography during storage","authors":"Navanth S. Indore, Chithra Karunakaran, Digvir S. Jayas, Jarvis Stobbs, Miranda Vu, Kaiyang Tu, Omar Marinos","doi":"10.1038/s41538-024-00271-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41538-024-00271-0","url":null,"abstract":"Post-harvest losses during cereal grain storage are a big concern in both developing and developed countries, where spring and durum wheat are staple food grains. Varieties under these classes behave differently under storage, which affects their end storage life. High resolution imaging data of dry as well as spoiled seed are not available for any class of wheat; therefore, an attempt was made to generate 3D data for better understanding of seed structure and changes due to spoilage. Six wheat varieties (3 varieties for each class of wheat) were stored for 5 week at 17% moisture content (wb) before scanning. Seeds were also stored in a freezer (-18 °C) for further scanning to determine if any changes occur in the structure of seeds due to freezing. Spring varieties of wheat performed better than durum varieties and freezing did not affect seed structure. Data could also help plant breeders to develop varieties that do not easily spoil, adjust grain processing techniques, and develop post-harvest recommendations for other wheat varieties.","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00271-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140958662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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":"First principles modelling of the ion binding capacity of finger millet","authors":"Wei Cong Matthew Yong, Apramita Devi, Tsair-Fuh Lin, Helen F. Chappell","doi":"10.1038/s41538-024-00270-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41538-024-00270-1","url":null,"abstract":"Finger millet, a cereal grain widely consumed in India and Africa, has gained more attention in recent years due to its high dietary fibre (arabinoxylan) and trace mineral content, and its climate resilience. The aim of this study was to understand the interactions between potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+) and zinc (Zn2+) ions and the arabinoxylan structure and determine its ion-binding capacity. Three variations of a proposed model of the arabinoxylan structure were constructed and first principles Density Functional Theory calculations were carried out to determine the cation-binding capacity of the arabinoxylan complexes. Zn2+-arabinoxylan complexes were highly unstable and thermodynamically unfavourable in all three models. Ca2+ and K+ ions, however, form thermodynamically stable complexes, particularly involving two glucuronic acid residues as a binding pocket. Glucuronic acid residues are found to play a key role in stabilising the cation-arabinoxylan complex, and steric effects are more important to the stability than charge density. Our results highlight the most important structural features of the millet fibre regarding ion-storage capacity, and provide valuable preliminary data for confirmatory experimental studies and for the planning of clinical trials where the bioavailability of bound ions following digestion may be tested.","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2024-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-024-00270-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140919380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}