Occurrence of five 8-ketotrichothecene mycotoxins in organically and conventionally produced cereals collected in Korea

Ok, H.E.,Choi, S.W.,Chang, H.J.,Chung, M.S.,Chun, H.S. Butterworths ; Taylor Francis ; Elsevier Science 2011 FOOD CONTROL Vol.22 No.10

A total of 188 cereal samples, consisting of conventionally (n = 99) and organically (n = 89) produced rice, brown rice, barley and corn were analyzed by gas chromatograph-electron capture detector for five 8-ketotrichothecenes (deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3ADON), 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15ADON) and fusarenone-X (FUS-X)). Recoveries of these five toxins spiked at 200 μg/kg in barley and corn ranged from 73% to 96% with a relative standard deviation of 2.6%-10.8%. The overall incidence of DON, NIV, 3ADON, 15ADON and FUS-X was 38%, 40%, 14%, 43% and 9% for conventionally produced cereals and 40%, 63%, 30%, 41%, and 18% for organically produced cereals, respectively. The mean levels of DON, NIV, 3ADON, 15ADON and FUS-X in the toxin-positive samples were, respectively, 46.7, 23.3, 4.1, 6.6 and 10.7 μg/kg for conventionally produced cereals and 59.3, 32.4, 4.1, 9.9 and 7.3 μg/kg for organically produced cereals. No significant differences in DON, 3ADON, 15ADON and FUS-X concentrations were found between conventionally produced and organically produced cereals. However, the levels of NIV in organically produced rice and brown rice were significantly higher than those in the corresponding conventional samples. These data indicate that the contamination of cereals with 8-ketotrichothecenes may vary greatly according to the type of cereals grown as well as to the production method, such as organic farming.

Inhibitory effects of high-hydrostatic-pressure treatments on histamine production in mackerel (Scomber japonicus) muscle inoculated with Morganella morganii and Photobacterium phosphoreum

Kim, D.H.,Kim, K.B.W.R.,Ahn, D.H. Butterworths ; Taylor Francis ; Elsevier Science 2013 Food control Vol.34 No.2

Histamine or scombroid fish poisoning is caused by ingestion of histamine in spoiled fish, which arises because of the activity of bacterial histidine decarboxylase (HDC), resulting in allergy-like symptoms. To investigate the inhibitory effects of HHP on the activity of HDC, crude HDC extracts were prepared from Morganella morganii and Photobacterium phosphoreum, and subjected to HHP (100-400 MPa) or were left untreated (controls). Pressure levels of up to 200 MPa did not significantly affect the activity of crude HDC in M. morganii (<5%); however, HHP treatments of 300 and 400 MPa showed inhibitory activity at 19.4% and 23.2%, respectively. HHP treatments of 100, 200, 300, and 400 MPa considerably inhibited the crude HDC activities of P. phosphoreum at 46.1, 57.0, 63.3, and 84.5%, respectively. HHP treatment was then applied to mackerel muscle inoculated with M. morganii and P. phosphoreum in situ. We observed that HHP significantly delayed the overall microbial growth in mackerel muscle, regardless of the inoculated species. Moreover, histamine production in mackerel muscle inoculated with M. morganii was strongly inhibited by both 200 and 300 MPa (but not 100 MPa). Furthermore, in the sample inoculated with P. phosphoreum, all of the HHP treatment conditions at 100-400 MPa strongly inhibited histamine production. Taken together, the findings of this study might be helpful to enhance the safety of mackerel consumption.

Adjustment of Arrhenius activation energy of laccase-based time-temperature integrator (TTI) using sodium azide

Park, H.R.,Kim, K.,Lee, S.J. Butterworths ; Taylor Francis ; Elsevier Science 2013 Food control Vol.32 No.2

When devising a time-temperature integrator (TTI), a chromatic color change indicator, Arrhenius activation energy (E<SUB>a</SUB>) of TTI needs to coincide with that of the food in TTI packages. In this study, a new method of adjusting E<SUB>a</SUB> of laccase-based TTI was developed by using NaN<SUB>3</SUB> known to have a true inhibitory effect on laccase. An enzymatic prototype TTI was produced with laccase and formulated to have affordable reaction stability. NaN<SUB>3</SUB> was treated in different concentrations and its effect on altering E<SUB>a</SUB> was tested. A relationship between E<SUB>a</SUB> of TTI vs. NaN<SUB>3</SUB> concentration was established, and based on this relationship, the necessary amount of NaN<SUB>3</SUB> to provide the laccase TTI for having the same E<SUB>a</SUB> as was a given E<SUB>a</SUB> of Pseudomonas fragi growth as a microbiological quality of model food was determined. Through storage tests, it turned out that the customized TTI with the E<SUB>a</SUB> same as that of the model food could accurately predict the microbiological levels as compared to the TTI with lower or higher E<SUB>a</SUB>. Consequently, the method of adjusting laccase-based TTI E<SUB>a</SUB> with NaN<SUB>3</SUB> added was found to be beneficial to design TTI fit for a particular food in TTI packages.

Trachyspermum ammi (L.) fruit essential oil influencing on membrane permeability and surface characteristics in inhibiting food-borne pathogens

Paul, S.,Dubey, R.C.,Maheswari, D.K.,Kang, S.C. Butterworths ; Taylor Francis ; Elsevier Science 2011 Food control Vol.22 No.5

This study was aimed to evaluate the anti-bacterial potential of the essential oil and extracts of Trachyspermum ammi fruits against food borne and spoilage bacteria. The chemical compositions of the oil were analyzed by GC-MS. Thirty compounds representing 91.39% of the total oil were identified. The extracellular ATP concentration, release of cell constituents and potassium ions from the bacterial cell were measured after treatment with essential oil of T. ammi at MIC concentration. The oil, and extracts of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol of T. ammi fruits displayed remarkable anti-bacterial effects against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Pseudomonas aeruginosa KCTC 2004, Salmonella typhimurium KCTC 2515, Enterobactor aerogens KCTC 2190 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538. The scanning electron microscopic studies also demonstrated inhibitory effect of the oil on the morphology of B. subtilis ATCC 6633 at the MIC concentration, along with the potential effect on cell viabilities of the tested bacteria.

The effect of high pressure on microbial population, meat quality and sensory characteristics of chicken breast fillet

Kruk, Z.A.,Yun, H.,Rutley, D.L.,Lee, E.J.,Kim, Y.J.,Jo, C. Butterworths ; Taylor Francis ; Elsevier Science 2011 Food control Vol.22 No.1

High hydrostatic pressure (300, 450 and 600MPa) was used to investigate its effect on microbial population, meat quality and sensory characteristics of chicken breast fillets. Pressures of 450 and 600MPa almost completely eliminated all the 3 major pathogens Salmonella typhimurium (KCTC 1925), Escherichia coli (KCTC 1682), and Listeria monocytogenes (KCTC 3569) and therefore improved safety of chicken breast fillets. The 600MPa treatment reduced bacteria count by 6-8log (CFU/g) for 7-14 days, and the 450MPa treatment reduced bacteria count by 4-8log (CFU/g) for 3-14 days, depending on the microorganism. The increased pressure had an impact on flavour, aroma strength and juiciness. The 300MPa pressure significantly reduced flavour, aroma strength and juiciness, and 450MPa produced breast fillets with the weakest aroma. Increasing pressure increased cooking loss and colour by increasing L*, a* and b* values. Moreover, elevated pressure increased hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess and chewiness, as well as improved freshness of meat by reducing VBN. Pressure of 450MPa and higher induced lipid oxidation. The results demonstrate that high pressure treatment is an effective technology in reducing bacterial spoilage and extending shelf-life of chicken breast fillet, however it may have a negative impact on some quality and sensory characteristics.

Study on fuzzy reasoning application for sensory evaluation of sausages

Lee, S.J.,Kwon, Y.A. Butterworths ; Taylor Francis ; Elsevier Science 2007 FOOD CONTROL Vol.18 No.7

Fuzzy reasoning was applied to data from sensory evaluation of sausage. Sensory evaluation diagnostics were done in terms of sensory attributes such as texture, taste, odor, appearance, overall acceptability, and the contribution of each attribute to the overall acceptability. First, panelists were asked to rate the contribution level of each attribute to decide the overall acceptability as one out of five alternatives: ''very important'', ''important'', ''moderate'', ''slight'', and ''very slight''. Simultaneously, the preference level of each attribute for sausage samples was also evaluated on a hedonic scale going from ''excellent'', ''good'', ''fair'', ''poor'', to ''very poor''. The results of the evaluations were converted into fuzzy sets. The fuzzy sets for contribution weight and preference of the attributes were composed to infer the overall acceptability of sausage samples by fuzzy reasoning. The results of fuzzy reasoning well fitted the results from statistical analysis.

Carbon dioxide sensors for intelligent food packaging applications

Puligundla, P.,Jung, J.,Ko, S. Butterworths ; Taylor Francis ; Elsevier Science 2012 Food control Vol.25 No.1

Recently, the demand for safe and high quality foods, as well as changes in consumer preferences have led to the development of innovative and novel approaches in food packaging technology. One such development is the smart or intelligent food packaging technology. Intelligent packaging has enabled to monitor and communicate information about food quality. This technology also helps to trace a product's history through the critical points in the food supply chain. In general, occurrence of elevated CO<SUB>2</SUB> gas level is the prime indicator of food spoilage in packed foods and also its maintenance at optimal levels is essential to avoid spoilage in foods packed under modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) conditions. Hence, a CO<SUB>2</SUB> sensor incorporated into food package can efficiently monitor product quality until it reaches the consumer. Although much progress has been made so far in the development of sensors monitoring CO<SUB>2,</SUB> most of them are not versatile for food packaging applications and suffers from limitations such as high equipment cost, bulkiness, and energy input requirement, including safety concerns. Therefore, the development of efficient CO<SUB>2</SUB> sensors that can intelligently monitors the gas concentration changes inside a food package and specific to food packaging applications is essential. In the present review, progress on the development of different types of CO<SUB>2</SUB> sensors such as optical sensors, polymer opal films, polymer hydrogels, etc., which can be readily applicable to food packaging applications, is discussed.

Effects of gamma irradiation on the microbiological, nutritional, and sensory properties of fresh vegetable juice

Song, H.P.,Byun, M.W.,Jo, C.,Lee, C.H.,Kim, K.S.,Kim, D.H. Butterworths ; Taylor Francis ; Elsevier Science 2007 FOOD CONTROL Vol.18 No.1

The radiation pasteurization process was performed to improve the microbiological quality of fresh vegetable juice. Carrot and kale juice were irradiated and their microbiological, nutritional, and sensory properties were evaluated. The contaminating bacteria in the juices before irradiation ranged from 10<SUP>6</SUP> to 10<SUP>7</SUP>CFU/ml. All the aerobic and coliform bacteria in the carrot juice were eliminated by irradiation at a dose of 3kGy, whereas about 10<SUP>2</SUP>CFU/ml of the bacteria survived in the kale juice irradiated at up to 5kGy. However, the cells that survived from irradiation in the kale juice did not grow, whereas those of the non-irradiated samples reached 10<SUP>9</SUP>CFU/ml after 3 days of storage at 10<SUP>o</SUP>C. Amino acids were stable at up to 5kGy of an irradiation. Radiation resulted in a dose-dependent reduction of the ascorbic acid content. However, the contents of the total ascorbic acid, including dehydroascorbic acid, were stable at up to 3kGy of an irradiation. The sensory evaluation results immediately after irradiation were not different in any of the samples. At a 3-day storage, the sensory quality of the irradiated juice was adequate, while the quality of the non-irradiated control was deteriorated.

Application of fuzzy reasoning to prediction of beef sirloin quality using time temperature integrators (TTIs)

Han, J.Y.,Kim, M.J.,Shim, S.D.,Lee, S.J. Butterworths ; Taylor Francis ; Elsevier Science 2012 Food control Vol.24 No.1

Time temperature integrators (TTIs) are indicators of food quality changes based on time-temperature history. The key issue in TTI studies is related to the accuracy of estimating food quality changes using mathematical models based on the color of the TTIs attached to food packages. In the original method, the temperature dependency of the reactions is analyzed in terms of Arrhenius relationships. However, when modeling the Arrhenius relationships, there are some problems regarding insufficient data points or non-linearity, thereby leading to significant errors in the predictions. In this study, therefore, a novel method for modeling temperature dependency was developed based on fuzzy reasoning, which is a versatile tool used to account for experimental data with non-linearity. The volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) of beef as well as the color value of the TTIs attached to the beef package were measured during storage. The individual kinetic equations for each temperature under isothermal conditions were incorporated using fuzzy reasoning rather than an Arrhenius equation in order to predict the VBN for a TTI color value under conditions of unknown time-temperature history. It was found that the new method was more accurate in predicting beef quality from TTI color than the original method.

Discrimination of the geographic origin of cabbages

Bong, Y.S.,Song, B.Y.,Gautam, M.K.,Jang, C.S.,An, H.J.,Lee, K.S. Butterworths ; Taylor Francis ; Elsevier Science 2013 FOOD CONTROL Vol.30 No.2

Combined chemical analysis of multiple elements and statistical analysis was performed to distinguish the geographic origin of 363 cabbage samples produced in Korea and China. Multielement analysis showed a significant difference in the contents of many elements of cabbages between Korea and China. The results of analysis revealed good distinction among individual geographic origins. The lithology of cabbage-producing areas was well reflected in the indicators of geographic origin. The present results demonstrate that the method of combining chemical and statistical analyses is very effective for determining the geographic origin of cabbage.