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In this study, different fiber sources such as inulin, peas and carrots were used to produce fruit snacks enriched with dietary fiber. The effect of these fiber sources on the proximate composition, pH, titratable acidity, water activity, color, texture, total phenolic content, microbial load, and sensory acceptability of fruit snacks was determined. Results showed that fruit snacks enriched with inulin (5.0%) had the highest content of total dietary fiber while snacks enriched with carrot fiber (5.0%) had the highest total phenolic content. The moisture content of fruit snacks with different fibers decreased in comparison to control snacks as fiber was added into their formulation. Moreover, the water activity values of fruit snacks (aw) were lower than 0.7, indicating a low risk for bacterial growth and affirming a favorable shelf life. Compared to control snacks, increasing the dietary fiber addition from 2.5 to 5.0% significantly increased the hardness, gumminess and chewiness values of fruit snacks. The microbiological analysis of fruit snacks indicated that snacks were safe. Additionally, results showed that fruit snacks (2.5%) enriched with inulin and pea fiber were found to have higher sensory acceptability scores than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to develop an apricot snack with impregnation of Bacillus coagulans GBI‐30 6086 spores and investigate the changes in quality during the storage at 4°C. Thus, dried apricots were impregnated with B. coagulans until they reached the intermediate moisture level (36%). The probiotic impregnation was conducted under the atmospheric pressure (control) and VI applied (experimental). The results showed the B. coagulans count of the apricots remained stable (>7 log CFU/g) over 42 days at +4°C. The TSS, pH, acidity, total phenolic content (TPC), and hardness were similar for both groups on the 0th day. The TPC of the experimental group was 10.7% higher than the control at the end of storage (p <.05). Finally, the probiotic apricot with higher probiotic viability after processing and storage were successfully produced by VI while decreasing the process time by 74.2%, and maintaining better quality and sensory characteristics. Novelty impact statement: Bacillus coagulans GBI‐30 6086 spores were impregnated into organic dried apricots by vacuum impregnation for the first time.The use of dried fruits as probiotic carriers is a new concept to produce a functional snack.Probiotic survival remains stable in the intermediate‐moisture apricots during storage of 42 days at 4°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary In this research, the effects of washing treatments (potassium carbonate (PC), potassium hydroxide (PH), peracetic acid (PA), alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP)), ultrasound (US) and high‐intensity pulsed light (HIPL) technologies on the removal of ochratoxin A (OTA) residues in raisins were investigated. PC at 5 min (66.60%), PH at 10 min (65.25%), alkaline hydrogen peroxide at 5 min (63.30%) and HIPL at 12 J cm−2 (62.50%) were found to be the most successful applications in OTA degradation, respectively. Although the OTA degradation rate was high after chemical washing for 10 min, the raisins had a chemical odour. The results show that HIPL effectively reduces OTA levels in raisins without causing any quality loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the use of chitosan as a clarification agent in the production of clear apple juice (AJ) was investigated, the optimum conditions were determined using RSM, and the effects on the quality of AJ were analyzed during storage at 4 °C and 20 °C for 4 months. Optimum conditions for clarifying the AJ were chitosan concentration of 191.6 mg/100 ml juice, the process temperature of 20 °C and process time of 30 min. Changes in quality characteristics such as turbidity, pH, acidity, color, total monomeric anthocyanin, total phenolic, and protein contents were evaluated and compared to traditional clarification. Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris causes significant safety issues in fruit juice industry; therefore also the antimicrobial effect of chitosan on A. acidoterrestris during the clarification process was examined. The results showed that clear AJ production can be achieved by the clarification step with direct chitosan addition, without the need for enzymatic treatment. However, the microbial reduction of A. acidoterrestris during the clarification process was not found to be significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the impact of the combination of pulsed light (PL) treatments with antimicrobial coatings, consisting of modified chitosan suspensions incorporating carvacrol nanoemulsions, was investigated on the decontamination of fresh-cut cucumber slices. The upper surface of the cucumber slices, with or without the coating deposition, was inoculated with Escherichia coli ATCC 26 to reach a final concentration of 10 7 CFU/g of the vegetable. PL treatments were conducted at different fluence (4, 8, and 12 J/cm 2 ) on the inoculated surface of cucumber slices. Results showed that the microbial reduction was only marginally affected by the coating formulation. A slight increase was observed when the carvacrol nanoemulsions were embedded in the chitosan matrix, but microbial reduction levels remained always below 1 log cycle. In contrast, the different PL treatments resulted in a statistically significant increase in inactivation with increasing the treatment fluence, reaching 2.6 log cycles at the maximum fluence. Remarkably, the combination of the antimicrobial coating with the most intense PL treatments resulted in a strong synergistic effect. For example, by combining a PL treatment at 12 J/cm 2 with one of the antimicrobial coatings a microbial reduction > 5 log cycles was reached. Therefore, it can be concluded that the combination of antimicrobial coatings and PL treatment is a promising method for surface decontamination of fresh-cut vegetables, which could be exploited in view of ensuring their microbiological safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The use of encapsulation with VI technology was performed for the first time. • The diffusion rate increases significantly with the use of encapsulated extract. • Enhancing the diffusion rate increases the effectiveness of VI technology. • The stability of phenolics in impregnated strawberry is increased after use of EPPE during storage. Plant-based phenolic extracts have gained significant attention in the food industry due to their antimicrobial and health-promoting effects. However, their usage is limited because of poor water solubility and instability during processing. Therefore, encapsulation of phenolics with a suitable carrier system is essential for overcoming these problems and increasing their application in food products. In this study, encapsulated phenolic extracts were used for the first time in vacuum impregnation (VI). For this purpose, different phenolic extracts (cinnamon, turmeric, pomegranate peel) were obtained from the plant source. PPE was selected because it has the highest total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and antimicrobial activity against Botrytis cinerea. Then, PPE was encapsulated with different emulsifiers (T80, GMO, IN, WPI, and LEC). After the characterization and stability studies were performed, PPE encapsulated with T80 was used to produce a functional strawberry snack by VI technology. The results showed that the diffusion rate of EPPE was significantly increased compared to the control and PPE-VI group. EPPE-enriched strawberries were the preferred snack with high-quality characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foodborne pathogen L. monocytogenes is a major concern in the frozen food industry. In this study, the decontamination efficiency of UV-C and HIPL for the inactivation of L. monocytogenes on frozen cherries was evaluated for the first time. Frozen cherries were exposed to light treatments at various light doses (3, 6, 9, 12 J/cm2) and lamp distances (10 and 20 cm). Moreover, samples were washed with/without chlorine solution (300 ppm) for 60 s as a commercial treatment. The highest reduction of L.innocua was observed as 2.90 log CFU/g by HIPL (9 J/cm2-20 cm). The HIPL inactivation kinetic data of L. innocua were well described using the Log-Linear equation. D value (J/cm2) required to reduce the Listeria population by 90% was 5.42 J/cm2 (at 10 cm). Unlike UV-C, the surface temperature of samples did not exceed 0 °C during HIPL at all parameters. The experiments show that HIPL treated cherries had statistically lower total anthocyanin and higher total phenolics than the untreated control. • Study of surface decontamination methods of frozen cherries inoculated with L. innocua. • Inactivation level was increased as the fluence increased up to 9 J/cm2. • HIPL exhibited a high level of microbial inactivation (up to 2.90 log cycles). • At the same energy doses, HIPL required shorter treatment times compared to UV-C • The surface temperature of cherries did not exceed 0 °C by HIPL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chitosan is a modified and natural carbohydrate polymer which is obtained from the partial deacetylation of chitin, and includes the copolymer of glucosamine and N-acetyl glucosamine. Chitosan, which is a microbial polysaccharide, is used as an antimicrobial agent for its bacteriocidal and fungicidal functions. In addition to these properties, it is also used for edible film-forming, reducing the acidity of fruit juices, fining agent, browning inhibitor, and color preservative in the fruit and vegetable industry. Chitosan as a biopolymer can be obtained from many natural sources, has a wide application area in the fruit and vegetable industry due to its non-toxic properties involving living organisms, its biodegradability, biocompatibility, chemical, and physical properties because it shows superior features compared to the other biopolymers. In this review, the use of chitosan, which has not been used as a widespread application in the fruit and vegetable processing industry, will be summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Zymomonas mobilis levansucrase was used to produce kestose in carob molasses. • Levansucrase treatment did not adversely affect the quality of the final product. • The 5-HMF content of the final product did not increase during storage. • Enzymatic sugar conversion can be used to prevent 5-HMF formation. Fructooligosaccharides have important potential use in the food industry due to their properties such as solubility in water, stability in acidity of fruit juices and during storage, low-calorie value and prebiotic effects. In this study, for the first time, Zymomonas mobilis levansucrase was used for in situ 6-kestose production in carob molasses. The produced kestose was stable during storage at 20 °C for 4 months. The product was evaluated for color, non-enzymatic browning index and titratable acidity during storage and the quality of the product was found comparable to that of control. Furthermore, the decreased amount of sucrose resulted in the prevention of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) formation during storage. As a result, carob molasses was converted into a high-quality prebiotic product with decreased sucrose content and reduced 5-HMF quantities, and a new method was developed to prevent 5-HMF formation in fruit juices and molasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugars and organic acids represent nutritive and flavoring components of fruit-based products, significantly influencing their soluble solid content and sensory characteristics. When processing fruit products and storing them, the sugars and organic acids in them are less likely to undergo changes compared to other components such as pigments, antioxidants, and flavor compounds. Therefore, analyzing the composition of sugars and organic acids in fruit-based products, like fruit juices, can be useful in verifying the authenticity of the juice and ensuring quality. Moreover, microbial growth can be effectively monitored by analyzing various metabolic by-products they generate, including lactic acid, acetic acid, or ethanol. These products can be automatically regulated throughout the entire process, providing a simple and reliable method to ensure the quality and authenticity of the final product. Understanding the precise qualitative and quantitative distribution of characteristic sugars and organic acids in fruit-based products is essential for quality assessment. Chromatography techniques like HPLC, GC, LC-MS, and GC-MS are useful for identifying and quantifying sugars and organic acids. Recent advancements in MS instrumentation allow precise measurements and compound identification at low concentrations. However, these methods have low throughput characteristics, requiring complex sample preparation and longer analysis times. Alternative methods include capillary electrophoresis, biosensors, electrochemical sensors, and NIR spectroscopy for quick and sensitive analysis of fruit-based products. The food industry relies on rapidly and accurately detecting sugars and organic acids in fruit-based products to ensure their quality, authenticity, and nutritional value. In recent years, significant advancements have been made in developing new detection techniques to enhance sensitivity, specificity, speed, and cost-effectiveness [1-4]. This review presents an automated enzymatic approach for determining sugars and organic acids using automated analytical techniques, which provides fast, affordable, and efficient analyses compared to manual chromatography methods. Additionally, this review provides an overview of recent trends in rapidly detecting sugars and organic acids in fruit-based products and offers some future remarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, microwave heating was applied as an alternative method to conventional heating for comparing the effect on the yield and quality of red bell pepper puree. The microwave application was optimized concerning the yield and the outlet temperature by response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum conditions were found to be a power of 900 W and a flow rate of 6.52 rpm for the microwave oven with RSM. Production of red bell pepper puree was carried out using these optimum conditions. At this optimum point, yield and outlet temperature were found as 76.76% and 95°C, respectively. Conventional heating (CH) was performed reaching the same temperature as with microwave heating (MWH) at 95°C and a process time of 9 min. As a result, the yield increased by 8.07% and also the pectin content (17.75%) and vitamin C (20.6%) were improved by the MWH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the production and optimization of levansucrase using synthetic medium by Zymomonas mobilis NRRL B-14023. Response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects of three different fermentation parameters on levansucrase enzyme production. Maximum levansucrase activity of 13.3 µmol glucose/min was obtained at the optimum levels of process variables (pH 4.90, initial sucrose concentration 159.01 g/L and fermentation temperature 30.3°C). Response surface methodology was found to be useful in optimizing and determining the interactions among process variables. The purity of levansucrase used in enzyme assays were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and a dominant protein band of size around 47 kDa was obtained. The sequence of the produced enzyme was determined by peptide mass fingerprinting. The presence of kestose in the reaction mixture showed that Z. mobilis levansucrase can produce fructooligosaccharides. This study fulfills the lack of mathematical and statistical approaches in optimizing the levansucrase production by Z. mobilis. Practical applications Levansucrases are responsible for the production of valuable fructans; fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and levan. Fructooligosaccharides are sugar polymers three times less sweet than sucrose and naturally present in some foods. FOS have important promising use in the food industry due to their properties such as solubility in water, stability during storage, low calorie value, and prebiotic effects. In this research, the production of microbial levansucrase was optimized for potential industrial applications by response surface methodology. Future studies will focus on conversion of intrinsic sucrose of foods to FOS using levansucrase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]