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In this study, eight lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains, previously isolated from traditional and gluten-free sourdoughs, and selected for their potential in improving the sensory and rheological quality of bakery products, were screened against some common spoilage agents. The anti-mould activity was tested using strains of the species Fusarium graminearum, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium paneum and Aspergillus niger. Regarding the antibacterial activity, it was assessed against four strains of the species Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes. Furthermore, LAB strains were evaluated for their ability to produce exopolysaccharides, which are gaining considerable attention for their functional properties and applicability in different food industrial applications. A strain-specific behaviour against the moulds was observed. In particular, F. graminearum ITEM 5356 was completely inhibited by all the LAB strains. Regarding the antibacterial activity, the strains Leuconostoc citreum UMCC 3011, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum UMCC 2996, and Pediococcus pentosaceus UMCC 3010 showed wide activity against the tested pathogens. Moreover, all the LAB strains were able to produce exopolysaccharides, which were preliminarily characterized. The assessed features of the LAB strains allow us to consider them as promising candidates for single or multiple starter cultures for food fermentation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature and time are two critical parameters in sous vide cooking which directly affect eating quality characteristics and food safety. This study aimed to evaluate physicochemical and microbiological properties of sous vide chicken breast fillets cooked at twelve different combinations of temperature (60, 70, and 80 °C) and time (60, 90, 120, and 150 min). The results showed that cooking temperature played a major role in the moisture content, cooking loss, pH, a* color value, shear force, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Increasing cooking temperature caused an increase in cooking loss, lipid oxidation, TBARS, and pH, while moisture content was reduced (p < 0.05). Cooking time played a minor role and only moisture content, cooking loss, and a* color value were affected by this parameter (p < 0.05). Total mesophilic aerobic bacteria, Psychrotrophic bacteria, and Enterobacteriaceae were not detected during 21 days of storage at 4 °C. Cooking at 60 °C for 60 min showed the optimum combination of temperature and time for sous vide cooked chicken breast fillets. The result of this study could be interesting for catering, restaurants, ready-to-eat industries, and homes to select the optimum combination of temperature and time for improving the eating quality characteristics and ensuring microbiological safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimicrobial packaging is an active system used to prevent the development of surface microflora, obtained by adding active agents into the packaging film. The active packaging systems that can extend the shelf life and food safety of products by antimicrobial protection gained interest. The aim of this paper was to obtain modified films based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), by adding carvacrol, nutmeg and oregano essential oils, respectively and characterize them by evaluating the tensile strength, the elongation at break and the antimicrobial activity. Moreover, the wettability of the PVA modified with carvacrol onto three types of cheese was also determined. The results have showed that the tensile strength and the elongation at break decrease as the essential oil concentration rises up to 0.75% (mass percentage). No microbial cultures developed at the contact between the film and the culture medium showing that no microorganisms would develop even at the contact of the film with food. The wettability results demonstrated that PVA modified with carvacrol 0.25 % and 0.50 %, respectively are appropriate for the storage of cheese with different moisture and fat content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study highlights the potential application of pectin‐alginate blend (PA) and pectin‐alginate‐LAE blend (PAL) coatings to eliminate Salmonella enteriditis 10,118 cross‐contamination without changing the shelf‐life of fresh eggs and their physico‐chemical properties during storage at 7 °C for 42 days. Egg shells were dipped in a solution of Salmonella enteritidis 10,118 with a concentration of 7 x 106 cfu/ml to assess Salmonella cross‐contamination. PA and PAL coatings did not have a significant effect on shelf‐life based on physico‐chemical properties. The egg shells treated with PA and PAL coatings had a significantly lower microbial population compared to the uncoated egg shells. PA and PAL coatings effectively inhibited the growth of Salmonella after 1 and 7 days of storage, respectively. In addition, no outgrowth was observed up to 42 days. Practical applications: This study highlights the results of coating applications on eggs to enhance food safety. In the food industry, the only technology applied to eggs is brushing, however, this technique does not eliminate the safety risks such as Salmonella and other pathogenic bacteria. The coating enhances the shelf‐life of eggs and their safety in terms of human consumption, by blocking the horizontal cross‐contamination. Our results can be integrated with other studies to bring this technology from the lab to the egg industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food technology has played a crucial role since the beginning of human civilization. Throughout the centuries, the evolution of food processing has led to an increase of food safety and quality, enhancing the overall quality of human life. Lately, academic research and industries have gained awareness about the impact of conventional preservation technologies like heat sterilization and chemical preservatives on environment and economy, besides the detrimental effects on the organoleptic and nutritional quality of foods. This consciousness oriented the efforts towards more sustainable techniques, paving the way to a new "green era" of food technology. This work explores seven non-thermal technologies, describing their theoretical principles, mechanism of action, effect on microorganisms, advantages, and limitations. Besides, the concept of hurdle technology to overcome the criticisms related to single processing techniques is highlighted. Non-thermal technologies have the potential to substitute conventional techniques for microbial inactivation, improving the safety and quality of food. The efficiency of each technique strongly relies on the process parameters (treatment intensity; exposure time), equipment (geometry; conformation), product (physical state; composition; viscosity; geometry), and microorganism characteristics (strain; concentration; growth phase; resistance mechanisms). In this sense, the hurdle approach allows to overcome the limitations related to the single technologies, broadening their efficiency and application range, and minimizing their impact on food quality. Further studies are recommended to better understand the mechanisms of mutual interaction among these techniques when combined together in specific conditions, in view of their scaling-up for commercial applications. [Display omitted] • Non-thermal techniques can substitute thermal treatments and chemical preservatives. • The hurdle approach overcomes the limitations related to the single technologies. • Hurdle technology broadens the efficacy and application range of single techniques. • Hurdle technology minimises the impact on food quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meat products contain valuable nutrients that are important for human health and development but are also highly susceptible to colonization by microorganisms. This can lead to spoilage and serious foodborne illnesses. Natural antimicrobial peptides, produced by many organisms as part of their innate immune system to fight microbial infections, have great potential as food preservatives. In this study, we explored the effect of ternary antimicrobial random peptide mixtures (RPMs) on food spoilage bacteria in minced turkey meat. Amendment of RPMs to meat led to significant reductions in bacterial abundance in experimental tests, and RPMs worked synergistically with nitrite to reduce bacterial loads. Using high-throughput 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing, we characterized the effect of RPMs and nitrite on meat microbial community structure before and during incubation under refrigerated conditions. Our findings reveal strong antimicrobial activity for RPMs against spoilage bacteria in meat, including Listeria monocytogenes and Pseudomonas putida. These results demonstrate the potential of RPMs as a safer preservative for reducing spoilage in meat and other food products. • Addition of random antimicrobial peptide mixtures, composed of Phenylalanine:Leucine:Lysine (FLK) to turkey minced meat led to significant reductions in bacterial abundance in experimental tests. • Random antimicrobial peptide mixtures (FLK) showed high synergistic activity when were combined with sodium nitrite to reduce bacterial loads. • Using high-throughput 16 S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing, we showed strong antimicrobial activity for random antimicrobial peptide mixtures against spoilage bacteria in meat. • Random antimicrobial peptide mixtures have great potential as safer preservatives for reducing spoilage in meat and other food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work the presence of Alloxan in bread, pastry and cake bleached flour was investigate in order to verify possible risk for consumers related to the use of chemicals for flour bleaching. A selective UHPLC–MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the purpose. Alloxan is one of the possible minor side products of oxidation after chemical bleaching of wheat flours, when several chemical agents are used. One hundred and seventy-five flour samples were analyzed for Alloxan determination. The validation of the method was performed in accordance with the ISO/IEC/EN 17025 for linearity, detection limit, quantification limit, accuracy, precision and ruggedness determination. Satisfactory performances were obtained for the analyte, with a Limit of Detection (LOD) of 0.73 mg kg −1 , a Limit of Quantification (LOQ) of 0.85 mg kg −1 and recovery values between 94% and 102%. The present work report for the first time the presence of trace levels of Alloxan in 24% of the analyzed samples, with mean values of 0,95 ± 0,04 mg kg −1 . The presence of Alloxan was detected only in cake flour samples. Further studies on toxicological levels of Alloxan are needed in order to evaluate possible risks for consumers linked to the consumption of bakery products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]