Colour is an important quality attribute in the food and bioprocess industries, and it influences consumer’s choice and preferences. Food colour is governed by the chemical, biochemical, microbial and physical changes which occur during growth, maturation, postharvest handling and processing. Colour measurement of food products has been used as an indirect measure of other quality attributes such as flavour and contents of pigments because it is simpler, faster and correlates well with other physicochemical properties. This review discusses the techniques and procedures for the measurement and analysis of colour in food and other biomaterial materials. It focuses on the instrumental (objective) and visual (subjective) measurements for quantifying colour attributes and highlights the range of primary and derived objective colour indices used to characterise the maturity and quality of a wide range of food products and beverages. Different approaches applied to model food colour are described, including reaction mechanisms, response surface methodology and others based on probabilistic and non-isothermal kinetics. Colour is one of the most widely measured product quality attributes in postharvest handling and in the food processing research and industry. Apart from differences in instrumentation, colour measurements are often reported based on different colour indices even for the same product, making it difficult to compare results in the literature. There is a need for standardisation to improve the traceability and transferability of measurements. The correlation between colour and other sensory quality attributes is well established, but future prospects exist in the application of objective non-destructive colour measurement in predictive modelling of the nutritional quality of fresh and processed food products.

Colour Measurement and Analysis in Fresh and Processed Foods: A Review

Bread baking – A review

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology which provides appealing opportunities to improve the management of information flow within the supply chain and security in the agri-food sector. Nowadays, food safety is considered a major requirement in several countries, in particular, the traceability of food products which is mandatory by law. Thus, technological implementation leading to traceability strengthening in the agri-food sector is crucial. The first aim of this review is to analyze the current developments in RFID technology in the agri-food sector, through an operative framework which organizes the literature and facilitate a quick content analysis identifying future research direction. RFID technology seems to be able to bring great opportunities to this sector; nevertheless, several constraints are slowing its adoption. This survey may provide readers with an exhaustive overview of opportunities and constraints for the wide adoption of RFID. The second aim of this review is to provide an updated analysis on the current developments of RFID technology for different product typologies within the agri-food industry, discussing at the same time its potential in technological and logistical development regarding different sectors of the production/distribution chain. As referenced here, RFID implementations in the agri-food sector are increasing at a fast rate, and technological advancement follows the applicability opportunities. However, real applications of RFID technologies are still limited because of various technical and economical obstacles which are also discussed.

A Review on Agri-food Supply Chain Traceability by Means of RFID Technology

Utilization of watermelon rinds and sharlyn melon peels as a natural source of dietary fiber and antioxidants in cake

In the present era, consumers wish to have a wide range of foods that are nutritious and flavorful and have long shelf life without added preservatives. Sourdough is an important modern fermentation of cereal flours and water based upon an earlier spontaneous process. The sourdough microflora is dominated by lactic acid bacteria and, along with yeast, they play a key role in the fermentation of bread dough. Factors that affect the quality of sourdough are dough yield, temperature, type of starter culture, acidity of the medium, and the substrate. Sourdough is classified into 3 types (Types I, II, and III); the most widely used for commercial production is Type III. The sourdough fermentation has a number of beneficial effects that include prolonged shelf life, accelerated volume gain, delayed staling, improved bread flavor, and good nutritional value. Sourdough also improves sensory characteristics such as loaf volume, evenness of baking, color, aroma, taste, and texture of breads. Sourdough has been reported to contribute to extended shelf life by inhibiting spoilage bacteria and mold growth.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2011.00148.x

Sourdough Technology—A Traditional Way for Wholesome Foods: A Review

During the last few years, consumers and buyers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of safe and high quality food products. Interest becomes greater since new products are introduced to the market and modern technologies are being used even in the production of traditional or conventional food products (use of freezing in bakery products). The objective of this work is to examine the factors, which influence the safety and quality characteristics of bread made from frozen dough. A common bread formula consists of wheat flour, water, active dry yeast, salt, sugar, margarine and ascorbic acid while the breadmaking procedure usually involves dough preparation, freezing, thawing and baking. For each ingredient, the main safety and quality parameters, the storage conditions and the requirements for specific use are presented and the potential microbiological, chemical or physical hazards throughout the breadmaking procedure are determined according to HACCP procedure. Finally, consideration is given on how raw material/dough characteristics (water content, pH, initial spore count etc.), and processing parameters, such as freezing time, temperature and duration, baking time and temperature affect bread quality and how they can ensure the safety of the final product.

Quality and safety characteristics of bread made from frozen dough

Probiotic strains are claimed to confer health benefits to human organisms when consumed in adequate amounts. Thus, over the last decades there has been an increased interest in the production of functional foods containing probiotic bacteria. However, in order to display optimal probiotic functionality, these bacteria should survive through the gastrointestinal tract (GI) in high populations, reaching 106-107cfu (colony-forming unit)/g or mL at the end of product's shelf life. The food products that can be used as probiotic bacteria carriers exhibit limitations concerning the viability of the cells, associated with parameters such as the acidity of the food matrices or their processing and storage conditions. Moreover, the acid environment of the GI system may be crucial for their survival. Thus, techniques such as microencapsulation and enrichment with prebiotic substances are proposed for their protection. Aim of this review is to present the bacterial strains exhibiting probiotic properties, the microencapsulation techniques which are applied for their protection, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, the characteristics of the most important food products that have been used as possible matrices for microencapsulated probiotic cells are described.

A review of the microencapsulation techniques for the incorporation of probiotic bacteria in functional foods

Frozen dough bread : Quality and textural behavior during prolonged storage -Prediction of final product characteristics

This work represents a review of MAP technology application in the bakery products. MAP offers a significant extension to the shelf life of bakery products and provides acceptable quality during distribution to consumers. The recommended proportion of gases for bakery products ranges from 20 to 50% CO 2 (against mold growth) and 80 to 50% N 2 (great stagnancy) respectively. The available equipment for MAP, the packaging materials, the advantages of this technology to the bakery products and the requirements for MAP use are discussed.

Virginia Giannou

Papers

Quality and safety characteristics of bread made from frozen dough

A review of the microencapsulation techniques for the incorporation of probiotic bacteria in functional foods

Frozen dough bread : Quality and textural behavior during prolonged storage -Prediction of final product characteristics

Production and packaging of bakery products using MAP technology

Chemical characterization and breadmaking potential of spelt versus wheat flour