This study compared, for the first time, the postharvest conservative action of edible fungal chitosan coatings (gel, nanoparticles and gel-nanoparticle) on the physico-chemical, sensorial and microbiological characteristics of strawberries. The nanoparticles were prepared by an ionic gelation method and characterized by dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy. The antioxidant (DPPH* and ABTS*) activity of the edible coatings and the antimicrobial (macrodilution method) action against phytopathogenic fungi were verified. The nanoparticles had a size of 331.1 nm and a zeta potential of+ 34 mV. The gel, nanoparticles and gel+nanoparticles exhibited minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 4 to 5, 1.5 to 2.5 and 1.0 + 0.5 to 2.0 + 1.5 g.L-1, respectively. All the edible coatings exhibited antifungal action. All the coatings had high scavenging activity, especially the gel edible coating. The coatings, especially the gel+nanoparticles, decreased the weight loss, microbiological growth, soluble solids, maturity index and moisture loss of the strawberry and preserved the pH values, anthocyanin content, titratable acidity and sensory characteristics. Therefore, the use of chitosan edible coating containing nanoparticles can be a promising strategy to improve the post-harvest quality of strawberries.

A process for preparation of a microgreen and fruit based beverage was optimized using spinach (Spinacia oleracea) microgreen, pomegranate (Punica granatum), pineapple (Ananascomosus) and sugar. The blended juice in different ratios was analysed for total soluble solids, viscosity, sedimentation, acidity, metal chelation activity, free radical scavenging activity and reducing power. The optimized beverage had, 17.26 mL 100 mL-1 spinach microgreen juice, 57.07 mL 100 mL-1 pomegranate juice, 1.01 g 100 g-1 sugar and 24.66 mL 100 mL-1 pineapple juice. The product was high in nutrients, particularly protein, minerals (sodium, potassium and iron), vitamins (vitamin C), bioactive compounds (total phenols and total carotenoids) and had high antioxidant activity (metal chelation activity, free radical scavenging activity and reducing power). The antioxidants and bioactive compounds present in juice were designed to help reduce oxidative stress during inflammatory cases such as arthritis.

In this work, the exposure of people, through their diet, to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been assessed for the urban, rural, and general populations in Syria. The food categories consumed have been divided into major groups, and the health risk assessment on dietary exposure of PAHs determined in each food category. For this purpose, two approaches were used: incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) and margin of exposure approach (MOE). The results showed that each of the following food categories: oils and fats, meat and meat products, vegetables, and cereals dominantly contribute in the dietary exposure of PAHs. Also their MOE values are the lowest. Additionally, they have higher ILCR values. Therefore, these groups are a main risk source to health. On the other hand, the dietary exposure of PAHs in each of urban, rural and general populations was of low health concern, whereas their ILCR values reached to 10E-05 in total food categories, nevertheless it remains lower than serious risk level (ILCR>10E-04). This work is the first study that is dealing with dietary exposure of PAHs and their health risk assessment in Syria.

This research aims to examine the effects of fermentation time on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of green coconut water kefir in order to determine the optimal fermentation time based on the resulting sensory attributes. There were four fermentation time treatments (12, 24, 36, and 48 hours), each with five replications. The materials used were green coconut water and 5% kefir grains. Physical analyses included pH and viscosity, while the chemical analyses included total dissolved solids (TDS), alcohol content, water content, protein content and fat content. Sensory attributes included sourness, soda sensation, sour aroma, viscosity and turbidity. The results showed that fermentation time had significant effects on pH, TDS, alcohol content, water content, protein content and the sensory attributes of green coconut water kefir. Viscosity and fat content were not affected by fermentation time. The ideal fermentation time was 12 hours resulting in a pH level of 4.6, viscosity of 0.09, TDS of 3.8° Brix, alcohol content of 1.16%, water content of 97.14 %, protein content of 6.64 % and fat content of 1.17%. Sensory evaluation found a low level of sourness, low soda sensation, high sour aroma, high viscosity and low turbidity.

Noodle consumption has been increasing in Nigeria as a result of rapid urbanization, increase in population growth, and desire for convenience food. Noodles are produced from wheat our which is not grown in Nigeria. In order to reduce wheat imports and improve utilization of local crops, various options have been developed to replace wheat flour partially or wholly in noodle production. This study was aimed at optimizing the level of major ingredients to obtain the best flour blend for noodle preparation with optimum nutritional quality. Pro-vitamin A cassava roots (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and African yam bean seeds (AYB) (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) were processed into ours. The ranges of these flours, based on preliminary findings, were computed into a central composite design of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to obtain 13 flour blends with five central points. The chemical compositions, anti-nutritional factors, and pasting properties of these flour blends were analyzed and measured. By maximizing total β-carotene, protein content, and minimizing fat content, the predicted model indicated the optimum blend of 70.52% cassava flour to 29.48% AYB flour. The best our blend sample of 69.23% cassava our to 30.77% AYB flour gave the actual value of total β-carotene 6.76 μg/g, with proximate analysis composition of protein 6.17%, fat 0.82%, moisture 8.95%, ash 1.77%, crude fiber 5.09%, and carbohydrate 82.30%. The anti-nutritional factors of the best blend were 8.21 mg HCNeqv/kg, 1.69 mg phytate/g and 0.37 mg tannin/g.

Currently, improvement of food preservation has been a substantial challenge for industries to increase shelf-life of products and to maintain food quality during storage. These goals are often tied to the sustainable tendency for use of eco-friendly packaging to store these products without loss of the packaging features. Therefore, the aim of this study was to produce biodegradable antimicrobial films by the incorporation of nisin Z peptide under different concentrations (0 %, 5 %, 10 %, 15 % and 20 % wt.) into hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) matrices. The active film properties were evaluated in terms of their antimicrobial capacity in vitro, mechanical performance and microscopic characteristics. Hence, active films containing 10 % (wt.) of nisin Z and control films were placed in contact with sliced mozzarella cheese for eight days, and microbiological growth was monitored during storage. Nisin Z’s antimicrobial effects were observed against the Gram-positive microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua, regardless if the compound was free as a suspension or incorporated into HPMC matrices. However, the expected low action of nisin Z against Gram-negative bacteria, as reported in literature, was not observed since Salmonella enterica Choleraesuis’s growth was inhibited. Moreover, active films with added nisin Z (10 % wt.) were more effective than the control film to inhibit mesophilic microorganisms in mozzarella cheese during 8 days of storage. The mechanical properties of the films were not influenced by nisin Z incorporation, since the addition of the compound enhanced the active function without the loss of mechanical properties required for a good food packaging. These results suggest that biodegradable films produced by nisin Z addition into HPMC matrix are an excellent biomaterial for mozzarella cheese preservation.

This work examined the relationships between quality characteristics of raw milk and climatic conditions. Over a period of three years, a total of 5,065 samples were collected encompassing two types of farms. The quality characteristics analysed were titratable acidity (TA), total plate count (TPC) and somatic cells count (SCC). Climatic conditions were evaluated in respect to the outdoor air temperature, pressure, humidity and precipitation. Big farms showed a stronger correlation between TA and climatic conditions as opposed to SCC and climatic conditions. TPC was out of limit in big farms when the outdoor air temperature was higher than 19.8 °C (p<0.05) and during periods with accumulated precipitation over 4.2 mm (p>0.05). Small farms showed a stronger correlation between SCC and climatic conditions as opposed to TA. In these farms, occurrence of acidity out of limit was detected in less than 7.2% of samples. Samples with TA out of limit were observed when air temperature was higher than 18.4 °C (p<0.05) and accumulated precipitation was below 3.1 mm (p>0.05). These results can be used to improve good agricultural practices in respect to climatic conditions and size of farms.

The objective of this work was to study the effect of seaweed (Eucheuma cottonii) our addition on physicochemical and sensory characteristics of an Indonesian-style beef meatball. Seaweed flour (SF) was added to meatball batter at 0% (CON), 2.5% (SF2.5), 5.0% (SF5) and 7.5% (SF7.5) in weight/meat weight (w/w) basis. Proximate composition (moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber and ash content), pH, cooking loss, hardness, water-holding capacity, instrumental color and sensory properties (color, texture, aroma, taste and overall acceptability) of the boiled meatballs were evaluated. The effect of seaweed our addition was very significant (P<0.01) on moisture, crude fat, crude fiber, ash, cooking loss, hardness, water holding capacity, lightness (L*), yellowness (b*) and all sensory properties, and was significant (P<0.05) on crude protein, pH and the redness (a*) of a boiled Indonesian-style beef meatball. The addition of seaweed flour at more than 2.5% resulted in darker meatballs, with less protein and fat, and a stronger seaweed aroma. The results suggest that seaweed flour could be added at 2.5% (w/w) to produce an Indonesian-style beef meatball with enhanced ber content.

An attempt has been made to evaluate antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxicity properties of extracts from onion (Allium cepa L.), garlic (Allium sativum), leaves of guava (Psidium guajava), papaya (Carica papaya), tea (Camellia sinensis), baen (Avicennia alba) and keora (Sonneratia apetala), respectively to apply as natural preservatives for tomatoes. The air-dried plant materials of the respective plant species were subjected to ethanol-methanol extraction, concentrated and stored at 4 °C before use. The extracts were dissolved in 95% ethanol for analysis of antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Of the extracts tested, tea extracts showed the highest zone of inhibition against several pathogenic bacteria (E. coli 35.0±3.2 mm; P. aeruginosa 29.3±2.6 mm; S. typhi 28.4±2.1 mm and S. pyogenes 27.7±3.7 mm) using the disc diffusion method. In regard to DPPH free radical scavenging assay, keora and guava extracts showed the highest percentage of radical scavenging activity with the values of 89.64± 0.18 and 89.39± 0.88, respectively, which were in agreement with higher total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of these extracts obtained by the phosphomolybdenum method. Brine shrimp lethality bioassay for cytotoxicity assessment showed LC50 of 132.54 ± 18.99 µg/mL for the leaf extract of keora which was found to be most toxic among all studied extracts. The initial results indicated that the extracts could be used for food preservative applications based on the antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxicity properties of the tested extracts. However, efficacy, stability and safety issues need to be addressed with both in vitro and in vivo studies.

This paper focuses on research, development, and capacity building in relation to food and nutrition security (FNS) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It looks at human capacity, education, teaching and learning, women empowerment, research, innovation and technology, research, indigenous knowledge (IK), institutional aspects, infrastructure, information and communication technologies (ICT), policies and finance. Professional bodies exist in many countries and the extent to which they engage in FNS awareness creation differs. Food and nutrition insecurity continues to affect people in Africa’s 54 nations where the population is expected to double by 2050 with the expected doubling of food production to keep pace with population growth. Within the continent there is a substantial number of human capacity professionals who are global leaders in food, nutrition and related professions. Some research organisations in the continent directly or indirectly benefit from grants administered by developed economies but a challenge exists with brain drain and ageing of qualified and experienced experts. Increasing educational need, coupled with the growing population necessitates attention to ensuring a sustained supply of highly trained, adequately equipped and qualified professionals in the relevant fields of food and nutrition sciences. Higher educational institutions exist in especially those that fall within the 500 in world universities ranking. Research activities take place in the continent along with the translation of research outputs into commercialisable products. Research towards transforming agriculture for improved livelihoods is taking place in different parts of the continent. Education, governance, gender and rural development are the key challenges. Income growth and the impacts of climate change on food production have contributed to food insecurity. ICTs can play an important role for FNS. Strengthening research, development, capacity building and industry cooperation are critical for FNS in Africa.