Understanding the causes of obesity epidemic requires examination of what contributes to preference of palatable foods. Using a sensorial-consumer approach, this research examined the relationship between the sensation of the hedonic liking of fat with psychological and weight profiles. The study began with preliminary testing of the hedonic ratings of 24 food items (12 low fat (LF), 12 high fat(HF)) and completion of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18) investigating cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating aspects. Eight (8) out of the twelve (12) food pairs that had discriminating characteristics were selected, for inclusion in the study, by 347 panellists. Results showed that overweight individuals had significantly lower liking towards LF sensation (4.27±2.13, p= 0.001) but significantly higher liking towards HF sensation (5.26±2.33, p= 0.001), compared to normal BMI individuals who had a significantly higher liking towards LF sensation (5.69±2.35, p= 0.001) but significantly lower liking towards HF sensation (4.17±2.40, p= 0.001). The Pearson product-moment correlation revealed similar trends on the association between liking of fat sensation and eating behaviour regardless of weight statuses. Specifically, cognitive restrainers were found to prefer the LF sensation while HF sensation were more favoured among uncontrolled and emotional eaters. This highlights the importance of investigating the combined effect of psychological aspects of eating behaviour and weight profiles towards liking of fat sensation.

Food is a necessity of human beings, and the consumption of food is aimed at obtaining energy and nutrients necessary for the growth and proper functioning of the body. However, food can also be a vehicle for various diseases, and the causal agents can have physical, chemical or biological origin with relevance to health due to their incidence, mortality and negative consequences in the population. Bacteria are the main agents of biological origin associated with foodborne diseases. Among these microorganisms are species of the genus Campylobacter, which cause a zoonosis with one of the highest incidences globally, known as Campylobacteriosis. This document provides an overview of foodborne diseases, specifically the causal agents of Campylobacteriosis, including the different measures of control and prevention for this disease in different foods such as poultry, milk, meat, and fish, among others. It also covers the phenomenon of resistance to antimicrobials by these pathogens and the health implications to consumers. The above can generate and maintain safety practices in food production for the protection of public health in different regions around the world.

Conditions influencing Bacillus cereus growth and cereulide production, such as temperature and pH, were evaluated at varying incubation periods. The growth and cereulide production at different temperatures and pH values ranging from 10 to 40 ºC and 5.0 to 8.5, respectively showed that the temperature from 20 to 30 ºC and at pH from 6.0 to 7.0 gave the optimum growth and cereulide production by B. cereus SA105. pH below 6.0 resulted in reduced growth and cereulide production. Cereulide production increased along with the incubation period, and maximum cereulide titre (ng/mL) of 1219.1±8.90 was obtained after 6 days of incubation at 30 ºC and pH 6.5 under static conditions. There was no quantifiable toxin at incubation temperatures of 10 and 40 ºC by B. cereus SA105. This work further reveals that B. cereus growth and cereulide production was significantly affected by temperature and pH in relation to the incubation period. Furthermore, the findings of this study will serve as a means for reducing the diversity of emetic toxin-producing B. cereus population in food and food products, thus preventing food poisoning.

Whole mango peel powder and fibre extracted from mango peel were investigated as potential ingredients to replace salt and phosphate in chicken marinade. Whole mango peel powder possessed higher water absorption capacity than mango peel fibre, 4.57% and 1.47%, respectively (P < 0.05). Similar oil absorption capacity was observed in both mango peel ingredients (P > 0.05). Purified pectin and sorbitol syrup were also used to compare the water holding capacity in marinated chicken breasts. Mango peel ingredients exhibited less cooking loss than pectin and sorbitol syrup, however, higher cooking loss than sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) and NaCl (P > 0.05). Marinating with mango peel ingredients significantly increased a* value of chicken breasts after cooking, while L* and b* values were similar in marinating with NaCl (P > 0.05). Hardness of frozen fully cooked chicken breast was measured after thawing. The lowest shear force of 7.13 N was observed in chicken breasts marinated with mango peel fibre (P < 0.05), while the hardness of chicken breasts marinated with whole mango peel powder was not significant different from STPP and NaCl treatments. Results from this study revealed a potential approach of utilizing fruit waste as an ingredient to substitute phosphate and salt in chicken marinade.

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.

The mucosal surfaces of the intestinal tract harbor a complex microbiota. Bacteria enter in contact with intestinal cells and bestow important nutritional, metabolic and protective functions which benefit the host. Various factors are able to alter the balances between different intestinal bacteria. Dysbiosis has been described in various pathologies and metabolic diseases in humans, such as cancer. Colorectal cancer pathology can benefit from gut microbial imbalance. Its overgrowth may lead to acute symptoms. An alternative strategy to restore this balance is the use of plant extracts which exhibit a prebiotic activity by stimulating of probiotic bacteria and antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria colonization. The present study aims to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity of phenolic extracts (Aqueous extract "AE" and Methanolic extract "ME" ) from Zizyphus lotus. It aims also to investigate the effect of this extract as a prebiotic on the aggregation of probiotic and inhibitory effects of pathogenic bacteria isolated from faeces of patients with colorectal cancer. Phytochemical analysis of different extracts from Zizyphus lotus by HPLC showed that all are rich in phenolic compounds (225.40 mgAGE/gDW for AE and 63.04 mgAGE/gDW for ME extracts). Moreover, all extracts showed an important antioxidant activity (227 µg/ml for AE and 195 µg/ml for ME). These extracts also exhibited a significant prebiotic effect and antibacterial activity. Characterization of the in vitro effect of the aqueous extract showed that the percentage of autoaggregation and adhesion of probiotic and inhibitory effects of pathogenic bacteria increased in the presence of aqueous extracts.

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.

Azanza garckeana is among the least utilized indigenous wild fruit trees of interest in the arid and semi-arid regions of Africa. The tree's fruit and seeds have found their importance as food while their barks and leaves as medicine because of their vast nutritional and functional components. This paper reviews the utilization of the fruit in food processing demonstrating the potential this species has in the preparation of novel foods. There are few reports on macronutrients and micronutrient composition of the fruit and the seeds, and their utilization in food processing. Some researchers have identified key functional ingredients in the fruits as well as their seeds that could be of benefit when incorporated in the production of value-added food products. This paper not only advocates for the production of value-added food products from this fruit, but also its integration into farming systems to enhance nutritional security and provide ready income for communities in the dry areas in sub Saharan Africa.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of black rice, millet and barley bran extracts against oxidative degradation of sunflower oil in frying, by determining the total antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, free fatty acid content, conjugated diene content and total polar content. It was reported that the total phenolic content rice bran was approximately three times higher than that of the millet bran extracts and five times higher than the results for barley bran extracts. The total antioxidant activity results for barley bran and rice bran extract (40.95 ± 0.07and 40.87 ± 0.04 Trolox equivalent μmol/g of bran, respectively) were two times higher than that of millet bran extract (17.16 ± 0.34 Trolox equivalent μmol/g of bran). The results of the effectiveness of the cereal bran extracts were significantly different (p<0.05). The free fatty acid content of the rice bran and propyl gallate enriched oil samples showed better results (2.02 ± 0.01% and 1.62 ± 0.00%) than millet, barley and control enriched oil samples (3.43 ±0.01%, 3.13±0.01% and 6.13 ± 0.01% respectively). In the same vein, conjugated diene content results from all the enriched oil samples indicated that the rice bran enriched oil sample had the least amount of secondary oxidized products compared to the other enriched oil samples. It can be concluded that rice bran extract can be used for frying without discarding or replenishing the oil.