Probiotics in almond-based matrices were considered as a means of obtaining fermented products which would cover both the current demand for health-promoting foods and for alternatives to standard yoghurts. Firstly, the combined effect of high pressure homogenisation (HPH) and heat treatment on the physical stability of almond “milk” was studied. The beverage was homogenised by applying 62, 103 and 172 MPa (MF1, MF2 and MF3 respectively); MF3 was also combined with two different heat treatments (85 °C-30 min (LH) and 121 °C-15 min (HH)). Both microstructure and colloidal stability were analysed in all the processed samples to select the most suitable treatment with which to obtain a stable product. The selected almond milk was then fermented with probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri and Streptococcus thermophilus and the final product was characterised throughout cold storage time (28 days) as to pH, acidity, serum retention and starter viability. A sensory evaluation and probiotic survival to in vitro digestion was also conducted. The results showed that the physical and structural almond-milk properties were affected by both HPH and heat treatments, obtaining the greatest stability in MF3-LH samples. The fermented milk permitted probiotic survivals above the level suggested as minimum for ensuring health benefits during the entire controlled time and, hence, can be considered as a functional food. No differences in the sensory acceptability of the product were found between 1 and 28 storage days. Therefore, a new, functional, fermented product was developed, which was suitable for targeted groups, such as the lactose-intolerant and cow-milk-protein allergic populations.

Pumpkin seeds are commonly consumed in Greece. Although Cucurbita moschata is locally grown in Lemnos and is traditionally used in pumpkin pies, the seeds are currently discarded after consumption of the fruit flesh. The aim of the present study was to investigate the nutritional functionality of pumpkin seeds from Cucurbita moschata grown in Lemnos. Cucurbita moschatas’ seeds, raw or roasted, were appropriately extracted and the results are presented for raw versus (vs) roasted seed extracts. The phenolic content was expressed as µg gallic acid/g of seeds according to Folin-Ciocalteau assay (370.3 ± 19.1 vs 551.0 ± 22.0). Antioxidant capacity was expressed as equivalent amount for 50% scavenging in mg of seeds for DPPH (50.03 ± 5.91 vs 25.82 ± 6.77) and ABTS (17.85 ± 0.77 vs 12.77 ± 0.76) assays, and as µmol of trolox/g of seeds for FRAP (1.19 ± 0.05 vs 2.50 ± 0.23) and CUPRAC (2.13 ±0.11 vs 3.25 ± 0.06) assays. Antiinflammatory/antithrombotic and anti-diabetic activities were expressed as mg of seeds for 50% inhibition of platelet activating factor (0.62 vs 0.15) and as µg of seeds for 25% inhibition of alpha-glycosidase (40.0 vs 61.0) activities respectively. Moreover, anti-atherogenic activity was expressed as the % increase in lag time of human plasma oxidation (62.7 versus 163.2) Raw and roasted pumpkin seed extracts exert anti-oxidant, anti-thrombotic/anti-inflammatory, antiatherogenic and antidiabetic activities. Cucurbita moschata seeds may represent a novel opportunity for development of functional foods, with a local interest in Lemnos that would contribute also to the regional public health improvement. 

The aim of this study was to encapsulate the steviol glycosides (SGs), derived from Stevia rebaudiana (Bert) Bertoni leaves, by applying a spray-drying method. The purpose was to minimize the bitter aftertaste of the SGs as well as to ameliorate/improve their properties. The encapsulation agents used were maltodextrin (19 DE) and inulin in a ratio of 80 : 20, while three levels of SGs in total solids (1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 %) were studied. The encapsulated SGs products were evaluated for their hygroscopicity, solubility, moisture content and microencapsulation efficiency (MEE %). Also, syrups prepared with encapsulated SGs, at 1 % w/v, were tested for their viscosity, refractive index, turbidity and sensory properties. Significant differences (P<0.05) in MEE %, moisture content, hygroscopicity and solubility values of the encapsulated SGs products were observed depending on the level of SGs in total solids. In particular, the MEE %, the hygroscopicity and the solubility values ranged from 62.36, 82.46 to 94.67 %, 21.51, 26.67 and 24.25 % and 99.93, 97.50 to 96.03 % for encapsulated SGs products produced with 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 % SGs in total solids, respectively. The encapsulated product produced with 2.5 % steviol glycosides in total solids presented the most appealing sensory and quality characteristics.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival of Lactobacillus acidophilus that had been simple or double spray dried using chitosan to cause microencapsulation and which had been exposed to model gastrointestinal conditions. In addition, the study also determined the physicochemical properties of the powder containing the microencapsulated probiotic. Chitosan-inulin or chitosan-maltodextrin (1:15 or 1:25) solutions were inoculated with 1012 CFU mL−1 of L. acidophilus, for simple microencapsulation. The different solutions were dried using a spray dryer with an inlet air temperature of 130 ◦C and a solution flux of 4.8 g min−1 . A two-step process was used for the double microencapsulation. In the first step, the probiotic was added to a gelatin-maltodextrin (1:25) solution and then spray dried; for the second step, the microencapsulated probiotic was added to a chitosan-inulin or chitosan-maltodextrin (1:25) solution and then it was spray dried again. With the simple microencapsulated probiotic, a microbial reduction of 7 log cycles was obtained. With the double microencapsulated probiotic only 3 log reductions were achieved. The double microencapsulated probiotic thus demonstrated greater resistance to simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The powders produced were shown to have water activity values of 0.176 - 0.261 at 25 ◦C and moisture content of 0.8 – 1.0%, which are characteristic of spray dried products. The bulk density was significantly (p < 0.05) lower (300 kg m−3 ) for simple than for double (400 kg m−3 ) microencapsulated probiotic powders. Solubility and dispersibility of the powder microcapsules were better at lower pH values. Double microencapsulation using a process of spray drying is therefore recommended for probiotics, thus exploiting chitosan’s insolubility in water, which can be applied for the of development food products. 

The purpose of this study was to determine the most powerful aroma-active compounds of olive oils obtained from Ayvalik (AYV), Gemlik (GEM) and Memecik (MEM) cultivars harvested in 2011, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O). Simultaneous distillation and extraction (SDE) with dichloromethane was used for extraction of volatile components. The aromaactive compounds of olive oils were evaluated by aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). A total of 14, 12 and 12 aroma-active compounds within the range of ≥64–1024 flavor dilution (FD) factors were detected in aromatic extracts of olive oils obtained from AYV, GEM and MEM cvs., respectively. The compounds having the highest FD factor (1024) were (Z)-3-hexenol (cut grass, herbal) and βsesquiphellandrene (floral) for AYV oil and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate (fruity) for MEM oil. Among these compounds, terpenes were the overwhelmingly largest aroma-active components followed by aldehydes. 

Yerba mate infusion is widely consumed in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. One of the processing steps used in Argentina is aging. The following three methods were used to age yerba mate: 1) air humidity and temperature-controlled aging; 2) temperature-controlled aging and 3) no control. The aim of this research was to determine the physicochemical and sensory attribute differences when yerba mate was aged using these three methods. The concentration of caffeine, glucose, fructose, maltose and phenolic compounds and pH diminished in all three aging methods but by different percentages. The sensory attributes did not exhibit uniform behaviour. Astringency remained constant in the first method and diminished in the other two. Bitterness increased in all three methods but by different percentages. Sweetness diminished in all three methods. Notably few correlations were determined between physicochemical and sensory attributes.

Beef-in-sauce catering meals under blast-cooling have been investigated in a research project which aims at quantitative HACCP (hazard analysis critical control point). In view of its prospective coupling to a predictive microbiology model proposed in the project, zero-order spatial dependence has proved to suitably predict meal temperatures in response to temperature variations in the cooling air. This approach has modelled heat transfer rates via the a priori unknown convective coefficient hc which is allowed to vary due to uncertainty and variability in the actual modus operandi of the chosen case study hospital kitchen. Implemented in MS Excel®, the numerical procedure has successfully combined the 4
th order Runge-Kutta method, to solve the governing equation, with non-linear optimization, via the built-in Solver, to determine the coefficient hc. In this work, the coefficient hc was assessed for 119 distinct recently-cooked meal samples whose temperature-time profiles were recorded in situ after 17 technical visits to the hospital kitchen over a year. The average value and standard deviation results were hc = 12.0 ± 4.1 W m−2 K −1 , whilst the lowest values (associated with the worst cooling scenarios) were about hc ≈ 6.0 W m−2 K −1 .Convective heat transfer

In European Higher Education, learning outcomes and competences have been used sometimes with different meanings and sometimes with the same meaning. But both terms have been more commonly used to refer to knowledge, understanding and abilities a student must demonstrate at the end of a learning experience. Their use is a consequence of the paradigm shift of the Bologna Process to a learner centered education environment. The definition of standards of competences (or learning outcomes) for the PhD degree is thus a need for the quality assurance of this degree. In this work, subject-specific and generic competences for the PhD in Food Science and Technology and their alignment with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) level descriptors for quality assurance purposes have been identified.

Protein isolate 1 (PI1) and protein isolate 2 (PI2) were prepared from industrially produced sunflower meal by using isoelectric and ethanol precipitation respectively. The water absorption capacity of PI1 was 6 times higher than that of PI2 and was significantly reduced by the presence of 0.03 M and 0.25 M NaCl. Oil absorption capacity of both protein isolates was not influenced by NaCl supplementation. Foam capacity of PI1 and PI2 was pH-dependent. While the foam capacity of both isolates was improved by either 0.03 M or 0.25 M NaCl, the foam stability was negatively influenced by the addition of NaCl at all pH values with except for pH 4. Emulsifying activity of PI1 and PI2 was lowest at pH 4. The emulsions exhibited relatively high stability (> 90%) under all studied conditions. Knowledge of the influence of pH and boundary concentrations of NaCl on the functionality of sunflower meal protein isolates could be beneficial for their future potential application in food industry. 

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) were processed into flours and used to substitute wheat flour for preparation of cookies. The chemical, including proximate composition and anti-nutritional factors, and functional and pasting properties of the blends were determined. Cookies were produced from the blends with 100% wheat flour as a control. The antinutritional factors, physical properties and organoleptic attributes of the cookies were evaluated. An increase in the level of cassava flour substitution resulted in a decrease in the protein content of the composite flour. However, addition of cowpea flour resulted in an increase in the protein content. There were significant (p<0.05) reductions in the studied anti-nutritional factors after baking. Cookies from composite flours were not significantly (p>0.05) different from the control in overall acceptability. This indicates the feasibility of producing nutritious cookies with desirable organoleptic qualities from cassava, wheat and cowpea composite flour.