Worldwide, there is a current need for new sources of vegetable oils. The natural content of total carotenoids in Acrocomia aculeata palm oil (up to 378 µg.g-1) surpasses that of many other tropical fruits, making it one of its main compositional characteristics. As far as can be verified, there is no available information on the degradation kinetics of carotenoids for A. aculeata oil, which is required to describe reaction rates and to predict changes that can occur during food processing. The present study considered prediction abilities that have emerged with the use of specific kinetic data and procedures to understand thermal processing better, as an essential unity operation. Two kinetic mechanisms were proposed to describe the overall thermal degradation of carotenoids in the oil; the first one consists of three reaction steps while the other presents only one-step reaction. Mass balance equations were numerically solved by a Backward Differentiation Formula technique. The kinetic parameters from both models were estimated through a hybrid optimisation method using the Particle Swarm Optimization and the Gauss-Newton method, followed by statistical analyses. The model with more than one reaction was shown to be overparameterized and was discarded. The model with a single reaction was highly suited to handle the experimental data available, and the dependency of its rate constant on temperature was expressed according to Arrhenius law. As far we know, this is the first time the kinetics of carotenoids thermal degradation in A. aculeata oil is investigated through modelling simulation.

Consumption pattern among indigenous groups is usually influenced by consumers' sociocultural and perceptual factors. This study employs the binary logit model to analyse the factors that influence the consumption of sunflower oil in Kumasi, Ghana. A cross-sectional approach was used to obtain data from 200 consumers who were selected using a multi-stage sampling method. The results showed that a majority (93%) of the respondents were aware of the availability of sunflower oil on the local market and a third (69.5%) had used it for cooking before. The respondents agreed with the perception statements that sunflower oil is healthy, expensive, reduces the risk of heart diseases and cancer and has better frying performance. The empirical results of the logit regression model showed that consumption of sunflower oil is influenced by household size, awareness of the product and perceptions on health benefits, price and frying performance of sun ower oil. The price of the oil was identified as the most important constraint to its use albeit it had no negative effect on its consumption. Investments in the production and promotional strategies on the use of sunflower oil should consider the significant variables that have influence on its consumption.

Indonesian consumers are fond of commercially sterilized milk as indicated by increasing product sales. High demand for products intensifies the need to increase productivity, generally achieved by minimizing product defects. This study aimed to reduce the number of defects in commercially sterilized milk produced using overpressure rotary retorts. Based on Pareto analysis, the percentage of defective products was 5.14% of which 2.37% were dented bottles. A cause-effect diagram (Ishikawa Diagram) was used to find the root cause of dented bottles. The pressure difference between the retort chamber (external pressure) and inside the product packaging (internal pressure), and the number of bottles stacked inside the retort basket (bottle density) were found as major factors for causing dented bottles. The internal pressure was 1.20 bar higher than the external pressure. By reducing the pressure difference to 0.40 bar, the percentage of dented bottles could be reduced to 0.79%. Applying the low-est bottle density (73% of the retort basket area occupied by bottles) during the sterilization process could decrease the number of dented bottles, however, it also increased the appearance of striped lids. The best conditions for sterilization (pressure difference = 0.40 bar; number of bottles/basket = 1938 bottles) which were used in the three-month full-scale production trial reduced the percentage of defective products from 5.14% to 2.24% of which 0.76% were dented bottles. Setting the retort pressure at 2.80 bar could avoid 52,920 defective bottles of commercially sterilized products per month.

Increasing consumption of instant noodles with high sodium content could elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease. Making instant noodle seasoning in the form of an oil-in-water emulsion was expected to improve the perception of salty taste without increasing the use of salt. However, the oil concentration in the emulsion affects the perception. The addition of antioxidant and retort processing was needed to overcome the nature of the emulsion that was quite susceptible to oxidation and microbial contamination. Preliminary research determined the optimum concentration of oil and antioxidant based on physical characteristics, the perception/gustation of saltiness, and emulsion oxidative stability and the results were used for further research. The final part of the research determined the effects of retort processing on emulsion stability, the perception of saltiness, and the degree of microbial contamination. Three different oil concentrations (26, 27, and 28%) and three types of antioxidants (natural vitamin E, ascorbyl palmitate and mixed tocopherol) were applied to the instant noodle seasoning oil-in-water emulsions. The results showed that using 28% oil and mixed tocopherol had the most stability, was more viscous, and had optimum salty taste perception, which significantly extended the shelf-life of the emulsion compared with the others. Retort processing for 21.5 minutes in 123.5 °C was applied to the seasoning emulsion with 28% oil content and mixed tocopherol. Although, the microbial contamination was significantly reduced, neither the stability of emulsion nor the perception of salty taste was significantly changed by the process.

For the first time in the XXI century, the number of people suffering from obesity worldwide surpassed the number of undernourished people. For many developing countries, this presented a so-called "double burden" of coping for over- and under-nourishment. At a rate of more than 50% of the population in Malaysia being either overweight or obese, the country is facing the most severe dietary crisis in East Asia. Often recognized as one of the healthiest populations worldwide and having a blue zone, Japan has managed to set a yardstick for countries around Asia. Hence the purpose of this study was to uncover the capacity for contribution and successful integration of traditional vegetables into Japanese daily food practices. Semi structured interviews were conducted together with participating observation with key informants to help understand the role of women in preserving and safeguarding traditional vegetables also known as 'sansai' in terms of farming and food preparation. In order to solve the unhealthy eating patterns among Malaysians, it is timely to start appreciating the contributions of the older generation in terms of wild edible usage and preparatory methods which can help alleviate the double burden of malnutrition among the population.

Consumer trends towards shelf-stable, safe, more natural and free from additives foods drove the need to investigate the commercial application of non-thermal food processing technologies. High pressure processing (HPP) is one such emerging technology where foods are generally subjected to high pressure (100-1000 MPa), with or without heat. Similar to heat pasteurization, HPP deactivates pathogenic microorganisms and enzymes, extends shelf life, denatures proteins, and modifies structure and texture of foods. However, unlike thermal processing, HPP can retain the quality of fresh food products, with little or no impact on nutritional value and organoleptic properties. Moreover, HPP is independent of the geometry (shape and size) of food products. The retention of food quality attributes, whilst prolonging shelf life, are enormous benefits to both food manufacturers and consumers. Researches have indicated that the combination of HPP and other treatments, based on the hurdle technology concept, has potential synergistic effects. With further advancement of the technology and its large-scale commercialization, the cost and limitations of this technology will probably reduce in the near future. The current review focuses on the mechanism and system of HPP and its applications in the processing of fruit, vegetables, meat, milk, fish and seafood, and eggs and their derived products.

The present study was conducted to develop non-cereal starch extruded products. The effects of feed moisture (15-21%), temperature (130-170 °C) and screw speed (120-160 rpm) were evaluated on the physical and functional properties of extruded snacks using response surface methodology. Feed moisture and screw speed increased the bulk density and hardness of extruded snacks. Significant decreases in water absorption index and increases in water solubility index were observed with increases in extrusion temperature. The best conditions were determined by numerical optimization. The optimized value for non-cereal snacks for feed moisture is 18.22%, temperature 155.96 °C, screw speed 142.75 rpm and, desirability is 0.75. Verification of results showed decent agreement between the responses of experimental values at certain optimum conditions and the predicted values.

Membrane process is an intelligent alternative way of concentration, preferably for organic juices rich in thermolabile natural components. The expectation is to scale up the extraction of desired compounds from agro-industrial wastes through modernized concentration method. Recovery of betalains, phenolic, and antioxidant from beetroot peel extracts was accomplished by nanofiltration membrane (NF 200) at a recirculation flow rate (400 L h-1) and feed temperature (30 ºC) under constant transmembrane pressure (40 bar). Characterization of betaxanthin, betacyanin, phenolic, and antioxidant activity by spectrophotometric analysis revealed that the final samples contain these compounds respectively: 202.25±3.26 mg.L-1, 360.07±8.43 mg.L-1, 987.79±19.18 mg.L-1, 642.06±14.78 mg.L-1 (pure water); 206.62±1.37 mg.L-1, 339.72±2.89 mg.L-1, 972.72±47.49 mg.L-1, 745.97±25.45 mg.L-1 (ethanol-water). Final samples exhibit vivid colour and a considerably large amount of desired compounds compared to crude extracts and could have industrial applications.

Gari (roasted fermented cassava grits) is the most popular product consumed in West Africa and an important food product in the diet of millions of people in developing countries. The study investigated the effect of packaging materials (PM) and storage periods on the functional and pasting properties of Gari produced from white-fleshed cassava roots and sensory attributes of the cooked Gari dough (eba). Gari was produced using the standard method and packaged in a polypropylene woven sack (PP) and polyvinyl chloride container (PVC). Gari was stored for 24 weeks at room temperature and sampled at four-week intervals for functional and pasting properties, and sensory evaluation of the eba, using standard methods. The results showed that the storage periods significantly affected all the functional (except swelling power) and pasting properties of the Gari, and PM had no significant (p>0.05) effect on the functional (except bulk density) and pasting properties. Also, the PM had no significant effect on the sensory attributes of the eba except for the mouldability (p<0.05). The setback viscosity of the Gari packaged in PVC had a significant (p<0.05, r= -0.58) negative correlation with the texture of the eba. The panellists preferred all the sensory attributes of the eba made from the Gari stored in PP compared to that made from Gari stored in PVC. Therefore, packaging Gari in PP may keep most of the properties preferred by consumers when stored for up to 5 months.

Other than the edible oils extracted from the Acrocomia aculeata fruit, there is a growing interest in the palm to generate other high value-added products. Relatively high amounts of carotenoids (up to 378 mg kg-1) have been found in the esculent oils mechanically obtained from the fruit mesocarp. From industrial application perspectives, several processes have been proposed to modify native vegetable oils to yield high functional properties of structured lipids. For interesterified products, the thermal effects of industrial reactors are crucial in reaction mechanisms. The present study has taken into account previously estimated kinetic parameters for the overall disappearances of all-trans β-carotene in the Acrocomia aculeata oil (ko= 2.6 x 10-4 min-1; Ea = 105.0003 kJ mol-1; ΔH = 9.8 x 104 J kg-1) to develop a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) kinetic treatment that obeys first-order kinetics. A system of ordinary dierential equations - mass and energy balances - was solved by the 4th order Runge-Kutta method (GNU Octave software). Under research conditions related to interesterification processing (2 h; 393.15 K), the initial concentration of carotenoids (around 11%) showed no significant decrease. Overall, realistic processing effects and conditions have been assessed, integrating results and knowledge, improving prospects of Acrocomia aculeata as a promising source of high-quality raw material, for producing functional ingredients and food with nutraceutical properties.