Optimisation is especially important for those professionals involved in the early stages of product development. In this study, multiple response optimisations by using the desirability function (DF) and utilising superimposed contour diagrams were used for the development of low-fat layer cake. The DF is responsible for modelling the multi-response statistical problem. Cakes were prepared with N-Flate formula (8–16%), PaselliSA2 formula (potato maltodextrins (20–40%), monoand diglycerides (MDGs) and propylene glycol monoesters (PGMEs, 2–6%)) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) formula ((1–2%), MDG and PGME (2–6%)). Cake volume, crust and crumb properties were simultaneously optimised. The best factor combinations for each factor were identified to maximise cake volume, crust and crumb properties. The maximised and improved responses were obtained as follows: 9% for N-Flate, 22.5% for Paselli and 1.1% CMC. The composite desirability values of the responses were 0.953, 0.942 and 0.946 for cakes formulated with N-Flate, Paselli and CMC, respectively. It was concluded that response surface methodology and multiple response optimisation could be successfully used to design and optimise low-fat cake formulations with desirable cake properties.
The aim in the production of foodstuffs is to process the product as efficiently as possible without compromising quality. In general, these goals are in conflict and a compromise is sought. This paper presents a constraint modelling technique that can be employed to manage these issues. This method has the advantage that it allows the production process to be modelled together with the food properties. Optimization techniques have been implemented to help to resolve conflicts and to identify improvements to the overall process. Applications are given from the area of machine-product interaction and machinery optimization.
There is increasing pressure on governments and industries to make significant reductions in carbon emissions. In the UK, 11% of electricity is consumed by the food industry and in some sectors a substantial portion of site energy, up to 90%, is consumed by refrigeration systems. The aim of this work was to: identify the major primary chilling energy requirements in the UK; calculate or make a best estimate of their efficiency; and determine which chilling processes have the highest energy saving potential. In terms of the heat energy to be extracted during the primary chilling process, the six most important categories in rank order were milk (532 GWh/year), meat (114 GWh/year), potatoes (59 GWh/year), other vegetables (36 GWh/year), fish (6.5 GWh/ year) and fruit (5.9 GWh/year). There is little published data on the measured energy consumption of commercial primary chilling processes in the UK or that is directly applicable to the UK. From the data that is available, the energy efficiency (useful heat extracted from material/measured electrical energy used) varies from 0.138 to 5.337, with cooling of milk being far more efficient than that of the next two most important categories, meat and potatoes. Using the best of existing technologies it is estimated that 154 GWh could be saved per year in potato cooling, 128 GWh in milk and between 51 and 80 GWh in the cooling of carcass meat. Savings in other commodity areas are likely to be more than an order of magnitude less.
This article studies different factors affecting the deterioration of date fruits at a fixed storage temperature. Effects of date cultivar, texture and treatment on shelf life were studied using an experimental design approach, and the use and contribution of generalised linear models (GLM) in the analysis of the experimental results are described. A model predicting the storage life of dates is suggested and validated. The specified GLM predicted well the shelf life of dates (R 1⁄4 98%). Accelerated storage tests used to predict shelf life were carried out at three temperatures (20, 30 and 408C) to bring about and expedite the deterioration of the dates and, thus, assess their shelf life. It was found that the shelf life of the semi-dry Aligh date cultivar could reach 66.23 days at 308C by means of drying and addition of preservatives. The described model could be used to find the optimal treatment for a given dates’ cultivar and texture. It also gives practitioners accurate tools to predict dates’ shelf life during shipping and distribution phases. Drawbacks of using standard linear models instead of GLMs are also discussed.
