Tortilla, an important Mexican food item, is consumed normally in fresh stage in which both, softness and flexibility are important attributes. To know the effect of two gums on characteristics of tortilla, this food was prepared by standardization of the elaboration process by using nixtamalized corn flour. Several systems or tortilla types were prepared, the control and added with gums at different concentration. Physicochemical properties (color, moisture, and pH), as well as texture characteristics (puncture, firmness, and extensibility) were measured in fresh form, and also after six day of storage in refrigeration, and three weeks in freezing conditions. Color and pH were stable, whereas moisture increased with gum addition. Low temperatures generated a higher loss of water and rigidity in the control system than those determined with gum incorporation. Based on overall texture of tortillas, the guar gum had a better effect on it than carob gum, and consequently the effect of gum blends was better. In general, puncture, firmness, and rigidity forces augmented lightly through storage at low temperatures, and the conclusion is that the effect of gum blends on tortilla texture is positive and better that the effect of simple gums, without affecting other physicochemical properties of tortillas.
Functional foods have become an important part of human diet, due to the contribution of these foods for health improving; being those products added with probiotics an example of functional foods. Whey is a by-product of cheese production considered as a waste, despite its protein content and nutritive value, whereas inulin has been recently used in food industry by adding it to foods in combination with certain probiotics, it is found naturally in the agave as part of dietary fiber. Then the objective of this research was to obtain a functional whey drink added with inulin and probiotic microorganisms. Therefore, different formulations of this beverage were obtained varying the content of inulin (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8% w/w) and the type of microorganism (Lactobacillus casei, L. plantarum and L. reuteri). Some properties and viability of microorganisms in the different systems were evaluated during 30 days of refrigerated storage, in which the physicochemical properties, flow parameters, and microbial stability were determined. Results showed that pH and acidity varied among different systems; pH values of whey beverages ranged between 4.75 and 6.18, decreasing with increasing of inulin content; in which there was a significant difference for initial pH. Acidity values ranged from 1.743 to 1.987 g/L, and also exhibiting significant difference. Soluble solids and moisture of beverages were stable through the storage period in contrast to acidity, color, pH, and flow properties. Whey beverages behaved as non-Newtonian fluids of pseudoplastic nature, better fitted by the Power Law equation, in which consistency increased with inulin content. All systems had the minimal level of BAL (lactic acid bacteria), and their growth was related to inulin content.
Microorganisms can be categorized into five categories: bacteria, algae, fungi, viruses, and protozoa which can cause microbiological hazards, contaminating food during production, manufacture, transportation, and storage. Biosensor technology is one of the most reliable and effective analytical technique for determining a biological system's sensitivity and specificity at a very low scale. So many techniques exist for identifying and detecting food-borne illness causing bacteria. But biosensor technology is used to detect and monitor with accuracy, thus increasing its interest globally with time. Biosensors have been used for a long time to illustrate the process of regulating data in the pharmaceutical, food manufacturing, and processing industries. An immunosensor is a type of biosensor that uses the molecular recognition specificity of antigens to form a stable complex of an antibody. It is divided into two subcategories- labeled and label-free. A labeled immunosensor is primarily used to sense the immune reaction and generate signals that allow versatile detection of complex, and detect the microorganisms like Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli. Label-free immunosensors detect physical changes during the immune complex formation and have been explored because of their potential as a specific detection technique which can reduce the time and cost of analysis. It has been developed using several detection methods like optical changes for Salmonella sp., electrochemical changes for Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli, and Hepatitis B. An impedimetric immunosensor for pathogens has been created utilizing a biosensor, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, antibodies, affinity proteins, affimers, and other binding proteins like bio-receptors, which exhibit good selectivity. This review discusses the techniques used by immunosensors to recognize microorganisms that might cause food poisoning. These techniques consider the electrodes and base-layer components, the makeup and characteristics of distinct bacterial species, as well as the interactions between antigens and antibodies that are utilized to detect bacteria.
Physical properties are important food characteristics that may be very important and transcendent depending of the specific food and particular processing. These properties should be considered and controlled, no matter of the industrial transformation, some of them are color, density, flow nature, form, heat capacity, size, texture, and viscoelasticity, among others. Color and texture are more general and notably affected by processing (formulation, drying, thermal treatment), whereas flow nature, density and viscoelasticity are less known and their changes throughout pumping, evaporation and high pressure applications require deeper knowledge.
Industrial agriculture, which is the dominant food production model of the 21st century, is one of the causes of various health problems, as well as the emission of greenhouse gases, therefore, climate change.However, for the world, overcoming hunger and nutrition continue to be a challenge; critical and transformative environmental education in the face of climate change is more necessary than ever, among other things aimed at new ways of feeding the population. Achieving conscious citizenship requires an education where teacher training is fundamental. A documentary review was carried out based on reflections on the impacts of food and agriculture on the climate with participants of an EA and climate emergency course at UNICENTRO, Guarapuava, Brazil. As a result, ten principles are proposed that allow building food sovereignty with climate awareness to contribute to mitigation and adaptation through individual and collective action. The principles consider the origin of food, the distances between origin and consumption, processing and the production model.
