Stabilizers’ effects on hot dog texture; Examining tagatose stability; Coffee’s role in reducing disease

Stabilizers’ effects on hot dog texture
Hot dogs formulated with vegetable oil to replace some of the animal fat often have an unacceptable texture due in part to weak lipid–protein interactions, reported researchers from two universities in Spain.

They used an infrared spectrometer to study the lipid and protein structural characteristics, proximate composition, and textural characteristics in hot dogs formulated with animal fat, olive oil-in-Water emulsion, olive oil-in-water emulsion stabilized with sodium caseinate, and olive oil-in-water emulsion stabilized with sodium caseinate and microbial transglutaminase. The results showed that the hot dogs formulated with sodium caseinate and microbial transglutaminase had the highest hardness and lowest adhesiveness (the hot dogs had a “tough” texture). The researchers found that the lipid chain was more orderly in these hot dogs than in the ones formulated with animal fat and without sodium caseinate.

The study, “Infrared Study of Structural Characteristics of Frankfurters Formulated with Olive Oil-in-Water Emulsions Stabilized with Casein as Pork Backfat Replacer,” appeared online early in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, doi: 10.1021/jf203941b.

IIT directs alliance
The Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute for Food Safety and Health (IIT IFSH) will coordinate a national food safety alliance to help the food industry comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)-related preventive control regulations.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provided a one-year, $1 million partnership grant through the IIT–IFSH–FDA collaborative agreement to form the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance(FSPCA). The alliance will develop a standardized, industry-oriented training curriculum; create hands-on and web-based training modules; provide and distribute information about the technical and scientific basis for identifying hazards associated with specific food commodities and industry sectors per the FSMA regulations; establish a technical assistance network for small- and medium-sized food companies; produce preventive control models for industry; and provide guidance to industry for maintaining preventive controls. IIT IFSH will set up a distance learning location at its Bedford Park, Ill., campus.

The FDA in early 2012 is expected to issue the FSMA proposed rules for putting preventive control measures in place. Facilities are required to develop food safety plans that identify hazards, ways to protect against those hazards, and how manufacturers will monitor the preventive control measures to make sure that they are working and correct problems as necessary.

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Examining tagatose stability
Tagatose can be formulated into beverages as a prebiotic to improve the healthful attributes of the products without significant degradation and loss of prebiotic activity, according to researchers from Auburn University.

For their study to evaluate the storage and thermal stabilities of tagatose in milk and lemonade, the researchers added tagatose at different levels (0.9%–1.5%) to commercially available shelf-stable milk and diet lemonade, stored the samples at 20°C, 40°C, 61°C, and 81°C for certain time periods depending on the sample and temperature, and monitored the loss of tagatose using HPLC. Tagatose can degrade in milk and lemonade depending on temperature exposure, wrote the researchers. They added that under the typical time–temperature combinations of thermal processing, less than 0.1% of tagatose will be lost, and that storing tagatose-containing beverages at temperatures less than 30°C for six months will cause less than 4% of tagatose to degrade.

The study, “Tagatose Stability in Milk and Diet Lemonade,” appeared online early in Journal of Food Science, doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2011.02456.x.

Coffee’s role in reducing disease
Certain compounds in coffee inhibit a substance linked to causing type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in Journal of Agriculture & Food Chemistry.

Research has shown that the misfolding of human islet amyloid polypeptide may be a cause of type 2 diabetes. The researchers in this particular study examined the effects of coffee extracts caffeine,caffeic acid, and chlorogenic acid as well as dihydrocaffeic acid (a metabolite of chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid) on the amyloidogenicity of human islet amyloid polypeptide.

The results showed that all of the components had inhibitory effects, with caffeic acid having the strongest effect and caffeine having the lowest effect. The researchers report that these finding might help explain why coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The study, “Coffee Components Inhibit Amyloid Formation of Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide in Vitro: Possible Link between Coffee Consumption and Diabetes Mellitus,” appeared online early in Journal of Agriculture & Food Chemistry, doi: 10.1021/jf201702h.

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ARS develops new rice
Newly developed rice varieties offer specific qualities required for certain value-added markets. As part of the rice project, the researchers with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, Texas A&M University, University of Arkansas, Clemson University, and International Rice Research Institute developed JES, an aromatic, soft-cooking, long-grain, jasmine-style rice, and Charleston Gold, an aromatic rice said to provide excellent yields, have disease resistance, and have good cooking quality. The work to develop the new cultivars will expand market opportunities for the U.S. rice industry, according to USDA ARS. The researchers are working toward the larger goal of improving food security.

Inhibiting pathogen growth with UV and heat
Combining ultraviolet radiation and dry heat treatments may be a useful method of controlling pathogen contamination on cooking equipment surfaces and utensils, according to a study published in Journal of Food Science.

Specifically, the researchers tested the effectiveness of UV treatment alone or a combination of UV and dry heat (50°C) applied for 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, and 3 hours on Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus. The pathogens were on stainless steel and polypropylene surfaces. One of the results of the study showed that there were significant reductions in all samples treated for 3 hours with a combination of UV and heat treatments except for S. aureus on polypropylene.The researchers suggested that future studies examine the effectiveness of UV combined with other treatments on these and other pathogens.

The study, “Inhibitory Effects of UV Treatment and a Combination of UV and Dry Heat against Pathogens on Stainless Steel and Polypropylene Surfaces,” appeared online early in Journal of Food Science, doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2011.02476.x.

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What’s new with food companies
• The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has approved the use of A&B Ingredients’ CytoGuard™ antimicrobial in ground poultry products.

• Aromatech and Apple Flavor & Fragrance Co. have formed a joint venture to develop flavorings.

• Autocrat has received an “excellent” rating on its 2000 Level II certification by Safe Quality Food.

• Barry Callebaut has opened a spray-drying facility in Kågeröd, Sweden.

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• Cargill and BASF Plant Science will partner to develop an EPA/DHA canola oil.

• Five of CP Kelco’s facilities have received Global Food Safety Initiative Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000.

• Eurofins has acquired DQCI Services.

• Foran Spice Co. has earned certification by the British Retail Consortium Global Standards for Food Safety.

• Gold Coast Ingredients has received International Food Standard Version 5 certification.

• HarvestMark de Mexico has partnered with Advance Produce Traceability to provide fresh produce traceability expertise and best practice training to Mexican growers/shippers and exporters.

• Kalsec Inc. has named Yee Yon Chemicals Co. as its exclusive distributor of Kalsec products in Korea. 

• Kraft Foods has opened a European Biscuit Research and Development Centre in Saclay, France.

• LycoRed has opened a production plant in Changzhou, China.

• MicroVal has certified Luxcel Biosciences’ GreenLight™ total viable count method instrumentation to test raw meat and poultry.

• Multivac has opened a high pressure processing testing facility at its headquarters in Wolfertschwenden, Germany.

• Naturex has acquired Burgundy Botanical Extracts.

• Sun America Imports has selected HarvestMark® for its cantaloupe traceability.

• Tate & Lyle’s Splenda® sucralose production plant in Singapore has earned a fourth consecutive ‘A’ grading for food safety excellence from the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority.

 

by Karen Nachay,
Associate Editor
[email protected]