Food Engineering
Mohsen Zandi; Ali Ganjloo; Mandana Bimakr; Abolfazl Gharebaghi
Abstract
Introduction: Grape is a non-climacteric fruit with a low rate of physiological activity but is subject to serious physiological and parasitic disorders after harvest and during long term storage (Ciccarese et al., 2013). Currently, Edible coatings have been studied as potential substitutes for conventional ...
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Introduction: Grape is a non-climacteric fruit with a low rate of physiological activity but is subject to serious physiological and parasitic disorders after harvest and during long term storage (Ciccarese et al., 2013). Currently, Edible coatings have been studied as potential substitutes for conventional plastics in food packaging. Edible coating is a thin layer of edible material formed as a coating on a food product. Edible coating can offer several advantages to the fresh fruit and vegetable industry such as improvement in the retention of color, acids, sugar and flavor components, the maintenance of quality during shipping and storage, the reduction of storage disorders and improved consumer appeal (Antoniou et al., 2015; Cazon et al., 2017; Fakhouri et al., 2015; Galus & Kadzińska, 2015). Farsi gum as a novel source of polysaccharides has drawn much attention in a wide range of various fields such as pharmaceutics, food and cosmetics industries. Functional properties of Farsi gum are influenced by its structure and molecular weight (Hadian et al., 2016; Joukar et al., 2017). By inclusion of bioactive compounds in the Farsi gum network the aforementioned impairments could be overcome and moreover, new protective and functional valences could be added. The inclusion of lipid-based component in Farsi gum gives it excellent light and moisture barrier properties. The benefic impact on human health of hemp seed oil is worldwide recognized. A recent study demonstrated the antimicrobial properties of hemp seed oil. Due to their abundance in biologically active compounds, hemp seed oil is promising natural alternatives that may extend the shelf-life, microbiological safety and nutritional values of food (Cozmuta et al., 2015; Leizer et al., 2000; Salarnia et al., 2018). Growing awareness of the quality of fruit has necessitated increasing effort to develop rapid and non-destructive methods for evaluating fruit quality (Bhargava & Bansal, 2020; Rachmawati et al., 2017; Tao & Zhou, 2017; Wu & Sun, 2013). The aim of this study was the consideration of image processing application for grape sorting based on visual surface characterize. Materials and Methods: Coating emulsion was prepared using (Farsi gum (0%, 1.5% and 3%), hemp seed oil (0%, 0.075% and 0.15%) and glyceride (0.3%)). grape fruit were coated by immersion in coating dispersion for 5 min. Samples were then allowed to loss the excess coating dispersion. Coatings were developed at room temperature during an hour. Samples were refrigerated at 4± 1°C for 28 days and analyses were performed at days 0 and 28. Defect identification and maturity detection of grape fruits are challenging task for the computer vision to achieve near human levels of recognition. The image acquisition was performed in a homogenously controlled lighting condition. Considering the camera lens’s focal length, the samples were placed 25 cm under the camera’s lens to be under camera’s field of view. The images of grape were segmented from the background using thresholding of the high contrast images via MATLAB software (R2019a, image processing toolbox). The optimum threshold value was obtained to be 0.35, 0.45 and 0.30 for R, G and B channel, respectively. Results and Discussion: The proposed techniques can separate between the defected and the healthy grape fruits, and then detect and classify the actual defected area. Classification is performed in two manners which in the first one, an input grape is classified with two different algorithms (RGB and binary). The Result showed that the accuracies for detecting the surface defects on grape were 97.73% and 96.30% using RGB and binary algorithms, respectively. Proposed method can be used to detect the visible defects of coated grape, and to grade the grape in high speed and precision. Conclusions: The results of this research and similar ones can provide helpful recommendations in grading fruits for fresh consumption. The simplicity and the efficiency of the proposed techniques make them appropriate for designing a low-cost hardware kit that can be used for real applications.
Food Engineering
Mohsen Zandi; Ali Ganjloo; Mandana Bimakr; Narges Nikoomanesh; Negar Moradi
Abstract
Introduction: The base of intelligent methods is using hidden knowledge in the experimental data, trying to extract the inherent relationships among them and generalizing results to other situations. Artificial neural networks are one of the most essential methods used in the field of artificial intelligence ...
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Introduction: The base of intelligent methods is using hidden knowledge in the experimental data, trying to extract the inherent relationships among them and generalizing results to other situations. Artificial neural networks are one of the most essential methods used in the field of artificial intelligence was inspired by how the human brain works, training takes place first, and then the information related to the data is stored in the form of the network's weights. Fuzzy logic is an important decision-making tool that has recently found some applications in food quality. Also, it is possible to find out the reasons for low and high ranking of products evaluated by the judges. The fuzzy model can be used to determine the importance of individual factors to the overall quality of a product. The ANFIS model is a combination of the artificial neural network (ANN) and a fuzzy inference system (FIS) in such a way that the neural networks are applied to determine the parameter of the fuzzy inference system. The fuzzy logic theory effectively addresses the uncertainty problems that solve the ambiguity. Sweet lemon (Citrus limetta) fruit is a popular agricultural product cultivated in tropical countries used to treat common colds, influenza and hypertension. Sweet lemon is quite perishable with postharvest losses such as weight loss, physiological deterioration, decay, and softening texture. The objective of the present study was to investigate grading of sweet lemon fruit based on quality and visual characteristics using fuzzy logic and ANFIS. Material and Method: Ripe sweet lemon (Citrus limetta) fruits and radish (Raphanus sativus L.) leaves were purchased from the local market in Zanjan, Iran. For emulsion solution preparation, 50 ml alginate sodium solution, 1 ml glycerin and 0 or 10 g radish leaf extract were mixed, then the coating solution volume was made up to 100 ml using distilled water. Finally, the mixture was steered for 200 second. Sweet lemon fruits were dipped in coating solutions or distillate water (for control treatment) for 2 minutes at ambient temperature (25℃) and were then air-dried for 2 h using a fan. All treatments stored at 4℃ for 50 days. Firmness, pH, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids content (TSS), color, and shape were measured at 10-day intervals. This paper introduces an adaptive neural-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model to classify sweet lemon based on the quality parameters and RGB intensity values. The ANFIS with different types of input membership functions (MFs) was developed. A study was performed using fuzzy logic and adaptive neural-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to predict the quality parameters of sweet lemon (firmness and ripening index). Results & Discussion: Our results showed that ‘triangle2mf’ MF performs much better than other mentioned MFs for defect inspection. The classification accuracy of the ANFIS with ‘triangle2mf’ MF was 97.5% and 96.6% for quality input and visual input, respectively, and the total correct classification rate was 97.01%. Therefore, this study indicated the possibility of developing a potentially useful classification tool using the ANFIS technique based on quality parameters and RGB values for fruit classification during processing, storage and distribution. Comparing the results obtained from fuzzy logic with various membership function, showed that the RMSE in the fuzzy logic with ‘guss2mf’ MF was lower than other algorithms. The proposed approach focuses on three research motivations. First, to develop a fuzzy rule-based classification system that can detect all the four quality grades of the sweet lemon. Second, the system should be able to predict the quality parameters of sweet lemon. Fuzzy logic deserved high level of accuracy in classification of sweet lemon, indicating high correlation between the data obtained from Mamdani fuzzy rules and experimental ones during storage time.
Mohsen Zandi; Ali Ganjloo; Mandana Bimakr
Abstract
Introduction: Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida), belonging to the Rosaceae family, consists of small trees and shrubs. The color of the ripe fruit varied from yellow, through green to red and on to dark purple. Most of the species ripen their fruit in early to mid-autumn. Beneficial effects of hawthorn ...
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Introduction: Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida), belonging to the Rosaceae family, consists of small trees and shrubs. The color of the ripe fruit varied from yellow, through green to red and on to dark purple. Most of the species ripen their fruit in early to mid-autumn. Beneficial effects of hawthorn fruit extracts have been confirmed by various studies. Pharmacological data showed that hawthorn fruit and its preparations enhance myocardial contraction and conductivity, protect against ischemia. They have a sedative action, a protective effect against arrhythmia and increase of coronary vessel flow. They have also positive effects on the cardiovascular system. Hawthorn is one of the most widely consumed horticultural products, either in fresh or processed form. It is also an important component of many processed food products because of its excellent flavor, attractive color and high content of many macro- and micro-nutrients. Uncertain storage conditions lead to considerable quality loss in hawthorn fruits, which affect their consumer acceptability. Properties such as color, firmness and moisture provide valuable information for the monitoring of quality changes in postharvest fruits because of their reliability and rapid and easy measurement. These changes are consequences of many biochemical and physiological processes that occur during fruit ripening, such as respiration and transpiration. In addition, these changes depend on the external conditions to which the fruit is exposed. To estimate changes in fruit quality as a function of storage conditions, the evolution of certain quality-indicative properties such as color, firmness or weight can be used to provide related information on the quality grade of the product stored. Kinetic models can be used as tools to describe quantitative physicochemical changes in foods during processing. Kinetic models can be linear or non-linear forms of rate law equations. The rate process of food constituents is usually defined by zero, first or second order kinetics. Method and material: In this study, changes in physicochemical characteristics associated with fruit quality were investigated during various hawthorn fruit storage conditions include: cold (1ºC and RH=90%), refrigerator (10 ºC and RH=85%) and room conditions (25 ºC and RH=60%). Color quality parameters (L*, a*, b*, C*, h* and ΔE), geometrical parameters, weight loss, firmness, total soluble solid (TSS), pH, titratable acidity (TA) and ripening index (RPI) were the measured factors. Different mathematical models were successfully proposed and adjusted to represent the change in physicochemical properties as a function of storage temperature. Among various kinetics model, five models (Zero-order, First-order, Second-order, Fractional conversion and Weibull models) were fitted to experimental data and model parameters in equations were determined by multiple regression analysis. Result and discussion: Storage of hawthorn fruits at different temperature affected their color (L*, a*, b*, C*, h* and ΔE), geometrical, physical (weight loss, firmness) and chemical properties (TSS, pH, TA and RPI). Storage at all conditions had significant impact on the physicochemical parameters analyzed (except some geometrical characteristics). Significant alterations in hawthorn color, firmness and weight loss were observed. The firmness, titratable acidity, pH, ripening index, color characteristics (except a* and C*) decreased while weight loss, total soluble solid, a* and C* increased significantly (p<0.05). Hawthorn stored at low temperatures revealed a delay on quality reduction reactions in terms of color, firmness and weight loss. The results indicated that the First-order and Weibull kinetic models provided the best prediction of the changes in physicochemical parameters. The storage temperature effect was successfully described by the Arrhenius law. Understanding the mechanisms in which these conditions affect the quality changes processes is of great importance because it allows their appropriate modification to maintain quality and maximize storage time. The outcomes of this study provide additional and useful information for hawthorn fruits under various storage conditions.
Mohsen Zandi
Abstract
The aim of the current research was to identify and develop an ideal delivery system in order to protect the vitamin from gastrointestinal conditions. For this purpose, vitamin loaded Alginate-Whey protein micro gels (AL-WPC MGs) developed as a biopolymer carrier. This microcapsule was examined in terms ...
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The aim of the current research was to identify and develop an ideal delivery system in order to protect the vitamin from gastrointestinal conditions. For this purpose, vitamin loaded Alginate-Whey protein micro gels (AL-WPC MGs) developed as a biopolymer carrier. This microcapsule was examined in terms of morphology, ζ-potential particle size and distribution, encapsulation and delivery efficiency, and in vitro gastric and intestinal digestions. Absorbance method was used to monitor B-complex vitamins release over time at the simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Release experiments illustrated beneficial attributes for these microspheres. Release mechanism was predicted by using various kinetic equations. Results indicated that the most of the fabricated spherical shaped AL-WPC MGs was under 100 μm in size, and these microcapsules had an excellent and moderate stability in gastric and intestinal conditions, respectively. It was found that the highest vitamin release rate occurs in the simulated gastric-intestinal situation, and type of the vitamin had a slight effect on the release rate and release profile. Kinetic models suggested that release from group B vitamins mainly was controlled by Fickian diffusion mechanism. In general, this research showed that the AL-WPC MGs protect the vitamin from gastric digestion and could be used as a delivery system.In previous works, a novel AL-WP MGs and use for different active agent encapsulation was developed, while the final purpose of this work was to study the vitamin release mechanism from AL-WPC MGs at the gastro–intestinal situation. Accordingly, this microcapsule showed the highest vitamin release rate at the simulated intestinal situation. This high release could be due to instability of alginate in neutral pH, and also enzymatic digestion of whey protein. The better release of vitamin at intestinal condition is desirable to achieve the nutrient effect during food consumption. This micro gel therefore appears to be potentially beneficial as digestion delivery vehicles for bioactive compounds in the food and nutraceuticals industry as well as non-food industry.
Nazila Dardmeh; Asghar Khosrowshahi; Hadi Almasi; Mohsen Zandi
Abstract
Introduction: Nanocomposites are prepared by introduction of dispersed nanoscale particles into the polymer matrix based on four methods: template synthesis (sol-gel preparation); intercalation of polymer; and in situ intercalative polymerization and last one is melt blending, the most favorable and ...
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Introduction: Nanocomposites are prepared by introduction of dispersed nanoscale particles into the polymer matrix based on four methods: template synthesis (sol-gel preparation); intercalation of polymer; and in situ intercalative polymerization and last one is melt blending, the most favorable and practical method due to its simplest, economical and environmentally friendly technic. This method involves annealing, statically or under shear, a mixture of the polymer and organically modified clay at the softening point of the polymer based on usual compounding devices, such as, extruders or mixers (Papaspyridesb 2008). PET is a semicrystalline thermoplastic polyester which has been extensively used in all sizes as a packaging material in direct contact with food, beverages and as an alternative packaging to polyvinyl chloride for edible oils (Kirwan et al. 2011). As polymeric nanocomposites are mainly used as structural materials, the layered silicate clay are preferred. The crystal lattice of 2:1 layered silicates, consists of two-dimensional layers where a central octahedral sheet of alumina is fused to two external silica tetrahedral by the tip. Montmorillonite (MMT) belongs to type 2:1 layered smectite clay which in the basic structure, the trivalent Al-cation in the octahedral layer is partially substituted by the divalent Mg-cation (Pavlidoua and Papaspyridesb 2008). As evident, MMT is greatly hydrophilic in the interlayer and incompatible with organic polymer such as PET, thus to increase compatibility of clay with polymer, inorganic inter-layer cations (Na+, K+ or Ca2+) exchanged by the cationic surfactants (e.g., quaternary ammonium salt). Modified MMT or organoclay interacts better with polymer due to its increased gallery space (Utracki et al. 2007; Parvinzadeh et al.2010). Three different types polymer/clay nanocomposites can be obtained depending on the preparation method and the nature of the components used, including polymer matrix, layered silicate and organic cation. Tactoid nanocomposites formed when stacks of modified layered silicates are retained after introduction into the polymer. Subsequently, interaction between the nanolayers and polymer is not only unsuccessful but reduces mechanical properties of composite as well. Our main objective of this research was to study the effect of the nanoclay addition on mechanical, colorimetric and transparency properties of poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nanocmposite films. Materials and methods: Bottle-grade poly (ethylene terephthalate) granules with intrinsic viscosity of (IV) = 0.82 dl g-1 were provided by the Iranian Tondgooyan Petrochemical company. The organically modified montmorillonite, Cloisite 15A, was supplied by Southern Clay Products Inc. Standard of TPA was supplied from Fluka Chemical, trademarked Sigma-Aldrich Corp., Switzerland. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) grade water, aceto-nitrile, acetic acid and methanol (HPLC grade) were purchased from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). TPA was dissolved into methanol with a slight increase in temperature. Working standard solutions were prepared on the day of use at concentrations of 0.4, 40, 100 and 1,000 ppb and calibration graphs were plotted using these concentrations of standard solutions. The PET granules and nanoclay particles were dried in an oven for 24 h at 110 and 80C before extrusion, respectively. Melt blending technique was used for preparing nanocomposite films in a co-rotating twin screw extruder ZSK 25 .The temperature profile (throat to die) was as follows: 250, 270, 275, 270, 270 and 265C with a screw speed of 250 rpm. PET granules were dry mixed with 1, 3, and 5% wt of Cloisite 15A. The total weight of material per batch was 300 g. The resulting nano-composite strand was cooled in a water bath, granulated and dried overnight in oven at 110C. A laboratory press with a temperature plates of 280C under a pressure of 5 MPa for 10 min was applied to compress specimens. Then cooled them in water and ice bath to achieve transparent films. The influence of different amount of nanoclay addition on resultant nanocmposites was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and mechanical test. Also, influence of nanoclay presence on water vapor permeability (WVP), color and transparency of the nanocomposites were investigated. Results & Discussion: The results showed that nanoclay addition improved the mechanical properties (Young’s modulus, elongation at break and tensile strength) and WVP up to 3% (wt). However, nanoclay addition reduced the transparency of resultant nanocomposites films but it prevented wave transmission at three UV region which leads to better protective effect of film as a food packaging materials. It seems that introduction of Cloisite 15A into the PET matrix reinforced the mechanical properties of resultant nanocomposites. The Young’s modulus of the nanocompo-sites significantly increased compared with the neat PET, indicating that PET/Cloisite 15A nanocomposites were stiffer than PET. The maximum Young’s modulus was observed for PET/C15A containing 3% wt with an increment about 8 MPa. This increase in modulus may be attributed to uniform dispersion and alignment of nanoclay along with compatibil-ity with PET matrix as confirmed by XRD, DSC and SEM. The Young’s modulus enhancement is consistent with that of other research (KIMet al. 2007; Scaffaroet al. 2011; Ghanbari et al. 2013a,b]. Tensile strength like elongation at break shows same trend, increases on increasing nanoclay content except for nanocomposite containing 5% which indicates brittle behavior compared to PET. This can be explained consider-ing that higher aspect ratio of nanoclay tends to aggregate and forms tactoids (as shown in SEM and XRD) and conse-quently indicates poor mechanical properties.
Mohsen Zandi; Mohebbat Mohebbi; Mehdi Varidi; Navid Ramazanian
Abstract
.Introduction: Flavor release from food during consumption in the mouth plays an important role in flavor perception and influenced by the food matrix. Since, food matrix changes biochemically and physically during eating, therefore, food flavor microencapsulation results in controlled release at specific ...
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.Introduction: Flavor release from food during consumption in the mouth plays an important role in flavor perception and influenced by the food matrix. Since, food matrix changes biochemically and physically during eating, therefore, food flavor microencapsulation results in controlled release at specific situations. On the other hand, stability and availability of flavors are affected by food processing and storage. To control the flavor release at specific condition during consumption or stability and availability during food processing and storage; it is essential to encapsulate flavor components before use in food complex. Encapsulation is the term for a collection of technique that used as delivery of active and bioactive parts. This novel technology enables isolated of gases, liquid droplets, or solid particles in the core of microscopic vesicular system with porous or non porous semi permeable shell that release occurs in response to the specific situations. Controling release of active compound depends on microcapsule characteristics such as pore size, mechanical stability of the colloidal shell, shell thickness and shell permeability; molecular size and solubility of active parts in the shell and properties of the release media including shear force, temperature, pH, ionic strength, etc. This paper presents the formation and characterization of novel diacetyl encapsulated alginate-whey protein concentrate (AL-WPC) microcapsules. Diacetyl release was investigated at simulated mouth condition in different ratios of artificial saliva (0, 1:4 and 1:8) and three various oral shear rates (0, 50 and 100 s-1) and the diffusion coefficient was estimated using Fick’s law. The main aim of this work was to develop a prediction model to study the flavor release from microcapsules. Materials and Methodes: Aiming to show the applicability of our agent-based model platforms, the release of 2,3-butanedione (diacetyl) from alginate-whey protein concentrate (AL-WPC) microcapsules was used as a case study to validate our simulation model based on NetLogo platforms. For this purpose, our previous work on evaluation of diacetyl encapsulated alginate-whey protein microspheres release kinetics and mechanism at simulated mouth conditions was used (Zandi, M., Mohebbi, M., Varidi, M., Ramezanian, N., 2014). In previous our work, encapsulated diacetyl release was measured at three oral shear rates (0, 50 and100 s-1) and various ratios of saliva to microcapsule (0, 1:4 and 1:8) simulating mouth conditions. Then, experimental release data were fitted using different kinetic models. It was found that release from these microcapsules followed a classical Fickian diffusion. We use release data for calculating release rate. For model validating, diffusion equation was fitted to the experimental data, and diffusion coefficient was obtained for diacetyl release at various mouth conditions. To this purpose, the following model was obtained by solving unsteady diffusion equation in spherical coordinate:(M(t))/M_0 =100-exp(-(3×D×(R+b))/(R^2×b)×t) (1)where M (t) and M0 are the diacetyl release at time t and 0 respectively, R is a microcapsules radius (m), t is time, D is the diffusion coefficient and b is the shell thickness (m). We also use diffusion coefficient to calculate permeability for each specific condition by equation (2): P=(D×K)/b (2)Where P is the permeability coefficient, D is the diffusion coefficient and K is the partition coefficient.Finally, the model and experimental data were analyzed using Matlab software (R2007).Result and Discussion: In our study, AL-WPC microcapsule was fabricated by emulsification/internal gelation method, and diacetyl was loaded into microcapsule. Most of microspheres had a completely spherical shape with smooth surface, and range in size from 20-150 μm. The diacetyl encapsulated microsphere had a porous and smooth shell with some holes that caused the quicker diacetyl release initially. The mean hydrodynamic diameter 112.8 ± 0.9 μm (mean value ± SD for n= 2) was measured via particle size analyzer (DLS). the high efficiency of 79.34% was obtained for diacetyl encapsulated AL-WPC microcapsule. About 20% of diacetyl was loosed because of the solubility and volatility of the diacetyl molecule (diacetyl is a low molecular weight and water soluble component).. Conclusion: It was showed that the shear rate of release media had a significant (p
Mohsen Zandi; Nazila Dardmeh; Sajad Pirsa; Hadi Almasi
Abstract
Ohmic heating has an advantage over conventional indirect heating methods because heater (electrode) surfaces temperatures are comparatively lower as heat is generated within bulk fluid. Conventional ohmic heating under typical low frequency alternating current (50 or 60 Hz) could cause hydrogen and ...
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Ohmic heating has an advantage over conventional indirect heating methods because heater (electrode) surfaces temperatures are comparatively lower as heat is generated within bulk fluid. Conventional ohmic heating under typical low frequency alternating current (50 or 60 Hz) could cause hydrogen and oxygen evolution due to electrolysis of water. This process could develop the electrodes decay or corrosion. Any decay or corrosion of electrodes shorten the life time and contaminate the food.in this study Concentrations of Fe, Cr, Ni, Mn, and Mo from the stainless steel electrode migrated into ohmically and conventionally treated soup were measured. migration of the major key metal ions from stainless steel measured by Atomic Absorbtion shows that Overall ohmic treatment yielded reduced migration residues of all metal ions, compared to the conventional retorting with similar electrodes. Concentrations of all metal ions migrated into food samples after ohmic treatment were far lower than dietary exposure levels so that this technique can ensure the safety and quality of food supplies.
