PROCESSING AND QUALITY EVALUATION OF WHOLE CANNED 'DWARF' GOLDEN APPLES (SPONDIAS CYTHEREA)

‘Dwarf’ golden apples (Spondias cytherea) were canned in sucrose syrup of either 30 d?Brix (L) or 40 d?Brix (H). Processing was either by hot filling (HF) of syrup at 92C in filled cans or by steam‐exhausting (SE) of the filled cans at 85C for 12–14 min, followed by processing at 100C for 20 min (W₂₀) or 30 min (W₃₀). Sensory evaluation of commercial sterile products, SE‐LW₃₀ and SE‐LW₃₀ indicated there were no differences (P < 0.05) in appearance, color, taste, aroma and texture. Overall scores indicated that fruits in syrup were liked definitely to like slightly. Panelists indicated that they might or definitely will purchase the products. Fruits in 40 d?Brix syrup were firmer than in 30 d?Brix syrup. By week 8 of storage at 28–30C, pH was stable between 3.6–3.7, and ‘cut‐out’d?Brix of syrup for LW₃₀ and HW₃₀ products was 24.0 – 24.5 and 28.5, respectively.     

Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Schumpeter Revisited

In a large part of the literature on Scbumpeter one finds thatattention is paid to either his early contributions, with referenceto the role of the entrepreneur as the personification of innovation,or to his later contributions, stressing the role of large companiesas main drivers of innovation. This paper complements some recentcontributions to the assessment of the influence of Schumpeteron economics and social sciences in general. It demonstratesthat a careful reading of his writings reveals that there isno simple dichotomy between the ‘old’ and the ‘young’.Entrepreneurial activities play an active role in understandingthe dynamics of innovation throughout Schumpeter's theory.     

Peanut and Walnut Rancidity: Effects of Oxygen Concentration and Relative Humidity

Accelerated tests for oxidative rancidity of blanched peanuts, blanched dry-roasted peanuts, blanched oil-roasted peanuts and shelled Persian walnuts were performed at high and low oxygen content at controlled intermediate and low relative humidities. The results confirmed and quantified the importance of oxygen content, relative humidity and roasting process in the oxidative rancidity of peanuts and walnuts. There is a potential to extend shelf-life of roasted peanuts and walnuts by edible coatings with low oxygen permeability or nitrogen-flushing with oxygen barrier packaging. Static headspace chromatography was useful to monitor oxidative rancidity in walnuts and roasted peanuts.     

CHALLENGE STUDIES WITH CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM TYPE E IN A VALUE-ADDED SURIMI PRODUCT STORED UNDER A MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE

Challenge studies were carried out on raw, cooked, and sterilized surimi nuggets, inoculated with 10⁴ spores/g of C. botulinum type E spores. All products were packaged in air and air with an Ageless SS oxygen absorbent and stored at 4, 12 and 25C. Toxin was not detected in any raw product throughout storage (28 days). The absence of toxigenesis was attributed to the low pH (4.1–4.3) due mainly to the growth of lactic acid bacteria (10⁷CFU/g). Toxin was also not detected in any cooked product after 28 days. Product pH did not decrease as previously (due to the absence of LAB), but counts of C. botulinum still decreased throughout storage.
In sterile nuggets , C. botulinum counts increased to 10⁶ cfu/g at both 12 and 25C, respectively, by 28 days. Lactic acid bacteria and Bacillus spp. were not detected throughout the 28 days storage period. Toxin was detected by days 28 and 14 at 12 and 25C, respectively, and toxigenesis preceded spoilage. The absence of toxin in cooked nuggets was attributed to the anti-botulinal role by Bacillus species, the predominant spoilage bacteria in cooked nuggets.     

Accountability of work activity in high-consequence work systems: human error in context

Organizational context is now accepted as a central concept in attempts to understand error in human–machine systems. However, accounts which emphasize the processes of everyday organizing, such as accountability and work activity, are needed in order to establish organizational requirements for design. In this article, we provide a framework for the consideration of organizational contexts of human error in high-consequence work systems, with a view to integrating empirical insights and supporting practical design work. We draw on computer-supported cooperative work conceptualizations of the process of everyday organizing, particularly the notion of “accountability for work activity” which is pivotal to our organizational account of error. The conceptual framework is characterized here as a set of dimensions which are expressive concerning the relationship between accountability and work activity in different contexts: (1) explicit–implicit; (2) global–local; (3) stable–transient and (4) dependent–independent. The framework is demonstrated with respect to everyday work practices in a radiology department and its analytical utility validated with respect to two documented aviation system failures. Applying the framework has enabled us to identify and define, in terms of the dimensions, a number of contexts for vulnerability in high-consequence systems: contexts for collusion, violation, deference, loss of control, buck passing and complacency. These are discussed in terms of requirements for error-tolerant design. In the final section of the article, links between the various contexts for vulnerability and the design process are explored.     

Fundamentals of stability testing

The principles on which stability tests are based are reviewed. The need to differentiate between product stability and product-container compatibility is emphasized. Recognition of this distinction is fundamental to the efficient organisation and execution of stability tests.
Attention is also drawn to the desirability of having for every product a release specification with which it must comply when manufactured and a broader check specification with which it must comply throughout its shelf-life.
Test methods and the interpretation of the data accrued throughout a test are also discussed.
It is concluded that stability tests should not be conducted in accordance with a standardized routine pattern but that the objectives of each test should be defined and the test designed to achieve those objectives in the most efficient way.
Les regles fondamentales des essais de stabilite     

Leakage of Anthocyanins from Skin of Thawed, Frozen Highbush Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.)

Factors affecting the tendency of thawed blueberries to leak pigmented exudate were investigated. Drip and anthocyanin leakage rates (ALR) were determined spectrophotometrically. Leakage vs time curves were linear or two-phase linear, ALR varying with cultivar, ripeness, and berry condition. Dewaxing increased ALR with most cultivars. ALR did not correlate with berry anthocyanin content, surface area, or cuticle thickness. ALR and amount of drip were poorly correlated. ALR varied from berry-to-berry within samples. Leakage was observed to be nonuniform on berry surfaces, appearing at skin cracks and ruptures, the calyx area, and other point sources. An hypothesis relating leakage to skin condition, fluid accumulation, and anthocyanin content is presented.     

Rates of Crystallization of Dried Lactose-sucrose Mixtures

The isothermal crystallization kinetics of glassy lactose/sucrose mixtures were studied at several storage temperatures (close to T_g and T_m). The kinetic parameters implicit in the Avrami equation were determined. Activation energies for transport (E_D) and surface nucleation (W*) were also found and correlated to the molar composition of the lactose/sucrose mixtures. A monotonic increase in the half crystallization time (t_1/z), Avrami index (n), % crystallization per day, activation energy for transport (E_D) and surface nucleation energy (W*) and a decrease in the crystallization velocity constants (K) were related to the increase in the lactose content of lactose/sucrose mixtures.     

Properties of Edible Films from Total Milk Protein

The mechanical properties and water vapor permeability of edible films made from various total milk proteins (TMPs) were investigated. Two TMPs obtained from nonfat dry milk (NDM) by removing lactose and three TMPs obtained from a commercial source were studied. Lactose was extracted from NDM by ultrafiltration or suspension in ethanol followed by filtration. TMP concentrate obtained by ultrafiltration (UF) produced films with the lowest water vapor permeability (WVP) and the highest tensile strength at break. Commercial TMP concentrates produced films more ductile than those from the UF-TMP or retentate from ethanol extraction. Further research is needed to improve mechanical properties of UF-TMP films without increasing the WVP.     

A SURVEY OF THE PREVALENCE OF SALMONELLA AND OTHER ENTERIC PATHOGENS IN A COMMERCIAL POULTRY FEED MILL

A study of the prevalences of Salmonella, Listeria and thermophilic campylobacters in a dedicated commercial poultry feed mill was undertaken. Salmonella was frequently recovered in samples taken in the preheat and postheat treatment areas of the mill with the overall percentage of samples positive found to be 18.8% and 22.6%, respectively. Feed ingredients and dust collected in the preheat treatment locations within the mill were frequently contaminated with Salmonella (11.8% and 33.3% of samples, respectively). High prevalences of Salmonella were also detected in dust samples (24.2%) obtained from the postheat treatment area of the mill and from feed delivery vehicles (57.1%).
Listeria was also recovered from samples at pre- and postheat treatment areas within the mill with overall isolation rates of 14.1% and 18.5% observed, respectively. The most frequently observed species of Listeria recovered from samples in both areas within the mill was L. innocua, L. monocytogenes, L. grayi and L. welshimeri.
No thermophilic campylobacters were recovered from any of the samples analyzed in the current study.