Extending the storage life of ‘Khao Kriap Waue’–A traditional Thai glutinous rice-based snack

Khao Kriap Waue (KKW) containing the usual 200 g kg^?1 sugar, can be stored for 1 week at ambient temperature (28 ± 2°C) in the unpuffed, intermediate moisture form (170 g kg^?1 moisture) before mould growth becomes apparent (10⁴ colonies g^?1 moist weight or higher). Reducing its moisture content to <130 g kg^?1 made the product brittle, with poor puffing ability. The use of butyl parabenzoate extended the storate life to 2 weeks by delaying but not preventing mould growth. Storage in high barrier vacuum packaging extended the shelf-life to 12 weeks, compared with 1 week in manually air-expelled polyprophylene (PP), low-density polyethylene (LDPE) or high-density polyethylene packaging. Increasing the sugar content of 350 g kg^?1 glutinous-rice, lowered a_wto 0.65. made the product pliable and puffable, and increased the storage life of the unpuffed KKW to about 4 weeks. Puffed KKW which usually would not stay crunchy for more than 3 h after puffing, can be stored for less than 2 months in LDPE, but remained crunchy and acceptable for more than 6 months in aluminium/polyethylene laminate or PP. The use of PP, however, is more economical than aluminium/polyethylene laminate.     

Detection of expired vacuum-packed smoked salmon based on PLS-DA method using hyperspectral images

Consumers want fresh food with a long shelf-life, which in 2010, resulted in an important increase in packaged and processed food. This is especially important for fishery products due to their highly perishable nature. One problem is that it is not possible to measure freshness in packaged food only using the visible spectrum. Moreover, the detection of freshness is a complex problem as fish has different tissues with different biodegradation processes. Therefore, it would be especially interesting to have a non-destructive method to evaluate the shelf-life of packed processed fish. This paper proposes a method for detecting expired packaged salmon. Firstly, this method uses hyperspectral imaging spectroscopy (HIS) using visible and SW-NIR wavelengths. Secondly, a classification of different salmon tissues is carried out by image segmentation. Finally, classifications of expired or non expired salmon are performed with the PLS-DA statistical multivariate method due to the large amount of captured data. In a similar way, spectral data and the physicochemical, biochemical and microbiological properties of salmon are correlated using partial least squares (PLSs). The result obtained has a classification success rate of 82.7% in cross-validation from real commercial samples of salmon. Therefore, this is a promising technique for the non-destructive detection of expired packaged smoked salmon.     

New procedure for the study of odour representativeness of aromatic extracts from smoked salmon

The representativeness of an aromatic extract of smoked salmon obtained from simultaneous steam distillation and extraction with diethyl ether is discussed. After extraction, the extract is diluted in ethanol with an evaporation of diethyl ether, which allows the extract to be redeposited on matrices physically similar to those of the original product. When the shift of the matrix effect is taken into account, the sensorial results are closer to reality and more representative of the real interaction conditions between the matrix and the extract. Several sensory methods are used to describe the representativeness of the smoked salmon extracts, such as triangular and notation tests. Preliminary work is carried out on standards known both to contribute to the aroma of many seafood products and to have a high volatility in comparison with those expected in smoked salmon in order to test the method in difficult conditions of recovery. This enables the recovery yield of the extraction (from 62% for limonene to 97% for 2-methylphenol) to be assessed leading to a better characterization of the representativeness taking into account the odour dilutions. The final aromatic extract is found to be about 70% representative of the original product.     

Hygienic evaluation of smoked sausages produced by traditional and improved technologies]

The results of the physico-chemical and hygienic investigations of smoked sausages produced according to the improved technology were compared to those of routine products. The changes in the content of smoking substances in uncooked smoked sausage depend on the duration of smoking and drying. Microstructural and microbiological data, as well as carcinogenic compounds detected in the samples studied have been presented. It has been shown that the use of vacuum evaporation improves the product structure and significantly decreases the content of carcinogenic substances in smoked sausages, as well as makes better their taste and scent, that leads to the improvement of consumer's properties of the product.     

Sanddorn und Sanddornöle – Neuere Entwicklungen in China und Zentralasien –

Sea buckthorn and sea buckthorn oils – Recent developments in China and Central Asia – Since several years, sea buckthorn and sea buckthorn oils are booming in China, Russia and Central Asia. The background of this development is described and the different species and varieties of sea buckthorn are mentioned. The two different oils obtained from sea buckthorn (pulp oil and seed oil) and their composition is discussed. The use of sea buckthorn and its oils for medical and pharmaceutical purposes has its roots in ancient Tibet. The various “health claims”, particularly by Russian and Chinese medical authorities, could not be discussed here. However, a number of recent papers are quoted here without further comment.     

The mycobiota of speck, a traditional Tyrolean smoked and cured ham

Speck is a ham specialty product traditionally produced in South Tyrol (Italy) and North Tyrol (Austria) by farmers, butcheries, and meat industries. To date, nothing has been learned about fungi associated with this smoked and cured meat. Therefore, it was the main objective of this study to assess the typical mycobiota of Speck in relation to the different production types and the geographic provenance. A total of 121 Speck samples from North Tyrol and South Tyrol was analyzed. From 63 isolated fungal species, only a few can be regarded as typical colonizers: Eurotium rubrum and Penicillium solitum were the dominating species in all types and parts of Speck (crust, meat, and fat). Eight other Penicillium spp. were relatively frequent. The species diversity increased from industrially produced Speck to products from butcheries and farmers, and it was higher in all types of South Tyrolean products. Among the typical mycobiota, Penicillium verrucosum, Penicillium canescens, and Penicillium commune are known as potentially mycotoxigenic.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in two Spanish traditional smoked sausage varieties: “Androlla” and “Botillo”

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content in two traditional smoked sausages from Spain was determined. Determination and quantification of PAHs in smoked sausages were performed by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Results showed, that total mean levels of PAHs found were higher in “Androlla” (36.45 µg/kg) than in “Botillo” (29.39 µg/kg) although no significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed. In all examined samples content of phenanthrene was the highest in the two traditional sausage varieties. The maximum level for benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) of 5 µg/kg in smoked meat products was not exceeded in any samples. BaP represented 1.3% and 1.2% in “Androlla” and “Botillo” samples, respectively of the total sum of the 15 PAHs investigated in both sausages. Correlation statistic analysis (P < 0.01) showed that BaP was a good marker for 6 IARC possible and probable carcinogenic PAHs in “Androlla” samples (R_BaP/6IARC = 0.63) and in “Botillo” samples (R_BaP/6IARC = 0.96).