Abstract: The agriculture industry is especially vulnerable to forecasted water shortages. In the fresh and fresh-cut produce sector, conventional flume-based washing with recirculation exhibits high water demand. This leads to a large water footprint and possible cross-contamination of pathogens. These can be alleviated through advanced water reuse processes, such as membrane technologies including reverse osmosis (RO). Water reuse technologies effectively remove dissolved constituents but can easily foul without pre-treatment. Biological treatment is effective for the removal of organic compounds responsible for fouling, but not at the low temperatures encountered at most produce processing facilities. This study showed that the Microvi MicroNiche Engineering (MNE) technology effectively removes organic compounds (> 80%) at low temperatures (6-8 °C) from wash water. The MNE technology uses synthetic microorganism-material composites with negligible solids production, making it advantageously situated as an effective bio-pretreatment for RO. A preliminary technoeconomic analysis showed 60-80% savings in operation and maintenance costs (OPEX) when using the Microvi MNE technology for organics removal. This study and the accompanying economic analysis indicated that the proposed technology process will substantially reduce the cost barrier for adopting water reuse practices, thereby contributing to increased food safety and furthering sustainable water reuse processes across the agricultural industry.
Abstract: Psyllium gum alone and in combination with
sunflower oil was investigated as a possible alternative edible coating
for improvement of quality and shelf life of fresh-cut papaya.
Different concentrations including 0.5, 1 and 1.5 percent of psyllium
gum were used for coating of fresh-cut papaya. In some samples,
refined sunflower oil was used as a lipid component to increase the
effectiveness of coating in terms of water barrier properties. Soya
lecithin was used as an emulsifier in coatings containing oil.
Pretreatment with 1% calcium chloride was given to maintain the
firmness of fresh-cut papaya cubes. 1% psyllium gum coating was
found to yield better results. Further, addition of oil helped to
maintain the quality and acted as a barrier to water vapour, therefore,
minimizing the weight loss.
Abstract: Experiments were carried out at the Latvia State
Institute of Fruit-Growing in 2011. Fresh-cut minimally processed
apple and pear mixed salad were packed by passive modified
atmosphere (MAP) in PP containers, which were hermetically sealed
by breathable conventional BOPP PropafreshTM P2GAF, and Amcor
Agrifresh films. Biodegradable NatureFlexTM NVS INNOVIA Films
and VC999 BioPack PLA films coated with a barrier of pure silicon
oxide (SiOx) were used to compare the fresh-cut produce quality
with this packed in conventional packaging films. Samples were cold
stored at temperature +4.0±0.5 °C up to 10 days. The quality of salad
was evaluated by physicochemical properties – weight losses,
moisture, firmness, the effect of packaging modes on the colour,
dynamics in headspace atmosphere concentration (CO2 and O2),
titratable acidity values, as well as by microbiological contamination
(yeasts, moulds and total bacteria count) of salads, analyzing before
packaging and after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 storage days.
Abstract: carrot is one of the important root vegetable crops,
and it is highly nutritious as it contains appreciable amount of
vitamins, minerals and β-carotene. The major objective of current
research was to evaluate the chemical composition of carrot variety
'Nante' hybrids in general and to select the best samples for fresh-cut
salad production. The research was accomplished on fresh in Latvia
cultivated carrots harvested in Zemgale region in the first part of
October, 2011 and immediately used for experiments. Late-bearing
variety 'Nante' hybrid carrots were used for analysis:
'Nante/Berlikum', 'Nante/Maestro', 'Nante/Forto', 'Nante/Bolero'
and 'Nante/Champion'. The quality parameters as moisture, soluble
solid, firmness, b-carotene, carotenoid, color, polyphenols, total
phenolic compounds and total antioxidant capacity were analyzed
using standard methods. For fresh-cut salad production as more
applicable could be recommended hybrids 'Nante/Forto' and
'Nante/Berlikum' - mainly because it-s higher nutritive value, as
higher total phenolic compounds, polyphenols and pronounced
antioxidant capacity.