Browsing by Author "Fidalgo, Liliana G."
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Chemical-based methodologies approaches to extend the shelf life of fresh fish — a reviewPublication . Amaral, Renata A.; Pinto, Carlos A.; Lima, Vasco; Tavares, Jéssica; Martins, Ana P.; Fidalgo, Liliana G.; Silva, Ana M.; Gil, Maria M.; Teixeira, Paula; Barbosa, Joana; Barba, Francisco J.; Saraiva, Jorge A.Due to its characteristics, fresh fish is a highly perishable food with a very short shelf-life under refrigeration. Several methods have been introduced to slow down its deterioration, such as by means of oxygen depletion of the food package (vacuum packaging), or by changing the natural atmosphere that is in contact with the fresh fish (modified atmosphere packaging), or by the use of chemicals generally recognized as safe: such compounds can be directly applied (by dipping or spraying) or incorporated into packaging materials and slowly migrate to the product, exerting a hurdle effect against microbial development and lipid oxidation (active packaging). This review aims to cover the most recent advances in chemical-based approaches for fresh fish preservation, applied either singly or in combination. Vacuum packaging, modified atmosphere, and active packaging preservation methodologies are presented, along with the inclusion of chemical additives, such as organic acids and natural extracts, and their combination with icing systems. Advantages and disadvantages of these methodologies and their impact on fresh fish quality and shelf-life are discussed, reaching the conclusion that both are positively influenced overall. Indeed, the contribution of chemical-based strategies for fresh fish preservation is undeniable, and is expected to be a research topic of increasing interest in the future.
- Environmental footprint of emerging technologies, regulatory and legislative issuesPublication . Castro, Sónia M.; Inácio, Rita S.; Alexandre, Elisabete M. C.; Fidalgo, Liliana G.; Pereira, Sofia; Quaresma, Patrícia; Freitas, Paulo; Teixeira, Paula; Pintado, Maria Manuela; Gomes, Ana M.; Tonello, Carole; Saraiva, Jorge A.Consumers are more demanding, better educated in terms of food quality and nutritional aspects, and forcing producers along with regulatory agencies to search for alternative processing technologies. Some of these technologies like high pressure, pulsed electrical fields, supercritical CO2, ultrasound, ozone, or plasma treatment are at industrially use, pilot scale, or even at the edge of application, but the most successful ones at the moment, with already a wide variety of commercial products, are high hydrostatic pressure and pulsed electrical fields. These technologies offer better products, both “natural” in terms of fresh-like flavor and ingredients and safe with extended shelf-life. This tendency leads to the need for a global regulation system that ensures quality of food regardless of country of origin and, at the same time, without compromising safety. In addition to this system, there should be governing bodies that regulate and monitor the enforcement of these food-processing regulations, to avoid regulations that often only apply to countries belonging to specific organizations. Together with food legislation concerns, sustainable food manufacturing and related efficient energy use have also became priorities of the food industries. While conventional preservation processes (e.g., canning, freezing, drying) mainly use thermal energy, more complex processes use mechanical, electromagnetic, electrical, and other forms of energy, which can reduce the energy consumption. Indeed the efficient use of resources in food industry is a critical element for the future generations for sustainable food processing, but the impact of energy requirements in emerging technologies has not been a matter of intense discussion. The objective of this chapter is to provide a concise overview of environmental footprint of emerging technologies, namely high-pressure processing and pulsed electric fields, and their current related food legislation status in various countries.
- First insights into macromolecular components analyses of an insect meal using hyperspectral imagingPublication . Silva, Flávia Matias Oliveira da; Fidalgo, Liliana G.; Inácio, Rita S.; Fantatto, Rafaela; Carvalho, Maria J.; Murta, Daniel; Pereira, Nuno S. A.The non-invasive nutritional analysis of feed through images captured by hyperspectral cameras represents an innovative and promising approach in the field of biotechnology. With this technology, it is possible to capture images at multiple wavelengths and identify unique spectral patterns associated with different molecular components, such as total fat and moisture. The technique is particularly valuable in biological environments, enabling a more detailed and comprehensive analysis of the presence and distribution of nutrients. The objective of this work was to perform a nutritional pre-characterization of Hermetia illucens (Black Soldier Fly-BSF) larvae meal, using hyperspectral images in the range of 400–1000 nm, with a spectral resolution of 7 nm and a spatial sampling of 512 pixels, and correlate them to traditional chemical analysis methods. The results were also compared to wheat flour samples. The chemical results of BSF meal indicated 7.2% ± 0.05% (w/w) and 28.15% ± 0.15% (w/w) in moisture and total fat content, respectively. When compared to wheat flour, BSF meal contains less total fat and this difference was clearly identified in the spectra derived from the hyperspectral images, which underscores the efficiency and utility of multispectral cameras to conduct real-time and non-destructive analyses. Furthermore, this analysis can be extended to other components (e.g., protein content), increasing the potential of the technique for feed characterization.