BACKGROUND DRYING IS ONE OF THE OLDEST PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES USED IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY. THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS EVOLVED AND DIFFERENT DRYING SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN APPLIED, SUCH AS CONVECTION, CONDUCTION, OR RADIATION, AND COMBINATIONS THEREOF. SCOPE AND APPROACH THIS REVIEW STUDIES THE VMD PROCESS WHOSE PRINCIPLE IS BASED ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION EMITTED BY THE MAGNETRON ON A FOOD MATRIX IN A REDUCED PRESSURE ENVIRONMENT AND WHICH IS TRANSFORMED INTO HEAT. VMD IS A PROMISING, FAST, AND EFFICIENT PROCESS FOR REDUCING MOISTURE CONTENT. BOTH RESEARCH AND INDUSTRIAL USE HAVE GROWN BY 303% IN THE LAST 20 YR. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS REVIEW IS TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN VMD RESEARCH AND ITS APPLICATION IN VARIOUS FOODS AND OTHER MATERIALS. BASED ON THE CHARACTERISTICS AND PARAMETERS OF THE VMD EQUIPMENT IN THE DRYING PROCESS, IT WAS POSSIBLE TO CLASSIFY THE EFFECT VMD HAS ON DIFFERENT FOOD MATRICES. KEY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS THE REVIEW DESCRIBES THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE DRYING PROCESS AND HOW TO OPTIMIZE IT USING EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS WITH COMPUTER SIMULATIONS. THE DIFFERENT VMD SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN CLASSIFIED AS STATIC, ROTARY, CONTINUOUS FLOW, AND PROPRIETARY EQUIPMENT. IN ADDITION TO SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF PROCESS EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION, VMD EXHIBITS ENERGY CONSUMPTION SAVINGS OF APPROXIMATELY 50% COMPARED WITH OTHER DRYING SYSTEMS. FINALLY, PRODUCT QUALITY IS DISCUSSED UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS, SUCH AS EQUIPMENT DESIGN AND TEMPERATURE UNIFORMITY. THUS, IT IS CHALLENGING TO DESIGN AND BUILT NEW VMD SYSTEMS WITH HIGHER ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN FOOD DRYING.

LIPOSOMES PROVIDE PROTECTION, TRANSPORT, AND DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR DRUGS AND FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS. THIS REVIEW STUDIED LIPOSOME-BASED FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS, EFFECTS OF ELECTRIC FIELDS ON LIPID MEMBRANES, METHODS TO DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF ELECTROPORATION, AND SOME GOVERNING EQUATIONS OF THE ELECTROPORATION PHENOMENON. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF SOME ASPECTS TO CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING AND MANUFACTURING FOOD LIPOSOMES THAT ARE STABLE IN ELECTRIC FIELDS; THIS WAS BASED ON STUDIES CONDUCTED IN MEDICINE, PHARMACOLOGY, AND THE FOOD INDUSTRY. THE EFFECTS OF PULSED ELECTRIC FIELDS AND HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE PROCESSING ON PHOSPHOLIPID MEMBRANES WERE STUDIED; THESE CAN BE EXTRAPOLATED TO LIPOSOMES UNDER FOOD PROCESSING CONDITIONS USING ELECTRIC FIELDS. THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS OF THE LIPID MEMBRANE AND ADDING LAYERS TO THE LIPOSOME SURFACE WERE RELATED TO HIGHER ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE. FLUORESCENCE, IMPEDANCE, CONDUCTIVITY, AND VOLTAGE METHODS WERE DEFINED TO DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF ELECTROPORATION AND MATHEMATICAL MODELS THAT CAN FACILITATE THE ANALYSIS OF THE MECHANISM. FINALLY, THE STUDY OF THE ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES USED BY THE DIFFERENT MATERIALS TO MANUFACTURE LIPOSOMES REMAINS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF POLYPHENOLS PRESENT IN GREEN TEA HAVE SPARKED GREAT INTEREST. HOWEVER, IT IS CRUCIAL TO IDENTIFY PROCESSES THAT ALLOW EFFICIENT EXTRACTION OF THESE COMPONENTS IN A REDUCED TIME, WITHOUT CAUSING NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT. THIS STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE PULSED ELECTRIC FIELD (PEF)-ASSISTED EXTRACTION OF GREEN TEA POLYPHENOLS (GTPS) ON EXTRACTION YIELD AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. THE PEF CONDITIONS (ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTH OF 0.59-5.88 KV/CM, FREQUENCIES OF 1-200 HZ, AND PROCESSING TIMES OF 100-1000 MU S) WERE EVALUATED USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY (RSM) AND ANALYSIS OF LIFE CYCLE. OTHER PROPERTIES WERE ALSO EVALUATED, SUCH AS ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY, RATE OF CELLULAR DISINTEGRATION DUE TO ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY, AND THE ADJUSTMENT OF EMPIRICAL MODELS TO THE KINETICS OF PEF EXTRACTION. THE RESULTS DEMONSTRATED THAT PEF-ASSISTED GTP EXTRACTION, UNDER CONDITIONS OF 5.88 KV/CM, A FREQUENCY OF 200 HZ, AND A PROCESSING TIME OF 1000 MU S, SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE EXTRACTION YIELD (149.87 +/- 0.569%). BY 50%, COMPARED TO MACERATION, THE MAIN FACTOR THAT WAS MOST RELEVANT IN THE EXTRACTION WAS THE ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTH FOLLOWED BY PROCESSING TIME AND FREQUENCY. FURTHERMORE, PEF TREATMENT IMPROVED THE PERCENT INHIBITION OF DPPH (65.711 +/- 1.555%) BY 40% COMPARED TO MACERATION. THE KINETIC STUDY DETERMINED THAT PELEG'S MODEL FIT THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA BETTER (RMSE = 1.212; R2 = 0.978). LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATED THAT EMISSIONS GENERATED BY PEF (0.006 KG CO2 EQ) WERE LOWER THAN THOSE FROM MACERATION (0.073 KG CO2 EQ), MICROWAVE (0.02 KG CO2 EQ), AND ULTRASOUND (0.097 KG CO2 EQ), VALIDATING THE USE OF PEF AS A SUSTAINABLE EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGY.

THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF NANOEMULSIONS CONTAINING CINNAMALDEHYDE (CIN) AT DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS (0.025 %, 0.05 %, AND 0.1 %, V/V) AND TWEEN 80 (0.05 %, V/V) WERE INVESTIGATED. ADDITIONALLY, THE EFFECT OF ALGINATE-BASED COATINGS [1.0 %, (W/V), GLYCEROL 0.125 (ML/G ALGINATE)] INCORPORATED WITH CIN NANOEMULSIONS ON THE QUALITY ATTRIBUTES AND SHELF LIFE OF BUTTON MUSHROOMS (AGARICUS BISPORUS) DURING 16 DAYS OF STORAGE AT 4 °C WAS EVALUATED. NANOEMULSIONS WITH A CIN:TWEEN 80 RATIO OF 1:1 REACHED THE SMALLEST DROPLET SIZE (183 NM) AND WERE THE MOST STABLE. THE QUALITY OF THE MUSHROOMS WAS REMARKABLY IMPROVED BY THE INCORPORATION OF CIN NANOEMULSIONS INTO COATINGS, DECREASING THE RESPIRATION RATE, WEIGHT LOSS, PPO ACTIVITY, AND PSEUDOMONAS COUNTS AND INCREASING RETENTION OF FIRMNESS, COLOR, TOTAL POLYPHENOLS, AND ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY OF MUSHROOMS COMPARED TO THOSE IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THESE RESULTS CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SMALL DROPLET SIZE OF CIN AND ITS RELATIVELY UNIFORM DISPERSION IN THE COATING. NANOEMULSIFIED COATINGS REPRESENT A PROMISING ALTERNATIVE TO MAINTAIN THE QUALITY OF MUSHROOMS AND EXTEND THEIR SHELF LIFE.

ULTRASONIC COMPACTION, ALSO KNOWN AS ULTRASONIC AGGLOMERATION, IS AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY THAT REPRESENTS A NOVEL ALTERNATIVE FOR FOOD AGGLOMERATION; IT IS OF GREAT INTEREST TO THE FOOD INDUSTRY. THIS REVIEW AIMS TO GATHER INFORMATION ON THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL, ORGANOLEPTIC, MICROBIOLOGICAL, AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES GENERATED BY ULTRASOUND AND STUDY THE FUNDAMENTALS OF AGGLOMERATION AND ULTRASOUND IN DIFFERENT FOOD MATRICES. IN ADDITION, CHEMICAL CHANGES ARE REPORTED IN SOME NUTRIENTS RELATED TO CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES, SUCH AS THE DISINTEGRATION OF DIACYLGLYCERIDES INTO MONOACYLGLYCEROLS, DISORDERING OF THE CRYSTALLINE REGION OF STARCH GRANULES TO THE AMORPHOUS PHASE, DISRUPTION OF THE MEMBRANE IN PLANT CELLS, AND TRANSIENT OR PERMANENT MODIFICATION OF THE PROTEIN STRUCTURE (3D FOLDING). THE INCREASING DEVELOPMENT OF PATENTS CAN PROVIDE AN INSIGHT INTO THE POTENTIAL OF ULTRASONIC AGGLOMERATION APPLICATIONS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY.

SOME SHELLFISH, SUCH AS CHILEAN ABALONE, REQUIRE HIGH-ENERGY INTAKE TO ACHIEVE DESIRED ATTRIBUTES FOR TRANSPORT AND CONSUMPTION. DRYING IS THE MOST FEASIBLE METHOD FOR TRANSPORTING THIS PRODUCT. DRYING EFFICIENCY, ENERGY CONSUMPTION, AND DRIED PRODUCT QUALITY ARE ESSENTIAL IN FOOD DRYING. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE THE USE OF PULSED ELECTRIC FIELD (PEF: 2.0 KV/CM???15 ?S WIDE PULSES, 50 PULSES, 1 HZ) AS PRETREATMENT IN THREE DRYING METHODS, VACUUM MICROWAVE DRYING (VMD); FREEZE DRYING (FD); AND HOT AIR DRYING (HAD), IN CHILEAN ABALONE MOLLUSK. DRYING KINETICS, QUALITY, AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION PARAMETERS WERE EVALUATED, AND ENERGY GAS EMISSIONS WERE CALCULATED. THE VMD WITH PEF APPLICATION SHOWED BETTER VALUES THAN THE OTHER DRYING SYSTEMS, OBTAINING DRYING TIMES NEARLY 67% LOWER THAN FD WITH PEF PRETREATMENT?AND NEARLY 83% LOWER THAN FD WITHOUT PEF. FOR QUALITY PARAMETERS, FD?+?PEF SHOWS A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER VALUE OF 250 N FOR HARDNESS, AND A LOWER CHANGE OF COLOR VALUE (?E?=?12). IN THE CASE OF HAD, THE PEF APPLICATION DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCE ITS PROCESSING. REGARDING ENERGY PARAMETERS, VMD USE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND ALL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REPORTED IN THIS WORK, WHETHER PEF WAS USED OR NOT. CONSEQUENTLY, VMD AND PEF HAVE EMERGED AS PROMISING TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING DRYING PROCESSES, MAINTAINING QUALITY, AND LOW GAS EMISSIONS.

A PULSED ELECTRIC FIELD (PEF: 2.0 KV/CM) WAS APPLIED BEFORE VACUUM MICROWAVE DRYING (VMD: 120 W, 120/260 W, AND 260 W AT 40 KPA) ON CHILEAN ABALONE MOLLUSKS. PEF AND VMD EFFECTS ON PROCESS FEATURES (DRYING KINETICS, MODELING, AND SUSTAINABILITY) AND PRODUCT QUALITY (TEXTURE, STRUCTURE, AND DIGESTIBILITY) WERE MEASURED. THE PEF APPLICATION INCREASED MOISTURE DIFFUSIVITY BY UP TO 27% IN THE COMBINED PEF+VMD PROCESS. ACCORDING TO THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS APPLIED TO ALL MATHEMATICAL MODELS, THE LOGARITHMIC MODEL WAS BEST FITTED TO VMD EXPERIMENTAL VALUES. IN TERMS OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION, APPLYING PEF+VMD REDUCED ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY UP TO 33% OF THE 120W AND 120/260W NON-PEF SAMPLES. THE BEST VALUES FOR THE REHYDRATION INDEX WERE OBTAINED WITH THE 120/260W (45%) AND PEF+120/260W (61%) TREATMENTS. IN ADDITION, THESE SAMPLES HAD THE BEST TEXTURE PARAMETERS. THE PEF+120/260W TREATMENT SHOWED THE HIGHEST DEGREE OF HYDROLYSIS (11%) FOR THE CALCULATED PROTEIN EFFICIENCY. FINALLY, USING PEF AS A PRETREATMENT IN A VMD PROCESS CAN BE COST-EFFECTIVE FOR SCALE REPLICATION DUE TO ITS TIME EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCT QUALITY TO CHILEAN ABALONE SAMPLES.