MODERN LIFE HAS CREATED A HIGH DEMAND FOR FUNCTIONAL FOOD, AND IN THIS CONTEXT, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS VACUUM IMPREGNATION AND OHMIC HEATING HAVE BEEN APPLIED TO GENERATE FUNCTIONAL FOODS. THE AIM OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO ENRICH THE CONTENT OF THE SEMI-ESSENTIAL AMINO ACID L-ARGININE IN APPLE CUBES USING VACUUM IMPREGNATION, CONVENTIONAL HEATING, AND OHMIC HEATING. ADDITIONALLY, COMBINED VACUUM IMPREGNATION/CONVENTIONAL HEATING AND VACUUM IMPREGNATION/OHMIC HEATING TREATMENTS WERE EVALUATED. THE ABOVE TREATMENTS WERE APPLIED AT 30, 40 AND 50 ? AND COMBINED WITH AIR-DRYING AT 40 ? IN ORDER TO OBTAIN AN APPLE SNACK RICH IN L-ARGININE. BOTH THE IMPREGNATION KINETICS OF L-ARGININE AND SAMPLE COLOR WERE EVALUATED. THE IMPREGNATED SAMPLES CREATED USING VACUUM IMPREGNATION/OHMIC HEATING AT 50 ? PRESENTED A HIGH CONTENT OF L-ARGININE, AN EFFECT ATTRIBUTED PRIMARILY TO ELECTROPERMEABILIZATION. OVERALL, VACUUM IMPREGNATION/OHMIC HEATING TREATMENT AT 50 ?, FOLLOWED BY DRYING AT 40 ?, WAS THE BEST PROCESS FOR OBTAINING AN APPLE SNACK RICH IN L-ARGININE.

THE AIM OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE ACCELERATION OF BRINE-SALTING PROCESS OF SALMON WHEN COUPLING IT WITH MODERATE ELECTRIC FIELD (MEF). SALMON SAMPLES WERE CUT INTO CYLINDER SHAPE (0.025?±?0.001?M DIAMETER AND 0.025?±?0.001?M HEIGHT), AND THEN BRINED AT TWO SALT CONCENTRATIONS (6 OR 24%) UNTIL EQUILIBRIUM IS REACHED. PROCESSING TIME, SALT CONCENTRATION THROUGHOUT TIME, MOISTURE CONTENT, COLOR, AND HARDNESS OF SALMON SAMPLES WERE DETERMINED. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE EFFECTIVE DIFFUSION COEFFICIENTS (DE) OF SALT WITHIN SALMON TISSUE, WERE IN THE RANGE 3.28 × 10?10 TO 4.22 × 10?10 M2/S FOR BOTH STANDARD PROCESS AND COUPLED WITH MEF, WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES (P?>?.05). EVEN THOUGH DE HAD NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES FOR BOTH PROCESSES, PROCESSING TIME FOR MEF TREATMENTS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY SHORTER, DUE TO DIFFERENCES IN THE EQUILIBRIUM SALT CONCENTRATION. ALSO, MEF DID NOT AFFECT QUALITY PARAMETERS WHEN COMPARED WITH STANDARD PROCESS. IN ADDITION, MEF TREATMENTS SHOWED AN INCREASED SALT CONCENTRATION IN THE FINAL PRODUCT.

THE CHANGES OF LIFESTYLE AND EATING HABITS OF CONSUMERS HAVE INDUCED A GROWTH IN THE DEMAND FOR FUNCTIONAL FOOD. THE AIM OF THIS WORK WAS TO STUDY THE INCORPORATION OF FOLIC ACID INTO APPLE SLICES BY USING OHMIC HEATING (OH) AND VACUUM IMPREGNATION (VI) AT 30, 40 AND 50 °C AND AIR DRYING AT 50, 60 AND 70 °C TO OBTAIN AN APPLE SNACK THAT IS RICH IN FOLIC ACID. THE KINETIC IMPREGNATION OF FOLIC ACID, TEXTURE AND COLOR WERE EVALUATED. THE IMPREGNATED SAMPLES (VI) AT 40 °C AND VACUUM-IMPREGNATED SAMPLES WITH OHMIC HEATING (VI/OH) AT 50 °C PRESENTED A HIGH CONTENT OF FOLIC ACID, WHEREAS THE SAMPLES AIR DRIED AT 60 °C PRESENTED AN IMPORTANT RETENTION OF FOLIC ACID. THE LOWEST LOSS OF FIRMNESS AND COLOR WAS OBTAINED WITH THE VI/OH TREATMENT AT 50 °C WITH DRYING AT 60 °C. THEREFORE, THE VI/OH TREATMENT AT 50 °C FOLLOWED BY DRYING AT 60 °C WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE BEST PROCESS FOR CREATING DEHYDRATED APPLE SLICES THAT ARE RICH IN FOLIC ACID.

CENTRIFUGATION IS AN ALTERNATIVE ASSISTED TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF BLOCK FREEZE CONCENTRATION. IN THIS STUDY REPORTED THE CENTRIFUGATION TO ENHANCE THE SEPARATION OF CONCENTRATED SOLUTION FROM FROZEN FRUIT JUICES (BLUEBERRY AND PINEAPPLE) IN THREE CRYOCONCENTRATION CYCLES. TO FORCE THE SEPARATION OF SOLUTES FROM THE FROZEN SAMPLES WE USED A CENTRIFUGE OPERATED FOR 10 MIN AT 20 °C AND 4600 RPM. THIS TECHNIQUE HAS GOOD PERFORMANCE AFTER THE THIRD CYCLE, REACHING AN INCREASE OF APPROXIMATELY 2.5 TIMES THE INITIAL CONCENTRATIONS OF SOLIDS, VALUES CLOSE TO 0.74 KG SOLUTE PER 1 KG INITIAL SOLUTE, AND APPROXIMATELY 60% OF THE PERCENTAGE OF CONCENTRATE. THE PERFORMANCE OF BLOCK FREEZE CONCENTRATION ASSISTED BY CENTRIFUGATION APPLIED TO FRUIT JUICES WAS ATTRIBUTED TO ICE MATRIX ACTING AS A POROUS SOLID THROUGH WHICH THE CONCENTRATED SOLUTION PERCOLATES THROUGH DRAINAGE CHANNELS OF THE ICE IMPROVED BY THE CENTRIFUGAL FORCE. INDUSTRIAL RELEVANCE THE BLOCK FREEZE CONCENTRATION ALLOWS PRODUCING FOOD CONCENTRATES WITH HIGH QUALITY WHEN THAWED A FROZEN SOLUTION ASSISTED OR NOT BY A TECHNIQUE TO ENHANCE THE SEPARATION EFFICIENCY. IN THIS WORK HAS APPLIED CENTRIFUGATION AS AN ASSISTED TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF BLOCK FREEZE CONCENTRATION APPLIED TO FRUIT JUICES, OBTAINING PROMISSORY RESULTS.

BLUEBERRIES ARE A SOFT AND SMALL FRUIT NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA WITH AN ATTRACTIVE BLUE COLOR. IN ADDITION, BLUEBERRIES ARE VERY POPULAR BECAUSE THEY HAVE LOW CALORIES, HIGH NUTRITIONAL VALUE AND IMPORTANT ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES. BLUEBERRIES HAVE AN INTERESTING CONTENT OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS WITH HIGH ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY AGAINST FREE RADICALS AND REACTIVE SPECIES, SUCH THAT BLUEBERRY CONSUMPTION MAY HAVE A POTENTIAL BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON HUMAN HEALTH. INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY ARE NEW TECHNOLOGIES BASED TO DEVELOP MORE EFFICIENT PROCESS OR PRODUCTS, REDUCTION OF ENERGY AND WATER. INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS FREEZE CONCENTRATION, OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION AND VACUUM IMPREGNATION AT MILD TEMPERATURES, ARE CONSIDERED MINIMAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES BECAUSE THEY PRESERVE THE FRESH CHARACTERISTICS OF FRUITS SUCH AS BLUEBERRIES. FREEZE CONCENTRATION IS AN INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR PRODUCING A BLUEBERRY CONCENTRATE JUICE IN A PROCESS AT LOW TEMPERATURES WHERE NO VAPOR/LIQUID INTERFACE EXISTS. ON THE OTHER HAND, OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION AND VACUUM IMPREGNATION OF BLUEBERRIES PRESERVES DIFFERENT VALUABLE ATTRIBUTES OF THE FRUIT, PROVIDING PRODUCTS WITH AN EXTENDED SHELF-LIFE.

THIS RESEARCH AIMED TO COMPARE THE EFFECT OF THE BRINE-SALTING PROCESS WHEN APPLYING A MODERATE ELECTRIC FIELD (MEF) AND DURING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT OF CHICKEN BREAST MUSCLES. CHICKEN BREASTS WERE CUT INTO CYLINDRICAL SHAPES, EITHER LONGITUDINALLY OR CROSS-SECTION ACCORDING TO MUSCLE FIBERS, WITH DIMENSIONS OF 2?×?3 CM2. SAMPLES WERE SUBMERGED IN MARINADE SOLUTIONS (SALT AND POLYPHOSPHATE-URN:X-WILEY:01458876:MEDIA:JFPE13455:JFPE13455-MATH-0001) AT CONCENTRATIONS OF 3, 5, AND 7% AT 4°C FOR 300?MIN OF PROCESSING. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE MASS TRANSFER OF CHLORIDE AND POLYPHOSPHATE IONS WAS BEST WITH THE 5% MARINADE IN COMBINATION WITH AN MEF, OBTAINING 0.20 XCL + URN:X-WILEY:01458876:MEDIA:JFPE13455:JFPE13455-MATH-0002 BY THE END OF THE PROCESSING TIME; FOR THE CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT, THE 7% CONCENTRATION IMPROVED THE MASS TRANSFER OF IONS IN THE TREATED SAMPLES COMPARED TO THAT OF THE OTHER CONVENTIONALLY MARINATED SAMPLES. IN TERMS OF THE LONGITUDINAL CUT, THE 3% CONCENTRATION COMBINED WITH AN MEF PRESENTED BETTER RESULTS THAN THOSE OF THE SAME CONCENTRATION USING THE CONVENTIONAL METHOD. HOWEVER, THE 7% AND 5% CONCENTRATIONS USING CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT EXHIBITED MASS TRANSFER VALUES OF 0.17XCL + URN:X-WILEY:01458876:MEDIA:JFPE13455:JFPE13455-MATH-0003 AND 0.08XCL + URN:X-WILEY:01458876:MEDIA:JFPE13455:JFPE13455-MATH-0004, RESPECTIVELY, IN THE FINAL SAMPLES.

OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION IS A PROCESS WHEREIN FOODS ARE PARTIALLY DEHYDRATED BY IMMERSION IN AN AQUEOUS HYPERTONIC SOLUTION. OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION REDUCES THE WATER ACTIVITY OF THE FOOD, THEREBY MINIMIZING THE POTENTIAL GROWTH OF MICROORGANISMS AND EXTENDING THE SHELF LIFE OF FOOD PRODUCTS. A MAJOR DISADVANTAGE OF THE OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION PROCESS IS THE LONG TIME REQUIRED TO REDUCE THE WATER ACTIVITY, WHICH MAKES ITS INDUSTRIAL IMPLEMENTATION IMPRACTICAL. THE AIM OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE THE DIFFUSION MECHANISMS IN GRANNY SMITH APPLES EXPOSED TO DIFFERENT ELECTRIC FIELDS VARYING FROM 0 TO 17 V/CM. OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION WAS PERFORMED AT 40 °C FOR BOTH THE CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT AND FOR THE MEF TREATMENT. THE FRUIT/SOLUTION RATIO USED WAS 1:11 W/W TO PREVENT AND MINIMIZE THE CHANGE IN CONCENTRATION OF THE SOLUTION DURING THE EXPERIMENT. THE OSMOTIC SOLUTION WAS EXPOSED TO ELECTRIC FIELDS OF 0, 9, 13 OR 17 V/CM, RESPECTIVELY. TO DETERMINE THE DIFFUSION MECHANISMS TWO PHENOMENOLOGICAL MODELS WERE TESTED: FICK?S SECOND LAW AND ANOMALOUS DIFFUSION MODEL. SUCROSE DIFFUSION IN GRANNY SMITH APPLES IS HIGHLY INFLUENCED BY THE APPLICATION OF A MEF, MEANING THAT AS THE APPLICATION OF THE ELECTRIC FIELD INCREASES, THE HIGHER THE EFFECTIVE DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT (DEFF) BECOMES. THE EXPONENTIAL DECAY FROM THE FICK LAW, IN THE TAIL OF THE DIFFUSION PROFILE, DOES NOT REPRESENT THE SHAPE OF THE DATA. HOWEVER, AS THE APPLICATION OF THE ELECTRIC FIELD INCREASES THE FIT OF FICK?S MODEL IMPROVES, AND SPECIFICALLY FOR AN ELECTRIC FIELD OF 17 V/CM IT IS OBSERVED THAT THE BEHAVIOR OF THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA RESEMBLES THE BEHAVIOR PREDICTED BY FICK?S SECOND LAW. THE EMPIRICAL PARAMETER ? FOR THE ANOMALOUS DIFFUSION MODEL WAS ALWAYS GREATER THAN ONE, BUT AS THE MEF INCREASED, ? WAS MONOTONICALLY TENDING TO ONE.

SALTING IS ONE OF THE OLDEST METHODS OF PRESERVING FOOD. THE MAIN LIMITATION OF SALTING IS ITS EXTENDED PROCESSING TIME DUE TO SLOW SALT DIFFUSION. A MODERATE ELECTRIC FIELD (MEF) CAN IMPROVE THE MASS TRANSFER RATE THROUGH ELECTROPORATION. REGULARLY, MASS TRANSFER PROCESSES ARE MODELED WITH FICK?S SECOND LAW. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE ANISOTROPIC NATURE OF FOOD MICROSTRUCTURES, IT MIGHT BE MORE APPROPRIATE TO USE AN ANOMALOUS MODEL. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO SEARCH FOR A PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR SALT AND WATER DIFFUSION IN THE SALMON BRINING PROCESS COUPLED WITH MEF. SALMON FILLETS WERE CUT INTO FINITE CYLINDERS (0.025 × 0.025 M) AND BRINED IN TWO SALT CONCENTRATIONS (6 AND 24% W/W NACL) AT 6 °C FOR 20 H. MEFS WERE APPLIED IN THE RANGE OF 0 TO 2 V/CM. THE SALT AND WATER CONTENTS OF THE SALMON WERE MEASURED DURING THE PROCESS. FICK?S SECOND LAW AND ANOMALOUS MODEL BASED ON FRACTIONAL CALCULUS WERE USED TO DESCRIBE THE DIFFUSION PHENOMENA. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT AN MEF TENDED TO REDUCE THE BRINING PROCESSING TIME AND INCREASE THE SALT CONTENT OF SALMON. THIS EFFECT IS PREDOMINANTLY DUE TO AN INCREASE IN THE EQUILIBRIUM SALT CONCENTRATION IN THE SALMON TISSUE. MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT THE ANOMALOUS DIFFUSION MODEL IS MORE SUITABLE FOR REPRESENTING THE BRINING PROCESS, EXHIBITING SUPERDIFFUSION BEHAVIOR (? > 1). AN MEF ACCELERATES THE SALT MASS TRANSFER INTO SALMON TISSUE EVEN AT LOWER TEMPERATURES, SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING THE PROCESSING TIME. IN ADDITION, THE DIFFUSION PROCESS CAN BE CHARACTERIZED WITH AN ANOMALOUS MODEL.

THE INFLUENCE OF OHMIC HEATING (OH) AND VACUUM IMPREGNATION (VI) ON THE OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION (OD) KINETICS AND MICROSTRUCTURE OF STRAWBERRIES WERE STUDIED. SAMPLES WERE IMMERSED IN A 65 °BRIX SUCROSE SOLUTION AND TREATED WITH OH (100 V) AND VI (5 KPA). OSMOTIC TREATMENTS WERE CARRIED OUT AT 30, 40 AND 50 °C FOR 300 MIN. WATER LOSS, SOLID GAIN, COLOR AND FIRMNESS OF THE STRAWBERRIES WERE MEASURED. IN ADDITION, THE MICROSTRUCTURE WAS ANALYZED USING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (SEM) AND (TEM). THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT APPLYING OH DURING OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION HAD SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON THE MASS TRANSFERENCE KINETICS AND THE MICROSTRUCTURE OF THE TREATED SAMPLES. THE GREATEST WATER LOSS WAS OBSERVED FOR THE OD?OH TREATMENT. THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF SOLUTE GAIN WAS OBTAINED FOR THE VI?OH TREATMENT. A LOSS IN FIRMNESS WAS OBSERVED IN THE OD?OH SAMPLES AT 50 °C. COLOR DIFFERENCES WERE RELATED TO AN INCREASE IN CLARITY AND A DECREASE IN COLOR CHROME, AND THE LEAST SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED FOR THE SAMPLES TREATED AT 30 °C. SEM OBSERVATIONS SHOWED THAT CELL RUPTURING WERE MORE SIGNIFICANT IN THE OD?OH THAN IN THE VI?OH SAMPLES. THE APPLICATION OF OH AND VI HAD BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON THE ACCELERATION OF MASS TRANSFERENCE.

THE COMBINED EFFECT OF OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION/OHMIC HEATING (OD?OH) AND VACUUM IMPREGNATION/OHMIC HEATING (VI?OH) ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND QUALITY PARAMETERS OF STRAWBERRY (AW, COLOR, FIRMNESS AND MICROSTRUCTURE), AS WELL AS ON MICROBIAL STABILITY OF STORAGE SAMPLES AT 5 AND 10 °C, WAS ANALYZED. TREATMENTS WERE CARRIED OUT WITH A 65% (W/W) SUCROSE SOLUTION AT 30 °C, AND OHMIC HEATING AT 9.2, 13, AND 17 V/CM ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTHS, CORRESPONDING TO APPLIED VOLTAGES OF 70, 100, AND 130 V. DEHYDRATED SAMPLES SHOWED THAT WATER LOSS WAS GREATER IN OD?OH TREATMENTS AT 17 V/CM. THE GREATEST SOLUTE GAIN, LEAST FIRMNESS LOSS AND LEAST COLOR LOSS WERE OBTAINED IN THE VI?OH TREATMENT AT 13 V/CM. THE SHELF-LIFE OF STRAWBERRIES TREATED WITH VI?OH AT 13 V/CM AND STORED AT 5 °C WAS EXTENDED FROM 12 D (CONTROL SAMPLES) TO 25 D. FURTHERMORE, THE VI?OH TREATMENT AT 13 V/CM WAS THE BEST PROCESSING CONDITION FOR DEHYDRATING STRAWBERRIES.

THE EFFECT OF OHMIC HEATING (OH) ON THE TEXTURE, MICROBIAL LOAD, AND CADMIUM (CD) AND LEAD (PB) CONTENT WAS EVALUATED IN CHILEAN BLUE MUSSEL (MYTILUS CHILENSIS) AT SHUCKING AND SUBSEQUENT CANNING. MUSSEL SAMPLES WERE PROCESSED BY OH AND BLANCHING (BLAN) AT 50 ± 1 °C, 70 ± 1 °C AND 90 ± 1 °C FOR SHUCKING AND THEN CANNING AT 115 °C FOR 20 MIN. THE CD AND PB CONTENT IN FRESH MUSSELS WAS 2.47 ± 0.18 ?G G? 1 AND 5.26 ± 0.55 ?G G? 1 DRY WEIGHT (DW). THE GREATEST REDUCTION IN CD CONTENT WAS REACHED AT 90 ± 1 °C BY OH WITH 1.67 ± 0.06 ?G G? 1 (DW) AND 1.69 ± 0.08 ?G G? 1 (DW) BY BLAN. AT THE SAME TEMPERATURE, THE PB CONTENT WAS REDUCED TO 4.18 ± 0.24 ?G G? 1 DW FOR OH AND 4.14 ± 0.30 ?G G? 1 DW FOR BLAN. THE CUTTING STRENGTH OF FRESH SAMPLES (21.35 ± 2.44 N) SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN SAMPLES PROCESSED BY OH (15.65 ± 1.36 N) AT 90 ± 1 °C COMPARED WITH BLAN SAMPLES (20.41 ± 3.16 N) AT THE SAME TEMPERATURE. THE INITIAL MEAN COUNT FOR MESOPHILIC AEROBIC MICROORGANISMS AND ENTEROBACTERIACEAE WAS 3.8 LOG CFU/G AND 2.5 LOG CFU/G, RESPECTIVELY. THE MESOPHILIC AEROBIC MICROORGANISM COUNT WAS REDUCED BY 1.7 LOGARITHMICAL UNITS, WHILE ENTEROBACTERIACEAE COUNTS WERE REDUCED TO UNDETECTABLE LEVELS BY OH AT 90 ± 1 °C.

THE MECHANICAL, OPTICAL AND BARRIER PROPERTIES OF CHITOSAN FILMS CONTAINING POLYGODIAL (0.0, 2.7, 13.9, 25.0?MG/G OF CHITOSAN) WERE STUDIED. WATER VAPOR PERMEABILITY (WVP), TENSILE STRENGTH, PERCENTAGE ELONGATION AT BREAK, CIELAB COLOR PARAMETERS, HUE ANGLE AND CHROMA OF FILMS WERE DETERMINED. FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED (FTIR) WAS ALSO PERFORMED TO DETERMINE FUNCTIONAL GROUP INTERACTION BETWEEN THE MATRIX AND POLYGODIAL ADDED. THE USE OF POLYGODIAL RESULTED IN STRONGER FILMS WITHOUT LOSING THEIR EXTENSIBILITY AND WITH LOW WVP. FILMS BECAME DARKER WITH YELLOW-GREEN COLORATION WITH INCREASING POLYGODIAL CONCENTRATION. POLYGODIAL ADDED TO CHITOSAN FILMS DID NOT HAVE ANY INTERACTION WITH THE AMINO GROUPS OF CHITOSAN AS MEASURED BY FTIR. POLYGODIAL AS A NATURAL DIALDEHYDE CAN EFFECTIVELY BE APPLIED TO ENHANCE SOME PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF EDIBLE FILMS PREPARED WITH CHITOSAN.

THE INFLUENCE OF PULSED VACUUM (PVOD) AND OHMIC HEATING (OH) ON THE OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION (OD) KINETICS AND STRUCTURE OF APPLES WAS EVALUATED. APPLE CUBES (1 CM3) WERE IMMERSED IN A 65 ºBRIX SUCROSE SOLUTION AT 30, 40 AND 50 °C FOR 300 MIN. THE PVOD TREATMENT WAS CONDUCTED AT 5 KPA FOR 5 MIN, AND THE OH TREATMENT WAS CONDUCTED AT 100 V (ELECTRIC FIELD OF 13 V/CM). THE WATER LOSS, SOLID GAIN, AW, COLOR AND FIRMNESS WERE MEASURED, AND THE MICROSTRUCTURE WAS ANALYZED USING ELECTRONIC MICROSCOPY. THE LARGEST WATER LOSS WAS OBSERVED WITH THE OD/OH TREATMENT AT 50 °C. THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF SOLUTE UPTAKE AND SMALLEST FIRMNESS LOSS WERE OBTAINED WITH THE PVOD/OH TREATMENT AT 50 °C. COLOR DIFFERENCES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOSS OF CLARITY AND CORRESPONDED TO THE TRANSPARENCY GAIN. OH TREATMENTS LED TO CHANGES IN THE MICROSTRUCTURE, CELL WALLS AND TISSUES OF THE APPLES DUE TO THE ELECTROPORATION EFFECT, WHICH EXPLAINED THE INCREASE OF MASS TRANSFERENCE.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO EXPLORE THE ADVANTAGES OF APPLE SLICES DEHYDRATION (CV. GRANNY SMITH) USING A REFRACTANCE WINDOW (RW) WITH AND WITHOUT OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION AS PRETREATMENT AND COMPARED WITH CONVENTIONAL HOT-AIR DRYING CONSIDERING THE QUALITY ATTRIBUTES SUCH AS COLOR AND TEXTURE. FOR PRETREATMENT, THE APPLE SLICES WERE OSMOTICALLY DEHYDRATED AND COUPLED TO A MODERATE ELECTRIC FIELD (9.3?V/CM) USING A SUCROSE SOLUTION (45°BRIX) AT 40°C UNTIL AN AW = 0.95 WAS ACHIEVED. THEN, APPLE SLICES (WITH AND WITHOUT PRETREATMENT) WERE DEHYDRATED USING RW AT 55, 75, AND 95°C AND COMPARED WITH CONVENTIONAL HOT-AIR DRYING AT 55°C AS A CONTROL. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT WITH DEHYDRATION USING RW, BOTH WITH AND WITHOUT PRETREATMENT AT 95°C, IT WAS POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE A SIMILAR QUALITY OF APPLE SLICES WHEN COMPARED WITH CONVENTIONAL HOT-AIR DRYING AT 55°C, BUT WITH A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN PROCESSING TIME. ADDITIONALLY, THE DEHYDRATION PROCESS USING RW PRESENTED ANOMALOUS DIFFUSION BEHAVIOR ON APPLE SLICES WITH AN ??>?

WHEY IS A SOURCE OF PROTEIN OF HIGH NUTRITIONAL VALUE. IN THIS WORK, THE EFFECTS OF BLOCK CRYOCONCENTRATION ASSISTED BY CENTRIFUGATION AND VACUUM EVAPORATION ON THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND IN VITRO DIGESTIBILITY OF WHEY WERE DETERMINED. IN VITRO DIGESTIBILITY ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED BY EVALUATING THE DEGREES OF PROTEIN HYDROLYSIS OF THE FRESH, EVAPORATED AND CRYOCONCENTRATED WHEY PROTEIN SAMPLES FROM THE THIRD CYCLE. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE SAMPLES AFTER THE SECOND AND THIRD CRYOCONCENTRATION CYCLES HAD NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN PROTEIN OR LACTOSE CONTENT. THE IN VITRO DIGESTIBILITY ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT THE PROTEIN OBTAINED BY CRYOCONCENTRATION SHOWED BETTER GASTROINTESTINAL DIGESTIBILITY THAN THAT OBTAINED BY EVAPORATION, WITH VALUES OF 68.2% AND 55.4%, RESPECTIVELY. THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT BLOCK CRYOCONCENTRATION ASSISTED BY CENTRIFUGATION IS AN EFFICIENT AND NOVEL TECHNIQUE THAT ENABLES THE PREPARATION OF CONCENTRATED PROTEIN SOLUTIONS OF HIGH NUTRITIONAL AND BIOLOGICAL VALUE.

POMEGRANATE JUICE IS AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS, AND CRYOCONCENTRATED JUICE IS AN INTERESTING OSMODEHYDRATION AGENT TO ENRICH A VEGETAL MATRIX. THIS INVESTIGATION AIMED TO INCORPORATE BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM POMEGRANATE CRYOCONCENTRATED JUICE INTO APPLE SLICES USING OSMODEHYDRATION (OD) ASSISTED BY PULSE VACUUM (PV) AND OHMIC HEATING (OH). THE APPLE SLICES (3?×?4?×?0.5?CM) WERE OSMODEHYDRATED USING A 47 °BRIX POMEGRANATE CRYOCONCENTRATED JUICE AT 30, 40, OR 50°C FOR 180?MIN WITH AN ELECTRIC FIELD OF 6.66?V/CM (50?V) AND A 5?MIN PULSED VACUUM. OVER THE TIME, ALL OF THE TREATMENTS APPLIED TO THE APPLE SLICES INCREASED THE SOLUBLE SOLIDS AND BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS COMPARED WITH THE FRESH SAMPLE. PVOD/OH AT 50°C HAD THE HIGHEST CONTENT OF TOTAL ANTHOCYANIN DURING PROCESSING, AND THE BEST RESULTS FOR THE TOTAL FLAVONOIDS WERE OBTAINED WITH OD/OH AT 50°C AND 40°C. THE OSMODEHYDRATION ASSISTED BY PULSE VACUUM AND OHMIC HEATING USING A CRYOCONCENTRATED JUICE IS A USEFUL COMBINED TECHNIQUE TO ACQUIRE ENRICHED VEGETAL SAMPLES WITH BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS.

CENTRIFUGATION IS A TECHNIQUE APPLIED TO ASSIST IN THE FREEZE CONCENTRATION OF FRUIT JUICES AND SOLUTIONS. THE AIM OF THIS WORK WAS TO STUDY THE INFLUENCE OF THE TIME?TEMPERATURE PARAMETERS ON THE CENTRIFUGATION PROCESS AS A TECHNIQUE APPLIED TO ASSIST IN THE FIRST CYCLE OF THE FREEZE CONCENTRATION OF BLUEBERRY JUICE. A COMPLETELY RANDOMIZED 4 × 3 FACTORIAL DESIGN WAS PERFORMED USING TEMPERATURE AND TIME AS THE FACTORS, AND THE RESPONSE VARIABLES INCLUDED THE PERCENTAGE OF CONCENTRATE, EFFICIENCY AND SOLUTES RECOVERED. THE RESULTS WERE EVALUATED USING MULTIPLE LINEAR REGRESSION, RANDOM FOREST REGRESSION, AND GAUSSIAN PROCESSES. THE SOLID CONTENT IN THE CONCENTRATE DOUBLED COMPARED TO THE INITIAL SAMPLE (18 °BRIX) AND APPROACHED 60% IN THE FIRST CYCLE OF BLUEBERRY JUICE FREEZE CONCENTRATION. THE COMBINATION OF FACTORS AFFECTED THE PERCENTAGE OF THE CONCENTRATE AND SOLUTES RECOVERED, AND THE OPTIMUM OF CONCENTRATION WAS OBTAINED AT 15 °C WITH A CENTRIFUGATION TIME OF 20 MIN. GAUSSIAN PROCESSES ARE SUGGESTED AS SUITABLE MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUES FOR MODELLING THE QUANTITATIVE EFFECT OF THE RELEVANT FACTORS IN THE CENTRIFUGATION PROCESS.