Impact of Hypobaric Technology Combined with Fumigation on Freshness Preservation of Post-harvest Litchi

Ankang Kan, Longfei Zhang, Lijing Lin, Ning Wang, Meiyu Wang — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Litchi is rich in nutrients, which is quite beneficial for improving the physical quality of people, but litchi browns in a few days at room temperature, and the shelf life is very short. To study the influence of hypobaric storage on the storage quality of litchi after harvest, a hypobaric storage device combined with fumigation technology was used to fumigate litchi, and the change in pressure and temperature distribution in the hypobaric chamber was simulated. Secondly, during the hypobaric fumigation, litchi was divided into four groups with uniform quality, and humidified at 0%, 2%, 3%, and 5%, respectively. The temperature of the surface and center of the litchi was measured using a thermocouple. The research results show that in the simulation verification, the changes in pressure and temperature in the vacuum chamber during the experiment are basically consistent with the simulated values, and under different humidification specific gravity, when the humidification specific gravity is 3%, the center temperature and surface temperature drop the fastest, in which the surface temperature drops to 277.15 K, and the center temperature drops to 283.15 K, and the hypobaric fumigation and pre-cooling reaching the same temperature. The time required is also minimal.

Vegan Fermented Drinks as an Alternative to Milk: Trend or Challenge?

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0800

The attention given to food has increased in recent decades due to consumers' interest in the possible therapeutic and nutritional properties of foods. Eating habits are associated with the composition of the individual's gastrointestinal microbiota, so changes in the intake of macronutrients and fiber can induce changes in bacterial diversity. A healthy microbiota pattern tends to be observed when an individual includes fermented foods. However, most fermented foods are dairy products. They cannot be consumed by specific population groups, such as people who are lactose intolerant, allergic to milk protein, or for lifestyle and diet reasons, such as vegans and vegetarians. From this fact, there is a need to offer consumers an alternative non-dairy fermented product, exploring new substances to supply dietary probiotics. In this context, water kefir, a symbiotic culture of lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid, and yeast, stands out as a viable and affordable option, providing benefits similar to dairy versions without allergenic components that are undesirable for specific groups. Given the above, the objective of this work is to conduct a literature review on vegan fermented drinks, providing an overview of the fermentation process and matrices used, as well as presenting the factors that impact their adequate development, in addition to encouraging a discussion about the vegan fermented drinks market, including the issue of promoting research and development of new products from non-traditional sources, such as water-soluble vegetable extracts made from quinoa, cashew nuts, pistachios, among others.

Food Science and Engineering

Impact of Hypobaric Technology Combined with Fumigation on Freshness Preservation of Post-harvest Litchi

Vegan Fermented Drinks as an Alternative to Milk: Trend or Challenge?