Background COVID-19 is a pandemic disease that has paralyzed social life and the economy around the world since the end of 2019, and which has so far killed nearly 600,000 people. The rapidity of its spread and the lack of detailed research on the course and methods of transmission significantly impede both its eradication and prevention. Scope and approach Due to the high transmission rate and fatality resulting from COVID-19 disease, the paper focuses on analyzing the current state of knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 as well as its potential connection with food as a source of pathogen and infection. Key findings and conclusions There is currently no evidence (scientific publications, WHO, EFSA etc.) that COVID-19 disease can spread directly through food and the human digestive system. However, according to the hypothesis regarding the primary transmission of the virus, the source of which was food of animal origin (meat of wild animals), as well as the fact that food is a basic necessity for humans, it is worth emphasizing that food can, if not directly, be a carrier of the virus. Particular attention should be paid to this indirect pathway when considering the potential for the spread of an epidemic and the development of prevention principles.

The chemical structure of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF), its physicochemical properties and reactions that lead to the synthesis of HMF were discussed. Special attention was paid to HMF formation in food during processing. The potential applications of this compound in industry were described as well. Moreover, this review outlines the most important sources of HMF in human diet and estimates the potential daily intake of HMF by consumers. The known and suggested metabolic pathways, as well as the impact of HMF and its metabolites on human health are also discussed.

The aim of this paper was the study of the rheological instability (thixotropy and/or antithixotropy) of normal potato starch (NPS) pastes depending on their concentration (2-5%) and degree of pasting. Flow curves with hysteresis loops, apparent viscosity at constant shear rate and in-shear structural recovery tests were carried out. Granule size profiles, the pasting characteristic of corresponding starch suspensions and the transmittance of the pastes, the molecular weights and polydispersity of granular starch and its pastes prepared at 80, 95 and 121°C were also studied. The degree of pasting was dependent on the temperature and the concentration and influenced strongly the rheological behavior of the pastes. All pastes belonged to the non-Newtonian liquids thinned by shear and were rheologically unstable to the various extent. Thixotropic properties were connected to the size and the number of the starch granules in the pastes as well as depended on the measuring method used. In the 2 and 3% samples pasted at 80°C the swelling of the granules prevailed their destruction (thixotropy was observed). In the other samples the destruction predominated the swelling (antithixotropy observed).

The aim of the research was to develop new pectin-based hydrogels with excellent swelling properties. Superabsorbent hydrogels composed of high methylated pectin and partially neutralized poly(acrylic acid) was obtained by free radical polymerization in aqueous solution in the presence of crosslinking agent—N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide. The effect of crosslinker content and pectin to acrylic acid ratio on the swelling properties of hydrogels was investigated. In addition, the thermodynamic characteristic of hydrogels was obtained by DSC. Furthermore, the structure of pectin-based hydrogels was characterized by FTIR and GPC. It was also proved that poly(acrylic acid) is grafted on pectin particles. The results showed that introduction of small amount of pectin (up to 6.7 wt %) to poly(acrylic acid) hydrogel increase the swelling capacity, while further increasing of pectin ratio cause decrease of swelling.

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BACKGROUND: Gels of potato starches with varying amylose content were prepared and the degree of pasting and the course of retrogradation were studied. The average molar masses of granular and pasted starches were estimated. Determination of the degree of pasting involved use of optical microscopy and the study of pasting characteristics. The studies of susceptibility to retrogradation considered mechanical spectra, hardness, syneresis, resistant starch content, and X-ray measurements. RESULTS: Heating of the starch suspensions at 95 ∘ C resulted in almost complete deterioration of granules. Changes in storage modulus (G') exceeded these of loss modulus (G"). Values of G' and G", hardness and syneresis increased with the period of the sample storage and, simultaneously, the relevant tangent of the phase shift angle (tg (G"/G')) decreased. A tendency was observed for the resistant starch (RS) content to increase on prolonged storage of gels. The patterns of diffractograms for the pasted and lyophilized samples only differed slightly. CONCLUSION:The pastes of all the studied potato starches were characterized by a similar degree of pasting. The most essential changes in the physicochemical properties of the gels were observed between the 30th and 90th days of storage. The susceptibility of potato starch gels to retrogradation, especially within the first 2 h, was controlled, mainly by the amylose content.Resistant starch (RS) content. Samples containing 50 g kg −1 (m/m) starch were prepared following the method described in the section on texture, above. Directly after preparation, 45 cm 3 of the pastes were poured into 60 cm 3 polypropylene containers wileyonlinelibrary.com/jsfa J Sci Food Agric 2019; 99: 2393-2403 TextureThe hardness of all the samples investigated, after 1 and 2 h, was comparable (Fig. 3). An increase in hardness of the gels could be observed after the first day and then between the 30th and 90th days. This confirmed two-step, short-and long-term J Sci Food Agric 2019; 99: 2393-2403

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Novel effective application of microwave irradiation to the chlorination, bromination, and iodination of carbazole and other aromatic compounds in the presence of a hydrogen peroxide-hydrohalic acids system is described as a new environmentally benign method for the synthesis of halogenoarenes.1 1 0 G r e e n C h e m . , 2 0 0 4 , 6 , 1 1 0 -1 1 3