Pomelo (Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck) is an important cultivar of the Citrus genus, which contains a number of nutrients advantageous to human health. Non-edible parts of pomelo consist of flavedo, albedo, lamella and waste obtained from juice extraction (pulp waste). The peels are also thought to be part of waste products, which generally being discarded. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate changes in total phenolic contents (TPC) and antioxidant activity of processed pomelo peels after oven drying (50 and 60 °C) and freeze drying treatments in comparison with fresh pomelo peels. A slightly different (4%-6%) in TPC was observed in oven dried pomelo peels in comparison with fresh peels, indicating that there was a slightly effect of post-drying methods on retaining the antioxidant potential of these natural byproducts. In vitro assays revealed that post-drying methods involved oven drying exerted a higher TPC compared to freeze drying in overall parts of pomelo byproducts. Highest retention of bioactive compounds was found in fresh pomelo peels (437-1876 mg GAE/100 g DM), followed by oven dried at 50 and 60 °C (892-1336 mg GAE/100 g DM), and freeze dried (555-1267 mg GAE/100 g DM). In terms of oven dried pomelo byproducts, the highest TPC was retained in albedo (1337 mg GAE/100 g DW), followed by flavedo (1226 mg GAE/100 g DW), lamella (998 mg GAE/100 g DW) and pulp waste (962 mg GAE/100 g DW) respectively. Therefore, oven drying was the most suitable post-drying method to retain the bioactive compounds for pomelo byproducts. This knowledge may inspire consumer or pomelo industry operators to re-evaluate their byproducts, reduce the waste and expand the application of pomelo fruits.

In food packaging, smart indicator films based on natural resources have greatly attracted researchers to minimize the environmental issues as well as to satisfy consumer preferences for food safety. In this research, pH-sensitive films were prepared using purple-fleshed sweet potato starch (SPS) and sweet potato peel (SPP). Two categories of the film (i) SPS and (ii) SPS/SPP, were fabricated via solvent casting technique, incorporating different concentrations of commercial purple sweet potato anthocyanin (CA) at 0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% (w/v) and the physicochemical, mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of the films were investigated. The thickness, water solubility, and swelling degree of the films increased with the increment of CA, whereas there were no significant changes in the water content (WC) of the films. Water vapor permeability (WVP) was decreased for SPS films while statistically similar for SPS/SPP films. The addition of CA reduced the tensile strength (TS) and tensile modulus (TM) yet increased the elongation at break (EaB) of the films as compared to films without CA. The FTIR results confirmed the immobilization of anthocyanin into the film. In SEM images, roughness in the surfaces of the CA-associated films was observed. A reduction of thermal stability was found for the films with anthocyanin except for the SPS/SPP CA 2% film. Furthermore, the CA-associated films showed a remarkable color response when subjected to pH buffers (pH 1 to 12) and successfully monitored chicken freshness. The fastest color migration was observed in acidic conditions when the films were immersed into aqueous, acidic, low fat, and fatty food simulants. The findings of this work demonstrated that the developed pH indicator films have the potential to be implemented as smart packaging to monitor food freshness and quality for safe consumption.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes occured on phenolic compounds between two Malaysian varieties of pummelo fruit juice: Ledang (PO55) and Tambun (PO52) post-enzymatic clarification. The changes in polyphenols composition were monitored using High Performance Liquid Chromatography Diode Array Detection and Folin Ciocalteu's method. Clarification treatment of pummelo fruit juice with a commercial pectinase was optimized based on incubation temperature, time and enzyme concentration. Both varieties of pummelo fruit juice were treated with different optimized variables which produced the highest clarities with the least effect to the juice physical quality. Tambun variety was found to have significantly more total phenolic compounds (p <0.05) in comparison to Ledang variety, possibly due to the amount of naringin. Three types of hydroxycinnamic acids (chlorogenic, caffeic and coumaric acid) and three compounds of flavanones (naringin, hesperidin and narirutin) were found in both fruit juices, where naringin and chlorogenic acid were the major contributor to the total phenolic content. Naringin, which gave out bitter aftertaste to the juice, was found to decrease, 1.6 and 0.59 % reduction in Ledang and Tambun respectively, post-enzymatic treatment. The decrease in naringin, albeit nominal, could be a potential benefit to the juice production in reducing the bitterness of the juice. Post-enzymatic analysis furthermore resulted in no significance differences (p <0.05) on the total phenolic compounds of both varieties. This study in summary provides a compositional database for Malaysian pummelo fruit juice of various phenolic compounds, which can provide useful information for evaluating the authenticity and the health benefits from the juice.

Goat milk is a prominent alternative to bovine milk, for having a great dietary and nutritional characteristic, particularly among nursing mothers and infants to alleviate milk allergy and other gastrointestinal problems (Zhou et al., 2014). Goat milk contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fatty acids that are quickly absorbed by the human body (Ravula & Ramachandra, 2016; Sousa et al., 2019). The functional properties and nutritional benefits of goat milk contribute to the expansion of the global goat milk market nationwide. Most infant milk formula manufacturers utilize goat milk powder due to its low allergenic effect (Zhou et al., 2014) and longer shelf-life. Meanwhile, fresh pasteurized goat milk is hardly available at the local supermarket. Hence, there is a dire need for further advancement of goat milk processing for the local goat milk industry with the ultimate aim to produce shelf-stable goat milk with minimal effects to its nutritive quality perusing alternative pasteurizing technology. Pasteurization is crucial to assure that the microbial load of goat milk is significantly reduced leading to the prolongation of its

BACKGROUND: The physicochemical characteristics, antioxidant properties, and bacterial profiles of Heterotrigona itama, Apis dorsata, and Apis mellifera honey of Malaysian origin were studied and the results were assessed using Pearson correlation analysis and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA).RESULTS: The analysis showed that the Mellifera honey was characterized by high total sugar content (717.5 g kg −1 ); the Itama honey was characterized by high free acidity (347.5 meq kg −1 ); and the Dorsata honey was characterized by high radical scavenging activity (RSA; 69.3%RSA), total phenolic content (TPC; 1284.5 mg GAE kg −1 ) and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF; 51.5 mg kg −1 ). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the TPC was positively correlated with HMF as well as RSA. The bacterial profile of Mellifera honey was significantly less diverse than Itama and Dorsata honey. Mellifera and Itama honey seemed to harbour a significant abundance of lactic acid bacteria, with relative abundance of 0.339 and 0.195, which suggests that it possesses probiotic potential. The Dorsata honey, however, contained pathogenic Clostridium genus, constituting 5% of its bacterial profile.CONCLUSION: The characteristic properties of the three investigated honey, Itama, Dorsata, and Mellifera were identified. The distinctive characteristics of the honey varieties informed the development of appropriate processing strategies for retaining the beneficial qualities of raw honey. It is hoped that the results of this study will shine light on Malaysian honey in a highly competitive global market.

No abstract

According to the Food Wastage Footprint and Climate Change Report, about 15% of all fruits and 25% of all vegetables are wasted at the base of the food production chain. The significant losses and wastes in the fresh and processing industries is becoming a serious environmental issue, mainly due to the microbial degradation impacts. There has been a recent surge in research and innovation related to food, packaging, and pharmaceutical applications to address these problems. The underutilized wastes (seed, skin, rind, and pomace) potentially present good sources of valuable bioactive compounds, including functional nutrients, amylopectin, phytochemicals, vitamins, enzymes, dietary fibers, and oils. Fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW) are rich in nutrients and extra nutritional compounds that contribute to the development of animal feed, bioactive ingredients, and ethanol production. In the development of active packaging films, pectin and other biopolymers are commonly used. In addition, the most recent research studies dealing with FVW have enhanced the physical, mechanical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of packaging and biocomposite systems. Innovative technologies that can be used for sensitive bioactive compound extraction and fortification will be crucial in valorizing FVW completely; thus, this article aims to report the progress made in terms of the valorization of FVW and to emphasize the applications of FVW in active packaging and biocomposites, their by-products, and the innovative technologies (both thermal and non-thermal) that can be used for bioactive compounds extraction.

Ultraviolet (UV-C at 253.7 nm) technology has been the go-to alternative pasteurization and shelf-life extension treatment for beverages for the last two decades. It has been the focal point of non-thermal methods for fruit juice processing and has been studied extensively. UV-C technology has been proven to produce microbiologically safe products with minimal negative impact towards quality of the products. However, due to the physicochemical characteristics of fruit juice, application of UV-C does have certain limitations and thus, there is a need to further study the effects of UV-C-treatment and equipment design. Critical decisions on the type of fruit product, juice color, juice composition, and juice physical characteristics, among other variables, are imperative to produce a safe and wholesome juice. Therefore, this paper serves as a source for development of UV-C technology for pasteurization and shelf-life extension of fruit juice to successfully obtain a final product with minimal changes of its nutritional component without neglecting the microbial safety. It reviews previous literatures involving ultraviolet-treated fruit juices, ranging from popular apple and orange juice to lesser-known pummelo and pitaya juice. The review also covers the aspect of microbiological and chemical safety, quality, and sensory characteristics as well as hurdle technology involving UV-C as the main method and the market potential with its cost implication of UV-C technology.