Osmotic dehydration of chestnut slices in sucrose was optimized for the first time by Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Experiments were planned according to a three-factor central composite design (α=1.68), studying the influence of sucrose concentration, temperature and time, on the following parameters: volume ratio, water activity, color variation, weight reduction, solids gain, water loss and normalized moisture content, as well as total moisture, ash and fat contents. The experimental data was adequately fitted into second-order polynomial models with coefficients of determination (R2 ) from 0.716 to 0.976, adjusted-R2 values from 0.460 to 0.954, and non-significant lacks of fit. The optimal osmotic dehydration process conditions for maximum water loss and minimum solids gain and color variation were determined by the “Response Optimizer” option: 83% sucrose concentration, 20 °C and 9.2 hours. Thus, the best operational conditions corresponded to high sugar concentration and low temperature, improving energy saving and decreasing the process costs.

The present research aimed to evaluate and compare the antioxidant activity in both pulp and peel and the physicochemical contents in the pulp of four local varieties of banana, i.e. Musa acuminata species named Sagor, Champa, Shail and Bichi, available in Sylhet region of Bangladesh. The antioxidant activity from a methanolic extract of banana peels and pulps was evaluated by determination of total phenolic content and DPPH scavenging activity. The physicochemical contents of banana pulp such as protein, fat, moisture, ash and carbohydrate were also determined. The results showed that the overall antioxidant activity of banana peel was higher than the pulp of banana. The pulp of the Shail variety had the highest antioxidant activity (TPC = 80.14 mg GAE/100 g, DPPH radical scavenging activity =91.37%) among the four varieties. Fat (1.38%) and moisture (76.23%) contents were higher in the pulp of Shail, while protein (1.82%) and carbohydrate (22.71%) contents were higher in the pulp of Bichi. The Champa variety contained higher ash content (1.05%). Among the jellies prepared from those banana varieties, the jelly of the Shail variety showed the highest score for overall acceptance (6.8) whilst the jelly prepared from the Bichi variety showed the highest score for taste (7.75). This may be due to higher carbohydrate content. The study suggests that banana peel could be used in the food industry as a raw material to produce bakery products and in cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries as an antioxidant supplement.

This study employs the logit model to assess the determinants of consumers’ willingness to consume cassava leaves as a leafy vegetable in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 180 respondents for the study. The study found that majority (76%) of the respondents had no knowledge of the nutritional value of cassava leaves, though they had consumed the product before. The empirical results showed that socioeconomic characteristics of respondents such as age, sex, household size and monthly income, as well as their perceptions on the attributes and use of cassava leaves as food have significant influence on willingness to consume cassava leaves as a leafy vegetable. There is the need to provide information on the nutritional benefits of cassava leaves to facilitate decision-making on its utilisation/consumption. Programmes aimed at promoting the consumption of cassava leaves should consider the significant variables that have influence on the consumption of the product.

What is the profile of Food Engineering education in Brazil? Are we following the contemporary professional renewal trend? Driven by these questions, the present study analyzed data regarding 21 academic courses, which represent approximately 22% of the total bachelor’s degree in food engineering courses offered in the country. Samples were defined considering a Brazilian annual ranking of undergraduate programs: very good (four stars) and excellent (five stars). Next, information was recovered from both the Brazilian Ministry of Education and institutional homepages of each analyzed program. The results suggest that food engineering programs exhibit relative identity, naturally due to their history and the path of each program and their faculty, shaping particularities in how fields of knowledge are constituted, in addition to their representativeness in the total workload of the program. However, initial analysis is suggestive regarding understanding that Brazil is not properly doing its homework, based on global movement, concerning food engineering education. The need to rethink Brazilian technical education, without culminating in additional workload, is emphasized, not only regarding new materials and technologies for learning and teaching, but also in terms of bringing a human and market approach. The achievement of this complex goal seems to be provided by the encouragement of student associations, transversal learning processes, and learning experiences outside the classroom as a means of improving undergraduate programs and human resources.

Grape berries are a good source of nutrients and nutraceuticals and have many benefits for human health. Growing interest in the export potential and consumption of a new grape (cv. Karaerik), cultivated as a table grape in Turkey, encouraged us to profile its major nutrient contents from six different locations. Due to its popularity, the nutritional value of this grape berry needs to be investigated to ascertain its potential economic and health benefits. The most abundant sugars in the grape berry were fructose and glucose (peel/whole fruit; averages 236.57 and 127.87, and 183.36 and 108.60 (g kg-1 fresh weight), respectively), while the major organic acids were tartaric and malic acids (7.17 and 2.81, and 2.61 and 1.76(g kg-1 fresh weight), respectively). Linoleic acid (peel/whole fruit/seed; 37.14, 33.12 and 57.83%, respectively) was the predominant fatty acid, while potassium (peel/whole fruit/seed; 9331.5, 10226.33 and 5354 mg/g dry weight, respectively) was the predominant mineral, followed by phosphorus (1592.8, 2672 and 3072.67) in the berry. Our results demonstrate that the nutrient components and physicochemical parameters varied significantly among the sampling locations. The grape berry contains considerable quantities of potentially beneficial healthy nutrients worthy of further evaluation.