Effect of Oat-Based Ingredients on the Quality of Pastry Products

Introduction. Whole grain products can prevent some chronic diseases. Oats and oat-based foods are rich in beta-glucan, which makes them a perfect ingredient for functional foods. The present research objective was to introduce oat-based ingredients into the formulation of sugar cookies and study the quality of the finished product. Study objects and methods. The study involved various formulations of sugar cookies with different proportions of oat meal and composite flour. Sensory, physicochemical, rheological, structural, and mechanical properties were determined according to standard methods. Results and discussion. The mass shares of protein, fat, and dietary fiber increased together with the share of oat meal: protein – 11.9–12.5%, fat – 2.3–3.7%, dietary fiber – 4.1–4.5%. The swelling rates were 3.41–4.60, which was higher than in the wheat flour sample (2.94). Oat meal increased the viscosity of the model suspensions from 50 to 500 Pa·s The sample with the biggest share of oat meal had the greatest strength (1700 g). The water absorption also increased (193%): it was 220 when the share of oat meal was 20% and 221% when it was 30%. Oat meal decreased the water activity from 0.360 to 0.290 as its concentration grew. Conclusion. The optimal amount of oat meal was 30% and that of oatmeal flakes – 10% of the flour amount. The research also defined the effect of oat meal and oat flakes on the composite flour blend, model dough, and sugar cookes. The article introduces a new commercial formulation of sugar biscuits.

Evaluation of Food Safety of Commercial Baby Foods according to Legal Regulations

It has recently been recognized that some commercial infant formulae have, due to spoilage and pathogen microorganisms, which are detected risks to health, been recalled and reported in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed on notification lists. The risk of microbial contamination from the environment or from the addition of ingredients to cereal-based follow-on formulae (FOF) and powdered infant foods (PIF) products could occur under poor hygienic conditions. This project was designed to evaluate the associated risks of Cronobacter sakazakii, Salmonella, Total Coliform, E. coli, E. coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus and Ochratoxin-A in PIF, FOF and rice flour products marketed in Turkey. Seventy-four baby formulae and thirteen rice flour trademarks obtained in 2018 randomly from different markets in Samsun, Kars, and Adana in Turkey. Salmonella, C. sakazakii, Coliform, S. aureus, L. monocytogenes and Bacillus cereus were analyzed using the ISO 6579:2002, ISO/TS 22964:2006, MPN, FDA (2001), FDA (1998) and FDA (2012) methods, respectively. C. sakazakii was isolated from 7/74 FOF products and 4/13 rice flour products, yielding 12.64% prevalence. Salmonella, S. aureus and L. monocytogenes were not detected in any of the samples. The FOF products, including cereals of different origins and one rice flour sample (7.69%), were found to be contaminated with B. cereus (6.76%) and B. subtilis (5.41%). OTA values were found to be above the legal limits in 4.05% (3/74) FOF products. These results suggest that routine quality controls and hazard and risk analysis for infant foods have to be much more rigorous in terms of the potential risk of microbiological contamination.

Functional and Rheological Profile of LAB-fermented Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranean (L)) Flour

Lactic fermentation is commonly employed to improve protein digestibility and overall nutritional quality of grains foods. This study evaluated the functional and rheological properties of flour samples from Bambara groundnut fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum [NRRL B-4306] and Lactobacillus fermentum [NRRL B-1932] obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture. Functional profile such as particle size index, water absorption capacity, swelling capacity, and least gelation concentration of the flour were determined; as well, amylograph and maturograph evaluations were used to determine the rheological properties and the results presented as average, minimum, and maxi­mum values. Particle size determination observed that 150, 125, 105 µ orifice did not readily accommodate particles from the non-inoculated samples while the inoculated samples passed through 150 and 125 µ but did not readily pass through 105 µ orifice. Bioprocess with lactic acid bacteria increased the water absorption capacity of the flour samples from 346.5 to 386.4%, the least gelation concentration decreased from 5.3 to 4.1%, while swelling capacity increased from 14.9 to 23.2 mg/100 g for non-inoculated and inoculated flours, respectively. Rheological investigations show evaluations for amylograph and maturogram determinations. Values obtained for amylograph indicate that temperature at start of gelatinization was peak at 63.8 and 63.00C for non-fermented and LAB-fermented flour with no significant (p ˂ 0.05) difference, while temperature at maximum viscosity and maximum viscosity had significant (p ˂ 0.05) values of 92.1 and 76.00C, as well as 730 and 265 brabender units (BU), respectively. Thus, amylograph quality of the fermented flour sample was indicated by the maximum viscosity which is significantly higher in the case of non-inoculated flour sample. The maturograph evaluation also recorded the maturation behavior of the dough prepared from the test flours after the proofing time (fermentation rest) by means of a sensing probe which records the elasticity of the mature dough every 2 min and produces the typical zigzag form of the maturogram. This action was recorded in maturograph units (MU) on the strip-chart with values of 44 and 28 min for final proof time, 750 and 610 MU for dough level, 210 and 220 MU for dough elasticity, as well as 10 and 12 min for proofing stability, determined respectively for non-fermented and LAB-fermented flour samples. LAB-fermentation demonstrated to improve the functionality and rheology of Bambara groundnut flour and the production process could be further controlled to achieve products of optimal quality.

Nutritional, textural, and sensory quality of bars enriched with banana flour and pumpkin seed flour

Introduction. Nowadays, health-conscious consumers attend to nutritional, health, and easy-to-use products. Demand for healthy snacks is significantly increasing. Our study aimed to develop high protein nutrition bars by incorporating pumpkin seed flour and banana flour and assess their quality. Study objects and methods. We analyzed three bar samples for nutritional, textural, and sensory quality. The bars contained banana flour, pumpkin seed flour, and the mixed flour. Proximate analysis was performed following the AOAC method. The mineral content and antioxidant properties of the bars were determined by using emission spectrophotometry and the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging modified method, respectively. Results and discussion. The mixed flour nutrition bar had significantly higher total phenolic content and antioxidant activity than the bar with banana flour and the bar with pumpkin seed flour. Textural analysis demonstrated that the mixed flour sample had significantly (P < 0.05) higher hardness and color parameters compared to the other bar samples. Nutritional analysis indicated that mixed flour bar contained significantly higher amounts of protein, fat, and calcium; while pumpkin seed flour bar had higher ash, iron, and magnesium contents. The mixed flour sample also had better sensory parameters. Conclusion. The mixed flour demonstrated good quality. Hence, both banana and pumpkin seed flour have a potential to be used in bar formulations.

Physicochemical and microbial properties of orange-fleshed sweet potato flour produced with sun-drying and sulphiting agent

Many local Nigerian processors of sweet potato flour use sun-drying of the sliced roots in place of modern mechanical drying. This study used carotene-rich UMUSPO3 orangefleshed sweet potato (OFSP) variety that was newly bred at National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, Nigeria to evaluate the possible effect of sun-drying and sulphiting on the physicochemical and microbial properties of OFSP flour samples. Data were obtained for OFSP sun-dried flour samples processed by different pretreatment methods (blanching, sulphiting with sodium metabisulphite and a control). Results showed that the bacterial and fungal load of the sulphite-flour sample was 8.5×104 CFU/g and 4.00×104 CFU/g while that of the control flour sample was 12.00×104 CFU/g and 6.50×102 CFU/g respectively. The total carotenoid content (TCC) of the flour samples ranged from 10.73 – 11.68 mg/100 g while the TCC of the fresh (unprocessed) OFSP was 40.20 mg/100 g on dry matter basis. The proximate composition of the flour samples was 10.21 – 10.95% moisture, 8.18 – 8.20% protein, 2.40 -2.55% fibre, 0.95 -1.11% fat and 1.73 – 1.85% ash. Obtained physico-functional properties were 13.17 – 13.23 g/mL swelling power, 2.70 – 3.4 g/mL oil absorption capacity, 2.65 – 2.85 g/mL water absorption capacity, 77.50 – 88.000C gelatinization temperature and 0.65 – 0.66 g/mL bulk density

The Influence of Plant Proteins (from Pleurotus, pea, corn, soy, oat, hemp and sea buckthorn) Addition on Wheat Dough Rheology

Replacing wheat flour with protein rich flours, determine changes in the rheology of the dough and in the quality of the finished. The study of the rheological behavior of the dough when replacing 10% wheat flour with plant protein flours. Mixtures of wheat flour and 10% protein rich ingredients were used: Pleurotus flour, pea protein isolate, protein hydrolysate from corn, soy protein isolate, oat protein, hemp protein, sea buckthorn protein. Mixolab system was used to perform the rheological analysis of the dough. Water absorption ranged from 57.1% in the wheat flour sample with the addition of hemp seed protein ingredients and 67.4% in the wheat flour sample with the addition of soy protein isolate. The sample with Pleurotus flour had the lowest degree of soaking (C2=0.226). The gelatinization of the starch took place at different temperatures depending on the sample, being between 79.1-84.5°C. The temperature range for enzymatic activation was between 86.4-88.8°C. The rheological characteristics of the samples are influenced by the type of added flour and the amount of protein present in each sample.

The Effect of Ascorbic Acid on the Physical and Proximate Properties of Wheat-Acha Composite Bread

This work studied the effect of different proportions of ascorbic acid on the physical and proximate properties on wheat-acha composite bread. Bread was produced from wheat (Triticum aestivum) and acha (Digitaria exilis) composite flours. The wheat: acha ratios used were 100:0, 90:10 and 80:20. The proximate, and functional properties of the flours were analysed. The dough improver, ascorbic acid was added at 80, 100 and 120ppm during the bread making process and the proximate, physical and sensory properties of the bread was analysed. Flour sample with 20% acha had the significantly highest values for bulk density (0.744g/cm3), water absorption capacity (1.5g/g), oil absorption capacity (1.564g/g), foam capacity (11.32%) and swelling index (1.24). There was no significant difference in the crude fat and ash content of all bread samples. Significant difference was observed in the volume and specific volume of the bread samples, with 100% wheat flour giving the highest values of 431.33 ml and 3.16 ml/g respectively. However, addition of ascorbic acid significantly improved these parameters with no significant difference between the 100ppm and 120ppm bread samples. Also the bread samples produced with 100:0 and 90:10 wheat: acha flours showed no significant difference in their sensory properties. The 80:20 composite bread gave significantly lower sensory scores for all the sensory parameters.

Influence of wheat conditioning duration on the technological qualities of flour

Wheat is amongst the most consumed cereals in the world. Triticum aestivum is the most produced and consumed species of wheat in the form of refined flours, a result of grinding and sifting the grain. To obtain a lighter form of flour with fewer bran flakes, water is added to the wheat grains. The added water conditions the wheat grains by adjusting humidity, thus making the endosperm more friable and the bran more malleable. This study aimed to analyze the influence of the duration of wheat conditioning on the resulting flour’s technological characteristics, using time periods of 13, 15, 17, 19, and 21 hours. The extraction rates, color, ash, humidity, gluten, falling number, and alveography of each flour sample were analyzed. The acquired results exhibit an insignificant difference (p ≤ 0.05) in flours with different conditioning times for gluten, falling number, color (L*), ash content, and humidity. However, there was a significant difference (p ≤0.05) in extraction rate, gluten strength (W), as well as in tenacity and the extensibility ratio (P/L). Thus, 17 hours was discovered as the best conditioning durations, although a 13-hour conditioning could be used by companies who believe that the benefits outweigh the costs.