Use of raw seaweed for direct consumption and its extract in food production has increased
steadily throughout the world. However the ability of metal sorption in seaweed may result in
accumulation of some heavy metals which could be harmful to consumers. Tissue culture has
been considered as an alternative method to produce uncontaminated seaweeds as seedlings
for sustainable farming and raw materials for various industries including food production. In
this study, Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used
to determine the metal concentration in both field cultured and tissue cultured Kappaphycus
alvarezii and Gracilaria changii. Results indicated that concentration of heavy metals with great
scientific importance such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) from tissue cultured
samples has met the specific standard of health requirement from Joint FAO/WHO Expert
Committee on Food Additive (JECFA) and Health Council and National Medicine Academy of
France. Tissue cultured seaweeds also appeared to have lower As, Cd and Pb concentrations
as compared to field cultured seaweeds. This may due to the stable and clean environment
provided in tissue culture, contrasting with uncontrollable seasonal inflow of heavy metals in
the field.
Osmotic dehydration kinetics of Terung Asam (Solanum lasiocarpum Dunal) under different process temperature (35-55oC), sucrose concentration (40-60%) and immersion time (30-180 min) were studied. Results obtained indicated that water loss (WL) increased with sucrose concentration and temperature. Similarly, solid gain (SG) also increased with temperature elevation. The effective diffusivities calculated using Fick’s model were in the range of 7.7678 x 10-10 to 11.6519 x 10-10 m2s-1 for WL and 3.5462 x 10-10 to 8.1056 x 10-10 m2s-1 for SG. Meanwhile, the activation energy for moisture diffusion varied from 4.900 to 7.423 kJmol-1 and for solid diffusion from 10.440 to 14.323 kJmol-1.
The profile of total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN), pH, biogenic amines were studied in Indian mackerel packed under different levels of CO2. Gutted and beheaded Indian mackerel was stored in air, vacuum packaging (VP), 30% CO2/65% N2/5% O2 (M30C), 60% CO2/35%N2/5%O2 (M60C), 80% CO2/15%N2/5% O2 (M80C) and 100% CO2 (M100C) at 5°C for 12 days. The application of VP and MAP was effective in retarding the formation of TVBN, total biogenic amines and improve the shelf life of Indian mackerel. Cadaverine obtained the best correlation with storage time when compared with other biogenic amines. Cadaverine or cadaverine + putrescine can serve as a reliable objective freshness indicator of fish stored in different atmospheres. Among the commonly used freshness indices, TVBN was the best quality indicator correlated with histamine. VP and MAP conditions influenced the performance of quality indicators. pH was a good quality indicator of spoilage in air-stored fish except for VP and MAP packed fish. Lower value of TVBN (30 mg/100g) was suggested as an upper limit for this species of fish under MAP condition based on APC and sensory result.
Biological amines are nitrogenous compounds that occur naturally in wide variety of food. Histamine, putrescine, cadavarine, tyramine, spermine, spermidine, tryptamine and β-phenylethylamine are the biogenic amines that are normally present in foods. Although the biogenic amines play some important physiological functions but high level of amines can cause toxicological effects. High amount of amines can be produced by bacteria during amino acids decarboxylation and have been identified as one of the important agent causing seafood intoxication. Temperature is the major factor for controlling the biogenic amines formation in food. The effects of other alternatives are also discussed including salting, packaging, irradiation, high pressure processing and the use of starter culture. A variety of techniques can be combined together to control the microbial growth and enzyme activity during processing and storage for better shelf life extension and food safety.
Evaluation on the physicochemical and sensory properties of wheat flour doughnuts substituted with banana flour (BF) was investigated. Wheat flour was substituted with green banana (Musa paradisiaca var. Awak) flour at 0% (control), 10%, 20% and 30% levels in yeast-raised doughnut prepared by the straight dough method. Chemical (moisture, fat, protein, ash, carbohydrate, crude fibre, total dietary fibre and caloric content), physical (volume, specific volume and colour) and sensory evaluation were conducted on all samples. Chemical analyses result indicated a higher percentage of total dietary fibre and caloric content in doughnut substituted with BF than the control. Colour evaluation showed that the dough, crust and crumb of doughnut with BF ranged from 68.97 ± 0.59 – 84.78 ± 0.16 (red – yellow quadrant). The change from light to darker colour correlated with the amount of BF added. Results also showed that the volume and specific volume was significantly affected (p < 0.05) by levels of BF substituted. Doughnut substituted with 20% BF showed the highest score in overall acceptability (6.71 ± 1.40).
The present study was aimed at assessing the effect of solvents on the yield and the color properties of amaranth extract. Two species of amaranth namely Amaranthus gangeticus and Amaranthus blitum were extracted with water, methanol and ethanol. Seven parameters like betacyanin content, total soluble solids, lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*), hue angle (h*) and chroma (c*) were analyzed to assess extraction efficiency. Correlation analysis was carried out to assess the linear association among the analytical variables. Principal component analysis was used to establish the relationships between the different analytical variables and to detect the most important factors of variability. Among the two varieties, Amaranthus gangeticus extract contained about two and half time more betacyanin with half of total soluble solids compared to Amaranthus blitum. Water is the best as solvent for extracting betacyanin from Amaranthus gangeticus and ethanol in case of Amaranthus blitum. Among the analytical parameters, a* and c* were perfectly correlated. Three principal components were found among the seven analytical variables accounting 88% of total variability. The first principal components mostly reflected the redness (a*), whereas the second principal components reflected the betacyanin content, total soluble solids and lightness (L* value).
Street-vended beverages are commonly prepared by mechanical extraction of the pulp, usually
unpasteurised and requires multiple handling steps. Foodborne pathogens transmitted via skin of
street vendors or via faecal-oral route may contaminate the preparation surfaces and beverages.
The aim of this study is to identify Escherichia spp. strains of street-vended beverages and their
associated preparation surfaces using 16s rRNA analysis. The hygienic practice of vendors was represented by Staphylococcus spp. analysis and Staphylococcus aureus is not detected in beverages and associated preparation surfaces. A total of 80 samples (18 beverages, 15 swab
samples and 47 direct film samples) were collected followed by enumeration of microbial load.
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification and 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA)
sequencing were carried out. Results of 16S rRNA sequence analysis indicated that three gram-negative isolates were identified as Escherichia coli RM9387 (Accession no. CP009104.1),
Escherichia coli c164 (Accession no. JQ781646.1) and Escherichia fergusonii E10 (Accession no. KJ626264.1) with similarity value of 99% respectively.
The effects of inlet temperatures of 140, 160, 180, 200 and 220ºC and maltodextrin (DE10-12) concentrations at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% (w/v) on the total phenolic content (TPC) and colour profile of spray dried Sapodilla powders were studied. The colour profiles and TPC of the sapodilla powder produced were measured using a Hunter Laboratory Calorimeter (L*, a* and b*) and Folin-Ciocalteu method, respectively. TPC of powders were significantly affected by the inlet temperature. However, an increase in the concentration of maltodextrin from 20 to 50% (w/v) did not significantly affect the adjusted TPC. A slight decreased in adjusted TPC when maltodextrin concentration increased from 10 to 20% (w/v). An increase in drying temperature did not significantly affect the a* (greenness to redness) and b* (blueness to yellowness) values. Spray dried Sapodilla powder slightly lost its L* (lightness) when inlet temperature increased from 200 to 220ºC. Higher concentrations of maltodextrin resulted in lower a* and b* values. L* increased significantly when the addition of maltodextrion increased from 10 to 20% (w/v). Spray dried Sapodilla powder added with 20 or 30% (w/v) maltodextrin and processed at 200ºC inlet temperature shows acceptable colour and TPC.
Honey is usually subjected to filtration and heating for bottling before commercialization. However, there is no standard procedure available for thermal treatment on honey. Honey is thermally heated at various temperature and duration based on individual experience to prolong the shelf life of honey in the market. The heating methods might decrease the biochemical components such as nutrients, enzymatic activities and vitamins to certain extent. In addition to water reduction, thermal treatment on sugar rich honey usually accompanied by the formation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). In the present study, the biochemical components in three commonly consumed honey in Malaysia, namely tualang, gelam and acacia honey were investigated before and after thermal treatment at 90oC for 30 min. The short period of heating time was found to degrade nutrients, enzymatic activities and water soluble vitamins in honey. The degradation of protein and enzyme via proteolytic digestion had attributed to the increase of free amino acids in honey. Based on the multivariate analysis, the most thermally affected biochemical components are crude fat, panthotenic acid (Vitamin B5) and diastase activity which explain for 86.4% of the total variance. The kinetic studies on the HMF formation revealed that the honey samples followed zero order kinetic model for the first 60 min of heating at 90oC. The findings indicate that the temperature and duration of heating during honey processing is essential to be investigated according to the honey origin. The initial biochemical composition of honey would affect the kinetic profile of HMF formation.
The own price, income and price of a substitute are the determinants of demand in the classical theory of consumer behavior. We used the theory to analyze the demand for local rice in Malaysia by using time series variables. We examined whether there is a long run relationship among the variables by using the unit root and cointegration tests. We then conducted the Granger causality, variance decomposition and impulse response function tests to examine their directions of causality as well as short term dynamics. The results show that there is a long run relationship among the variables and a unidirectional causality from price and income to demand. There are also lagged and short term dynamics among the variables.
Meat adulteration has been a significant issue in today’s food industry as it intertwine with religious, social and economic values. PCR based techniques for the detection of meat species in a meat admixture are primarily used by the industry as a reliable approach due to its sensitivity and reliability. This paper describes the design and verification of real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based assay for the detection of meat from various nontarget species by using species specific oligonucleotides. Five sets of species-specific primers have been developed to target small regions (≤ 150 bp) of the mitochondrial D-loop. The specificity, sensitivity and reliability of each assay have been verified by using SYBR Green based RT-PCR. By using a cut-off CT of 30 cycles, all assays show sensitivity down to 0.05% of the DNA spike level. When applied to DNA templates from raw meat admixtures, assays were able to detect the target species up to a level of 0.1%. Hence, this verify the potential applicability of these assays in the meat industry.
This study was carried out to improve the nutritional value of goat’s milk dadih by the addition of tropical-fruit purees, namely, jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus, Lam.), pineapple (Ananas comosus) and papaya (Carica papaya). Dadih with added fruits were compared with the control (without fruit puree) for physical, chemical and sensory attributes. The texture properties of the tropical- fruit dadih were significantly different (p< 0.05) from the control. Control dadih showed highest values for lightness and hue (p< 0.05) as compared to tropical- fruit dadih. The addition of tropical- fruit purees significantly increased (p< 0.05) the moisture, protein, ash and vitamin C contents of the fruit added dadih. There were no significant differences (p> 0.05) in the fat, carbohydrate, energy and total soluble solid contents. Sensory evaluations using a hedonic test showed that all dadih were acceptable. Overall, syneresis of the dadih increased with decreasing pH throughout storage at 4°C.
Fried and baked banana-based snacks are popular in South East Asia and banana chip is popular in
other countries, such as India, Indonesia, China, African countries, etc; these snacks may contain acrylamide in concentration which may be of concern due to its toxicity. This study was carried out to determine acrylamide concentration in popular banana based snacks in Malaysia using a modified method of gas chromatographymass spectrometry. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation of the modified method are 5 and 15 μg/kg, respectively. Acrylamide concentration of five types of Malaysian popular fried and baked banana based snacks from different local markets ranged from 74.0 to 7468.8 μg/ kg for banana fritter (pisang goreng), 28.9 to 243.7μg/kg for banana chips (kerepek pisang), 160.7 to 500.4 μg/kg for sweet banana chips (kerepek pisang manis), not detected to 154.4 μg/kg for banana cake (kek pisang) and 31.7 to 609.1 μg/kg for banana balls (cekodok pisang). Analysis of variance showed a significant difference (P
Menu labeling is an attempt to educate consumers about the nutrition value of the foods. The importance of using menu labeling has been highlighted in many studies in the past. Although public health programs are educating public on obesity but still this phenomenon is a serious problem in Malaysia. This study identified factors that influence intention to use menu labeling among fast food consumers in Malaysia. The research was conducted among 395 adults in Klang Valley. Respondents completed a self-administrative questionnaire which was adapted from previous studies. Results revealed that attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control had statistically significant positive association with intention and each was significant predictors of intention to use menu labeling and together explained 41% of its variance. The most effective factor was attitude, followed by subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. The outcomes of this study suggested that nutritional knowledge of consumers does not have effect on consumer’s intention to use menu labeling; therefore nutritional knowledge of fast food consumers must be improved. Fast food restaurants have to put more effort on encouraging customers to use menu labeling by making the label more accessible and in a user friendly format.
Herbal tea is widely consumed around the world because people believed that it contained high amount of antioxidant. However, usage of different maturity of the plants as raw materials could affect the antioxidant capacities in herbal tea. Hence, this paper reports the antioxidant activity of herbal tea prepared from Cosmos caudatus at different maturity namely young, mature and old leaves. The analyses carried out were total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and DPPH (2-2-diphenyl- 1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assays. Based on the results obtained, herbal tea prepared from young leaves had significantly strong (p
Salmonella has caused foodborne illnesses globally and it has been a rising threat on fresh produce. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and concentration of Salmonella spp., Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Typhimurium in freshly prepared fruit juice sold at hawker stalls. Analysis was conducted by employing most probable number-polymerase chain reaction (MPN-PCR). A total of 50 freshly prepared fruit juices were examined and the prevalence of Salmonella spp., Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Typhimurium in the fruit juices were 34%, 20% and 10%, respectively, with an estimated microbial load varying from 0 to 42 MPN/g. Of the five different fruits, carrot juice had the highest prevalence of Salmonella spp. (60%) and Salmonella Typhi (40%). However, Salmonella Typhimurium was detected in apple (30%), orange (10%) and starfruit juice (10%). Factors contributing to the presence of Salmonella were cross-contamination and poor sanitation practice. Besides, negligence on temperature and storage time also led to the growth of Salmonella. Proper monitoring and risk assessment are needed in order to establish control measures to ensure the quality and safety of fruit juices in Malaysia.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are perishable commodities which play vital roles in humans’ diet and health. Unfortunately, the losses along the supply chain of fresh fruits and vegetables are high especially due to the decay caused by pathogens during poor postharvest handling. During postharvest, attempts have been made to combat microbial decay in fresh horticultural industry by avoiding the use of fungicides which threaten consumers’ health. Among those attempts, essential oils extracted from plants have been used as antimicrobial in postharvest and proven to be efficient in prolonging shelf life of fruits and vegetables without affecting their sensory properties. The glandular trichomes of plants are the important site for biosynthesis of essential oils and they act as defence system against herbivores and pathogens. Since essential oils are volatile aromatic compounds, the easily vaporised property has been exploited in postharvest application as fumigants. In addition, essential oils have also been incorporated into chitosan and alginate-based materials as edible coatings. Research in the use of essential oils as antimicrobial in Malaysia is however still lacking.
Dabai or Canarium odontophyllum Miq., from the family Burseraceae, is an important indigenous fruit to Borneo Island. However, it is a highly perishable fruit with short shelf life. Postharvest technology such as modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) can be used to maintain highly perishable fresh fruit quality and increase its shelf life. There is not much work has been carried out to study effect of MAP on dabai fruit. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of four different types packaging methods on the postharvest quality of dabai fruits. Total of 240 fruit were used for each replication and the experiment was repeated thrice. Fruit were divided equally into four groups with each group packed in low-density polyethylene plastic bag, low-density polyethylene plastic bags lined with tissue paper, low-density polyethylene plastic bag with vacuumed and control (unwrapped). The fruit were then stored in a cold room of 10°C for 8 days. The fruits were analyzed for peel and flesh colour (L*, C* and hue angle), CO2 and C2H4 production, weight loss, firmness, soluble solids concentration (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and pH at every two days interval. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and means was separated using Duncan’s multiple range tests. The use of MAP retained peel colour (L*, C* and hue angle values), flesh colour (L*values), SSC and TA of dabai fruit. The CO2 production in MAP fruit was significant lower than control. Although vacuum packed showed lowest weight loss, flesh discolouration, soggy texture and foul sour odour developed during 8 days of storage. Neither packing dabai fruit in low-density polyethylene plastic bag nor bag lined with tissue paper retained better fruit quality. Thus, it is recommended packing dabai fruit in low-density polyethylene plastic bag is sufficient to retain fruit quality during 8 days of storage at 10oC.
Although Malaysia is one of the important pineapple fruit producing and exporting country, the production of MD-2 pineapple fruit only started in 2009. Pineapple fruit has been harvested at different ripening stages for different markets. The information on Malaysian grown MD-2 pineapple fruit quality is lacking. Therefore this work was carried out with the aim to determine physicochemical quality, antioxidant compounds and activity of MD-2 pineapple fruit at five ripening stages. Ripening stage affected physicochemical quality of MD-2 pineapple fruit. Soluble solids concentration of MD-2 pineapple fruit increased from 15.41 to 18.02% SSC when fruit ripened from stage 1 to 4 and no significant difference was found in fruit between stage 4 and 5. The ascorbic acid content decreased while total carotenoids content increased as ripening stage advanced. The total phenolic content of both 80% methanol and water extraction solvents increased significantly as fruit ripened from stage 1 to 3 and reduced as fruit ripened to stage 5. The antioxidant activity of MD-2 pineapple fruit as assayed using DPPH, FRAP and ABTS showed similar trend as total phenolic content. These results suggest that ripening stage affect MD-2 pineapple fruit quality and nutritional values.