In this study, the capability of a natural surfactant, lecithin, and the influence of ionic strength, pH, and temperature on some properties of a food grade microemulsion system were evaluated. For this purpose, the pseudoternary phase diagrams of canola oil/lecithin:n-propanol/water microemulsions in the presence of different salts (NaCl and CaCl2), ionic strengths, pHs, and temperatures were constructed. Our findings showed that the presence of salts slightly increased the W/O areas on the phase diagrams, whereas pH variation was not effective on the microemulsion formation. The expansion of microemulsion areas with temperature indicated the greater triglycerides solubilization capacity of lecithin based microemulsions at higher temperatures. These findings revealed the efficiency of lecithin-based microemulsion system for solubilization of triglycerides which can potentially be used for extraction of edible vegetable oils particularly canola oil.

The water activity, pH and other compositional parameters such as the moisture, fat and NaCl contents of various food emulsions were determined: butters, margarine (W/0) and mayonnaises (O/W). Water activity was determined by a gravimetric method (PEC procedure) and an instrumental method (dew-point hygrometer). The mean a(w) values obtained for the samples assayed were 0.904 +/- 0.050 (butters), 0.914 +/- 0.028 (margarines) and 0.947 +/- 0.013 (mayonnaises). The a(w) of the butter and margarine samples could be predicted with an error less than 0.02 units from the NaCl content of their aqueous phase (m) by using the following simple linear regression equation: a(w) = 0.954 - 0.036m. This equation could not be used to predict the a(w) of the mayonnaises, which, however, were obtained by using the Chen equation for mixtures of solutes.

Electrolyzed water (EW) is gaining popularity as a sanitizer in the food industries of many countries. By electrolysis, a dilute sodium chloride solution dissociates into acidic electrolyzed water (AEW), which has a pH of 2 to 3, an oxidationreduction potential of >1,100 mV, and an active chlorine content of 10 to 90 ppm, and basic electrolyzed water (BEW), which has a pH of 10 to 13 and an oxidation-reduction potential of -800 to -900 mV. Vegetative cells of various bacteria in suspension were generally reduced by >6.0 log CFU/ml when AEW was used. However, AEW is a less effective bactericide on utensils, surfaces, and food products because of factors such as surface type and the presence of organic matter. Reductions of bacteria on surfaces and utensils or vegetables and fruits mainly ranged from about 2.0 to 6.0 or 1.0 to 3.5 orders of magnitude, respectively. Higher reductions were obtained for tomatoes. For chicken carcasses, pork, and fish, reductions ranged from about 0.8 to 3.0, 1.0 to 1.8, and 0.4 to 2.8 orders of magnitude, respectively. Considerable reductions were achieved with AEW on eggs. On some food commodities, treatment with BEW followed by AEW produced higher reductions than did treatment with AEW only. EW technology deserves consideration when discussing industrial sanitization of equipment and decontamination of food products. Nevertheless, decontamination treatments for food products always should be considered part of an integral food safety system. Such treatments cannot replace strict adherence to good manufacturing and hygiene practices.

Dispersions of commercial casein and whey protein and laboratory-prepared soybean protein were studied in mixed dispersants of water with various aliphatic alcohols, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol and 2-propanol. Supernatant and protein sediments were separated by centrifugation in two steps: 1800 rpm 10 min, followed by centrifugation of the supernatant at 50000 rpm for 60 min (125000xg). A gel-like protein sediment obtained at low alcohol concentration by high-g centrifugation increased in amounts as a function of the alcohol concentration until it progressively transformed, with higher alcohol concentrations, into an opaque flock (precipitate), sedimenting at 1800 rpm. It was concluded that the sediment obtained by ultracentrifugation was a protein of increased density which was produced by partial and progressive dehydration and alcohol binding. The conversion of the sediment into a flock or precipitate is discussed in terms of the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of the protein and of the polar-nonpolar character of the dispersant.

1. Growth and reproduction of Daphnia fed lake seston were measured in two categories of meso- to eutrophic lakes differing with respect to terrestrial organic matter influence (humic and clear water lakes). The content of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA), P and N, as well as the taxonomical composition of seston were analysed. 2. Seston HUFA and C : P ratios were similar between lake categories, whereas C : N ratios were lower in the clear water lakes in both spring and summer. Despite the similarity in HUFA and P content of seston, Daphnia growth rate, clutch size and the proportion of gravid females were, respectively, about 1.5, 3 and 6 times higher in the clear water lakes. 3. Differences in growth and reproduction were related to a combination of higher N content and good fatty acid quality of the seston in the clear water lakes. Relatively high biomass of edible algae, such as Rhodomonas sp. and Cryptomonas sp., in the clear water lakes, and differences in water pH likely contributed to the observed differences in Daphnia growth and reproduction between lake categories. Additionally, it is possible that Daphnia was energy limited in the humic lakes despite high particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations, as the contribution of non-algal and detrital C to the POC pool was high. 4. Our results suggest that dietary HUFA content has the potential to improve herbivore growth and reproduction if N and P are not limiting. N merits more attention in studies of zooplankton nutrition.

The partition coefficients (K ow) of benzoic acid and sorbic acid in systems of fish oil (sand eel)-water, fish oil-buffer solution, rape oil-water and olive oil-water were experimentally determined in a temperature range from 5 to 43°C and pH from 4.5 to 6.5°C. The dimerization of benzoic acid in fish oil-water system was observed at 25°C. Two modifications have been made to the Nordic Food Analysis Standard for the determination of sorbic acid by HPLC. The experimental results show that the K ow of benzoic acid and sorbic acid in fish oil-buffer system is ca. 100 times lower than that in fish oil-water system. The K ow values of benzoic acid and sorbic acid in fish oil and water system decrease with increasing system pH values. The partition coefficients of plant origin and fish origin oils are in the same order of magnitude even though their molecular structures are very different.

Electrolyzed oxidizing water (EOW) can be considered in the agrofood industry as a new antimicrobial agent with disinfectant, detoxifying, and shelf-life improvement properties. EOW is produced by electrolysis of water, with no added chemicals, except for sodium chloride. The antifungal and detoxifying mechanisms of EOW depend mainly on: pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), and available chlorine concentration (ACC). EOW offers many advantages over other conventional chemical methods, including less adverse chemical residues, safe-handling, secure, energy-saving, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly. As a result, EOW could be used for the development of safer and more socially acceptable methods for fungi decontamination and mycotoxin detoxification. This review contains an overview of EOW effectiveness to decontaminate non-toxigenic and mycotoxigenic fungi, its safety and efficacy for mycotoxin detoxification, the proposed mechanism of action of EOW on fungal cells, and the chemical mechanism of action of EOW on mycotoxins. Finally, conclusions and future research necessities are also outlined.