Recyclability and Redesign Challenges in Multilayer Flexible Food Packaging-A Review.

Multilayer flexible food packaging is under pressure to redesign for recyclability. Most multilayer films are not sorted and recycled with the currently available infrastructure, which is based on mechanical recycling in most countries. Up to now, multilayer flexible food packaging was highly customizable. Diverse polymers and non-polymeric layers allowed a long product shelf-life and an optimized material efficiency. The need for more recyclable solutions asks for a reduction in the choice of material. Prospectively, there is a strong tendency that multilayer flexible barrier packaging should be based on polyolefins and a few recyclable barrier layers, such as aluminium oxide (AlOx) and silicon oxide (SiOx). The use of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) and metallization could be more restricted in the future, as popular Design for Recycling Guidelines have recently reduced the maximum tolerable content of barrier materials in polyolefin packaging. The substitution of non-recyclable flexible barrier packaging is challenging because only a limited number of barriers are available. In the worst case, the restriction on material choice could result in a higher environmental burden through a shortened food shelf-life and increased packaging weights.

Novel Biosensors for the Rapid Detection of Toxicants in Foods.

The modern environmental and food analysis requires sensitive, accurate, and rapid methods. The growing field of biosensors represents an answer to this demand. Unfortunately, most biosensor systems have been tested only on distilled water or buffered solutions, although applications to real samples are increasingly appearing in recent years. In this context, biosensors for potential food applications continue to show advances in areas such as genetic modification of enzymes and microorganisms, improvement of recognition element immobilization, and sensor interfaces. This chapter investigates the progress in the development of biosensors for the rapid detection of food toxicants for online applications. Recent progress in nanotechnology has produced affordable, mass-produced devices, and to integrate these into components and systems (including portable ones) for mass market applications for food toxicants monitoring. Sensing includes chemical and microbiological food toxicants, such as toxins, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, microorganisms, bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms, phenolic compounds, allergens, genetically modified foods, hormones, dioxins, etc. Therefore, the state of the art of recent advances and future targets in the development of biosensors for food monitoring is summarized as follows: biosensors for food analysis will be highly sensitive, selective, rapidly responding, real time, massively parallel, with no or minimum sample preparation, and platform suited to portable and handheld nanosensors for the rapid detection of food toxicants for online uses even by nonskilled personnel.

Hazard analysis approaches for certain small retail establishments and food donations: second scientific opinion.

In 2017, EFSA published a 'simplified' food safety management system (FSMS) for certain small retail establishments (butcher, grocer, baker, fish and ice cream shop) based on the application of prerequisite programme (PRP) criteria. The aim of this opinion was to develop similar FSMSs for other small retail enterprises including retail distribution centres, supermarkets, restaurants (including pubs and other catering activities) and food donation. The latter presents several novel food safety challenges because donated food may be nearing the end of its shelf-life and several actors are involved in the food donation chain, each reliant on each other to assure food safety. In this opinion, the simplified approach to food safety management is presented based on a fundamental understanding of processing stages and the activities contributing to increased occurrence of the hazards (biological, chemical (including allergens) or physical) that may occur. Control is achieved using PRP activities as previously described but with a modified 'temperature control' PRP and the addition of PRPs covering shelf-life control, handling returned foods, shelf-life evaluation for food donation, allocation of remaining shelf-life, and freezing food intended for donation. Examples of the simplified approach are presented for retail distribution centres, supermarkets, restaurants and food donation.

Aromatic Plants: Antioxidant Capacity and Polyphenol Characterisation.

The antioxidant properties and polyphenol content of some selected aromatic plants grown in Greece were studied. Plants were refluxed with 60% methanol after acid hydrolysis. The phenolic substances were quantified by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detector (HPLC-DAD). The antioxidant capacity of the extracts was determined with the Rancimat test using sunflower oil as substrate. Free radical scavenging activity was measured using the stable free radical 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Results were compared with standard butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and ascorbic acid. Total phenol concentration of the extracts was estimated with Folin-Ciocalteu reagent using gallic acid as standard. All plant extracts examined showed antioxidant capacity and contained phenolic compounds. Caffeic acid was detected in all the examined plant extracts. Ferulic acid was also detected in all the methanolic extracts, except from P. lanata, in rather high concentration. The amount of total phenolics varied slightly in plant materials and ranged from 8.2 mg to 31.6 mg of gallic acid/g dry sample. The highest amount was found in O. dictamnus, and the lowest in N. melissifolia.

Hazard analysis approaches for certain small retail establishments in view of the application of their food safety management systems.

Under current European hygiene legislation, food businesses are obliged to develop and implement food safety management systems (FSMS) including prerequisite programme (PRP) activities and hazard analysis and critical control point principles. This requirement is especially challenging for small food retail establishments, where a lack of expertise and other resources may limit the development and implementation of effective FSMS. In this opinion, a simplified approach to food safety management is developed and presented based on a fundamental understanding of processing stages (flow diagram) and the activities contributing to increased occurrence of the hazards (biological, chemical (including allergens) or physical) that may occur. The need to understand and apply hazard or risk ranking within the hazard analysis is removed and control is achieved using PRP activities as recently described in the European Commission Notice 2016/C278, but with the addition of a PRP activity covering 'product information and customer awareness'. Where required, critical limits, monitoring and record keeping are also included. Examples of the simplified approach are presented for five types of retail establishments: butcher, grocery, bakery, fish and ice cream shop.

Quality and Safety Aspects of Cereals (Wheat) and Their Products.

Cereals and, most specifically, wheat are described in this chapter highlighting on their safety and quality aspects. Moreover, wheat quality aspects are adequately addressed since they are used to characterize dough properties and baking quality. Determination of dough properties is also mentioned and pasta quality is also described in this chapter. Chemometrics-multivariate analysis is one of the analyses carried out. Regarding production weighing/mixing of flours, kneading, extruded wheat flours, and sodium chloride are important processing steps/raw materials used in the manufacturing of pastry products. Staling of cereal-based products is also taken into account. Finally, safety aspects of cereal-based products are well documented with special emphasis on mycotoxins, acrylamide, and near infrared methodology.

Quality determination of wheat: genetic determination, biochemical markers, seed storage proteins - bread and durum wheat germplasm.

BACKGROUND: Quality is an important determinant in wheat breeding since its genetic background is less affected by the environment and sufficiently influences the commercial value of a cultivar. Thus, if a certain cultivar possesses some specific allele combination at crucial loci, then it appears quite possible to exhibit valuable qualitative traits in terms of end-product quality. This is also true if either durum or bread wheat germplasm is involved. RESULTS: Biochemical investigation of the wheat germplasm gives important information on the allele constitution of a cultivar, with reference to either the quality or its resistance to stressing factors. The last is crucial since it affects the safe use of this cultivar. The Hellenic wheat germplasm possesses valuable allele combination or chromosome constitution (presence of the 1BL.1RS translocation, which is verified by the presence of a certain allele) with reference to quality. Genotypes having the aforementioned translocation exhibit excellent resistance to various stressing factors, but have a serious handicap, i.e. inferior bread-making quality. This negative effect on quality, although influenced by the genotype, can be overcome if some other alleles are present in a cultivar. CONCLUSION: The Hellenic cultivar Acheron is a good example since, despite the presence of the translocation, it also has very good bread-making quality and high yielding ability. It must be also mentioned that most of the Hellenic durum germplasm carries the gene locus Gli-B1 component, similar to γ45, which can be considered as an index of good end-product quality.