Influence of trehalose addition and storage conditions on the quality of strawberry cream filling

Abstract

Strawberry cream fillings are usually produced commercially by evaporation. This process can cause degradation of colour and loss of some aroma compounds in the final product. In the present study, freeze-drying was used as an alternative to evaporation and the quality of the products obtained by the two processes were compared. In addition, the influence of trehalose, used at concentrations of 3%, 5% and 10% as a partial replacement of sucrose, on the quality of strawberry cream filling stored at room temperature over a period of 6 months was investigated. The control sample was taken to be a strawberry cream filling prepared by evaporation and without the addition of trehalose. Both, colour and aroma of samples were significantly influenced by trehalose addition. The anthocyanin content of the cream fillings increased proportionally with trehalose addition, but this was not the case with fruity esters. Freeze-dried samples exhibited better colour and higher anthocyanin content, as well as higher content of fruity esters in comparison with the samples produced by evaporation. In addition, strawberry cream fillings were packed in air and nitrogen atmosphere, and stored for 5 months at room temperature. Trehalose addition and packaging atmosphere also influenced colour, aroma and texture.

Source: Science Direct

Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity

George A Bray, Samara Joy Nielsen and Barry M Popkin

Abstract

Obesity is a major epidemic, but its causes are still unclear. In this article, we investigate the relation between the intake of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and the development of obesity. We analyzed food consumption patterns by using US Department of Agriculture food consumption tables from 1967 to 2000. The consumption of HFCS increased > 1000% between 1970 and 1990, far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group. HFCS now represents > 40% of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole caloric sweetener in soft drinks in the United States. Our most conservative estimate of the consumption of HFCS indicates a daily average of 132 kcal for all Americans aged 2 y, and the top 20% of consumers of caloric sweeteners ingest 316 kcal from HFCS/d. The increased use of HFCS in the United States mirrors the rapid increase in obesity. The digestion, absorption, and metabolism of fructose differ from those of glucose. Hepatic metabolism of fructose favors de novo lipogenesis. In addition, unlike glucose, fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion or enhance leptin production. Because insulin and leptin act as key afferent signals in the regulation of food intake and body weight, this suggests that dietary fructose may contribute to increased energy intake and weight gain. Furthermore, calorically sweetened beverages may enhance caloric overconsumption. Thus, the increase in consumption of HFCS has a temporal relation to the epidemic of obesity, and the overconsumption of HFCS in calorically sweetened beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity.

From the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA (GAB), and the Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (SJN and BMP). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 79, No. 4, 537-543, April 2004 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

(Houston - April 15, 2008) - J. C. Spencer

Bisphenol-a has been detected in 93% of the human population over 6 years of age.  Bisphenol-a today may be as serious to our society as lead pipes were to the Roman Empire.  BPA has been used in plastics since the 1950s.  Laboratory studies have linked BPA with breast cancer, prostate cancer, early puberty in females and behavioral changes according to a study released April 15, 2008. 

Chronic Symptoms, Unproven Treatments Typify Mysterious Tick-Borne Illness

For an estimated 20,000 Americans each year, the symptoms above culminate in a diagnosis of Lyme disease -- an inflammatory bacterial illness transmitted by the bite of a deer tick.

Fortunately for the vast majority of Lyme disease sufferers, two to four weeks worth of antibiotic therapy is enough to spur a total recovery from the illness.

But a very small number of patients report a much more serious struggle with the illness.

Brooke Landau, a traffic reporter for the ABC News affiliate KGTV in San Diego, was one of these patients.

Scientists again prove that mother’s breast milk helps children for the next number of years, perhaps for life. Results of a study of 14,000 children causes doctors to scratch their heads. Glycomics, the study of sugars, holds the answer to why children who consume the sugars found in mother’s breast milk perform better. Here at The Endowment for Medical Research, we have learned, and have much supporting evidence, that indeed children make better grades for many years when they have these sugars. Adults who consume these sugars even in adult life perform better mentally. We have had two Alzheimer’s papers published from our Alzheimer’s Nutritional Pilot Surveys that showed very positive results. More research is needed and we are committed to helping improve brain function in children and adults without drugs or harmful side effects by using certain sugars found in nature.