Consumers are looking for safer and more natural food options that are produced through natural methods without using synthetic preservatives. They also desire extended shelf life for their food products. Several medicinal and aromatic plants species combine food, spice, aromatic, and medicinal recognized attributes. The essential oils from these plants contain a unique mixture of compounds specific to each pla...
Meat tenderness is important for assessing quality and can be defined as the ease to chew meat, depending on several factors. The aim of this study was to establish a tenderness screening index. Moreover, we also wanted to study the socio-demographic characteristics of consumers and understand their preferences and meat consumption habits. 192 consumers were called to perform a sensory analysis to evaluate beef...
A oxidação das gorduras limita a validade de alimentos congelados. O processo de congelação por vidragem é normalmente utilizado para conservar peixe uma vez que reduz a ocorrência de ranço por oxidação. Estudaram-se dois processos de conservação de carne (secretos) de porco preto: congelação por criogenia (controlo) e congelação por criogenia seguida de vidragem. Realizaram-se as seguintes análises: microbioló...
A embalagem dos produtos alimentares é essencial para a sua preservação, protecção da influência de factores externos (físicos, químicos, microbiológicos), responsáveis pela qualidade, segurança e higiene dos alimentos. Ao longo dos últimos anos o uso de películas e embalagens biodegradáveis e recicláveis tem vindo a ser estudado devido às suas características não tóxicas e respeito pelo ambiente. Desta forma, ...
Kombucha is a unique fermented beverage made from a blend of brewed tea, typically black or green, sugar, and a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY). This concoction undergoes a fermentation process, during which the SCOBY consumes the sugar and transforms the tea into a tangy, slightly effervescent, and lightly carbonated beverage. The result is a drink with a complex tangy, slightly effervescent, a...
A oxidação das gorduras limita a validade de ali- mentos congelados. O processo de congelação por vidragem é normalmente utilizado para conservar peixe uma vez que reduz a ocorrência de ranço por oxidação. Estudaram-se dois processos de conservação de carne (secretos) de porco preto: congelação por criogenia (controlo) e congelação por criogenia seguida de vidragem. Realizaram-se as seguintes análises: microbio...
Cachena’ is one of the world’s smallest bovine breeds. Extremely rustic and wild, they are extensively reared, and fed with natural pastures in South Alentejo, a very poor agricultural region of Portugal, and is considered as a part of genetic heritage of Portugal. ‘Cachena’s meat is tender, juicy, low-fat, and highly appreciated due to the association of animal, terroir and producer, balanced by the ecosystem’...
ABSTRACT - Paio do Alentejo (PA) is one of the most popular dry-fermented sausages in Portugal. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of a high concentration of starter cultures with an extended fermentation step on the safety and quality of PA. Physicochemical parameters, microbiological parameters, biogenic amines, colour, texture profile, and sensory attributes were assessed. Five starters w...
Paio do Alentejo (PA) is one of the most popular dry-fermented sausages in Portugal. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of a high concentration of starter cultures with an extended fermentation step on the safety and quality of PA. Physicochemical parameters, microbiological parameters, biogenic amines, colour, texture profile, and sensory attributes were assessed. Five starters were selecte...
Dry-cured sausages are traditional in Mediterranean countries, and Paio do Alentejo (PA) is one of the most popular in South Portugal. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of combined starters on the safety and quality of PA preserving its sensory quality. Physicochemical parameters, namely pH and water activity (aW), microbiological parameters, biogenic amines, color, texture, and sensory att...