Brown rice (BR) is unpolished rice containing many bioactive compounds in addition to the basic nutrients of the rice grain. Herein, BR was germinated for up to 48 h to prepare germinated brown rice (GBR). The physiological and chemical changes in the GBR during germination were analyzed. GBR samples germinated for 48 h were in the radicle-emergence stage, but root formation was not observed. The change in the GBR metabolite profile during germination was analyzed to determine the effect of germination on the chemical profiles of the GBR samples. Twenty-five metabolites including acidic compounds, amino acids, sugars, lipid metabolites, and secondary metabolites were identified as the components that contributed to the variations in the GBR groups germinated for different time periods. Among the metabolites, the carbohydrates associated with energy production and lipid metabolites changed significantly. Based on the identified metabolites, a metabolomic pathway was proposed. Carbohydrate metabolism, citric acid cycle, and lipid metabolism were the main processes that were affected during germination. Although further studies on the relationship between the metabolite profile and nutritional quality of the GBR are needed, these results are useful for understanding the effect of germination on the physiological and chemical changes in BR.

The complexity of contemporary supply chains and the rise in foodborne illness cases have made ensuring food safety and traceability a top responsibility on a worldwide scale. Traditional traceability systems are prone to data tampering, fragmentation, and limited compatibility. Public blockchains have scalability, latency, and privacy problems that limit their use in real-time food safety systems, despite the fact that blockchain provides a secure data structure. Using Hyperledger Fabric, GS1 EPCIS standards, and Internet of Things-enabled environmental sensors, this paper suggests a private blockchain-based food safety monitoring system. To guarantee fault-tolerant, high-throughput processing in a permissioned blockchain setting, a Raft consensus mechanism was used. Hyperledger Caliper was used to benchmark the system once it was deployed with four nodes. According to experimental data, transaction throughput peaked at 230.2 TPS and averaged 207.4 ± 10.2 TPS. As the network grew from two to four nodes, latency increased somewhat from 259.3 ± 9.5 ms to 278.7 ± 9.1 ms, while block finalization time stayed below 3.184 ± 0.113 s. Over 114,925 documented transactions, data integrity was confirmed to be flawless. These results demonstrate that private blockchain technology can provide effective, scalable, and impenetrable food traceability, boosting openness and confidence throughout food networks.

Fresh-cut apples are commonly known as minimally processed agricultural products because of their convenience and ease of consumption. However, during storage, the quality of the apple rapidly changes after cutting due to enzymatic and non-enzymatic processes. This study aimed to monitor the quality changes and volatile compounds in fresh-cut apples at various temperatures using an electronic nose. The quality relationships of the product during distribution and storage using cold chain systems were also evaluated. The results showed that the total viable count initially differed between fresh-cut apples (2.59 Log CFU/g) and mixed fruits (apple ‘Hongro’, kumquat, and cherry tomatoes) (3.2 Log CFU/g) during the storage period (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the physicochemical properties except for the firmness, color values, browning index, whiteness index, and titratable acidity. The volatile compounds found in fresh-cut apples indicating apple fruit aroma were propyl propanoate and ethyl isovalerate, hexanol (freshness), and methanethiol and ethyl acetate (unpleasant off-odor), and these compounds could be used as markers for the deterioration process in fresh-cut apples during storage. Methanethiol and ethyl acetate were correlated with microbial growth (Pearson correlation of 0.81–0.98 for total viable microbe and 0.49–0.90 for coliform count). The limonene level was higher in the mixed fruits than in other treatments and gradually increased during storage due to the kumquat.

This study investigated the effects of varying ice pack volume on temperature control and the quality of pork in a delivery box in a 30 °C environment for 72 h. Temperature fluctuations, microbial growth, pH, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and metabolic alterations were analyzed with the use of 500, 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000 g of ice. Increasing the ice volume delayed temperature rises and phase transitions, prolonging cooling, and reduced microbial proliferation, with 1,500 g of ice maintaining microbiological safety for 48 h. VBN levels increased with decreasing ice volume after 48 h, indicating protein degradation, while TBARS values remained stable because of the low fat content of the meat. Metabolic profiling revealed time-dependent changes, with higher ice volumes suppressing the generation of spoilage-related compounds such as p-cresol and ethyl acetate. Thus, ice volume optimization is crucial for meat freshness and effective cold-chain delivery.

Boiling heat transfer, utilizing latent heat during phase change, has widely been used due to its high thermal efficiency and plays an important role in existing and next-generation cooling technologies. The most critical parameter in boiling heat transfer is critical heat flux (CHF), which represents the maximum heat flux a heated surface can sustain during boiling. CHF is primarily influenced by the wicking performance, which governs liquid supply to the surface. This study experimentally and numerically analyzed the wicking performance of micropillar structures at various temperatures (20–95 °C) using distilled water as the working fluid to provide fundamental data for CHF prediction. Infrared (IR) visualization was used to extract the wicking coefficient, and the experimental data were compared with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for validation. At room temperature (20 °C), the wicking coefficient increased with larger pillar diameters (D) and smaller gaps (G). Specifically, the highest roughness factor sample (D04G10, r = 2.51) exhibited a 117% higher wicking coefficient than the lowest roughness factor sample (D04G20, r = 1.51), attributed to enhanced capillary pressure and improved liquid supply. Additionally, for the same surface roughness factor, the wicking coefficient increased with temperature, showing a 49% rise at 95 °C compared to 20 °C due to reduced viscous resistance. CFD simulations showed strong agreement with experiments, with error within ±10%. These results confirm that the proposed numerical methodology is a reliable tool for predicting wicking performance near boiling temperatures.

식품 유통 분야에서 포장은 제품의 신선도 유지와 안전성 확보를 위한 핵심적인 역할을 수행하며, 이는 소비자들의 건강과 만족도에 직접적인 영향을 미치는 중요한 과정이다(Kim, 2017). 특히, 축산물은 포장 내 산소의 유무, 분쇄 여부, 시료의 중량, 유통 온도 등 여러 조건에 의해 품질 변화가 큰 식품이기 때문에 포장 방법에 따른 품질 분석 연구는 소비자들의 식품에 대한 신뢰도를 높이는 데 중요한 역할을 한다(Kim, 2018). 따라서, 축산물 및 식육가공품의 더 나은 식품 유통 시스템을 구축하기 위해서는 포장 방법에 따른 품질 변화에 대한 체계적이고 깊이 있는 연구가 필수적이다.