Industrial biotechnology is a continuously expanding field focused on the application of microorganisms to produce chemicals using renewable sources as substrates. Currently, an increasing interest in new versatile processes, able to utilize a variety of substrates to obtain diverse products, can be observed. A robust microbial strain is critical in the creation of such processes. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are used to produce a wide variety of chemicals with high commercial interest. Lactic acid (LA) is the most predominant industrial product obtained from LAB fermentations, and its production is forecasted to rise as the result of the increasing demand of polylactic acid. Hence, the creation of new ways to revalorize LA production processes is of high interest and could further enhance its economic value. Therefore, this review explores some co-products of LA fermentations, derived from LAB, with special focus on bacteriocins, lipoteichoic acid, and probiotics. Finally, a multi-product process involving LA and the other compounds of interest is proposed.

The food and beverage market has become broader due to globalization and consumer claims. Under the umbrella of consumer demands, legislation, nutritional status, and sustainability, the importance of food and beverage safety must be decisive. A significant sector of food production is related to ensuring fruit and vegetable conservation and utilization through fermentation. In this respect, in this review, we critically analyzed the scientific literature regarding the presence of chemical, microbiological and physical hazards in fruit-based fermented beverages. Furthermore, the potential formation of toxic compounds during processing is also discussed. In managing the risks, biological, physical, and chemical techniques can reduce or eliminate any contaminant from fruit-based fermented beverages. Some of these techniques belong to the technological flow of obtaining the beverages (i.e., mycotoxins bound by microorganisms used in fermentation) or are explicitly applied for a specific risk reduction (i.e., mycotoxin oxidation by ozone). Providing manufacturers with information on potential hazards that could jeopardize the safety of fermented fruit-based drinks and strategies to lower or eliminate these hazards is of paramount importance.

The growing demand for fruit and vegetable juice blends, with improved nutritional and sensory attributes, has prompted the industrial adoption of nonthermal processing technologies, including UV light. Limited studies have explored conditions to overcome the well-known limitations of UV when treating liquid foods with a high content of particles that absorb or scatter UV light. This study addressed the effectiveness of the application of UV light, using a commercial processing unit, to inactivate pathogenic Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica (hereafter Salmonella), and Listeria monocytogenes, as well as spoilage microorganisms, in colored and turbid juices and beverages. The inactivation of cocktails of five strains (or serotypes) of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and L. monocytogenes isolated from fruit- and vegetable-derived products linked to outbreaks was determined in seven colored and turbid cold-pressed juices and beverages. Juices and beverages were UV treated at a constant flow...

Consumption of spicy foods and hot sauces is currently a popular trend worldwide. Shelf-stable acidified sauces are commonly hot-filled to ensure commercial sterility, but cold-fill-hold p... HIGHLIGHTS pH and acidifier influence safety and stability of cold-filled acidified sauces. Safe and stable cold-filled sauces were obtained at pH 3.2 with acetic acid. Results help establish scien...

Introduction. The consumption of fruits and vegetables inversely correlates with the incidence of degenerative diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer, and cataracts associated with aging, due to the action of bioactive compounds including vitamin C, polyphenols, and carotenoids. Objective. To evaluate the nutritional profile of eleven fruits grown in Costa Rica. Materials and methods. This study was carried out at the National Center for Food Science and Technology of the Universidad de Costa Rica, in 2010. The content of total dietary fiber, total polyphenols, reported as gallic acid equivalents (GAE), total carotenoids expressed as µg β-carotene, and the hydrophilic capacity for oxygen radical absorbance (H-ORACFL) of eleven traditional or underutilized fruits were determined: banana (Musa AAA subgroup Cavendish cv. ‘Grand Naine’), high altitude tropical blackberry (Rubus adenotrichos cv. ‘wine with red thorns’), melon (Cucumis melo cv. ‘Veracruz’), fig (Ficus carica cv. ‘Brown-Turkey’), mango (Mangifera indica cv. ‘Tommy Atkins’), papaya (Carica papaya hybrid ‘Pococí’), pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes HBK), pineapple (Ananas comosus cv hybrid MD-2 ‘Gold’), quince (Cydonia oblonga), jocote (Spondias purpurea cv. Tronador), and red tree tomato (Solanum betaceum). The fruits were collected in different locations in San Jose, Cartago, Alajuela, Guanacaste and Limon. Results. Six of the fruits studied presented dietary fiber contents between 4.2 and 6.6 g 100 g-1. The highland tropical blackberry presented the highest content of total phenolic compounds (538 ± 97 mg GAE 100 g-1) and the highest antioxidant activity (62.1 ± 4.0 μmol Trolox equivalents g-1) and the cooked pejibaye presented the highest content of carotenoids (72 ± 4 µg β-caroteno g-¹). Conclusion. The values of dietary fiber and bioactive compounds in the eleven fruits grown in Costa Rica represent valuable nutritional characteristics given the associated health benefits supported by clinical and epidemiological studies.