The increase in vegetable consumption has underlined the importance of minimizing the risks associated with microbiological contamination of fresh produce. The critical stage of the vegetable washing process has proven to be a key point for cross-contamination and the persistence of pathogens. In this context, the agri-food industry has widely adopted the use of disinfectants to reduce the bacterial load in the wash water. Therefore, we conducted laboratory-scale experiments in order to demonstrate the antimicrobial activity of disinfectants used in the wash tank of agro-food industries. Different wash water matrices of shredded lettuce, shredded cabbage, diced onion, and baby spinach were treated with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), chlorine dioxide (ClO₂), and per-oxyacetic acid (PAA) at recommended concentrations. To simulate the presence of pathogenic bacteria, a cocktail of E. coli O157:H7 was inoculated into the process water samples (PWW) to determine whether concentrations of disinfectants inhibit the pathogen or bring it to a viable non-culturable state (VBNC). Hereby, we used quantitative qPCR combined with different photo-reactive dyes such as ethidium monoazide (EMA) and propidium monoazide (PMA). The results indicated that concentrations superior to 20 ppm NaClO inhibit the pathogen E. coli O157:H7 artificially inoculated in the process water. Concentrations between 10–20 ppm ClO₂ fail to induce the pathogen to the VBNC state. At concentrations of 80 ppm PAA, levels of culturable bacteria and VBNC of E. coli O157:H7 were detected in all PWWs regardless of the matrix. Subsequently, this indicates that the recommended concentrations of ClO₂ and PAA for use in the fresh produce industry wash tank do not inhibit the levels of E. coli O157:H7 present in the wash water.

The research was conducted to understand why the Flores settlement has not developed community tourism, despite its significant natural and cultural attractions, such as the "Sisay Pacha" carnival, festivals, rituals, astronomy, and activities like green baskets. The settlement faces issues with poor organization of community tourism, underutilization of its heritage, and insufficient tourist services, limiting its growth. The study aims to identify the causes of this situation and propose solutions to strengthen community tourism. The research addresses the problem, the formulation of the problem, the justifications, the objectives, and the hypotheses. It presents a theoretical framework that includes background, theoretical bases, philosophical framework, and state of the art. It describes the methodology used, detailing the type and design of the research, the unit of analysis, the study population, the sample size and selection, the operationalization of variables, the consistency matrix, the research techniques and instruments, as well as the validity and reliability of these instruments, and the analysis and presentation of the information. It focuses on the results and discussion, covering the analysis, interpretation, hypothesis testing, conclusions, and recommendations. Finally, it presents the design of the Food and Beverage Production Management Process under the guidelines of the ISO 9001-2015 standard for the Flores parish. These findings reveal that the main obstacles to the development of community tourism in Flores are the lack of organization and training, poor destination promotion, deficient infrastructure, and limited tourist services. It is recommended to strengthen community organization, train local actors, promote the destination, improve infrastructure, and expand the range of services. The adoption of the ISO 9001-2015 standard is proposed to improve the quality of tourist services and the competitiveness of the destination.

The fishing industry in Ecuador has grown by 12%, generating more waste such as fish skins, bones, and scales. If not properly managed, this waste increases organic load, causing environmental problems. This research focuses on using two methods to extract collagen from fish scales.Objectives: The goal is to apply two methods for efficient collagen extraction from fish waste. Methodology: Two methods were explored: hydrolysis and demineralization, to obtain high-purity hydrolyzed collagen and denatured proteins to get partially hydrolyzed collagen. The raw material was characterized using the Micro Kjeldahl method to determine the protein and moisture content of scales from different fish species.Results: The yield was 60% and 39.72%, meeting physicochemical and microbiological requirements for human consumption, indicating that the processes used were efficient. Conclusions: Various collagen extraction procedures were analyzed, grouped into two methods: high-purity collagen and partially hydrolyzed collagen. The high-purity collagen method showed an unfavorable yield of 0.745%, while the partially hydrolyzed collagen method achieved a yield of 15.44%.

The journal has retracted the article “Exploring the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Low-Cost Commercial Disinfectants Utilized in the Agro-Food Industry Wash Tanks: Towards Enhanced Hygiene Practices”

La cocción a baja temperatura (CBT) constituye un paradigma disrup-tivo en la ingeniería de alimentos y la gastronomía científica, fundamentado en el control termodinámico preciso de sistemas biológicos complejos. Es-ta revisión crítica sintetiza la evidencia termodinámica y bioquímica de frontera sobre el impacto de la técnica sous vide en matrices muscula-res de origen terrestre y acuícola. A través de un análisis reológico y bioquímico, se examinan los mecanismos de desnaturalización proteica, la cinética de degradación de micronutrientes termosensibles y los perfi-les de seguridad microbiológica bajo condiciones de anaerobiosis forzada. Los resultados bibliográficos sugieren que la optimización de los vectores tiempo-temperatura permite una preservación superior de la integridad estructural y nutricional, aunque exige una rigurosa vigilancia de los riesgos emergentes asociados a patógenos no proteolíticos.