Essential oils (EOs) from aromatic plants seem to have the potential to control several fungal pathogens and food contaminants. Botrytis cinerea is the main strawberry fruit contaminant causing high losses during storage. Here, thirteen EOs applied in the vapor phase were evaluated for their potential to inhibit the growth of three different strains of B. cinerea isolated from strawberry fruits. Eight EOs (lemongrass, litsea, lavender, peppermint, mint, petitgrain, sage, and thyme) were able to completely inhibit the growth of B. cinerea for 7 days when applied at a concentration of 625 μL·L⁻¹. Four EOs with the lowest minimal inhibition concentrations (thyme, peppermint, lemongrass, and litsea) have been tested on strawberry fruits intentionally inoculated by B. cinerea. All four EOs showed high inhibition at a concentration of 250 or 500 μL·L⁻¹, but only peppermint EO was able to completely inhibit B. cinerea lesion development at a concentration of 125 μL·L⁻¹. The sensory evaluation of strawberries treated by EOs at a concentration 125 μL·L⁻¹ resulted in a statistically significant decrease in taste, aftertaste, aroma, and overall quality. Lemongrass and litsea EOs scored better than thyme and peppermint ones, thus forming two viable methods for B. cinerea suppression and the extension of packed strawberries’ shelf life.

In this work, chemical parameters such as sugar (glucose and fructose) content, organic acid (total acids, malic and tartaric acids), total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity of 12 white wines (chardonnay, pinot blanc and pinot gris) from various wine regions in Slovakia were studied in order to identify differences among the varieties and wine-growing regions. The wine samples were examined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-VIS spectrophotometry (for determination of total polyphenolic content (TPC) and total antioxidant activity (TAA)) methods. Content of alcohol ranged between 11.50% and 13.80% with the mean value 12.52%. Mean content of total acids varied between 4.63 ± 0.09 and 6.63 ± 0.05 g.L⁻¹, tartaric acid varied between 1.62 ± 0.09 and 2.93 ± 0.03 g L⁻¹, malic acid was found in the concentrations ranged from 0.07 ± 0.05 and 2.50 ± 0.08 g L⁻¹ and lactic acid was present between 1.53 and 0.01 g L⁻¹. The content of fructose was, in general, higher in the samples from the Južnoslovenská and Nitrianska wine regions and glucose was higher in the Malokarpatská wine region. Chardonnay wines showed the highest content of total polyphenols and the antioxidant activity in the samples ranged from 51.06 ± 027 to 72.53 ± 0.35% inhibition of DPPH. The PCA analysis based on chemical descriptors distinguished the Nitrianska and Stredoslovenská wine regions. According to similarities among the wine samples, four main classes were formed by cluster analysis.

Important component of the tomato are carotenoid dyes, especially lycopene. The importance of lycopene in the diet of people in recent years has grown mainly for its pharmacological effects due to its ability to reduce the risk of carcinoma diseases and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this work was to analyze the content of total carotenoids and lycopene in 8 varieties of tomato and to monitor dynamic changes after their different treatments (heating, drying). The experiment included following tomato varieties: Bambino F1, Darina F1, Diana F1, Denár, Milica F1, Orange F1, Paulína F1, Šejk F1. We found that processing of tomato fruits into juices and dried slices positively affected the presence of carotenoids and lycopene. Processing leads to an increase in the content of carotenoids that can be attributed to better availability of these components in the human body.

Oxidation is one of the most prevalent factors responsible for meat product deterioration. Due to their potential health risks, commonly used synthetic antioxidants are beginning to be frowned upon by customers. The industry is searching for a natural replacement. In our study, we incorporated blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) and Kamchatka honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea var. Kamtschatica) extracts into raw-cooked meat products (frankfurters) as natural antioxidants. We observed that both extracts at concentrations of 3 mL·kg⁻¹ were able to significantly (α = 0.05) postpone lipid oxidation in our samples, with results comparable to vitamin C (0.5 mg·kg⁻¹) addition. Moreover, we did not observe negative effects of the extracts on the product’s color, pH, or textural properties. Negative results were reported in the sensory evaluation of honeysuckle addition samples. This could have been caused by the natural strong and bitter taste of honeysuckle, which was transferred to the extracts and, subsequently, into the meat product.

The market of organic products around the world increased its volume in Central and Eastern Europe with organic food market has a number of shared features, which include the relatively low demand for organic food, low share of regular customers, the problems of producers marketing, the lack of enterprises which process organic products. Consumer behavior purchasing organic foods is influenced by several factors, among which is dominated consumer personality, income, finances and lifestyle, as well as psychological factors such as perception, motivation, learning, cognition and attitudes. Cultural and social factors in consumer behavior exhibit a lesser degree. Organic fruit and organic vegetables quality is generally higher for content of biologically active substances such as vitamins, polyphenols and flavonoids. The content of pesticide residues in organic food is significantly lower than conventional production. Regular monitoring of chemical and microbiological safety of organic products already in the primary production occurring in the raw state and after working in various sectors of food, an intensification of awareness raising and targeted increased support for organic agriculture. Multifunctional sector and increased support for family farms oriented for sectors with higher added value than the home sale, production processing on the farm and so on. By support of the sale of high quality domestic production by the state will be possible to persuade more people to personal health status and greater consumption of organic food affects the health and prevent the occurrence of various diseases.

The aim of the work was to evaluate the effect of hot air and infrared drying on the content of total polyphenols and anthocyanin dyes in selected types of small fruits. In the work we used chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa Michx.) variety Nero, elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) variety Haschberg, sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) variety Fanal, red currant (Ribes rubrum L.) variety Lake, black currant (Ribes nigrum L.) variety Triton, cherry elaeagnus (Elaeagnus multiflora Thunb), raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) variety Heritage and blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) variety Bluecrop. Drying was performed in a Concept S1060 hot air dryer and a Yden CI IR D5 infrared dryer. The analysis of the content of anthocyanin dyes was performed by the pH differential method, the determination of the total content of polyphenols was performed by the Folin - Ciocalteu method. By analyzing fresh fruits, we found the highest content of anthocyanin dyes in the fruits of chokeberry (3036.97 mg.100 g^-1 DM) and the lowest in the fruits of cherry elaeagnus (83.86 mg.100 g^-1 DM). The total polyphenol content ranged from 726.07 mg GAE.100 g^-1 dry matter (cherry elaeagnus) to 7895.61 mg GAE.100 g^-1 DM (chokeberry). After drying in a hot air dryer, the content of anthocyanin dyes decreased by 62.20% (in elderberry) to 72.52% (in cherry elaeagnus) and the content of total polyphenols by 45.16% (in chokeberry) to 53.34% (in red currant). After drying in an infrared dryer, the decrease in the content of anthocyanin dyes was 50.41% (in elderberry) to 71.22% (in cherry elaeagnus) and total polyphenols 41.05% (in chokeberry) to 47.89% (in sour cherry).