Laura Otero

Dr. Laura Otero

Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

30Years (1997-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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11 March 2016 in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
LOLaura Otero
Laura Otero
ARAntonio C. Rodríguez
Antonio C. Rodríguez
Míriam Pérez-MateosMíriam Pérez-Mateos
Míriam Pérez-Mateos
PSPedro D. Sanz
Pedro D. Sanz
Magnetic freezing is nowadays established as a commercial reality mainly oriented towards the food market. According to advertisements, magnetic freezing is able to generate tiny ice crystals throughout the frozen product, prevent cell destruction, and preserve the quality of fresh food intact after thawing. If all these advantages were true, magnetic freezing would represent a significant advance in freezing technology, not only for food preservation, but also for cryopreservation of biological specimens such as cells, tissues, and organs. Magnetic fields (MFs) are supposed to act directly on water by orientating, vibrating, and/or spinning molecules to prevent them from clustering and, thus, to promote supercooling. However, many doubts exist about the real effects of MFs on freezing and the science behind the potential mechanisms involved. To provide a basis for extending the understanding of magnetic freezing, this paper presents a critical review of the materials published in the literature up to now, including both patents and experimental results. After examining the information available, it was not possible to discern whether MFs have an appreciable effect on supercooling, freezing kinetics, ice crystals, quality, and/or viability of the frozen products. Experiments described in the literature frequently fail to identify and/or control all the factors that can play a role in magnetic freezing. Moreover, many of the comparisons between magnetic and conventional freezing are not correctly designed to draw valid conclusions, and wide ranges of MF intensities and frequencies are unexplored. Therefore, more rigorous experimentation and further evidence are needed to confirm or reject the efficacy of MFs in improving the quality of frozen products.

1 April 2000 in Journal of Food Science
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PDF file
LOLaura Otero
Laura Otero
MMM. Martino
M. Martino
NZN. Zaritzky
N. Zaritzky
MSM. Solas
M. Solas
PSP.D. Sanz
P.D. Sanz

1 December 2007 in Meat Science
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PFPedro P. Fernández
Pedro P. Fernández
PSPedro D. Sanz
Pedro D. Sanz
AMAntonio Diego Molina-García
Antonio Diego Molina-García
LOLaura Otero
Laura Otero
BGBérengère Guignon
Bérengère Guignon
SVSergio R. Vaudagna
Sergio R. Vaudagna

1 June 2003 in Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
LOLaura Otero
Laura Otero
PSPedro D. Sanz
Pedro D. Sanz

1 June 2006 in Food Hydrocolloids
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PFP.P. Fernández
P.P. Fernández
LOLaura Otero
Laura Otero
BGB. Guignon
B. Guignon
PSP.D. Sanz
P.D. Sanz

1 March 2004 in Journal of Food Engineering
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
José S. Torrecilla TorrecillaJosé S. Torrecilla Torrecilla
José S. Torrecilla Torrecilla
LOLaura Otero
Laura Otero
PSP.D Sanz
P.D Sanz