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Fermented foods and beverages serve as vehicles for beneficial microorganisms that play an important role in human health and remain the oldest prevalent means of food processing and preservation. Traditional fermented foods are popular in Asia for their nutritional balance and food security. Techniques for preserving cereals, vegetables, and meat products are well developed in many Asian countries. Due to their cultural and nutritional significance, many of these foods have been studied in detail and their quality and safety have also been improved. These fermented foods and beverages provide benefits through enhanced nutritional content, digestibility, microbial stability, and detoxification. They represent is thus one of the most affordable and suitable methods to maintain hygiene condition and food quality and security in poor and underdeveloped countries. There is an industrial interest and scope related to traditional fermented foods and beverages in Asia. However, urgent attention is required to improve the quality of the ingredients and the integration of food safety management systems for industrial growth.

Chicken feathers are major poultry waste that is difficult to process in its native form due to highly resistant keratin protein in large amounts. In this study, a novel feather-degrading bacterium, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens KB1, was screened from a chicken farm bed (CFB) using morphological and biochemical tests followed by 16s rDNA analysis. Among observed isolates, bacterial isolate (KB1) showed the highest degree of feather degradation (74.78 ± 2.94%) and total soluble protein (205 ± 0.03 mg/g). The optimum fermentation conditions obtained were at 40 °C (temperature), pH 9, and 1% (w/v) feather concentration using response surface methodology in a Box-Behnken design. It produced 260 mg/g of soluble protein and bioactive peptides with 86.16% feather degradation. The amino acid profile showed an increase in the concentration of essential amino acids compared with the feather meal broth. The selection of a safe screening source for this new bacterium in CFB produced hydrolysates with enhanced bioactivity applicable for feed, and cosmetic applications, along with environmental bioremediation.

The global population is rising sharply and is expected to be 10 billion by 2050. Nutrition security, especially protein, is a major concern, as it is one of the essential ingredients for body growth. However, consumption of meat is unsustainable, as the use of natural resources and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are relatively high compared to plant-based protein sources. Aquatic plants like duckweed, Azolla, and water spinach, as well as macroalgae and microalgae, contain good amounts of protein, ranging from 25% to 60% dry weight (DW) and comprising major essential amino acids (EAAs). These plants are rich in vitamins and minerals and possess antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anti-fatigue properties. In addition, green food processing (GFP) technologies minimize the antinutritional factors, which in turn increase the bioaccessibility and biodigestibility of aquatic plants. Fermentation is one of the oldest known GFP methods. Recent advances include high-pressure processing, pulsed electric field, ultrasound-assisted, and microwave-assisted extraction, which are among the most promising techniques. Hence, government initiatives, as well as research and private sector collaboration for cultivation, processing, and advocating for such nutrient-dense food, are necessary. This will ensure sustainable production and consumption.

Antibiotics are widely used for disease prevention in animal husbandry, including on chicken, cow and pig farms. Manure from farm animals can be used as fish food, especially in small-scale fish farming. Antibiotic residues and bacteria from the manure may spread to the fishpond water, which can lead to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant waterborne pathogens. This study focused on the antibiotic resistance of fecal indicator bacteria from fishponds and nearby water environments in the delta region of Myanmar. The findings showed that fishpond water had a higher abundance of bacteria than other surface water sources. Of the detected enterococci in the tested water samples, 14%, 1%, 30%, 10% and 14% were resistant to amoxicillin, vancomycin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin and tetracycline, respectively. Multidrug-resistant enterococci were found in the chicken excreta-fed fishpond. A significant association was observed between the application of manure in fishponds and the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant enterococci (p < 0.001).

Food Processing By-Products and their Utilization An in-depth look at the economic and environmental benefits that food companies can achieve—and the challenges and opportunities they may face—by utilizing food processing by-products Food Processing By-Products and their Utilization is the first book dedicated to food processing by-products and their utilization in a broad spectrum. It provides a comprehensive overview on food processing by-products and their utilization as source of novel functional ingredients. It discusses food groups, including cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, marine, sugarcane, winery, and plantation by-products; addresses processing challenges relevant to food by-products; and delivers insight into the current state of art and emerging technologies to extract valuable phytochemicals from food processing by-products. Food Processing By-Products and their Utilization offers in-depth chapter coverage of fruit processing by-products; the application of food by-products in medical and pharmaceutical industries; prebiotics and dietary fibers from food processing by-products; bioactive compounds and their health effects from honey processing industries; advances in milk fractionation for value addition; seafood by-products in applications of biomedicine and cosmeticuals; food industry by-products as nutrient replacements in aquaculture diets and agricultural crops; regulatory and legislative issues for food waste utilization; and much more. * The first reference text to bring together essential information on the processing technology and incorporation of by-products into various food applications * Concentrates on the challenges and opportunities for utilizing by-products, including many novel and potential uses for the by-products and waste materials generated by food processing * Focuses on the nutritional composition and biochemistry of by-products, which are key to establishing their functional health benefits as foods * Part of the \"IFST Advances in Food Science\" series, co-published with the Institute of Food Science and Technology (UK)  This bookserves as a comprehensive reference for students, educators, researchers, food processors, and industry personnel looking for up-to-date insight into the field. Additionally, the covered range of techniques for by-product utilization will provide engineers and scientists working in the food industry with a valuable resource for their work.

Hybrid pectin and resistant starch–based hydrogel beads loaded with bromelain using the extrusion gelation method were prepared and evaluated to enhance the activity of bromelain during gastrointestinal passage and thermal processing. The solutions of pectin–resistant starch with bromelain were dropped into the gelation bath containing calcium chloride (0.2 M) solution to develop various types of hydrogel beads. The physicochemical characteristics of the synthesized hydrogel beads were evaluated. The ratio (4.5:1.5 w/w) of pectin and resistant starch concentration significantly ( p < 0.05) enhanced the encapsulation efficiency (80.53%). The presence of resistant starch resulted in increased entrapment of bromelain, improved swelling properties with sustained release behavior, and improved gastric stability than pectin hydrogels alone. The swelling of hydrogel beads was higher at pH 7.4 than pH 1.2. Optimized batch of hybrid pectin/resistant starch exhibited a spherical shape. Optical and scanning electron microscopy showed a more packed and spherical shape from the pectin/resistant starch hydrogel bead network. Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy was also used to confirm the presence of bromelain in the hydrogel beads. The encapsulated bromelain in the pectin/hi-maize starch beads produced at a pectin/hi-maize ratio of 4.5:1.5 (percent w/w; formulation P4) obtained the highest relative bromelain activity in all heat treatments including at 95°C, whereas the highest activity of free bromelain was found only at 30°C. Bromelain encapsulated in hydrogels released at a faster rate at simulated intestinal fluid (SIF, pH 7.4) than at simulated gastrointestinal fluid (SGF, pH 1.2).

Faba bean flours (germinated, soaked, cooked and raw) were evaluated for physiochemical and functional properties. The flour samples exhibited considerable amounts of carbohydrates (58.79–66.19 g/100 g) and proteins (21.9–29.1 g/100 g). Soaked faba bean (SFB) (29.1 g/100 g) and raw faba bean (RFB) (25.70 g/100 g) flour contained significantly higher amount of protein than germinated faba bean (GFB) and pressure cooked faba bean (PCFB). The physicochemical and functional composition of GFB and PCFB were improved compare to raw flour. Physical and functional properties such as water absorption index (2.97 g/g) and foaming stability (140.13 mL/100 mL) were increased by germination. The functional properties of pressure-cooked faba bean such as water solubility index (2.12 g/100 g) and water absorption capacity (2.02 g/g) were higher than other flour samples. The microstructure of legume flour samples explained that the starch granules of raw flours were smooth, oval and granular structure whereas soaked, germinated and cooked flours showed damaged starch granules. The effect of soaking, germination and pressure-cooking demonstrated significant variations in functionals characteristics of faba bean flour. Therefore, various processing conditions can be combined to obtain the desired characteristics in faba bean-based food products.

Medicinal plants are frequently used for the treatment of various infectious diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity and mode of action of Acacia nilotica and the antibiogram patterns of foodborne and clinical strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella. The mechanism of action of acacia extracts against E. coli and Salmonella was elucidated by observing morphological damages including cell integrity and cell membrane permeability, as well as changes in cell structures and growth patterns in kill-time experiments. The clinical isolates of E. coli and Salmonella were found resistant to more of the tested antibiotics, compared to food isolates. Minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of acacia leaf extracts were in the ranges of 1.56–3.12 mg/mL and 3.12–6.25 mg/mL, respectively, whereas pods and bark extracts showed somewhat higher values of 3.12–6.25 mg/mL and 6.25–12.5 mg/mL, respectively, against all tested pathogens. The release of electrolytes and essential cellular constituents (proteins and nucleic acids) indicated that acacia extracts damaged the cellular membrane of the pathogens. These changes corresponded to simultaneous reduction in the growth of viable bacteria. This study indicates that A. nilotica can be a potential source of new antimicrobials, effective against antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogens.

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of lintnerization, autoclaving, lintnerization followed by autoclaving, and freeze thawing treatments on the production of resistant starch from Pathumthani 80 (RD 31) rice. The produced resistant starch was further evaluated for some important physicochemical properties including pasting properties, swelling behavior, digestibility, water holding capacity, and functional properties including glycemic index and antioxidant properties. The lintnerization treatment and autoclaving significantly (p ˂ 0.05) increased resistant starch content to 64% (w/w) and gave the lowest glycemic index (46.12%). The lintnerization followed by autoclaving treatment significantly increased the solubility and water holding capacity, reduced the swelling power, and disrupted the crystalline structure of the starch granules. The native rice starch with autoclave treatment exhibited the highest swelling power among the samples, while the acid hydrolyzed starch was followed by autoclave treatment showing the lowest swelling power (1 g/g) at 90 °C. Fourier transform infrared analysis revealed the modified structures and bonding of the starch materials with the shifting of C=O stretch. However, the antioxidant properties and pasting properties were observed to decrease with the lintnerization, autoclaving, and freeze-thawing treatment of the native starch. The highly resistant starch content and low glycemic index value of the autoclaved RD 31 starch indicates the potential of the resistant starch’s application for the formulation of functional foods targeting the diabetic population.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004 in response to adverse environmental impacts caused by the expansion of oil palm production. It created voluntary standards to accelerate adoption of improved practices along the supply chain to ensure environmental benefits. However, the rate of adoption among smallholders of the practices RSPO recommends remains low. This study assessed the factors influencing smallholder farmers’ adoption decisions and the intensity of adoption using primary data obtained from 723 randomly selected oil palm producers in the southern region of Thailand, of which 333 RSPO were adopters and 390 were non-adopters. The results of the binary logit and two-limit Tobit regressions revealed that total farm labor, farm size, number of training sessions attended, access to information, extension services, support services, and perceived ease of adoption of the practices had positive effects on the intensity of adoption. However, the age of oil palm trees negatively influenced the intensity of adoption. The results suggest that strengthening capacity building activities and extension services would increase the adoption of the RSPO practices among small-scale farmers.