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Recent Australian and international legislation requires labeling of wines made by using the potentially allergenic food proteins casein, milk, egg white, or isinglass (fish-derived) where “there is a detectable residual processing aid.” We investigated whether wines fined using these proteins or non–grape-derived tannins (tree-nut derived) can provoke significant clinical allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) in patients with confirmed immunoglobulin E–mediated relevant food allergy. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed to determine whether allergic reactions followed consumption of Australian commercial wines fined using one or more of the legislation-targeted food proteins. In addition, allergenicity of a larger panel of these wines was evaluated by blood basophil activation. No anaphylaxis was induced by wine consumption. Three mild clinical reactions to protein-fined wine and two mild reactions to unfined wine occurred, but there was no statistically significant difference in reaction parameters between subject groups or between processing aids. No pattern of basophil activation correlated with wine type, processing aid, or subject group. Wines fined with egg white, isinglass, or non–grape-derived tannins present an extremely low risk of anaphylaxis to fish-, egg-, or peanut-allergic consumers. Although consumption of milk protein-fined wine did not induce anaphylaxis, there were insufficient subjects to determine statistically whether wines fined with milk proteins present a risk to the very rare milk-allergic consumers. In summary, the observed lack of anaphylaxis and basophil activation induced by wines made using the legislation-targeted food proteins according to good manufacturing practice suggests negligible residual food allergens in these wines.

This study addresses the increasing demand for eco-friendly rubber compounding additives by exploring greensynthesized zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. The green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles is gaining attention due to its ecofriendly approach and potential applications. This study investigates the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using sweet lime peel extract as a green method, comparing it with chemical synthesis. The obtained nanoparticles are characterized and evaluated for suitability as activators in natural rubber composites for tire applications. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of the prepared ZnO nanoparticles on mice cells is assessed, revealing lower toxicity for green-synthesized ZnO compared to chemically synthesized ZnO. Payne effect analysis on the composites demonstrates improved polymer-filler interaction and mechanical properties for the green-synthesized ZnO-loaded composites. Notably, the incorporation of green-synthesized ZnO leads to significant enhancements in tensile strength due to its higher surface area. It achieves desirable magic triangle tire properties, including low rolling resistance, high wet traction, and high abrasion resistance. These findings highlight the promising potential of green ZnO as an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical ZnO in rubber compounding.

The global concern over zinc leaching into aquatic ecosystems has led researchers to seek ways to reduce zinc oxide (ZnO) content in rubber products. Conventional microsized ZnO, commonly used in the rubber industry, poses dispersion challenges due to its hydrophilic nature and micron size within the hydrophobic rubber matrix. Therefore, higher amounts of ZnO are added, elevating the risk to aquatic life. A promising alternative involves using highly dispersible ZnO with active zinc (Zn) centers instead of conventional ZnO. Another approach includes incorporating ZnO-anchored silica particles into the rubber matrix, which requires additional ex-situ fabrication. This study presents an innovative method where ZnO-anchored silica is generated in situ during the blending of styrene-butadiene rubber/natural rubber (SBR/NR). The study also evaluates the effectiveness of active, nano-sized, and octylamine-modified ZnO as activators compared to conventional ZnO, by introducing silica filler, octylamine-modified and high surface area ZnO anchor onto the silica surface, forming Si-O-Zn covalent bonds. This protective layer reduces filler aggregation and the Payne effect. Even with 60% less usage, these activators in the SBR/NR blend significantly enhance tensile strength (31.27%) and elongation at break (49.13%) compared to conventional ZnO. These results point towards the possibility of a cost-effective and sustainable replacement for conventional ZnO.

For the industrial production of rubber, one of the key ingredients is a processing aid. It not only facilitates the processability but also tunes the final properties of the resultant rubber. In general, for a polar rubber like acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR), the processing aids earning the most attention are synthesized from petroleum, such as dioctyl phthalate (DOP). However, due to their toxicity, many rubber chemists have tried to find alternative chemicals that are environmentally friendly and derived from a renewable resource. In this research, we investigated the effects of the soybean oil fatty acid (SBOFA), synthesized in house via hydrolysis of SBO, on the properties of NBR in comparison with DOP. Initially, it was found that the addition of SBOFA improved the flowability of the NBR compound, as indicated by the progressive decrease in the Mooney viscosity with increasing levels of SBOFA. The results from various techniques indicated that the crosslink density of the NBR vulcanizates passed through the maximum at the SBOFA loading of 4 phr. Upon loading SBOFA up to 4 phr, there was no significant deterioration in the mechanical strength of the SBOFA-plasticized NBR vulcanizates. Typically, the presence of SBOFA at 4 phr enhanced the thermal resistance of the NBR vulcanizate by shifting the thermal decomposition to a higher temperature. At a given loading, it was found that the SBOFA-plasticized NBR vulcanizate showed a comparable plasticizing efficiency and mechanical strength with the DOP-plasticized one. The result from this study shows that SBOFA is a good alternative sustainable eco-friendly processing aid to use for NBR.

Petroleum-based oils are widely used as processing aids in rubber composites to improve processability but can adversely affect rubber composite performance and increase carbon footprint. In this research, liquid guayule natural rubber (LGNR), produced from guayule natural rubber, was used as a renewable processing aid to replace naphthenic oil (NO) in Hevea natural rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and guayule natural rubber (GNR) composites. The rheological properties, thermal stability, glass transition temperature, dynamic mechanical properties, aging, and ozone resistance of rubber composites with and without NO or LGNR were compared. Natural and synthetic rubber composites made with LGNR had similar processability to those made with NO, but had improved thermal stability, mechanical properties after aging, and ozone resistance. This was due to the strong LGNR–filler interaction and additional crosslinks formed between LGNR and the rubber matrices. The glass transition temperature of SBR composites was reduced by LGNR because of its increased molecular mobility. Thus, unlike NO, LGNR processing aid can simultaneously improve rubber composite durability, dynamic performance and renewability. The commercialization of LGNR has the potential to open a new sustainable processing-aid market.

In this study, we examined the feasibility of using epoxidized liquid isoprene rubber (E-LqIR) as a processing aid for truck and bus radial (TBR) tire treads and investigated the effects of the epoxide content on the wear resistance, fuel efficiency, and resistance to extraction of the E-LqIRs. The results confirmed that, compared to the treated distillate aromatic extract (TDAE) oil, the E-LqIRs could enhance the filler–rubber interactions and reduce the oil migration. However, the consumption of sulfur by the E-LqIRs resulted in a lower crosslink density compared to that of the TDAE oil, and the higher epoxide content decreased the wear resistance and fuel efficiency because of the increased glass-transition temperature (Tg). In contrast, the E-LqIR with a low epoxide content of 6 mol% had no significant effect on the Tg of the final compound and resulted in superior wear resistance and fuel efficiency, compared to those shown by TDAE oil, because of the higher filler–rubber interactions.

Rubber process oils (RPOs) are generally incorporated to rubber compounds for improving processability and also state-of-mix in some circumstances, for example; in the formulations having relatively high filler content. The aim of this work is to prepare the modified soybean oil (MSO) via transesterification reaction of soybean oil (SO) with benzyl alcohol. The success of modification was evidenced by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). After modification, the new absorption peaks at 3020 cm −1 and 750 cm −1 corresponding to –CH stretching vibration and C–H out-of-plane of aromatic were observed. 1 H-NMR result also shows the signal of proton in aromatic ring at 7.40–7.55 ppm confirming the presence of aromatic ring in SO. The prepared MSO was then used as rubber processing oil (RPO) in tread compound formulation, and its performance was compared with unmodified SO, distillate aromatic extract oil (DAE) and treated distillate aromatic extract oil (TDAE). The incorporation of RPOs demonstrated cure retardation with a minimal magnitude found in the MSO-filled system. However, the addition of RPOs decreased the mechanical properties, i.e., hardness, modulus, tensile strength and tear strength. Among the studied RPOs, SO showed the poorest performance in terms of rubber mechanical properties, whereas MSO gave the rubber vulcanizate with comparable mechanical properties to DAE and TDAE. Similar to DAE and TDAE, the addition of MSO resulted in the improved wet grip with the sacrifice of rolling resistance.

Rubber composites based on vegetable oils are being increasingly developed as these materials significantly reduce the use of petroleum-based carcinogenic oils as plasticisers in rubber products. Apart from renewability, vegetable oils have some functional groups such as polar group, double bond and long alkyl chain, which could make rubber performance more comprehensive, making processing oil from petroleum-based “one agent for one function” to bio-based “one agent for multiple functions”. In this work, we selected one bio-based vegetable oil (FN-B17) as green processing aid for nature rubber (NR) composites and petroleum-based oils (PB-1,2,3,4,5) were also chosen to be investigated for comparison. The plasticisation effects of FN-B17 and other plasticisers on composites were systematically studied. In specific, Mooney viscosity, processing properties and cross-linking characteristics of composites with various kinds of oils were characterised while the mechanical properties and RPA dynamic behaviors were also evaluated. The results indicated that the performance of bio-based oil on processing and mechanical properties of NR composites are similar or even better than that of petroleum-based oils, whereas bio-based oil is renewable with lower cost, which would be cost-effective green processing oil that could replace petroleum-based oil for NR composites. Soon, the trend of utilising bio-based oil may bring considerable advancements in the performance of filled rubber composites in an environmentally acceptable and sustainable manner. Graphical Abstract

The European Commission asked EFSA to review whether the authorisation of N,N‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl)alkyl(C8‐C18)amine (FCM No 19) and N,N‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl)alkyl(C8‐C18)amine hydrochlorides (FCM No 20) is still in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, as provided for in Article 12(3). The FCM Panel concluded that some uses of the substance N,N‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl)alkyl(C8‐C18)amine (FCM No 19) are not in accordance with this Regulation, since the migration is likely to exceed the current SML(T) of 1.2 mg/kg food under certain conditions of use. Based on the provided data, the FCM Panel concluded that the FCM substance No 19, N,N‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl)alkyl(C8‐C18)amine, is not of safety concern for the consumer if (i) the substance is used at up to 0.1% w/w as polymer production aid and as processing aid to manufacture polyolefin materials and articles of thickness up to 1 mm that are intended for contact with all types of food except infant foods. This exception for infant foods and the restriction for maximum thickness do not apply to caps of bottles; (ii) the migration does not exceed 5 mg/kg food; (iii) the source of the alkyl group is either from hydrogenated vegetable oil or synthetic from ethylene oligomers with a high degree of linear structure and (iv) the impurities do not exceed 5% w/w. As they bear unsaturation, PFAEO‐coco, PFAEO‐oleyl, PFAEO‐HT, PFAEO‐T and PFAO‐C18 do not fall within the scope of the FCM substance No 19. The information related to these substances was only considered supportive for FCM substance No 19. If they were intended to be used to manufacture FCMs, a proper application following the EFSA Guidance documents should be submitted. No uses of the FCM substance No 20, N,N‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl)alkyl(C8‐C18)amine hydrochlorides, were claimed and no information was provided to support that the current authorisation is in accordance with the Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004.

The different bakery products consumed worldwide require wheat flour with specific viscoelastic characteristics, Which are not always available on the market. To meet these particular demands, wheat flour mills and baking industries turn to ingredients, additives, and processing aids. These improving agents act on the gluten network and other flour components, adapting them to produce various products with the desired technological and sensory properties. Many studies relate increases in the parameters obtained in flour quality analyses, such as farinographic, extensographic, alveographic, and others, with the flour-strengthening effect of various ingredients, additives, and processing aids used; however, this is not a direct relationship. In this review, we evaluated each strategy for improving wheat flour, considering key studies in the field of baking, and examining how these strategies work. Focusing on gluten, which is crucial for the technological quality of the flour, we explored strategies involving additives (oxidizing agents, emulsifiers, and hydrocolloids), processing aids (enzymes), and the ingredient vital wheat gluten. We also evaluated the regulatory aspects governing the use of these enhancers in various countries.