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  • Flores comestíveis como fonte de compostos bioativos com atividade antioxidante
    Publication . Guiné, Raquel P. F.; Ferrão, Ana Cristina; Correia, Paula; Goncalves, J. C.; Gonçalves, Fernando Jorge
    Existem muitas espécies vegetais utilizadas na gastronomia, entre as quais as flores comestíveis (FC). Para que uma flor seja considerada comestível ela deve ser não tóxica, inócua e ter propriedades nutricionais. Historicamente, as FC têm sido usadas para fins culinários há séculos em várias partes do mundo, como Ásia, Grécia antiga, Roma e também na França medieval. Adicionalmente, constituem uma boa fonte de compostos bioativos, nomeadamente fitoquímicos, associados a várias propriedades farmacológicas, destacando a proteção contra doenças cardiovasculares e os efeitos ansiolíticos, anticancerígenos, antidiabéticos, anti-inflamatórios, antioxidantes, diuréticos, imunomoduladores e antimicrobianos. Recentemente, as FC têm despertado crescente interesse, devido às suas propriedades estéticas e organoléticas, bem como potenciais benefícios para a saúde, relacionados com a ocorrência de alguns compostos bioativos. Nesta medida, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar os teores de compostos fenólicos totais, antocianinas e flavonoides, bem como a atividade antioxidante num conjunto de FC. Para a análise foram obtidos extratos de onze espécies de FC que foram utilizados para a quantificação da composição fenólica e atividade antioxidante usando métodos espectrofotométricos. Dos resultados obtidos foi possível verificar que as rosas e cravos de coloração vermelha ou rosa se destacaram como contendo maiores teores de compostos fenólicos totais (18 a 27 mg EGA/g), e ainda maiores aportes de antocianinas (3 a 5 mg EC/g). Verificou-se ainda que eram também essas as FC com maior atividade antioxidante (12 a 16 mg ET/g). De destacar por fim o cravo vermelho como contendo maior quantidade de flavonoides (cerca de 18 mg EC/g). Em conclusão, verifica-se que as FC, para além das suas potencialidades gastronómicas, podem constituir um veículo para a ingestão de compostos com efeitos benéficos para a saúde, nomeadamente no que respeita ao combate aos radicais lives responsáveis pelo envelhecimento celular.
  • Food safety in portuguese Companies in Covid-19 Pandemic Context
    Publication . C. Goncalves, J.; Guiné, Raquel P. F.; Correia, Paula; Tomasevic, I.; Djekic, I.
  • Flour from drone broods: A viable alternative?
    Publication . Correia, Paula; Vouga, C; Coelho, Catarina; Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Guiné, Raquel P. F.; Gonçalves, Fernando Jorge; C. Goncalves, J.
  • Characteristics of enrichment of fresh pasta with bee drone broods flour
    Publication . Correia, Paula; Teixeira, G; Silva, A; Guiné, Raquel P. F.; Moitinho, A; Pitacas, I; C. Goncalves, J.
    Background: The fortification of staple food is one of the goals of modern technologies. Aim: In this study, preparation of pasta replacing wheat semolina flour with drone brood flours, rich in protein (27-38%), was tested. Method: The drone brood flour (DF) was obtained by the cold (CE) and hot (HE) extraction processes. After several trials, it was possible to incorporate 10% DFCE, and 20% DFHE. Pastas were evaluated in terms of its technological characteristics (optimum cooking time, cooking losses, swelling index), physical characteristics (colour and texture), chemical characteristics (nutritional composition) and sensory characteristics, and compared with a control pasta (0% dwarf flour). Results and discussion: The addition of DF increased the optimum cooking time, cooking loss and swelling index. The water absorption increased in the case of 10% DFCE pasta. The incorporation of DFCE caused a darker final product, however the incorporation of DFCE resulted in a slightly lighter product when compared to the control sample. In general, the addition of DF led to an increase in the hardness of pastas, particularly in the 20% DFHE samples. Moreover, pasta with added DF had a higher protein and ash content, thus increasing its nutritional quality. Sensorially, the DF pastas had an overall appreciation and a preferential purchase intention by the tasters, standing out in terms of the intensity of colour and aroma compared to the control pasta. Conclusion: DF is a promising ingredient in pasta production, contributing to human health and at the same time promoting economic returns.
  • Consumers’ purchasing habits and food poisoning risk - A portuguese survey
    Publication . Goncalves, J. C.; Guiné, Raquel P. F.; Djekic, I.; Smigic, N
    In the Western countries, despite tight food safety legislation, food poisoning episodes are still quite frequent. According to the European legislation, it is mandatory for all European member states the annual reporting of information on food-borne outbreaks. In Portugal, the National Institute of Health (INSA) notifies each year the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) about the data of the foodborne outbreaks occurred in Portugal, namely information about the pathogenic microorganism responsible, the food products involved and the places where the contamination or consumption have occurred. The aim of this research was to evaluate the Portuguese consumer knowledge about food products commonly responsible for poisoning outbreaks, and witch pathogenic microorganisms are most associated to those food poisoning episodes. In 2017, the Department of Food and Nutrition (DAN) of INSA, carried out laboratory research on 18 outbreaks of food-borne infections that occurred in Portugal which caused 323 cases of illness and involved 145 hospitalizations, with no deaths being reported. Also, we were collecting information through a questionnaire, which was disclosed in the google forms online platform. Ethical issues were respected in the design and application of the questionnaire, and validated by the CERNAS Research Centre. The questionnaire was approved by the Ethics Committee at the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, in June 2021 with reference 52/ SUB/2021. The data was collected between June of 2021 and January of 2022, involving 350 adult participants that voluntarily answered the questionnaire. Data analysis was made using Excel. In the EFSA report of 2017, a total of 5,079 foodborne outbreaks were reported. In these events, Salmonella spp. was the commonest detected agent, causing one out of seven outbreaks. Also, Salmonella spp. in eggs and in meat and meat products were identified as the highest risk agent/food pairs. Concerning the place where the food was prepared or consumed, 75% were in public places (institutions, residential, canteens, school bars, schools, colleges, kindergartens, day-care centers, restaurants, hospitals, and nursing homes) and 25% at home, i.e. all the patients involved belonged to the same household. The major foodborne pathogens, associated food vehicles, include: Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus. Listeria monocytogenes is able to grow at temperatures approaching 0 0 C, and is responsible for outbreaks of listeriosis often associated to the consumption of ready to eat meat, dairy and fishery products. The results show that consumers are quite well informed about food contamination by pathogenic microorganism. They consider products like eggs, meat, and dairy products, as having the greatest risk to the health of consumers and identify the salmonella as the microorganism most associated to those contamination.
  • Comparison of milk consumption habits across two European countries: Pilot study in Portugal and France
    Publication . Guiné, Raquel P. F.; Florença, Sofia de Guiné e; Bréjon, M.; Gonçalves, João Carlos; Ferreira, Manuela; Barroca, Maria João; Fragata, Anabela
    Humans have been consuming milk obtained from domesticated animals since ancient times. Milk is a very complete food with important nutrients that can sup- port life. However, the patterns of consumption of milk have been shifting. On one hand, due to the increase in the number of people with intolerances (to lactose, for example), and on the other hand, due to some trend to avoid foods from animal origin owing to speci fi c convic- tion (like animal welfare, for example). In this context, this study focused on the milk consumption patterns in two di ff erent European Countries and the evaluation of pos- sible di ff erences. The object of study was milk obtained from animal sources, namely, cows, and no other derived fermented dairy products were included. For the develop- ment of the study, a questionnaire survey was applied to a sample of 542 participants from both countries using the Internet. The results showed that a high percentage of participants in both countries consume milk regularly, and the usual amount varies between 125 and 250 mL per day. For those who do not consume milk, the most relevant reason pointed out in both countries was because they do not feel the need to consume it. While in France, a high percentage also do not consume because they do not like milk, and in Portugal, a high percentage do not consume milk due to lactose intolerance. The most con- sumed is semi-skimmed milk, and preferences are towards consuming plain milk or consuming it with chocolate. Signi fi cant di ff erences were found in the consumption of white brands, which are preferred in France, while in Portugal, consumers prefer commercial brands, as well as the preferred package, tetra packs for the Portuguese, while the French prefer plastic bottles. In conclusion, although the results showed some similar trends among the participants from both countries, some di ff erences were also identi fi ed that can be used to better plan public policies in both countries.
  • Customer knowledge and behavior on the use of food refrigerated display cabinets: A Portuguese case
    Publication . C. Goncalves, J.; Guiné, Raquel P. F.; Amoedo, C.; Correia, Paula
    This article presents a study on customer knowledge and habits regarding the use of refrigerated display cabinets (RDC). The study was carried out on a sample of Portuguese retail stores’ customers, using a questionnaire survey available through an Internet platform. The sample consisted of 136 individuals, who voluntarily participated in the study. Questions included the characterization of the sociodemographic population involved. The questionnaire included different questions to related with RDC, namely customer knowledge about the appearance of each RDC equipment, questions to evaluate the respondents’ perception about the advantages and disadvantages related to open or glass-door closed RDC, questions to assess the participants’ habits and behavior when purchasing food products from glass-door closed RDC (frequency and duration of door open), questions to characterize the consumers’ habits on purchasing food products from RDC, and also questions to characterize the consumers’ shopping attitudes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2. The results seem to indicate that customers prefer closed RDC; for example, 61.8% of participants prefer products preserved in glass-door closed RDC, against 6.6% that admit to preferring products preserved in open RDC. Therefore, we can deduce that the existence of doors does not appear to be an obstacle to purchasing food products. Regarding the use of glass-door closed RDC, 80.1% of the participants say they just open the door once, and 53.7% of the costumers believe they keep the door open in the interval [4‒6 s]. This indicates that Portuguese customers are quite well informed about food safety issues and seem to follow assertive attitudes when purchasing food products from RDC. This study reinforces the benefits of replacing open RDC by closed glass-doors allowing significant energy savings.