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T-Stór is Teagasc’s Open Access Repository, maintained by the Teagasc Library Service. Stór is the Gaelic word for Repository or Store or Warehouse, and T-Stór is an online “store” of Teagasc Research outputs and related documents. T-Stór collects preserves and makes freely available scholarly communication, including peer-reviewed articles, working papers and conference papers created by Teagasc researchers. Where material has already been published it is made available subject to the open-access policies of the original publishers. About Teagasc
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Detection and Enumeration of Spore-Forming Bacteria in Powdered Dairy Products(Frontiers, 2017-01-31)With the abolition of milk quotas in the European Union in 2015, several member states including Ireland, Luxembourg, and Belgium have seen year on year bi-monthly milk deliveries to dairies increase by up to 35%. Milk production has also increased outside of Europe in the past number of years. Unsurprisingly, there has been a corresponding increased focus on the production of dried milk products for improved shelf life. These powders are used in a wide variety of products, including confectionery, infant formula, sports dietary supplements and supplements for health recovery. To ensure quality and safety standards in the dairy sector, strict controls are in place with respect to the acceptable quantity and species of microorganisms present in these products. A particular emphasis on spore-forming bacteria is necessary due to their inherent ability to survive extreme processing conditions. Traditional microbiological detection methods used in industry have limitations in terms of time, efficiency, accuracy, and sensitivity. The following review will explore the common spore-forming bacterial contaminants of milk powders, will review the guidelines with respect to the acceptable limits of these microorganisms and will provide an insight into recent advances in methods for detecting these microbes. The various advantages and limitations with respect to the application of these diagnostics approaches for dairy food will be provided. It is anticipated that the optimization and application of these methods in appropriate ways can ensure that the enhanced pressures associated with increased production will not result in any lessening of safety and quality standards.
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Structural mechanism and kinetics of in vitro gastric digestion are affected by process-induced changes in bovine milk(Elsevier, 2018-03-20)Bovine milk is commonly exposed to processing, which can alter the structure, biochemical composition, physico-chemical properties and sensory quality. While many of these changes have been studied extensively, little is known about their effect on digestive behaviour. In this study, heat treatments of pasteurisation at 72 °C for 15 s or Ultra-High-Temperature (UHT) treatment at 140 °C for 3 s and homogenisation at pilot-plant scale were applied to whole milk. The gastric behaviour was investigated using a recently developed semi-dynamic adult in vitro model. The emptied digesta were analysed to assess the nutrient delivery kinetics, changes in microstructure and protein digestion. All samples showed protein aggregation and coagulum formation within the first 15 min of gastric digestion at which time the pH ranged from 5.5 to 6. Homogenised samples creamed regardless of heat treatment, whereas all non-homogenised samples exhibited sedimentation. The consistency of the coagulum of the heated samples was more fragmented compared to those of the non-heated samples. Rheological analysis showed that the higher the temperature of the heat treatment, the softer the obtained coagulum and the higher the protein hydrolysis at the end of digestion. The study also confirmed that gastric emptying of caseins from milk is delayed due to coagulation in the stomach, while β-lactoglobulin was emptied throughout the gastric phase, except for UHT-treated milk. The gastric behaviour also had an impact on the lipid and protein content of the emptied chyme. The homogenised samples seemed to release more nutrients at the end of gastric digestion.
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Optimisation of plant protein and transglutaminase content in novel beef restructured steaks for older adults by central composite design(Elsevier, 2018-03-29)With the goal of optimising a protein-enriched restructured beef steak targeted at the nutritional and chemosensory requirements of older adults, technological performance of thirty formulations, containing plant-based ingredients, pea protein isolate (PPI), rice protein (RP) and lentil flour (LF) with transglutaminase (TG) to enhance binding of meat pieces, were analysed. Maximal protein content of 28% in cooked product was achieved with PPI, RP and LF. Binding strength was primarily affected by TG, while textural parameters were improved with LF inclusion. Optimal formulation (F) to obtain a protein-enriched steak with lowest hardness values was achieved with TG (2%), PPI (8%), RP (9.35%) and LF (4%). F, F1S (optimal formulation 1 with added seasoning) and control restructured products (not containing plant proteins or seasonings) were scored by 120 consumers' aged over-65 years. Controls were most preferred (P < .05), while F1S were least liked by the older consumers. Consumer testing suggests further refinement and optimisation of restructured products with plant proteins should be undertaken.
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Covalent labelling of β-casein and its effect on the microstructure and physico-chemical properties of emulsions stabilized by β-casein and whey protein isolate(Elsevier, 2016-12)The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of covalent labelling on the physico-chemical properties of β-casein (β-CN) in solution and in emulsions stabilized by β-CN and whey protein isolate (WPI). β-CN was covalently labelled by 5-(and 6)-carboxytetramethylrhodamine, succinimidyl ester (NHS-Rhodamine). The effect of conjugating β-CN with NHS-Rhodamine on the spectroscopic properties of labelled β-CN (β-CNlabelled) was examined. No significant difference in interfacial tension (p > 0.05) was found between mixture of WPI and β-CNlabelled (0.5% w/w WPI/β-CNlabelled) and of WPI and β-CN (0.5% w/w WPI/β-CN) in 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) at 20 °C. Oil-in-water emulsions stabilized with either WPI/β-CN or WPI/β-CNlabelled (0.5% w/w) were also investigated using laser-light scattering, analytical centrifugation, rheometry and CLSM. It was shown that labelling had no significant effect on the physico-chemical properties of emulsions (p > 0.05) in terms of droplet size, creaming stability, viscosity or zeta-potential. Confocal micrographs of emulsions made with WPI/β-CNlabelled showed that both β-CN and whey proteins could be observed simultaneously, and were co-localized at the surface of fat globules. Furthermore, it was found through image analysis that β-CN produced a thicker interfacial layer than WPI.
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Mesophilic sporeformers identified in whey powder by using shotgun metagenomic sequencing(American Society for Microbiology, 2018-10-01)Spoilage and pathogenic spore-forming bacteria are a major cause of concern for producers of dairy products. Traditional agar-based detection methods employed by the dairy industry have limitations with respect to their sensitivity and specificity. The aim of this study was to identify low-abundance sporeformers in samples of a powdered dairy product, whey powder, produced monthly over 1 year, using novel culture-independent shotgun metagenomics-based approaches. Although mesophilic sporeformers were the main target of this study, in one instance thermophilic sporeformers were also targeted using this culture-independent approach. For comparative purposes, mesophilic and thermophilic sporeformers were also tested for within the same sample using culture-based approaches. Ultimately, the approaches taken highlighted differences in the taxa identified due to treatment and isolation methods. Despite this, low levels of transient, mesophilic, and in some cases potentially pathogenic sporeformers were consistently detected in powder samples. Although the specific sporeformers changed from one month to the next, it was apparent that 3 groups of mesophilic sporeformers, namely, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus licheniformis/Bacillus paralicheniformis, and a third, more heterogeneous group containing Brevibacillus brevis, dominated across the 12 samples. Total thermophilic sporeformer taxonomy was considerably different from mesophilic taxonomy, as well as from the culturable thermophilic taxonomy, in the one sample analyzed by all four approaches. Ultimately, through the application of shotgun metagenomic sequencing to dairy powders, the potential for this technology to facilitate the detection of undesirable bacteria present in these food ingredients is highlighted.
