Plant-based milk has gained considerable attention; however, its high nutritional variation highlights the need for improved formulation designs to enhance its quality. This study aimed to nutritionally compare cow milk with plant-based milk produced from hazelnuts (H), Brazil nuts (BN), cashew nuts (CN), soybeans (S), and sunflower seeds (SS), and to perform physicochemical and technological characterization. The plant-based milk produced with isolated grains showed a nutritional composition inferior to that of cow milk in almost all evaluated parameters, protein content (up to 1.1 g 100 g
Abstract Salmonella spp. is one of the main lettuce pathogens and should be inactivated during the disinfection of these vegetables before consumption. In minimally processed vegetable industries, residues of organic matter can prevent the inactivation of this pathogen by disinfectants. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the inactivation of Salmonella isolated from organic lettuce to sodium hypochlorite (25 and 50 ppm) and citric acid (0.5 and 1%) in washing water added with lettuce residues. To do so, a washing water with lettuce residues was elaborated, and Salmonella was added in the order of 10 6 CFU/ml. Thereafter, each sanitizer was added separately to evaluate its effect on reducing Salmonella counts. After 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, and 15 min of contact with the sanitizers, serial dilutions using neutralizer (0.5% sodium thiosulfate) were performed and each dilution was sown in Xylose‐Lysine‐Desoxycholate medium. Total aerobic mesophilic counts of wash water with lettuce residues before testing (without Salmonella ) and after 15 min of exposure to each sanitizer (with Salmonella ) were also performed. In addition, the free chlorine still present in the samples after the contact of sodium hypochlorite with lettuce residues for 15 min. The results demonstrated that 50 and 25 ppm sodium hypochlorite could reduce 6 log CFU/ml of Salmonella in 1 and 3 min of contact, respectively, while 0.5 and 1% citric acid was able to reduce 1.26 and 1.74 log CFU/ml respectively from the same microorganism within 15 min of contact. The total aerobic mesophilic counts of the wash water before being tested were, on average, 1.5 log CFU/ml. After addition of Salmonella , with 15 min of contact with the sanitizer, the results of total counts showed the same magnitude as the Salmonella counts. Organic matter may have reacted with the free chlorine present, reducing chlorine concentrations, since values of 30.4 ppm were observed when the initial concentration should be 50 and 17.1 ppm when the initial concentration should be 25 ppm. Based on the results, sodium hypochlorite demonstrated a greater microbial reduction capacity in wash water with lettuce residues, indicating that it is more appropriate to avoid cross‐contamination between batches during sanitation of lettuce in washing tanks.
A growing number of consumers opt for plant-based milk substitutes for medical reasons, like cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA), lactose intolerance (LI), or as a lifestyle choice. Plant-based milk substitutes, or plant extracts, are water-soluble extracts of legumes, oilseeds, cereals or pseudocereals that resemble bovine milk in appearance. It is produced by reducing the size of the raw material, extracted in water and subsequently homogenized, being an alternative to cow's milk. They are considered cow's milk replacers due to similar chemical composition and can also be used as a substitute for direct use or in some animal milk-based preparations. On the other hand, these substitutes exhibit different sensory characteristics, stability and nutritional composition from cow's milk. They are manufactured by extracting the raw material in water, separating the liquid, and formulating the final product. Others process like homogenization and thermal treatments are indispensable to improve the suspension and microbiological stabilities of the final product so that can be consumed. However new and advanced non-thermal processing technologies such as ultra-high pressure homogenization and pulsed electric field processing are being researched for tackling the problems related to increase of shelf life, emulsion stability, nutritional completeness and sensory acceptability without the use of high temperatures. Some pre-treatments such as peeling, bleaching or soaking can be performed on the raw material in order to improve the final product. The nutritional properties are influenced by the plant source, processing, and fortification. The addition of other ingredients as sugar, oil and flavorings is done to the plant-based milk substitute to make them more palatable and be more acceptable to consumers. Thus, the aim is to review the main reasons for the consumption of plant-based milk substitute as well as the raw materials used and the technological aspects of its production.