One of the biggest challenges in managing the food sector during a pandemic crisis is sustaining a robust food security system and adopting the right strategies in correlating the consumers’ needs and requirements with those of food safety, the producers, the distribution chain, the economic environment, and waste management. The restrictions on people’s global movement, commodities, and services and the measures taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have disrupted food environments around the world and forced us to collectively redesign and optimize our systems using existing resources from a more sustainable perspective. This paper offers an overview of the implications of COVID-19 for the food supply chain and discusses several potential strategies for tackling short- and long-term adverse effects resulting from the pandemic.

Five selected wild edible mushrooms from Romania (Agaricus bisporus, Pleurotus ostreatus, Cantharellus cibarius, Boletus edulis, and Lactarius piperatus) were investigated for their antioxidant potential using an ABTS spectrophotometric assay. Among the selected mushrooms, B. edulis displayed the highest radical scavenging activity and the greatest phenolic content, measured by the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent method. The total flavonoids were quantified using the aluminum chloride colorimetric method, with the extract of B. edulis being the richest. L. piperatus and B. edulis mushrooms exhibited the strongest antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. The content of trace elements was determined using an atomic absorption spectrometer, and it was found that K and Mg were the main metals present in all the selected mushroom species. The obtained results suggest that the studied wild edible mushrooms are natural functional matrices, and may have potential to be used as natural antioxidants if they are introduced into the daily diet.

Edible mushrooms are well-known for their nutritional benefits and low energy density. In addition, mushroom extracts contain various bioactive compounds that account for their antioxidant activity; the applied extraction conditions influence the extraction efficiency of such compounds. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of four extractants on the content of polyphenols and antioxidant properties of Boletus edulis and Cantharellus cibarius mushrooms, aiming to optimize the extraction process. Powders of B. edulis and C. cibarius mushrooms were subjected to extraction with acidic water (10% CH3COOH), ethanol/water/acetic acid (15:76.5:8.5, v/v/v), hexane, and diethyl ether to measure their total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC). Furthermore, the level of individual polyphenolic compounds in these extracts was quantified using an HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS method. Results showed that the type of solvent significantly influenced the TPC and TEAC of mushroom powder but insignificantly influenced the TFC. A very strong positive correlation was found between TPC and TEAC, but no correlation was found between TFC and TEAC or TPC and TFC. Acidic water extracted the highest amount of polyphenolic compounds from these mushroom powders. Therefore, the aqueous extract showed the highest TPC and strongest antioxidant activity. Thus, acidic water is recommended for polyphenol analysis in B. edulis and C. cibarius mushrooms.

Beef aging is one of the most common methods used for improving its qualities. The main goal of the present study was to analyse the influence of different cold pressed oils and aromatic herbs during marination process on the nutritional, textural, and sensory attributes of the final grilled sirloin samples. In order to fulfil this goal, methods like GC-MS, HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS, HLPC-RID were performed to quantify fatty acids, phenolic acids, and organic acids, respectively. Textural and sensory analysis were performed with CT 3 Texture Analyser and hedonic test. The results showed high improvement of the meat grilled samples regarding the content of phenolic acids, and textural and sensory characteristics. Pearson values indicate strong positive correlations between raw and grilled samples regarding their content in phenolic acids. Hardness, chewiness, gumminess decreased during marination, meanwhile, resilience, and cohesiveness increased. Sensory analysis highlighted that meat samples marinated with olive oil and rosemary for 120 h reached the highest hedonic score among the tested samples.

Recently, mushrooms consumption has risen notably thanks to the proof of their capacity to improve the organism efficiency in the combat and prevention of several diseases. The particular nutritional properties of fruiting bodies of mushrooms are one of the reasons for their consumption, besides their texture and flavour for which they are considered a delicacy. In this paper data were collected from several scientific studies with the aim to characterize the chemical composition and content of bioactive compounds (moisture, ash, total carbohydrates, total sugars, crude fat, crude protein and energy) of five edible mushrooms species: Agaricus bisporus, Boletus edulis, Cantharellus cibarius, Pleurotus ostreatus, Lactarius piperatus.