The effect of addition of the probiotic agent Bacillus coagulans to apples by applying a vacuum impregnation process was studied. Apple slices were impregnated with a sucrose isotonic solution (IS) of 14°Bx containing 1010 CFU g-1 of B. coagulans. The effect of vacuum (22, 29, 36 and 43 cm Hg for 5 min.) and relaxation time (35, 60, 120, 180 and 204 min.) was studied. The highest impregnation of IS (up to 17%) in apple slices was obtained in long relaxation times (120, 180 and 204 min.) and low vacuum pressures (22 cm Hg). The highest vacuum pressure (43 cm Hg) at any relaxation time yielded high concentration of impregnated B. coagulans cells (4 x 107 UFC g-1) into apple slices. The results confirm that B. coagulans at this concentration is satisfactory and similar to that concentration levels of probiotics contained in products existing in the market. Therefore, this article proposes the application of probiotic microorganisms in apple, being this fruit a suitable food matrix for probiotic bacteria.

Consumption of tropical fruits is growing around the world, not only due to their flavor and appearance but also for their nutritional value. In addition to the content in macro and micronutrients, tropical fruits contain substantial amounts of bioactive compounds in peels, and seeds which constitute an underexploited source of bioactive compounds such as phenolic acid, polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamin C and polysaccharides. Polysaccharides have attracted growing interest, particularly for their bioactive characteristics such as antioxidants as well as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticoagulant, hepatoprotective and immunomodulatory properties. Therefore, obtaining functional ingredients from tropical fruits and by-products is feasible and could be used to develop functional and nutraceutical foods to elaborate products of the pharmaceutical industry and food preservation. The present review provides the most relevant information published during the last ten years (2010-2020) on bioactive polysaccharides extracted with hot water reported in tropical fruits and by-products and their relationship with potential beneficial health effects.

This study aimed to obtain sorghum doughs subjected to two fermentation processes (backslopping and spontaneous fermentation techniques) with enhanced biological properties and to assess their influence on the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds and Ferulic Acid (FA) of cookies formulated from fermented sorghum doughs. The best contents of Total Phenols (TP) (µgGAE/g) were 700.9 ± 7.6/36 h and 484.3 ± 6.1/48 h in sorghum doughs fermented by the backslopping and spontaneous fermentation techniques, respectively. The FA values (µg/g) in sorghum doughs fermented by backslopping techniques were significantly higher than those in spontaneous fermentation (21.2 ± 0.27/20 h versus 18.14 ± 0.12/12 h). Cookies formulated from selected sorghum-fermented doughs showed higher bioaccessibility of TP and FA than cookies formulated from nonfermented doughs. High bioaccessibility values for TP were found in cookie digests formulated from sorghum doughs fermented by backslopping and spontaneous processes at 36 h and 12 h, respectively. In contrast, high bioaccessibility values for FA were found in cookie digests formulated from sorghum doughs fermented by backslopping and spontaneous processes at 20 h and 48 h, respectively. The formulation of cookies with fermented sorghum doughs could be a suitable methodology for the prevention of several chronic nontransmissible diseases.

Foodborne pathogens cause diarrhea and flulike illnesses. An estimated 1.8 million children death is associated with disease-causing organisms acquired via food consumption with the greatest number of cases occurring in developing countries (WHO 2008). In the United States, the burden of foodborne infections causes an estimated of 48 million cases of sick people, from which 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die anually (CDC, 2011). In addition, around 31 of the acquired pathogens known cause an approximated of 9.4 million episodes of foodborne illnesses while additional episodes are caused by unspecified agents, known agents not yet recognized as causing foodborne illness, and substances known to be in food but unproven pathogenicity (Scallan et al., 2011). According to Allos et al. (2004) and Imhoff et al. (2004) the economic burden of foodborne illnesses results in an estimated annual cost of $6.9 billion USD because of work absenteeism, cost of medication and hospitalization, being the annual diarrheal burden of 0.72 episodes per person. According to Buzby et al. (1996) and WHO (2008) the most common foodborne pathogens associated with outbreaks are bacteria like Campylobacter jejunii, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella. Data from the CDC (2011) indicates the prevalence of Salmonella serotypes causing foodborne illnesses, which shows an increasing tendency from 2006 to 2011, involving several food as transmission vehicle, such as tomatoe, cantaloupe, egg, alfalfa sprout, peanut butter, pepper, and papaya. Therefore, the control of foodborne pathogens must be considered as one of the most important goals of authorities and producers. When a pathogen related outbreak is detected, the collaboration among Universities, Research Centers and health authorities from countries involved, is an essential step to source track the origin of the causative agent, and to seek for strategies for problem remediation. The association of food with pathogens is a critical problem that requires special attention of the Mexican producers, since the presence of disease-causing organisms might provoke the close of borders of the destiny country. Therefore, the Mexican agricultural authorities have established mandatory regulations for fresh produce production and processing, which include Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) audit www.intechopen.com Please use Adobe Acrobat Reader to read this book chapter for free. Just open this same document with Adobe Reader. If you do not have it, you can download it here. You can freely access the chapter at the Web Viewer here. Please use Adobe Acrobat Reader to read this book chapter for free. Just open this same document with Adobe Reader. If you do not have it, you can download it here. You can freely access the chapter at the Web Viewer here.