Microbial biosurfactants with high ability to reduce surface and interfacial surface tension and conferring important properties such as emulsification, detergency, solubilization, lubrication and phase dispersion have a wide range of potential applications in many industries. Significant interest in these compounds has been demonstrated by environmental, bioremediation, oil, petroleum, food, beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries attracted by their low toxicity, biodegradability and sustainable production technologies. Despite having significant potentials associated with emulsion formation, stabilization, antiadhesive and antimicrobial activities, significantly less output and applications have been reported in food industry. This has been exacerbated by uneconomical or uncompetitive costing issues for their production when compared to plant or chemical counterparts. In this review, biosurfactants properties, present uses and potential future applications as food additives acting as thickening, emulsifying, dispersing or stabilising agents in addition to the use of sustainable economic processes utilising agro-industrial wastes as alternative substrates for their production are discussed.

Biosurfactants are of considerable interest due to their biodegradability, low degree of toxicity, and diverse applications. However, the high production costs involved in the acquisition of biosurfactants underscore the need for optimization of the production process to enable viable application on an industrial scale. The aims of the present study were to select a species of Candida that produces a biosurfactant with the greatest emulsifying potential and to investigate the influence of components of the production medium and cultivation conditions. Candida utilis achieved the lowest surface tension (35.53 mN/m), best emulsification index (73%), and highest yield (12.52 g/l) in a medium containing waste canola frying oil as the carbon source and ammonium nitrate as the nitrogen source. The best combination of medium components and cultivation conditions was 6% (w/v) glucose, 6% (w/v) waste canola frying oil, 0.2% (w/v) ammonium nitrate, 0.3% (w/v) yeast extract, 150 rpm, 1% inoculum (w/v), and 88 h of fermentation. The greatest biosurfactant production and the lowest surface tension were achieved in the first 24 h of production, and the maximum biomass production was recorded at 72 h. The biosurfactant produced from C. utilis under the conditions investigated in the present study has a potential to be a bioemulsifier for application in the food industry.

Formulou-se receita básica de barra de cereal, empregando biscoito de amido de milho, açúcar demerara, leite em pó desnatado, flocos de arroz, aveia em flocos, xarope de glicose de milho, uva passa e damasco seco, como alternativa às barras encontradas no comércio. Para avaliar a composição centesimal e a aceitação desse produto caseiro foram utilizadas duas barras comerciais como parâmetro de referência. O produto foi submetido à determinações de carboidratos, lipídios, proteínas, fibras e à análise sensorial. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que a barra formulada apresentou valores bem próximos aos das industrializadas no que se refere ao aporte calórico, carboidratos e proteínas. Entretanto, foram encontrados teores de lipídios 83,0% a 95,7% mais baixos que os das barras comerciais. O teor de fibras mostrou-se 14% menor na barra caseira, sugerindo-se a substituição do biscoito pela versão integral e inserção de cereais integrais na formulação para incrementar o aporte de fibras. A barra formulada obteve aceitação global superior à das barras de referência, representando opção para suplementação de fibras na dieta. Concluiu-se que o produto atende às especificações sanitárias, nutricionais e sensoriais. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: BARRA DE CEREAIS; FIBRA ALIMENTAR; ANÁLISE SENSORIAL.

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