The production of miso has been decreasing due to changes in eating habits and social environments. In addition, there has been a recent move towards reduced salt intake to diminish lifestyle-related diseases. To maintain the demand for miso, it is important to develop salt-free miso manufacturing technology. Thus, collaborative research involving industry, academia, and the government was conducted to develop salt-free miso. The production of salt-free miso requires the control of lactic acid bacteria, spore-forming bacteria, and hygiene-related bacteria. In addition, it is necessary to propagate specific fermentation microorganisms such as yeast and lactic acid bacteria to improve the taste of miso soup. Here, miso production was divided into two steps. In the high-temperature digestion step, miso was heated to 55°Cand the temperature was maintained for 1 to 5 days. In the second, low-temperature addition and multistage fermentation step, a fermentation microorganism corresponding to the desired product quality was added at a temperature of approximately 10°Cand the fermentation temperature was then raised in multiple steps. The microflora produced in each manufacturing step was analyzed by PCR-DGGE to identify hygiene-related bacteria and lactic acid bacteria. Processing conditions during the high-temperature digestion step were set as the critical control point in manufacturing.

Japanese traditional fermented foods are characterized by their diversity. We constructed a fermented food database. The distinguishing features of the database are as follows: First, the database can store several types of data with the principal four data types: fermented foods, microorganisms, materials, and cultures; and supporting data such as documents and references. Second, the user interface enables users to operate the database while the data is being presented. Users often come up with new ideas in this environment. Third, statistical data can be easily retrieved from the database. For example, the total number of food cultures related to “miso” stored in the database was 204: which included 25 places, 1 occasion, 79 persons, 17 events, and 43 expressions, among other entries. To use this database as a portal site for fermented foods, we will continue to collect source data for storing in the database.

Satsuma mandarins (Citrus unshiu Marcow.) are one of the most commonly eaten domestic fruits in Japan, and recent studies have shown that the β-cryptoxanthin present in Satsuma mandarins might provide benefits to bone health. In this study, we examined whether the use of visible and near-infrared (VIS-NIR) spectroscopy, and a new simplified measuring system for β-cryptoxanthin in satsuma mandarins, which has recently been developed as an alternative method of HPLC, permit us to rapidly quantify β-cryptoxanthin in single intact fruits. Satsuma mandarins, harvested in 2016, were subjected to VIS-NIR radiation, and spectra were collected from 600-970nm at 1-nm intervals, with an integration time of 10ms. β-cryptoxanthin contents of each sample were then measured by a newly developed simplified measuring system. We then examined the associations between VIS-NIR spectra data and β-cryptoxanthin contents obtained from the simplified measuring system. Calibration models were prepared using partial least squares regression (PLSR) on pre-treated spectra in the ranges 0.52-3.44mg/100g (β-cryptoxanthin) of 340 samples. External validation was carried out with 340 new samples. The PLSR models for intact satsuma mandarins were able to predict β-cryptoxanthin with R²＝0.897, RMSEP＝0.169, and RPD＝3.01. The results allow for the market valorization of this fruit.

Kuchidoke, or “the melt-in-your-mouth feeling”, is an important characteristic of rice cracker texture. In this study, we established a novel method for quantitatively evaluating the kuchidoke of rice crackers from their internal microstructure and physical properties. Maximum load, water absorption time, the half-life of rice-cracker viscosity reduction caused by enzymatic degradation, and particle size at the end of degradation were analyzed. We evaluated the possible correlation of kuchidoke values of glutinous or non-glutinous rice crackers as determined by “Quantitative Descriptive Analysis” with the corresponding values determined from internal microstructure and physical property values. It was found that rice crackers with lower maximum load in the compression test and larger pore size had higher kuchidoke values. We used structure and physical property parameters selected by a stepwise multiple regression procedure to develop the following equation. y＝0.2290566x₁＋0.4849081x₂＋41.337392x₃－2.433181x₄＋46.285197x₅＋0.1078257x₆－182.242600 (R²＝0.9780, p<0.01) Using this multiple regression equation, we showed that rice cracker kuchidoke can be accurately estimated by measuring pore structure thickness (x₁), pore size (x₂), number of pores (x₃), maximum load (x₄), half-life of viscosity reduction (x₅), and residual particle size (x₆).

High-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis was performed to clarify the carotenoid content of 18 pineapple cultivars / lines preserved at the Okinawa Prefectural Agricultural Research Center. According to levels of carotenoid accumulation, 18 cultivars/lines were sorted into three groups. Those in the high-accumulation group contained violaxanthin, 9-cis-violaxanthin and β-carotene in large quantities, and the total amount of carotenoids exceeded 1000µg/100g-FW (e.g. ‘A882’). Those in the middle-accumulation group contained violaxanthin, 9-cis-violaxanthin and β-carotene in medium quantities and had a total carotenoid count in the range of 500 to 1000µg/100g-FW (e.g. ‘Gold-barrel’). Those in the low-accumulation group contained a total carotenoid count of less than 500µg/100g-FW. The low-accumulation group was further divided into a group with only a small amount of carotenoids (e.g. ‘N67-10’) and a group containing almost no carotenoids (e.g. ‘Soft touch’). Grouping according to carotenoid accumulation level coincided well with grouping by classification of flesh color. These results will be useful for increasing carotenoids in pineapple breeding.