Fermentation control is very important in yogurt production as it affects product quality. Generally, the lactic acid concentration in the yogurt is measured by pH, and acidity titration has been used to monitor yogurt fermentation. However, these measurements require expertise and time, and the use of contact sampling means that there is a risk of contamination. Numerous volatile or semi-volatile organic compounds are metabolized in the yogurt headspace during yogurt fermentation, but they are not used effectively for fermentation control. The purpose of this study was to assess whether ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) could be used to monitor fermentation by measuring the headspace gas of yogurt in real time without contact. Analysis by IMS is based on the principle of ionizing gas in the atmosphere and then measuring ion mobility; a component analysis is also possible from the output spectrum. Analysis of the volatile components of the headspace by IMS showed that the peak intensity of the output spectrum increased with fermentation of yogurt and was strongly correlated with acid concentration and pH. Furthermore, a comparison of IMS and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis results revealed that the compounds in yogurt that confer flavor, such as formic acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, butanoic acid, hexanoic acid, octanoic acid and decanoic acid, can be identified by IMS.
“Gold barrel” and “Okino P17” are recently bred pineapple cultivars from Okinawa Prefecture; however, their storability is unknown. Here, we investigated the temperature-dependent respiration rate, the amount of CO2 released per hour at a given temperature by the pineapple in a desiccator, of “Gold Barrel” and “Okino P17”. We found that the inflection point temperature, where the respiration rate changed significantly, was approximately 13 °Cfor both cultivars. Storage test results demonstrated that the taste of both cultivars deteriorated significantly within 2 to 3 days of storage at 25 °C. Conversely, storing the fruits at 5 or 10 °Cmaintained their freshness for a week. However, after shifting to 25 °C, the taste deteriorated within 2 to 3 days. Therefore, a distribution route with refrigerated storage needs to be established, and the fruits should be consumed promptly after delivery.
The JFS-B standard complies with the mandatory HACCP. During 2019-2020, the number of conforming manufacturers tripled. The objective of this paper was to identify measures to disseminate the JFS-B standard based on the actual conditions of conforming manufacturers. A questionnaire was collected from 395 sites. A total of 70 % of sites passed conformity assessments in less than a year, and 80 % reported that their expectations had been achieved. The difficult-to-understand requirements concerned suppliers and food defense and were solved with consultants. Five measures were identified: (1) Expansion of guidelines for requirements, (2) Support for JFS-C Certification, (3) Efforts to raise recognition, (4) HR development of auditors, and (5) Collaboration platform.