In this study, we clarified the food physico-chemical characteristics of emu tendon. In comparison with beef tendon, emu tendon had a higher in protein content, was lower in fats, higher in iron, and richer in collagen. By adding 0.2 % sodium ascorbate to the raw meat, the dry sausages were improved and had a bright and strong reddish tone with moderate hardness and a chewy texture. After the sausages were dried for four days, they contained a moisture level of＜35 % and water activity of＜0.87, which met the Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) criteria for dry sausages. The dry emu sausages developed in this study had a high nutritional value, suitable physical properties, and good palatability other than flavor profile that was comparable to similar foods already on the market.

In this study, film packaged fresh-cut pear samples were supercooled at －5 °Cfor 3 days and then tissue characteristics and physicochemical properties were compared with samples stored at 1 °C(control). The tissue characteristics of the samples were then evaluated by electrical impedance, microscopic observation, and a triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) assay. The results showed that the supercooled samples had Cole-Cole plots with well-defined circular arcs, intact cell structure, and cell viabilities that were comparable to those of fresh samples, indicating that supercooled samples were not adversely affected by freezing. Physicochemical evaluations of supercooled samples showed that changes in mass, coloration, and softness were all less apparent than they were in the control samples. Additionally, the ethylene concentration in the supercooled sample packages was significantly lower than that of the control samples, indicating that supercooling reduced ethylene production from fresh-cut pears. The results showed that supercooling could potentially extend the shelf life of fresh-cut pear.

We conducted atmospheric freeze drying (AFD) of fresh-cut Japanese radish (daikon) at different temperatures (0, －5, －10, －18 °C) with an air speed of 0.43 m・s^－1, and evaluated moisture content changes. We assessed samples dried by AFD for surface color, soluble solids content ( °Brix), rehydration ratio, and texture (breaking stress and initial elasticity) after rehydration. In the rehydration and texture tests, we compared AFD using －5 °Csamples and samples dried by hot air at 60 °C. An exponential model was used to describe the sample moisture content during AFD, which decreased exponentially with drying constant with an Arrhenius-type temperature dependency. Compared to the sample dried at 60 °C, the rehydration ratio was 1.29 times higher for AFD at －5 °C, and the sample showed a large number of voids. There were no significant differences between the －5 °Cand 60 °Csamples in terms of breaking stress or initial elasticity. These results indicate that AFD is an effective drying method for preserving the quality of products.

New and simple substitution methods for measuring loaf volume and crust color were developed. For bread baked using an automatic bread-making machine, the loaf volume is mainly influenced by the height of the bread due to the surrounding metal container. The height of the bread was strongly correlated with whole loaf volume (R²＝0.768). A non-destructive colorimetric method was developed using photographs of the bread. Compared to direct measurements of bread color, the L^＊ value of the bread in the photographs was effective, albeit slightly higher, for inferring bread color.