A process for simultaneous delivery of iron, iodine, folic acid, and vitamin B through salt as a potential and holistic approach to ameliorate anaemia and reduce maternal and infant mortality is presented. Two approaches for adding folic acid and B to salt during double fortification with iron and iodine were investigated. Attempts to add both micronutrients through the iodine spray solution were unsuccessful. Hence, folic acid was added through a stabilized iodine solution, and B was added through the iron premix. Four approaches used to incorporate B into the iron premix were investigated: (1) co-extruding B with iron, (2) spraying B on the surface of the iron extrudate, (3) adding B to the colour masking agent, and (4) adding B to the outer coating. Of these approaches, coextrusion (1) was the best, based on the ease of production and stability of fortificants. The salt formulated with the solid iron-B premix and sprayed iodine and folic acid solution contained 1000 ppm iron, 50 ppm iodine, 25 ppm folic acid, and 0.25 ppm B. Over 98% of B, 93% folic acid, and 94% iodine were retained after 6-month storage in the best formulation. This technology can simultaneously deliver iron, iodine, folic acid, and vitamin B in a safe and stable salt enabling public health measures for improved health at a minimal additional cost.

Extrusion has potential advantages over baking in terms of throughput, asset cost and flexibility. However, it is challenging to achieve through extrusion the "light, crispy" texture of a more traditional baked confectionery. This study compares and contrasts for the first time confectionery products produced through these two processes, i.e. baking and extrusion. The microstructural differences are measured using imaging techniques, i.e. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Tomography (XRT) whereas mechanical characterisation is used to highlight differences in the resulting mechanical properties. Crucial information is presented which shows that the two technologies result in different mechanical properties and microstructures, even if the level of porosity in the two products is kept constant. In addition, confectionery products whether they are produced through baking or extrusion, have irregular geometries. The latter makes mechanical characterisation a real challenge. Therefore this study also presents rigorous methods for measuring true mechanical properties such that meaningful and valid comparisons may be made. The accuracy of the chosen methodologies is verified through experiments using flat and tubular extruded geometries as well as testing the products in various directions. It was concluded that the manufacturing method and, in the case of extrusion, the initial moisture content influences the microstructure and mechanics of confectionery products, both of which have an impact on consumer sensory perception.

Hyperspectral imaging (1000-2500 nm) was used for rapid prediction of moisture and total lipid content in intact green coffee beans on a single bean basis. Arabica and Robusta samples from several growing locations were scanned using a "push-broom" system. Hypercubes were segmented to select single beans, and average spectra were measured for each bean. Partial Least Squares regression was used to build quantitative prediction models on single beans (n = 320-350). The models exhibited good performance and acceptable prediction errors of ∼0.28% for moisture and ∼0.89% for lipids. This study represents the first time that HSI-based quantitative prediction models have been developed for coffee, and specifically green coffee beans. In addition, this is the first attempt to build such models using single intact coffee beans. The composition variability between beans was studied, and fat and moisture distribution were visualized within individual coffee beans. This rapid, non-destructive approach could have important applications for research laboratories, breeding programmes, and for rapid screening for industry.

A major challenge in isolating oligosaccharides from dairy streams is to enrich oligosaccharides while simultaneously reducing the content of simple sugars (mono- and disaccharides) that do not possess the desired prebiotic functions. An integrated approach based on optimized conditions that favor maximum lactose hydrolysis, monosaccharide fermentation and oligosaccharides recovery by nanofiltration was developed. Upon complete lactose hydrolysis and fermentation of the monosaccharides by yeast, nanofiltration of fermented whey permeate from colostrum enabled the recovery of 95% of the oligosaccharides at high purity. While the number of commercially available standards has limited the quantification of only a few sialylated oligosaccharides, the application of both high performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection and mass spectrometry provided a complete profile of the final product. Approximately 85% of the oligosaccharides in the final concentrate were sialylated, with the remainder being neutral.

The purification of caprine milk oligosaccharides (COS) by membrane filtration has been hampered by the low concentration of target COS and high concentration of lactose. In addition, their molecular weight proximity hinders the recovery of a COS fraction with high degree of purity and recovery yield. In this work, the recovery of a high purity COS concentrate was obtained by the optimization of an integrated approach including complete lactose hydrolysis, fermentation of the resulting monosaccharides and nanofiltration. All carbohydrates were quantified using High Performance Anion Exchange Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection (HPAEC PAD). Defatted goat whey was ultrafiltered with discontinuous diafiltrations to increase the recovery of COS in the whey permeate which was then subsequently concentrated by nanofiltration. COS recovery yields of 75% with negligible amounts of monosaccharides (0.3% of the initial amount of lactose in the whey permeate) were achieved. A final retentate containing 67.6 and 34.4% of acidic and neutral oligosaccharides respectively was obtained from caprine milk.

An model has been developed to investigate the digestion and absorption of starch and glucose in the small intestine. The main question we are aiming to address is the relative effect of gastric empting time and luminal viscosity on the rate of glucose absorption. The results indicate that all factors have a significant effect on the amount of glucose absorbed. For low luminal viscosities (e.g. lower than 0.1 Pas) the rate of absorption is controlled by the gastric emptying time. For viscosities higher than 0.1 Pas a 10 fold increase in viscosity can result in a 4 fold decrease of glucose absorbed. Our model, with the simplifications used to develop it, indicate that for high viscosity luminal phases, gastric emptying rate is not the controlling mechanism for nutrient availability. Developing a mechanistic model could help elucidate the rate limiting steps that control the digestion process.

Density of foods is an important physical property, which depends on structural properties of food. For porous foods such as baked foods, accurate measurement of density is challenging since traditional density measurement techniques are tedious, operator-dependent and incapable of precise volume measurement of foods. To overcome such limitations, a methodology was developed using both digital radiography(DR) and computed tomography(CT) x-ray imaging to directly determine density of foods. Apparent density was determined directly from x-ray linear attenuation coefficients by scanning at 40, 60, 80 kVp on DR and 45, 55, 70 kVp on CT. The apparent density can be directly determined using CT however sample thickness is needed to determine density using DR. No significant difference (p<0.05) was observed between density obtained from traditional methods, with density determined from x-ray linear attenuation coefficients. Density determined on CT for all foods with mean 0.579 g/cm had a standard deviation, SD = 0.0367 g/cm. Density determination using x-ray linear attenuation was found to be a more efficient technique giving results comparable with conventional techniques.

Measuring food volume (portion size) is a critical component in both clinical and research dietary studies. With the wide availability of cell phones and other camera-ready mobile devices, food pictures can be taken, stored or transmitted easily to form an image based dietary record. Although this record enables a more accurate dietary recall, a digital image of food usually cannot be used to estimate portion size directly due to the lack of information about the scale and orientation of the food within the image. The objective of this study is to investigate two novel approaches to provide the missing information, enabling food volume estimation from a single image. Both approaches are based on an elliptical reference pattern, such as the image of a circular pattern (e.g., circular plate) or a projected elliptical spotlight. Using this reference pattern and image processing techniques, the location and orientation of food objects and their volumes are calculated. Experiments were performed to validate our methods using a variety of objects, including regularly shaped objects and food samples.