Indagine sull’influenza di differenti sistemi d’allevamento sui connotati nutrizionali, tecnologici, sensoriali e di freschezza dell’orata (Sparus aurata) allevata in Italia

On account of the commercial importance of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) in Italy the aim of the present study is the evaluation of the quality of nutritional, technological, sensory and freshness aspects. Sea bream production is growing in the Mediterranean and the evaluation of its quality concerns both producers and consumers alike. The culture system greatly influences final product quality. In Italy most of sea bream culture is carried out in cages but there is also a production in land based facilities and in lagoons. In this study external appeareance differentiations are pronounced. Different results were found for nutritional aspects, for fatty acids and for mineral content. Some differences in the freshness indices are also found. Furthermore, organoleptic differences have been described between culture system.

Assessing Food Security in Selected Mediterranean Countries

Food Security has become an important issue in the international debate, particularly during the latest economic crisis. It relevant issue also for the Mediterranean Countries (MCs), particularly those of the southern shore, as they are is facing complex economic and social changes. On the one hand there is the necessity to satisfy the increasing and changing food demand of the growing population; on the other hand it is important to promote economic growth and adjust the agricultural production to food demand in a sustainable perspective. The assessment of food security conditions is a challenging task due to the multi-dimensional nature and complexity of the matter. Many papers in the scientific literature focus on the nutritional aspects of food security, while its economic issues have been addressed less frequently and only in recent times. Thus, the main objective of the research is to assess food (in)security conditions in the MCs. The study intends to identify and implement appropriate theoretical concepts and methodological tools to be used in the assessment of food security, with a particular emphasis on its economic dimension within MCs. The study follows a composite methodological approach, based on the identification and selection of a number of relevant variables, a refined set of indicators is identified by means of a two-step Principal Component Analysis applied to 90 countries and the PCA findings have been studied with particular attention to the MCs food security situation. The results of the study show that MCs have an higher economic development compared to low-income countries, however the economic and social disparities of this area show vulnerability to food (in)security, due to: dependency on food imports, lack of infrastructure and agriculture investment, climate condition and political stability and inefficiency. In conclusion, the main policy implications of food (in)security conditions in MCs are discussed.

Vegetables biofortified with iodine: chemical, agronomic and qualitative aspects of raw and fried potatoes

Iodine is an essential microelement for human health because it is a constituent of the thyroid hormones that regulate growth and development of the organism. Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDDs) are believed to be one of the commonest preventable human health problems in the world today, according to the World Health Organization: that diseases include endemic goiter, cretinism and fetal abnormalities, among others, and they are caused by lack of iodine in the diet, that is the main source of iodine. Since iodine intake from food is not enough respect to human needs, this can be remedied through dietary diversification, mineral supplementation, food fortification, or increasing the concentration and/or bioavailability of mineral elements in the edible portions of crops through agricultural intervention or genetic selection (biofortification). The introduction of iodized salt is a strategy widely used and accepted to eradicate iodine deficiency, because it is an inexpensive source of stable iodine. Since the intake of salt, though iodized, must still be limited according to the risk of cardiovascular disease, so the increase of iodine content in plants for the production of functional foods is representing a field of study of particular interest and a potential market. In Italy potatoes enriched with iodine are produced by a patented procedure of agronomic biofortification for the fresh market since several years, furthermore they are recently accepted and recommended by Italian Thyroid Association, as an alternative source of iodine. Researches performed during the PhD course intended to characterize this innovative vegetables products, focusing the attention on different aspects, such as chemistry, agriculture, and quality of fresh and fried potatoes. For this purpose, lipid fraction of raw material was firstly investigated, in order to assess whether the presence of iodine in plant metabolism can affect fatty acid or sterol biosynthesis, according to the hypothesis that iodine can be bounded to polyunsaturated fatty acids of cell membranes, protecting them from peroxydation; phytosterols of plant sterol are also studied because their importance in reducing serum cholesterol, especially in potato plant sterols are also involved in synthesis of glycoalkaloid, a family of steroidal toxic secondary metabolites present in plants of the Solanaceae family. To achieve this goal chromatographic analytical techniques were employed to identify and quantify fatty acids and sterols profile of common and iodine enriched row potatoes. Another aim of the project was to evaluate the effects of frying on the quality of iodine-enriched and common potatoes. Since iodine-enriched potatoes are nowadays produced only for the fresh market, preliminary trials of cultivation under controlled environment were carried out to verify if potato varieties suitable for processing were able to absorb and accumulate iodine in the tuber. In a successive phase, these varieties were grown in the field, to evaluate their potential productivity and quality at harvest and after storage. The best potato variety to be destined for processing purposes, was finally subjected to repeated frying cycles; the effects of lipid oxidation on the composition and quality of both potatoes and frying oil bath were evaluated by chromatographic and spectrophotometric analytical techniques. Special attention were paid on volatile compounds of fried potatoes.