Shell egg handling and preparation practices in food service establishments in Finland.

Foodborne outbreaks are often reported to be acquired at food service establishments. As a part of a quantitative risk assessment on the consumer risk of contracting Salmonella infection via shell eggs, we studied how small, medium, and large restaurants, institutional kitchens, and staff canteens (n=171) purchase, store, and use shell eggs. In addition, we estimated the fraction of raw and undercooked risky egg dishes among all egg dishes served in food service establishments of different sizes and types.

Physical changes of beta-sitosterol crystals in oily suspensions during heating.

The aim of this research was to describe the thermal behavior of beta-sitosterol crystals in oil-suspensions with a focus on the role of water during heating. The suspensions were prepared by recrystallization in order to achieve a microcrystalline particle size. The structural changes together with the mechanical properties of the suspensions during heating were studied by using variable temperature X-ray powder diffractometry (VT-XRPD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA).

Egg consumption patterns and Salmonella risk in Finland.

To estimate the consumer risk of contracting Salmonella infection via shell eggs and to evaluate the effect of possible preventative measures, quantitative microbiological risk assessment is being developed in Finland. As a part of the risk assessment, a survey of 918 respondents was conducted to study how households purchase, store, handle, and use eggs. In addition, suitability of the Internet as a survey method was compared with a postal survey.

Nonenzymatic browning in food models in the vicinity of the glass transition: effects of fructose, glucose, and xylose as reducing sugar.

Effects of a reducing sugar, fructose, glucose, or xylose, and glass transition on the nonenzymatic browning (NEB) rate in maltodextrin (MD), poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), and water systems were studied. Glass transition temperatures (T(g)) were determined using DSC. Water contents were determined gravimetrically, and NEB rates were followed at several temperatures spectrophotometrically at 280 and 420 nm.