Shubham Nimbkar’s research while affiliated with National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management and other places

The purpose of this article is to present the fundamental concepts, features, advantages, limitations, and possible applications in the agri-food supply chain. Blockchain technology helps in minimizing transaction costs and time, boosting process efficiency, and safety, including transparency, and increasing stakeholder confidence. Several scientific databases were searched with specific keywords and relevant research and review articles were collected and reported. Maintaining data immutably and facilitating speedy monitoring through all phases of the food supply chain, blockchain increases transparency across all levels of the agri-food sector. Though the potential of the technology is proven, the implementation faces some challenges that require to be explored further with various conceptual frameworks developed for that purpose. This review explores the potential, features, and applications of blockchain technology to enable the flexible agri-food supply chain, various conceptual frameworks developed to achieve a traceable food supply chain, and barriers associated with the implementation of the technology.

Respirable particles are integral to effective inhalable therapeutic ingredient delivery, demanding precise engineering for optimal lung deposition and therapeutic efficacy. This review describes different physicochemical properties and their role in determining the aerodynamic performance and therapeutic efficacy of dry powder formulations. Furthermore, advances in top-down and bottom-up techniques in particle preparation, highlighting their roles in tailoring particle properties and optimizing therapeutic outcomes, are also presented. Practices adopted for particle engineering during the past 100 years indicate a significant transition in research and commercial interest in the strategies used, with several innovative concepts coming into play in the past decade. Accordingly, this article highlights futuristic particle engineering approaches such as electrospraying, inkjet printing, thin film freeze drying, and supercritical processes, including their prospects and associated challenges. With such technologies, it is possible to reshape inhaled therapeutic ingredient delivery, optimizing therapeutic benefits and improving the quality of life for patients with respiratory diseases and beyond.

In light of the nutritional properties of coconut and the growing demand for plant‐based foods, this work was aimed toward the development of high‐fat coconut cream. Coconut milk was subjected to novel thermal (microwave, MW, and ohmic heating, OH) and nonthermal (ultrasound, US, and pulsed electric field, PEF) treatments. A high‐fat cream (fat content >60%) was obtained by centrifugation; its microstructure, color, particle size and zeta potential, textural, and rheological properties were evaluated. All treatments resulted in a significant increase in moisture content and a decrease in fat content; thermal treatments resulted in higher yield (up to ~18% higher than control samples). US resulted in the least particle size and highest absolute zeta potential owing to cavitation effects. MW cream had the highest value of firmness (498.38 ± 4.09 g) and consistency (5501.73 ± 178.08 g s), followed by OH cream and PEF cream had the least values. All cream samples showed shear thinning behavior with US cream exhibiting the lowest flow behavior index (0.22 ± 0.01). Sensory scores indicated that US cream was the most acceptable, especially with high preferences in terms of creaminess and spreadability. The findings of this research provide insights into the development of high‐fat plant‐based creams. Practical applications Over the years, there has been a surge in the focus on plant‐based foods. The present work focuses on the development of a novel coconut‐based high‐fat cream and the impact of different processing techniques. The developed novel product can be used as a replacer for animal‐based creams, spreads, and emulsified sauces such as mayonnaise, whilst providing the benefits of coconut fats. This study also provides insights into the development of novel plant‐based high‐fat creams and the use of novel processing techniques for improved quality and stability.

Food 3D printing is a computer-aided additive manufacturing technology that can transform foods into intricate customized forms. In the past decade, this field has phenomenally advanced and one pressing need is the development of strategies to support process optimization. Among different approaches, a range of modeling methods have been explored to simulate 3D printing processes. This review details the concepts of various modeling techniques considered for simulating 3D printing processes and their application range. Most modeling studies majorly focus on predicting the mechanical behavior of the material supply, modifying the internal texture of printed constructs, and assessing the post-printing stability. The approach can also be used to simulate the dynamics of 3D printing processes, in turn, assisting the design of 3D printers based on material composition, properties, and printing conditions. While most existing works are associated with extrusion-based 3D printing, this article presents scope for expanding avenues with prominent research and commercial interest. The article concludes with challenges and research needs, emphasizing opportunities for computational and data-driven dynamic simulation approaches for multi-faceted applications.

Phase separation (fat and aqueous phases) limits the applicability and marketability of coconut milk. In this work, coconut milk was supplemented with whey protein and Tween-80 before being subjected to either of three high-energy emulsification techniques (high shear homogenization, ultrasonication, and microfluidization). The impact of these treatments on coconut milk was evaluated and compared over a period of one week. These processes resulted in droplet sizes of 517.25 ± 3.18 nm, 311.6 ± 11.31 nm, and 205.9 ± 4.53 nm, respectively. With narrower size distribution, microfluidized samples did not undergo separation for 7 days under refrigerated conditions whereas homogenized and ultrasonicated samples separated within 2 and 8 h, respectively. This was also endorsed by the highest absolute zeta potential value reported by microfluidization (−23.2 ± 0.99 mV). The viscosity and color values also showed significant differences between the treated and control samples. Microfluidization showed the highest viscosity value of 5.09 ± 0.07 cP compared to other techniques, due to its ability to produce finer droplets. This study provides insights into the improvement of stability of milk alternatives that are prone to phase separation issues.

Micronutrient deficiency, particularly iron and folic acid, is a serious global concern and fortification of these micronutrients through food is the most effective strategy. However, the limitations of the direct incorporation of ferrous iron into foods demand an approach of encapsulation. The present work reports a novel approach for encapsulation of iron and folic acid along with ascorbic acid into multilayer encapsulates of whey protein and ethyl cellulose using a modified 3-fluid nozzle spray drying (3FN SD). Formation of ethyl cellulose as the shell over whey protein core resulted in an improvement in the color (increase in L* value) and flowability (from poor to fair) compared to the ones prepared by conventional 2-fluid nozzle spray drying (2FN SD). Samples with 1% and 2% ethyl cellulose showed better flowability compared to the other two samples. 15WP-2EC sample reported maximum encapsulation efficiency for iron (86.6 ± 4.3%) and folic acid (89.92 ± 2.07%). Changes in the surface composition in terms of amine and aliphatic carbon bonds confirm the formation of multilayer encapsulates by 3FN SD. The effect of ethyl cellulose shell formation is evident on the release of iron and folic acid which resulted in a relatively slower release compared to the encapsulates prepared by 2FN SD. 15WP-2EC sample despite being prepared by 3FN SD showed a higher release of iron and folic acid owing to improper shell formation which can be confirmed by surface morphology. Based on the observations of this work, multilayer encapsulates 15WP-0.5EC and 15WP-1EC showed improvement in appearance, flowability, and sustained release properties and therefore can be recommended for application in food systems.Graphical abstract

In recent times, microfluidization has emerged as a novel processing technology. With meticulously designed interaction chamber and high-performing pump, unique pressure profiles are generated which perform cavitation, and develop shear, velocity, and turbulence. Primarily evolved as a homogenization technique, it provides significantly lower droplet size and narrow size distribution compared to other high-energy techniques such as high-pressure homogenization and ultrasonication. However, it is susceptible to over-processing, resulting in reduced stability of emulsions. Therefore, careful optimization of processing conditions is a crucial step. The present work discusses the applications of microfluidization in this aspect and comparison with the aforementioned techniques. Furthermore, microfluidization finds successful applications in the field of encapsulation, extraction, and modification of biological molecules. These aspects are also discussed with their advantages and limitations. To conclude, the challenges in the industrial scale-up of microfluidization are discussed in detail. Overall, microfluidization holds tremendous potential for several applications in the food industry.