Food production relationships between entrée combinations and forecasted demand

Macro elements and values for associated Time Measurement Units were applied to three classifications of entrées to synthesize production time for 100, 300, and 500 portions. Average handling and process time for each classification and time per portion were calculated. Data revealed that roast and single-item entrées required greater average handling time than combination entrées, because more individual handling of portions was required as forecasted demand increased. Process time for combination and single-item entrées increased as forecasted demand increased. The time for the single-item classification doubled for 300 and 500 portions, because oven capacity was exceeded. Production time data were applied to six combinations (menu mixes) and quantity levels of entrée classifications to determine production feasibility in a simulated foodservice system. Production problems were encountered in five of the six menu mixes because of system constraints. This study indicated that total production time estimates would be useful to foodservice managers when planning a menu mix, scheduling production personnel, and forecasting labor costs.     

Food production, environmental protection, and health effects in Mexican agriculture

In countries like Mexico, where the need to increase agricultural productivity to satisfy an ever-increasing population is great, attention to environmental problems is recent. However, current public concern has forced the administration to consider environmental protection as a key strategy in the development model. The purpose of this paper is to present the efforts being made by the country, the state of research, legislation, and regulations, and the level of participation by agrichemical producers in aiming to balance protection of the environment and development in the agricultural sector, including intensive use of mechanization and agrichemicals.     

Food safety and animal production systems: controlling zoonoses at farm level

Controlling zoonotic agents in animal and poultry reservoirs has the effect of reducing the challenge to food safety management systems in processing and further along the food chain. Producing and maintaining healthy stock requires good husbandry practices, which include stock selection and veterinary attention. Feed is a key input, both as a source of pathogen-free nutrients and as a balanced dietto maintain healthy livestock. Safe water, appropriate vermin and wildlife control and an optimum environment to reduce stress are important if animals are to perform. Farms are not sterile environments and initiatives to reduce the zoonotic hazards have to be practical, economically feasible and flexible, depending on the scale of the enterprise, the species being farmed, and the epidemiology of the zoonotic agents in the particular geographical region. Education of farmers and stockmen is crucial to successful on-farm control of zoonoses, as an understanding of why control measures are necessary, and how they can be applied, will improve compliance with protocols and procedures. This understanding is a first step towards the implementation of a longitudinal integrated food safety assurance approach to zoonosis control in the pre-harvest phase of the food chain.     

Food safety considerations for the assessment of a genetically modified tomato fortified for folate production

Tomatoes are a very important part of the Mediterranean diet. The possibility of a much healthier tomato option represents a great opportunity for the population to enhance their daily diet. Folate is an important bioactive compound for human health and increasing folate content in tomatoes can contribute to reduce some of the problems associated with this deficiency. In this review, the new option of a biofortified tomato produced by the use of DNA recombinant technology will be discussed in terms of food safety of the new genetically modified product. The possibility to increase folate content has been recently demonstrated through two modifications: the first was based on the development of a synthetic form of engineered GTP cyclohydrolase I (GCHI) (based on mammalian synthesis), which was introduced in the plants to prevent the retroinhibition of the GCHI (folate precursor) in plants; the second was based on the pteridine-overproduction trait expressing the aminodeoxychorismate synthase (AtADCS) from Arabidopsis thaliana. Genetically modified tomatoes, able to accumulate an average of 25-fold more folate than controls, were produced. These fruits could provide the complete adult daily requirement in less than one standard serving. The modification also resulted in a 20 times higher accumulation of pteridines and PABA as compared with the wild-type control. The possible risks and benefits derived from the GM modification of the tomato, and the safety of the final product for consumers will be discussed.     

Food Insecurity,Neighborhood Food Access,and Food Assistance in Philadelphia

An estimated 17.6 million American households were food insecure in 2012, meaning they were unable to obtain enough food for an active and healthy life. Programs to augment local access to healthy foods are increasingly widespread, with unclear effects on food security. At the same time, the US government has recently enacted major cuts to federal food assistance programs. In this study, we examined the association between food insecurity (skipping or reducing meal size because of budget), neighborhood food access (self-reported access to fruits and vegetables and quality of grocery stores), and receipt of food assistance using the 2008, 2010, and 2012 waves of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey. Of 11,599 respondents, 16.7 % reported food insecurity; 79.4 % of the food insecure found it easy or very easy to find fruits and vegetables, and 60.6 % reported excellent or good quality neighborhood grocery stores. In our regression models adjusting for individual- and neighborhood-level covariates, compared to those who reported very difficult access to fruits and vegetables, those who reported difficult, easy or very easy access were less likely to report food insecurity (OR 0.62: 95 % CI 0.43–0.90, 0.33: 95 % CI 0.23–0.47, and 0.28: 95 % CI 0.20–0.40). Compared to those who reported poor stores, those who reported fair, good, and excellent quality stores were also less likely to report food insecurity (OR 0.81: 95 % CI 0.60–1.08, 0.58: 95 % CI 0.43–0.78, and 0.43: 95 % CI 0.31–0.59). Compared to individuals not receiving food assistance, those receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were significantly more likely to be food insecure (OR 1.36: 95 % CI 1.11–1.67), while those receiving benefits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) (OR 1.17: 95 % CI 0.77–1.78) and those receiving both SNAP and WIC (OR 0.84: 95 % CI 0.61–1.17) did not have significantly different odds of food insecurity. In conclusion, better neighborhood food access is associated with lower risk of food insecurity. However, most food insecure individuals reported good access. Improving diet in communities with high rates of food insecurity likely requires not only improved access but also greater affordability.     

Food safety hazards that occur during the production stage: challenges for fish farming and the fishing industry

Seafood derived from wild fish as well as farmed fish has always been an important source of protein in the human diet. On a global scale, fish and fish products are the most important source of protein and it is estimated that more than 30% of fish for human consumption comes from aquaculture. The first part of this paper outlines the hazards and challenges associated with handling fish during farming and capture. The authors describe infectious agents that cause disease in fish as well as humans, zoonotic agents, intoxications due to bacteria and allergies caused by the consumption of fish. Although only a few infectious agents in fish are able to infect humans, some exceptions exist that may result in fatalities. However, the greatest risk to human health is due to the consumption of raw or insufficiently processed fish and fish products. The second part of the paper considers environmental contaminants in seafood that may pose a risk to human health, such as medicinal products and residues associated with aquaculture, persistent lipophilic organic compounds and metals (methyl-mercury, organotin). The authors include an updated overview of the various factors associated with farmed and captured fish that may cause risks to human health after consumption. Moreover, they discuss the challenges (in the widest sense) associated with handling fish during capture and farming, as well as those encountered during processing.     

食品及食品包装品的无菌检验

鉴于我国尚未有食品及食品包装品的无菌检验标准,为了促进无菌检验领域技术的提高与推广进行了本方法研究。在参照商业无菌检验方法基础上,综合多方面的鉴定技术、参比全自动微生物鉴定系统方法完成的。     

Food mutagens

Several lines of evidence indicate that diet and dietary behaviors can contribute to human cancer risk. One way that this occurs is through the ingestion of food mutagens. Sporadic cancers result from a gene-environment interactions where the environment includes endogenous and exogenous exposures. In this article, we define environment as dietary exposures in the context of gene-environment interactions. Food mutagens cause different types of DNA damage: nucleotide alterations and gross chromosomal aberrations. Most mutagens begin their action at the DNA level by forming carcinogen-DNA adducts, which result from the covalent binding of a carcinogen or part of a carcinogen to a nucleotide. However the effect of food mutagens in carcinogenesis can be modified by heritable traits, namely, low-penetrant genes that affect mutagen exposure of DNA through metabolic activation and detoxification or cellular responses to DNA damage through DNA repair mechanisms or cell death. There are some clearly identified (e.g., aflatoxin) and suspected (e.g., N-nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or heterocyclic amines) food mutagens. The target organs for these agents are numerous, but there is target-organ specificity for each. Mutagenesis however is not the only pathway that links dietary exposures and cancers. There is growing evidence that epigenetic factors, including changes in the DNA methylation pattern, are causing cancer and can be modified by dietary components. Also DNA damage may be indirect by triggering oxidative DNA damage. When considering the human diet, it should be recognized that foods contain both mutagens and components that decrease cancer risk such as antioxidants. Thus nutritionally related cancers ultimately develop from an imbalance of carcinogenesis and anticarcinogenesis. The best way to assess nutritional risks is through biomarkers, but there is no single biomarker that has been sufficiently validated. Although panels of biomarkers would be the most appropriate, their use as a reflection of target-organ risk remains to be determined. Also even when new biomarkers are developed, their application in target organs is problematic because tissues are not readily available. For now most biomarkers are used in surrogate tissues (e.g., blood, urine, oral cavity cells) that presumably reflect biological effects in target organs. This article reviews the role of food mutagens in mutagenesis and carcinogenesis and how their effects are modified by heritable traits and discusses how to identify and evaluate the effects of food mutagens.