Cream Crackers Research Articles

Do Primary Health Professionals in Brazil Have a Misperception about Food? The Role of Food Literacy as a Positive Predictor.

Risk perception is socially constructed; psychological elements control people's reactions to a hazard, and even health professionals may have difficulty determining what healthy food is. This work aimed to measure food literacy and food risk perceptions among primary healthcare professionals in a Brazilian city. In the first phase, 280 health professionals working in primary care in Rio Claro, Brazil, were studied. The Short Food Literacy Questionnaire (SFLQ-Br) and scales of risk and benefit perception of 50 foods were used. In the second phase, 20 professionals were interviewed to investigate the responses to different foods observed in the first phase. In this second phase, 16 users of the health system were also enrolled to understand their perceptions and how the nutrition messages conveyed by the health team reached them. Professionals scored an average of 34.5 on food literacy (for which there is a maximum score of 52). They showed difficulty with dietary guidelines and their interpretation. Food's risk and benefit perception were generally consistent with the recommendations of the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population. However, some processed foods or those with no proven health benefits were considered healthy by the study participants, indicating a biased perception (e.g., gelatin, processed turkey breast, cream crackers, and cereal bars). Less misperception was observed when food literacy was higher, which positively predicted risk perception. The reasons for identifying benefits of these foods ranged from the false impression that they are natural and nutritious foods to the comparative claim that they are better for health than similar foods. The results indicate the need to educate health professionals based on current references to avoid bias in population counseling.

Effect of Tomato Pomace Addition on Chemical, Technological, Nutritional, and Sensorial Properties of Cream Crackers.

The aim of this research was to determine the influence of tomato pomace (TP) addition on the chemical, nutritional, and technological characteristics of cream crackers made from wheat flour and 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% TP. The TP-enriched cream crackers showed progressively increasing ash (from 0.69 of the control to 1.22 g/100 g dry matter of the 10% TP sample), fat (from 11.39 to 13.04 g/100 g), protein (from 13.53 to 15.60 g/100 g), total dietary fibre (from 4.08 to 7.80), carotenoids (from 0.55 to 8.56 mg/kg), tocols (from 57.59 to 71.63 mg/kg), free phenolic acids (from 100.08 to 277.37 mg/kg), free flavonoids (from 0.0 to 45.28 mg/kg), bound flavonoids (from 0.0 to 27.71 mg/kg), and fatty acids contents, antioxidant activity and dough viscosity. The colour coordinates increased via augmenting the amounts of TP. Thickness, volume, and specific volume decreased gradually with increasing TP; the enrichment reduced cracker hardness from 65.42 N (control) to 26.28 N (crackers with 10% TP), while the snapping force rose. Cream crackers with 8% TP showed the best sensory quality. Tomato pomace addition improves the nutritional quality of foods; furthermore, its recycling will help to solve the problems linked to the disposal of this industry waste.

Validation and application of an analytical method for the determination of mycotoxins in crackers by UPLC-MS/MS

Abstract An analytical method applying ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was validated for the determination of aflatoxins M2, M1, G2, G1, B2, B1, deoxynivalenol, ochratoxin A, fumonisins B1 and B2, hydrolyzed fumonisins B1 and B2, zearalenone and sterigmatocystin in crackers. The obtained recoveries (70 to 110%) and relative standard deviations (< 13%) were considered satisfactory. Method limits of quantification ranged from 0.20 µg kg-1 (sterigmatocystin) to 12.27 µg kg-1 (deoxynivalenol). The validated method was then applied for mycotoxin determination in 60 cracker samples (cream crackers and water and salt crackers) obtained from the metropolitan area of the state of Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Deoxynivalenol, zearalenone and fumonisin B1 were found, respectively, in 100, 50 and 28% of the analyzed samples. The maximum permissible limits established by Brazilian legislation for deoxynivalenol and zearalenone were not exceeded in the analyzed samples.

What is Junk Food?

The term ‘junk food’ has no legal definition and its use by campaigners gives a misleading impression of how much food and drink will be affected by government proposals in the Childhood Obesity Strategy. Policies that restrict ‘junk food’ will actually restrict HFSS food (high in fat, sugar and salt) as defined by the Nutrient Profiling Model which classifies a vast range of meals and products as ‘less healthy’. It takes no account of how food is eaten and in what quantities in the overall diet. HFSS food includes raisins, sultanas, most tinned fruit, most yoghurts, two-thirds of morning goods, nearly all cheese (including half-fat cheese), cream crackers, tomato soup, hummus, ham, pesto, cereal bars, olive bread, salami, many pasta sauces, butter, margarine and 25% of sandwiches. The bar set by the Nutrient Profiling Model is in the process of being raised even higher. Under the new system, some snacks recommended by the NHS as ‘smart swaps’ will become ‘junk food’, as will some of the ‘5-a-day’ recommended by Public Health England, including pure orange juice. Under government proposals in the Childhood Obesity Strategy, HFSS products will be subject to pricing, promotion and advertising restrictions, including a 9pm broadcast advertising ban, a ban on price promotions (such as meal deals and buy-one-get-one-free) and a display ban at shop entrances, checkouts and at the end of aisles. Far from affecting a small range of ‘junk food’, these laws would affect a vast array of foods that have been consumed safely for centuries. Polling companies should avoid the term ‘junk food’ in surveys. The legally meaningfully term HFSS should be used (and explained) instead. Politicians and journalists should also familiarise themselves with the definition of HFSS and give the public an accurate impression of the range of food and drink products that will be impacted by further government regulation.

SEVERE INTESTINAL FAILURE IN A CHAGAS’S DISEASE PATIENT AFTER TOTAL COLECTOMY PLUS PARTIAL ILEECTOMY

Introduction: To report the clinical course of a Chagas’s disease patient with severe intestinal failure after resection of the total colon and terminal ileum.Case Report: The patient underwent rectosigmoidectomy (of the sigmoid volvulus, December 2009) and total colectomy plus partial ileectomy (May 2011). Patient evolved with multiple hospitalizations caused by severe diarrhea (up to 23 stools/day), hydroelectrolyte disturbance and acute renal failure, severe protein-energy malnutrition [loss of 34.9% of usual body weight (uBW)], and multiple episodes of sepsis. Were prescribed parenteral nutrition solutions exclusively or concurrently with very small volumes (e.g., 40ml/day) of semi-elemental diet with low fat and high protein. After several weeks predetermined amounts of carbohydrate-rich foods (potatoes, rice, pasta, cassava), vegetables (chayote, carrots), low-fat meat, cream crackers, coconut water and fruit (watermelon, melon, banana) were progressively introduced. After 36 months, the patient was metabolically stable (BW=67.2 kg, weight recovery of 23.6 kg), with hydroelectrolytic balance. Due to the recovery of the functional capacity, the patient was advised to return to his work activities. Conclusions: Chagas’s disease patient submitted to intestinal resection may have severe intestinal failure and protein-energy malnutrition. Specialized nutritional therapy and clinical and laboratory monitoring by a multidisciplinary team, can contribute to better prognostic.

Fatty acid translocase gene CD36 rs1527483 variant influences oral fat perception in Malaysian subjects

We determined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs1761667 and rs1527483) in the fatty acid translocase CD36 gene - a receptor for fatty acids - is associated with oral fat perception (OFP) of different fat contents in custards and commercially-available foods, and obesity measures in Malaysian subjects (n=313; 118 males, 293 ethnic Chinese; 20 ethnic Indians). A 170-mm visual analogue scale was used to assess the ratings of perceived fat content, oiliness and creaminess of 0%, 2%, 6% and 10% fat content-by-weight custards and low-fat/regular versions of commercially-available milk, mayonnaise and cream crackers. Overall, the subjects managed to significantly discriminate the fat content, oiliness and creaminess between low-fat/regular versions of milk and mayonnaise. Females rated the perception of fat content and oiliness of both milks higher, but ethnicity, obesity and adiposity status did not seem to play a role in influencing most of OFP. The overall minor allele frequencies for rs1761667 and rs1527483 were 0.30 and 0.26, respectively. Females and individuals with rs1527483 TT genotype significantly perceived greater creaminess of 10% fat-by-weight custard. Also, individuals with rs1527483 TT genotype and T allele significantly perceived greater fat content of cream crackers, independent of fat concentration. rs1761667 SNP did not significantly affect OFP, except for cream crackers. Both gene variants were also not associated with obesity measures. Taken together, this study supports the notion that CD36 - specifically rs1527483, plays a role in OFP, but not in influencing obesity in Malaysian subjects. Besides, gender is an important factor for OFP, where females had higher sensitivity.

Painting the Tiger

Painting the Tiger Philip Jeyaretnam (bio) Ah Leong had taken his son to the zoo. The boy had devoured an orange Frutti ice cream, a grubby handful of chocolates, and a packet of biscuits. He munched while the macaques chattered, swallowed as the sun bears yawned, and dragged his feet as the orangutans slumbered. He was no more interested in his surroundings than when one or other of his grandmothers placed him in front of the television with a packet of cream crackers. Power Rangers, Pokémon, Digimon, Sakura—marathon sessions of animated combat that left him in a belly-up, eyes-glazed stupor by the time Ah Leong got home from his insurance calls. Ah Leong was beginning to wonder if he shouldn’t have just stayed home and flipped channels after all. Then they met the polar bear. No snow. No ice. But still, a real polar bear. It caught a fish. It swam on its back. It ambled across the rocks and dived into the blue water. In front of the glass panel, the boy’s eyes widened. He pressed his nose against the pane. The bear swam up and, almost vertical, belly to the boy, touched his own nose to the glass. David (for that was the little boy’s name, chosen by mother and father after watching a very informative programme about Michelangelo on Arts Central) squealed, alarm turning quickly to delight. Now the boy was hooked. He ran ahead of Ah Leong from one exhibit to the next. At last they reached Ah Leong’s favourite animal, the creature he admired more than any other, and ran into the viewing gallery built out over the mock river at the front of the enclosure. The biggest of the three tigers stretched and yawned, and meandered down to the water’s edge. He tested the water with each of his front paws and then slid in. Ah Leong whispered in his son’s ear. “That’s the King of the Jungle. Look at his muscles rippling beneath his stripes.” The boy repeated his father’s catchphrase, shorn of genitive and article: “King Jungle, King Jungle.” From behind them shrill voices intruded: “See how he checked temperature first.” “Ai yo. Missed it. This one can send to America’s Funniest Videos.” For a moment Ah Leong tried to block his son’s ears, to save him from this urban mockery of the magnificent beast a mere fifteen metres away, whose race, the Sumatran, is doomed to extinction in the wild within thirty years. Then he realised that to his son’s two-and-a-half-year-old eyes, the tiger’s majesty was irrefutable, and no intervention was necessary. [End Page 1] Ah Leong’s own fascination with tigers had begun as an eight-year-old. At first it was just the impression of power and freedom that he got from the tiger’s size, its arrogant gait and muscled torso. Then as he learned more about the animal, its habits and character, he came to most admire the tiger’s patience in the hunt, its slow stalk and final pounce. He hoped that David too would learn something from tigers. And when the boy was older, he planned to take him to the spot in Choa Chu Kang, where the last wild tiger in Singapore was shot in the 1920s. Do they know what they’re doing, he suddenly thought, those Indonesians and Malaysians, happily following our lead in the taming of swamp and jungle, eliminating untidiness in the name of progress? Do they understand the loss of spirit that follows the destruction of wildness? Once there is no big predator out there, we puff up with pride, believing ourselves invulnerable. But worse than that, our minds narrow. A country with neither wolf nor lion nor tiger is a country that will always think tame thoughts, that will sink softly into comfy sofas at the end of the day, hooked on soaps from Hong Kong or action from Hollywood. The nearest it comes to the wild is through nature documentaries of another time and place, safely boxed within the television’s confines. In the middle of...

Occurrence of furan in commercial processed foods in Brazil

Selected commercial processed foods available in the Brazilian market (306 samples) were analysed for furan content using a validated gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method preceded by headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME-GC/MS). Canned and jarred foods, including vegetable, meat, fruit and sweet products, showed levels up to 32.8 µg kg−1, with the highest concentrations observed in vegetables and meats. For coffee, furan content ranged from 253.0 to 5021.4 µg kg−1 in the roasted ground coffee and from not detected to 156.6 µg kg−1 in the beverage. For sauces, levels up to 138.1 µg kg−1 were found. In cereal-based products, the highest concentrations (up to 191.3 µg kg−1) were observed in breakfast cereal (corn flakes), cracker (cream crackers) and biscuit (wafer). In general, these results are comparable with those reported in other countries and will be useful for a preliminary estimate of the furan dietary intake in Brazil.

Fracture testing of cream cracker biscuits

A modified shear press fitted with a 70 × 3 mm perspex blade proved satisfactory for measuring the resistance to fracture of cream cracker biscuits. The results indicated that biscuit orientation in relation to the fracture edge had a bearing on the fracture force obtained. Tests on five commercial cream cracker brands showed statistically-significant different resistance to fracture between the brands and some packs also showed high within-pack variation in fracture resistance. Over-baked cream crackers were more resistant to fracture than under-baked ones.

Antidepressant properties of the triazolobenzodiazepines alprazolam and adinazolam: studies on the olfactory bulbectomized rat model of depression.

Chronically administered alprazolam and adinazolam attenuated the hyperactivity of bilaterally bulbectomized rats when placed in a stressful, novel environment ('open field' apparatus). These drugs had no effect on the activities of sham operated animals under the same experimental conditions. In other studies in these laboratories, clinically effective antidepressant drugs have been shown to have a qualitatively similar effect to alprazolam and adinazolam. Chronically administered diazepam and phenobarbitone did not affect the hyperactivity of bulbectomized rats in the 'open field' apparatus. No difference could be found between the behaviour of bulbectomized rats and the sham operated controls when the animals were placed in a novel, non-stressful environment ('hole board' apparatus and Y-maze). Chronic treatment of either the lesioned or non-lesioned animals with alprazolam or adinazolam did not cause any change in the behaviour of the animals in these situations. This suggests that the behaviour of the rat on the 'hole board' is not a reliable indication of anti-anxiety activity for chronically administered benzodiazepines. When unstarved lesioned and non-lesioned animals were given a choice of five palatable foods for a period of 1 h, slight differences in preference for the type of food chosen could be detected. Thus unsweetened biscuit ('cream crackers') was the most preferred choice of the sham operated rats while cheese and chocolate were the least preferred. Bulbectomized rats showed a more varied food choice, with processed meat ('corned beef') and raisins being preferred to biscuit in two out of four groups. Chronic treatment with either alprazolam or adinazolam did not appear to affect the food preference.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Flour properties and the manufacture of cream crackers

AbstractAn investigation has been made of the cracker making properties of a number of flour samples milled from different wheats. It has been shown that there is a strong interaction between flour properties (principally the flour protein content) and the processing conditions. The best cream crackers, as judged by the separation of the laminations and general appearance, were produced from flours of protein content 10.5 to 11.5%.

Technology of biscuit manufacture: Investigation of the process for making cream crackers

AbstractA study was made, partly in a pilot scale bakery and partly in industry, of some aspects of the process for making cream crackers. It was shown that the conditions of formation of the initial dough sheet before lamination had a significant effect on the thickness of the finished crackers. This property was also shown to depend to an appreciable extent upon the humidity of the atmosphere in the first section of the travelling oven used to bake the crackers.

Technology of biscuit manufacture: Investigation of the role of fermentation in the manufacture of cream crackers

AbstractIt has been shown that satisfactory cream crackers can be made, both in a pilot bakery and on commercial cracker plants, from doughs which have been mechanically developed to about 5 Wh/lbThroughout this paper 1 lb = 0.454 kg. and subsequently fermented for 30 min at 100°F (37.8°C). Evidence is presented to support the suggestion that the amount of separation of the laminations during the baking of cream cracker doughs is related to the rate at which carbon dioxide is being produced in the dough at the end of the fermentation process. Taste panels were unable to distinguish between crackers made from doughs prepared by long and short fermentation procedures.