Food Processing Activities Research Articles

The determination of N-nitrosamines in food

Introduction N-nitrosamines are formed in food as a result of natural chemical interactions, but mainly through food processing activity. Most are potent carcinogens and their determination is therefore of considerable importance. They exist in various chemical forms and have been measured by colorimetric and spectroscopic methods following gas or liquid chromatography or as a total N-nitroso group by measurement of chemically released nitric oxide. Objectives To provide an overview of the available methods for the analysis of N-nitrosamines in food that includes recently developments. Methods The literature was reviewed from the discovery of the N-nitrosamine problem and the introduction on the N-nitroso-specific detector. Results The evaluation shows that analytical detection methods for volatile N-nitrosamines in food have changed little since the introduction on the N-nitroso-specific detector and that research into the occurrence and formation of both non-volatile N-nitrosamines and the apparent total N-nitroso content (ATNC) have declined. Methods for measuring the apparent total N-nitroso content have not been improved significantly in recent years. Conclusion Modern sample extraction techniques and mass spectrometric methods for the volatile N-nitrosamines have been applied more extensively to water analysis and offer a good opportunity to improve the determination of these carcinogens in food and make the analysis more widely available. Developments in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry should provide an avenue for renewed interest in non-volatile N-nitrosamines, and could help with the identification of novel compounds whose presence is suggested by the high apparent total N-nitroso content of some foods.

The properties and stability of anthocyanins in mulberry fruits

Mulberry fruit is well known as a good source of anthocyanins with many biological activities. However, there are several colors of mulberry fruits, even from the same species, which may generate different amounts of anthocyanins. This study investigates anthocyanin content and antioxidant levels as well as tyrosinase inhibition activity in the extract from various colors of mulberry fruit, Morus alba. The effects of heat and light, which the extract may be exposed to during food processing, on anthocyanin and antioxidant activities are also evaluated. Our results show that purple-colored mulberry fruit extract contains the highest levels of anthocyanin and strongest antioxidant as well as anti-tyrosinase properties compared with other colors mulberry fruit extracts. Light or heat exposure by incubation of the mulberry fruit extract at 70 °C for 10 h significantly deteriorated total anthocyanin and ascorbic acid content and led to a corresponding increase of the IC50 values.

日本における食料産業クラスターと地域ブランド

The 6th industry is a management style in which an agricultural management entity expands its business from agricultural production (the primary, or 1st industry) into food processing (the secondary, or 2nd industry) and marketing activities (the tertiary, or 3rd industry). The term “6th industry” was derived by multiplying the three numbers preceding the word of “industry”: 1×2×3=6. This type of management style allows agricultural entities take initiative and capitalize on their core competence in order to create new regional industries so as to bring about both greater employment opportunities for local residents and increased incomes to agricultural regions. Food industrial clusters are also an effective strategy for regional revitalization in cases where the production base has been weakened through agrarian depopulation. Agricultural management entities and food-related enterprises establish a win-win relationship through mutual dependence regarding technology transfer and managerial resources.Strengthening local brands is a means to compete with PB (Private Brands) initiated by mass merchandisers: in order to enhance competitiveness, improving quality control and increasing brand recognition by establishing brand positioning and constructing brand hierarchy is required.

Estimation of dietary intake of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and related substances from coffee to Spanish population

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is naturally formed during food processing or cooking activities, giving its ubiquity in the Western diet. HMF could be metabolised to 5-sulfooxymethylfurfural making HMF potentially harmful in an extent unknown at present. Coffee is the main exposure source. Occurrence of HMF, 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furoic acid (HMFA) and 2-furoic acid (FA) were measured in commercial ground coffee and soluble coffee marketed in Spain. Levels of 110, 625, 1734, 2480 mg HMF/kg were obtained for natural, blend, torrefacto and soluble coffee, respectively, giving four classes significantly different. Soluble coffee showed the largest variability in HMF. Levels of HMFA and FA did not change significantly being about 600 mg/kg. Dietary exposure to HMF coffee to consumption in the total Spanish population was estimated to be 8.57 mg/day by using a deterministic approach. However, median level was recalculated to 5.26 mg HMF/day when specific contribution of each type of ground and soluble coffee in the consumption habits was considered. Resultant value is above of the threshold of concern (1600 μg HMF/day, mTAMDI). A level of 8.57 mg HMF/day in persons with high consumption habits (95th percentile) was calculated for risk assessment.

Testing hypotheses of dietary reconstruction from buccal dental microwear in Australopithecus afarensis

A recent study of occlusal microwear in Australopithecus afarensis described this species as an opportunistic dweller, living in both forested and open environments and greatly relying on fallback resources and using fewer food-processing activities than previously suggested. In the present study, analysis of buccal microwear variability in a sample of A. afarensis specimens (n = 75 teeth) showed no significant correlations with the ecological shift that took place around 3.5 Ma in Africa. These results are consistent with the occlusal microwear data available. In fact, significant correlations between buccal and occlusal microwear variables were found. However, comparison of the buccal microwear patterns showed clear similarities between A. afarensis and those hominoid species living in somewhat open environments, especially the Cameroon gorillas. A diet based mainly on succulent fruits and seasonal fallback resources would be consistent with the buccal microwear patterns observed.

Pharmacological properties of foods and nutrients

SUMMARY Nutrients, i.e., protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and water, are commonly viewed as primary modulators of health and disease, yet they also contain many bioactive substances or “extranutritional” components. These occur naturally, are produced in vivo, or may be produced by the industrial enzymatic digestion related to various food processing activities. While these substances have been viewed as inconsequential in relation to human health, a wide range of such food constituents are recognized as having multifunctional roles in health and disease arising from the physiological, behavioral and/or immuniologic influence(s) they exert.

Spatial Distribution of Food Processing Activities at Late Iron I Megiddo

Spatial Distribution of Food Processing Activities at Late Iron I Megiddo

Spatial Distribution of Food Processing Activities at Late Iron I Megiddo

The paper discusses the food-related stone tools found in Building 00/K/10 at Iron Age I Megiddo. Given the tools' spatial distribution in the building, specifically their clustering, the author suggests that the processing and serving of food had social implications directly related to the spatial division between nuclear family units that shared the building during this period.

Modern hunting behavior in the early Middle Paleolithic: Faunal remains from Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel

Understanding the behavioral adaptations and subsistence strategies of Middle Paleolithic humans is critical in the debate over the evolution and manifestations of modern human behavior. The study of faunal remains plays a central role in this context. Until now, the majority of Levantine archaeofaunal evidence was derived from late Middle Paleolithic sites. The discovery of faunal remains from Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel (>200 ka), allowed for detailed taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses of these early Middle Paleolithic remains. The Misliya Cave faunal assemblage is overwhelmingly dominated by ungulate taxa. The most common prey species is the Mesopotamian fallow deer ( Dama mesopotamica), followed closely by the mountain gazelle ( Gazella gazella). Some aurochs ( Bos primigenius) remains are also present. Small-game species are rare. The fallow deer mortality pattern is dominated by prime-aged individuals. A multivariate taphonomic analysis demonstrates (1) that the assemblage was created solely by humans occupying the cave and was primarily modified by their food-processing activities; and (2) that gazelle carcasses were transported complete to the site, while fallow deer carcasses underwent some field butchery. The new zooarchaeological data from Misliya Cave, particularly the abundance of meat-bearing limb bones displaying filleting cut marks and the acquisition of prime-age prey, demonstrate that early Middle Paleolithic people possessed developed hunting capabilities. Thus, modern large-game hunting, carcass transport, and meat-processing behaviors were already established in the Levant in the early Middle Paleolithic, more than 200 ka ago.

Life and Debt (review)

Life and Debt Avrum J. Shriar This captivating documentary uses Jamaica as a case study to portray the impacts on Third World countries of Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) and the broader processes of trade liberalization and economic globalization they have helped intensify. SAPs refer to the collection of economic reforms that debtor countries have been forced to implement as a condition for receiving loans from international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Typical structural "adjustments" include currency devaluations, reductions in government spending, higher interest rates, privatization of state industries, and reductions in trade barriers, such as import tariffs and quotas. These reforms and their effects are explored in the film from a wide variety of perspectives, including those of local farmers, factory workers, Rastafarian wise men, an economics professor, former politicians, and businessmen, as well as IMF officials. The main focusis on the problems created by [End Page 131] these reforms for Jamaica's agricultural and manufacturing sectors, but as well, the viewer is compelled to reflect on the impacts of drastically reducing government spending on essentials like education, health care, and poverty reduction, which in turn limit the country's very ability to develop in a broad, balanced manner and thereby pay off its loans. Ironically, as the film reveals, Jamaica's foreign debt increased from about US$0.8 billion in the late 1970s to US$7 billion by the time the film was produced (2001); by 2002/3 that debt still amounted to 150% of GDP, "one of the highest ratios in the world," according to the World Bank (2004, p. xi). The reduced trade barriers have spurred a huge increase in imports of meat, produce, and milk powder to the island, from countries such as the USA and Canada, where food production costs are generally lower and in many cases subsidized. The tragic result, as depicted so effectively in the film, has been a virtual disappearance of many agricultural and food processing activities, including onion, carrot, and peanut production, as well as local dairy and poultry operations. This has led to widespread losses of income and jobs, not to mention lower food security, a shaken sense of national pride, and a vanishing way of life in many regions of the country. Not surprisingly, perhaps, one of the only industries that do appear to be growing is private security services! Even Jamaica's famous banana culture has been threatened, following complaints before the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the US government (and its backers at Dole and Chiquita) about Jamaica's preferential access to the European market under the Lomé Agreement. Without that access and the fair price it yields them for their produce, the banana farmers interviewed in the film recognize that they will be destroyed, given their inability to compete with the excessively low labor costs that prevail in much of Central and South America. The film is at its most compelling in the juxtapositions and contrasts it draws. Former Prime Minister Michael Manley's eloquent and detailed descriptions of the historic and current dimensions of Jamaica's problems provide a sharp yet disturbing contrast to the simplistic if not vacuous discourse of former IMF Deputy Director Stanley Fischer and former Managing Director Horst Kohler. Similarly, the viewer is left feeling uneasy when the film repeatedly depicts the frivolous experiences of mass tourists, mainly from North America, who seem utterly oblivious to Jamaica's increasingly desperate and violent reality, and to the role of their own political and economic leaders in shaping that reality. The viewer comes to share the tragic sense of disappointment and lost hope that so many Jamaicans undoubtedly feel, some 40 years after their once optimistic and proud nation first gained independence of sorts from Britain in 1962. As Michael Manley points out, the country has done what it can to make do and struggle along, "but the country that comes out is nothing like the country that could have been." Life and Debt is an excellent, thought provoking film. It raises critical questions about the morality of global power structures and economic relationships, and their implications for...

Artefak Litik Ceruk Layah, Sampung : Kajian Teknoekonomi

Aktivitas multi fungsi Gua Lawa meliputi aktivitas pengolahan makan (dapur) yang dibuktikan dengan temuan ekofak (sisa makanan berupa fragmen tulang dan cangkang moluska), aktivitas pembuatan alat (bengkel) dengan bukti temuan artefak baik alat, limbah, maupun bahan baku, dan kubur (temuan rangka manusia). Sedangkan aktivitas tunggal di Ceruk Layah dibuktikan dengan temuan yang didominasi artefak litik baik temuan berupa limbah, produk alat, maupun bahan baku serta batu inti. Perbedaan aktivitas dan di lain pihak kualitas bahan baku di mana semakin tinggi lahan memiliki kualitas baik, menuntut mereka melakukan pengaturan pemanfaatan lahan gua dalam beradaptasi dengan lingkungan alam sekitarnya. Gua Lawa yang memiliki lahan luas dan terletak dekat sungai dimanfaatkan sebagai tempat untuk aktivitas mulit fungsi, sedangkan Ceruk Layah di mana daerah sekitarnya merupakan sumber bahan baku dimanfaatkan sebagai tempat pembuatan alat litik. Berdasarkan perbedaan aktivitas dan kualitas bahan baku tersebut dalam menyiasati dan beradaptasi lingkungan alam sekitarnya, menunjukkan adanya karakter tersendiri dalam pola permukiman yang berlangsung di kawasan ini. Selanjutnya berdasarkan pengamatan teknologi dan tipologi dari Ceruk Layah, menunjukkan bahwa manusia saat itu mengeksploiter alam secara maksimal. Efektivitas energi dan teknologi dalam menghasilkan alat litik tampak tinggi, meskipun secara tipologis cenderung rendah.

Assessing the sustainability of the US food system: a life cycle perspective

The US food system, from field to table, is at a crossroads for change. Improving the sustainability of this complex system requires a thorough understanding of the relationships between food consumption behaviors, processing and distribution activities, and agricultural production practices. A product life cycle approach provides a useful framework for studying the links between societal needs, the natural and economic processes involved in meeting these needs, and the associated environmental consequences. The ultimate goal is to guide the development of system-based solutions. This paper presents a broad set of indicators covering the life cycle stages of the food system. Indicators address economic, social, and environmental aspects of each life cycle stage: origin of (genetic) resource; agricultural growing and production; food processing, packaging and distribution; preparation and consumption; and end of life. The paper then offers an initial critical review of the condition of the US food system by considering trends in the various indicators. Current trends in a number of indicators threaten the long-term economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the US food system. Key trends include: rates of agricultural land conversion, income and profitability from farming, degree of food industry consolidation, fraction of edible food wasted, diet related health costs, legal status of farmworkers, age distribution of farmers, genetic diversity, rate of soil loss and groundwater withdrawal, and fossil fuel use intensity. We suggest that effective opportunities to enhance the sustainability of the food system exist in changing consumption behavior, which will have compounding benefits across agricultural production, distribution and food disposition stages.

Understanding the Challenges Facing the Food Manufacturing Industry

The Northeast's share of US food processing activity has decreased significantly over the last three decades as many food processing firms have exited the region and located elsewhere, particularly in the South and the West. This decline has been most severe in New Jersey, the state that is frequently cited as having the most stringent business and regulatory climate in the nation. To investigate why food processors have found the New Jersey environment to be so unfriendly, this study organized focus groups of food processing industry executives, trade organizations and researchers. The findings suggest that the area of environmental and other regulation is the most problematic for food processors. Other areas of concern include, in order of importance, taxation and fiscal problems, economic barriers to development and expansion, high cost of doing business, education, training and labor concerns, communication and public relations, and transportation. Policy makers in New Jersey, and in other northeastern states facing similar food processing declines, interested in the retention and economic development of food processing firms need to be cognizant of the impediments currently constraining the industry. Industry-based public policy recommendations for enhancing the business climate for food processors are presented.

The Competitiveness of Slovenian Farms and Food Processing Activities

The Competitiveness of Slovenian Farms and Food Processing Activities

Typologie, déterminants et spécificités des alliances dans l'industrie agroalimentaire française

Typology, determining factors and specificities of alliances in the French food processing industry. The evolution of co-operative inter-firm relations over the last two decades has given rise to an abundant literature, in the form of theoretical analyses or empirical studie as well. Nevertheless, the food processing industry has never been included in any specific work on strategic alliances. As part of an empirical approach using a database of 259 agreements reached between 1988 and 1997, this paper confirms that alliances are a significant feature of this industry and that they follow two main logics, i.e., a vertical logic of value chain and a horizontal one taking into account the market dimension. This analysis offers a classification of alliances and permits the comparison of these strategies with those observed within other industries. In particular, it highlights the need to take the spécifie characteristics of food processing activities into consideration, as well as the existence of particular technological constraints and innovation practices.

The Ethnoarchaeology of Reptile Remains at a Lake Turkana Occupation Site, Kenya

The role of reptiles in hominid hunter–gatherer subsistence in Pleistocene Africa has been largely overlooked. This study examines the reptile component of a modern lake shore camp (site 20) assemblage of low archaeological visibility. Site 20, located on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana, has been observed from its creation to burial. The site is an ideal modern analogue for the interpretation of African prehistoric archaeological sites. Patterns of element loss, and patterns of bone modifications, namely burn, cut and slice marks, are examined. From this baseline data, three conclusions are drawn regarding the interpretability of reptile remains found at archaeological lakeside sites: (1) the MNI of crocodile remains at a site is likely to be similar to the original number of individuals which contributed to the deposited assemblage; (2) the MNI estimates of the turtle component will be much less than the original number of individuals in the deposited assemblage; and (3) patterns of bone modifications can be related to hominid food procurement and processing activities.

Hadza Bone Assemblages and Hyena Attrition: An Ethnographic Example of the Influence of Cooking and Mode of Discard on the Intensity of Scavenger Ravaging

Recent research has shown that spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) selectively scavenge bone assemblages produced by humans, in part, as a function of the amounts and types of nutrients associated with the bone. But the amounts and types of nutrients associated with bone in human produced assemblages depend on how the bone was originally processed and subsequently discarded. Modern human populations often expose bones to heat and flames during food processing and trash disposal activities. The resulting bone assemblages contain very little nutritional residues and may be less attractive to scavengers with other options. This paper examines the influence of cooking and burning on subsequent scavenger behavior. Data derived from bone assemblages created by contemporary East African Hadza hunter-gatherers suggest that hyena scavenging behavior is modified when bones are cooked or exposed to fire. These data show that bones that have been intensively exposed to heat or flames display low levels of hyena-induced surface damage. In some of the Hadza bone assemblages described here, low-density bones survive hyena ravaging in higher frequencies than might be expected from prior experimental research.

Bioactive substances in food: identification and potential uses

Bioactive substances in foods can represent "extranutritional" constituents naturally present in small quantities in the food matrix, produced upon either in vivo or industrial enzymatic digestion, the latter being a result of food-processing activities. Bioactive constituents of food evoke physiological, behavioral, and immunological effects. Evidence from both epidemiological and animal studies has suggested chemopreventative roles for phytochemicals in certain forms of cancers and in the control of hyperlipidemia. Secondary products of plant metabolism can modulate xenobiotic metabolizing and cholesterol synthetic enzymes. Unique physicochemical properties of food-derived peptides with characteristic amino acid composition and sequences have been reported to influence intestinal transit, modify nutrient absorption and excretion, and exhibit immunostimulating and antihypertensive activity. Biologically active peptides derived from casein, fish muscle, and plant protein hydrolysates have been isolated, purified, and identified in peptide sequence studies. Therapeutic proteins (e.g., specific antibodies) derived from animal products such as milk may offer the potential for developing specialized food products with prophylactic as well as nutritive quality. This paper discusses the physicochemical mechanism of action of specific bioactive substances naturally present in or derived from foods. The biotechnologies employed to develop these products and the issues concerning acceptance by consumer and regulatory bodies are also addressed.

CARTOGRAPHIC RESEARCH ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE AGROINDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

The authors describe how cartographic research methods can be integrated with geographic information systems and automated mapping systems for the purpose of monitoring and analyzing negative impacts of agricultural and food processing activities on the environment. The paper also outlines basic research trends in ecological-geographical mapping and the content and types of cartographic products derived from mapping environmental impacts of the agroindustrial complex. A final section focuses on principles for the mapping of specific aspects and/or consequences of agroindustrial activity, e.g., soil erosion, agricultural chemical concentrations, water conservation issues. Translated by Edward Torrey, Alexandria, VA 22308 from: Geografiya i prirodnyye resursy, 1991, No. 3, pp. 5–11.

Proton magnetometer investigations of burned rock middens in west-central Texas: Clues to formation processes

Abstract Burned rock middens are a common type of archaeological feature in Texas west of the Balcones Fault zone, and occur in several different morphologic variants with overlapping spatial and temporal ranges. Although these features are generally recognized as the remains of aboriginal food processing activities, many questions remain regarding the specifics of burned rock midden functions and formation processes. Proton magnetometer investigations of four extant burned rock middens in west-central Texas demonstrate that variations in physical midden morphology are accompanied by consistent differences in the morphology of magnetic anomalies generated by the features. It is argued that this consistent variation reflects differences in the cultural formation processes responsible for the various midden types. The nature of this variation is documented and tentative interpretations of respective formation processes are advanced for specific examples of two different morphologic types of burned rock middens.