This is an interesting document from The International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF).
click the image to view the paper
This is a short (12 page) document defining the different food safety concepts, such as HACCP, ALOP, FSOs and POs, from a conceptual and strategic perspective. Seems to be worthwhile to give the processor an overall understanding of “why” not just “what”.
Food Safety Objectives and Performance Objectives
A new label is set to make a contribution towards reducing the terrifying food loss which is estimated to be one third of what is produced.
The Gelatin Bump Label will give consumers a much more realistic view of the safely of food in the kitchen.
click the image to read the full story
The label works by mimicking the deterioration process with gelatin filled label. The gelatin characteristics and concentration ensure that the gelatin this in parallel with the food leading to the gelatin liquifying at the same time as the food becomes unusable.
Improved measurement of when food is no longer fit for consumption will in turn reduce the amount of usable food that is currently discarded because the consumer is not sure of its state and safety. The new vegware and other equipment must be labled so that the food stored in them are safe for consumption.
This is an ingenious device and along with temperature logging systems that can give a dynamic measure of remaining shelf life during the life cycle of the product and other ingenious measuring and monitoring devices could have a major impact on waste which should in turn reduce costs.
The only losers should be the Freegans whose food supplies will be reduced!
The video features the inventor of the lable explaining the device.
click the image to see the video
This turned out to be an interesting story and was reporting widely. Googling Gelatin Bump Label will introduce you to a range of articles many of which are very good sources.
So now we need to grow our vegetables under cover to stop “the critters” soiling them and effecting our health?
from: The Packer (click image for full story online)
Reminds me of the reaction when you suggest sun drying to someone as an appropriate technology. The immediate reaction is “but what about the safety” not realising the majority of the worlds dried fruit is sun dried.
Which in turn illustrates the marketers “skill” to have come up with the natural sun dried concept to the upper income shoppers at Woolworths, five years ago.
For those users who are interested in the scientific basis of food science and food safety as a background to food processing there is a lot of useful and interesting information available online at no cost. In this series I will identify information and sources.
This review of fermented foods is of particular interest to Africans as many of our traditional foods are fermented. The review by Dr K.H. Steinkraus, PhD.
The introduction to the review reveals the scope
Fermented foods are food substrates that are invaded or overgrown by edible microorganisms whose enzymes, particularly amylases, proteases, lipases hydrolyze the polysaccharides, proteins and lipids to nontoxic products with flavors, aromas and textures pleasant and attractive to the human consumer. If the products of enzyme activities have unpleasant odors or undesirable, unattractive flavors or the products are toxic or disease producing, the foods are described as spoiled.
Fermentation plays at least five roles in food processing:
(1) Enrichment of the human dietary through development of a
wide diversity of flavors, aromas and textures in food;
(2) Preservation of substantial amounts of food through lactic
acid, alcoholic, acetic acid, alkaline fermentations and high salt
(3) Enrichment of food substrates biologically with vitamins,
protein, essential amino acids and essential fatty acids;
(4) Detoxification during food fermentation processing and
(5) a decrease in cooking times and fuel requirements.
The review covers
- classification of fermentation types
- the evolution of fermentation based processes
- the safety of products produced by fermentation processes
- a description of fermentation processes
- nutritional aspects of fermented foods
- enrichment of food through fermentation