Organic Foods: Safer Choices and Environmental Benefits

Organic foods are defined as those produced without artificial chemicals, fertilizers, or pesticides, starting from the seed stage through to consumption. This approach to food production has gained significant popularity as a healthy trend, primarily because it is perceived to be safer for human consumption rather than necessarily more nutritious.

The term "healthier" in the context of organic foods implies safety from synthetic pesticide and insecticide residues, rather than an enhanced nutritional profile. While the nutritional content of organically grown foods is not significantly different from conventionally grown foods, the absence of synthetic chemicals in the former makes them a safer choice for consumers.

One of the fundamental principles of organic farming is the protection of soil health and fertility. Organic farmers prioritize the health of the soil, fostering its fertility through sustainable practices. By avoiding synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, organic farming builds rich, healthy soil over time, which in turn yields healthy plants. This method also improves water quality by reducing pesticide runoff, leading to fewer pesticide residues in food products.

The natural production methods of organic foods often result in a fresher, better taste compared to non-organic foods. However, it is important to note that organic foods are not completely free from pesticide residues. Contamination can occur from the soil due to previous farming practices or from contaminated water supplies.

Opting for organic produce is a commendable way to show concern for the environment. Organic farming practices support biodiversity and nature protection by reducing chemical inputs, maintaining higher shares of grassland, and using indigenous breeds and plant varieties. This approach contributes to the preservation of species and natural habitats.

The organic food market, once a niche segment, has expanded significantly. Organic products are now widely available in various retail venues, including farmers markets, natural supermarkets, conventional supermarkets, and club stores. This increased accessibility has made organic foods more mainstream and readily available to a broader range of consumers.

In conclusion, while organic foods may not offer superior nutrition, their safety from synthetic chemicals and their environmental benefits make them a preferable choice for many consumers. By choosing organic, individuals not only opt for safer food consumption but also support sustainable agricultural practices that benefit the environment.
Organic Foods: Safer Choices and Environmental Benefits

Understanding the Essence of Food Ingredients

Food ingredients constitute the fundamental building blocks of culinary creations, forming the essence of every recipe. In essence, an ingredient is any component or constituent that contributes to the composition of a dish, defining its flavor, texture, and nutritional profile. As per the definition provided by Wikipedia, an ingredient is an integral part of any mixture, playing a crucial role in the culinary alchemy that transforms raw materials into delectable meals.

Modern consumers exhibit a heightened awareness of their dietary choices, seeking comprehensive information about the foods they consume. This stems from a desire to align their dietary habits with various criteria, including ingredient origins, processing methods, and preservation techniques. Consequently, consumers aspire to comprehend the rationale behind the inclusion of specific ingredients or the adoption of particular processes in food production.

Ingredients serve multifaceted roles in food products, ranging from modifying energy intake to substituting or supplementing major dietary components like fats and sugars. These substances are deliberately incorporated into food formulations in significant quantities to fulfill dietary requirements or enhance sensory attributes.

Within the food industry, the concept of a secret ingredient holds sway, with manufacturers often touting exclusive components purported to elevate their products above competitors. These active ingredients constitute the pivotal elements within formulations, yielding the desired effects that cater to consumer preferences and expectations.

In culinary endeavors, the significance of selecting premium-quality ingredients cannot be overstated. Whether in cooking or food processing, meticulous attention to ingredient quality underscores efforts to accentuate flavors, enrich colors, refine textures, and elevate aromas. The pursuit of the finest ingredients reflects a commitment to culinary excellence and the artistry of gastronomy.

In conclusion, understanding the essence of food ingredients illuminates the intricate interplay between raw materials and culinary craftsmanship. By appreciating the role of ingredients in shaping the sensory experiences and nutritional profiles of food products, consumers and food enthusiasts alike can embark on a journey of gastronomic discovery guided by discernment and appreciation for the culinary arts.
Understanding the Essence of Food Ingredients

Food texture

“Texture” is governed by a combination of mechanical and fracture properties and their modification and expression within the mouth during chewing.

The great scientist Robert Hooke, after from Hookean solids are named, explained the principle of elastic deformation of solids, and Isaac Newton, who founded the law governing the flow of simple liquids (Newtonian fluids), may be included in the founding of texture studies.

According to Professor Ronald Jowitt in 1974, texture is the attribute of a substance resulting from a combination of physical properties and perceived by the senses of touch, sight, and hearing. Physical properties may include size, shape, number, nature, and conformation of constituent structural elements.

Sensory assessments such as crispness, chewiness and toughness are complex processes occurring within the mouth involving interactions between the teeth, tongue, cheeks, auditory signals, saliva and the food material (eg Heath’s work) under complex states of deformation.

The tactile sense (touch) is the primary method for sensing texture but kinesthetics (sense of movement and position) and sometimes sight (degree of slump, rate of flow), and sound (associated with crisp, crunchy and crackly textures) are also used to evaluate texture.

The perceived crispness of vegetables depends mainly on their cellular arrangement, intercellular adhesion and turgor pressure within the cells. Fruit and vegetables are complex cellular structures. X-ray microscopy and scanning electron microscopy show that apple flesh is composed of columns of cells radiating from the core.

Texture is assessed by subjective sensory evaluations based on psychophysics and by objective instrumental measurements based on physics and/or chemistry. Texture and related physical properties can be evaluated by instruments that measure rheology, fracture, and acoustics as well as by microscope and spectrometers.
Food texture

Food coloring

Food additives are used to protect food, increase quality and extend shelf life in many stages, from production to consumption of food. Additives used in the food industry are added to the food during preparation, production, packaging and storage stages.

Color may be considered one of the most impressive and delightful attributes of foodstuffs, which directly influences preference, selection and eating desires of the consumers. To maintain or simply restore product color uniformity, coloring agents are intentionally added to food products. Thus, these agents belong to the food additive category of compounds

Color is one of the most significant factors that directly affects consumers' food choice and eating desires. Color is a visual feature that arises from the spectral distribution of the light. From a chemistry perspective, food coloring agents share the property to absorb light due to the conjugated double bonds they contain, creating a delocalized electron system. The number of conjugated double bonds is indicative of the wavelength of the absorbed light.

The formation of light occurs from the interaction of matter and light, and humans see wavelengths between 380-770 nm.

According to FDA, a food colorant is “any dye, pigment or substance which when added or applied to a food, drug or cosmetic, or to the human body, is capable (alone or through reactions with other substances) of imparting color”

FDA regulations require certified and exempt colors to be declared as “artificial color” or “artificial coloring” on the food labels.

It has been shown that the influence of color on food acceptability, choice, and preference comes more from education than any inherent psychophysical characteristics. Considering that:
*the brain associates color with flavor,
*the initial food perception occurs within the first 90 s of observation, and
*approximately 75% of the assessment is based on color, it is clear that if food color differs from the consumer’s expectation, flavor identification is decreased.

Two types of colorants:
Natural colorants
Synthetic colorants

Synthetic certified colors remain the most popular type of food colorings, as they are brighter, more uniform, better characterized, and of higher tinctorial strength, encompass a wider range of hues, and are less expensive than colors derived from nature.

Today, due to the development of the food industry, the need to colorize food products has increased for various reasons. The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) defines colorants as substances added to color food or to correct the color of the food.
Food coloring

What are foodborne diseases?

Foodborne diseases are infections or irritations of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract caused by food or beverages that contain harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, or chemicals. Food may become contaminated by a variety of different agents, resulting in over 250 different foodborne diseases. Foodborne disease has emerged as an important and growing public health and economic problem in many countries during the last two decades.

The proportions of the population who are elderly, immunosuppressed or otherwise disproportionately susceptible to severe outcomes from foodborne diseases are growing in many countries. Globalization of the food supply has led to the rapid and widespread international distribution of foods.

Foodborne diseases can damage the structure and function of the intestines, leading to malabsorption, and can weaken the body’s immune system. When certain disease-causing bacteria or pathogens contaminate food, they can cause foodborne illness, often called “food poisoning”. Foods that are contaminated may not look, taste or smell any different from foods that are safe to eat. Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and Escherichia coli are the most common bacteria causing foodborne illness.

Most foodborne diseases are infectious, caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites. Approximately 66% of all foodborne illness outbreaks are caused by bacterial pathogens. Of the 200 foodborne outbreaks reported each year, approximately 60% are of undetermined etiology.

Foodborne bacteria are often naturally present in food, and in the right conditions, a single bacterium can grow into more than two million bacteria in just seven hours.

Foodborne illness is a significant public health problem with major economic and social effects. Changed agricultural practices are part of the problem. Antibiotic use in farm animals is the primary cause of the increase in salmonellosis, now a major foodborne disease.

In countries with poor sanitation conditions, diarrheal illness is a leading cause of mortality and malnutrition in young children. Fish tapeworm infections have not been associated with properly canned commercial fish, but the larval parasite can survive up to 400 days in iced fish.

Food is produced in the primary industry sector (agriculture, aquaculture, fishing) and continues through manufacturing and retail to be prepared and consumed by the Australian public. Organisms causing foodborne illness can enter this food production chain at any stage. As a result of the increased global trade in food it is also likely outbreaks covering larger areas and affecting several countries will be recognized in larger numbers in the future.

Foodborne illnesses causes some combination of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that may or may not be bloody, sometimes with other symptoms. After eating tainted food, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting can start as early as one hour or within three days depending on the foodborne pathogen, type of toxin and level of food contamination.
What are foodborne diseases?

What is butter?

Butter is a dairy product made by churning cream. It is the fat from pasteurized cream, milk that has been solidified by churning. Americans may not eat as much butter as most Europeans, but the United States has a a large butter industry that produced over 1.57 billion pounds a year by 2010.

Butter contains 81 percent fat, 16 percent to 18 percent water and other ingredients such as casein, lactose and salt. The salt content varies with the brand.

The yellow color of butter is due to beta-carotene which comes from the plants eaten by the cow. Butter is employed on or in a a variety of other foods, including bread, toast, much, corn, baked goods, sauces and many more.

Butter was discovered in prehistoric to9mes, probably when nomads or herdsmen placed milk into leak-proof bags made from animal skins, and hung the sacks onto their animals and the movement as they travelled then “squeezed” the cream until butter formed.

Butter is graded by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA according to its flavor, butterfat content, purity and keeping quality, among other characteristics.
What is butter?

Nutrient content of coconut milk

Coconut milk refers to the oil-protein-water emulsions obtained by squeezing fresh grated coconut kernel. Its taste, appearance and nutrient content are very different from coconut water.

Coconut milk is rich in fat and protein. Coconut milk contains about 17 to 24 percent fat, depending on how much water is used in processing. Coconut milk fat contains a type of medium-chain fatty acids, which may offer health benefits.

Coconut milk contains around 3.5 percent of protein. Coconut protein, like most oilseed proteins is deficient in lysine, methionine and threonine; the ration of essential amino acids nitrogen (N to total N is lower than in animal proteins.

Coconut milk has a pleasant taste, it contains little sugar. It even has less sugar than dairy milk. Because of its low carbohydrate content (about 2 percent) coconut milk is ideal for low-carb diets.

Powdered coconut milk can contain: fat 60 percent, protein 7 percent and carbohydrate 27 percent.
Nutrient content of coconut milk

What is the food pyramid?

The food pyramid is a guide of what and how much people should eat per day in each food group. It was developed by US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and supported by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The shape immediately suggests that some foods are good and should be eaten often, and that others aren't so good and should be eaten only occasionally. The layers represent major food groups that contribute to the total diet.

The pyramid is based on USDA’s research on what foods Americans eat and what nutrients are in these foods. There are six groups that make up the pyramid: grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, beans, and oils.

It’s important to eat a variety of foods each day. The body, like a car, needs fuel, Food is fuel for people. Just like a car that doesn’t run well when it gets the wrong kind of gas, a person may feel tired or sluggish or may become sick if he or she doesn’t get the necessary nutrients.
What is the food pyramid?

Glycoproteins: Definition and functions

Glycoproteins occur in fungi, green plants, viruses, bacteria and in higher animal cells where they serve a variety of functions. They are presents in extra- and intracellular fluids, connective tissue and cell membranes.

Glycoproteins together with glycolipids constitute the family of glycoconjugates, a term introduced in 1972. The structural glycoproteins are protein having one or more heterosaccharides chains. The protein moiety is quantitatively the most important constituent.

Connective tissue glycoproteins, such as the collagens and proteoglycans of various animal species, are structural elements as are the cell wall glycoproteins of yeast and green plants.

The class of glycoproteins includes a large number of biologically active substances such as enzymes, hormones, and immunoglobulins as well as structured components of blood vessels and skin. The protein in milk and egg white contain carbohydrates as do most of the serum proteins.

The diverse biological functions that these macromolecules perform, include among others, enzymatic catalysis, hormonal control, immunological protection, ion transport, blood clotting, lubrication, surface protection, structural support, cell adhesion, intercellular interaction.
Glycoproteins: Definition and functions

Terminology of noodle

The term noodles is used very broadly to discribe mostly as a thin strip of pasta, usually cut or extruded from some kind of dough. It is the basic unit in dishes like spaghetti, linguine, soba, and udon.

The Oxford English Dictionary regards noodle as ‘a strip or ball of dough made with wheat flour and egg’. The American dictionaries tend to defined ‘noodle’ as a filamentous (or ribbon-shaped) pasta.

The word noodle derives from Latin nodus (knot), via German Nudel (noodle, pasta). The Chinese, Arab and Italian people all claimed that they were the first ones to invent, though the first written account of noodles is from the East Han Dynasty between 25 and 220 CE.

However, the discovery of a pot of well-preserved 4000 year old noodles unearthed in 2005 by Chinese archeologists in the Lajia archeological site in northwestern China may have finally settled the dispute. These easily recognizable noodles are more than 2000 years older than the earliest mention of noodles.

The 4,000-year-old noodles appear to have been made from foxtail millet and broomcorn millet.

Even the terms ‘noodles; and ‘pasta’ are often used interchangeably, they are technically different, The common wheat-based ‘Asian or oriental noodles’ differ from the Western style pasta that uses durum wheat flour as the main structural ingredient.
Terminology of noodle

Protein in general

The word ‘protein’ can be defined as: any group of complex organic compounds, consisting essentially of combinations of amino acids, in peptide linkages, that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen nitrogen and usually sulfur.

Proteins are both biological and physicochemical compounds and are essential components of every living cell. Some are utilized in the formation of regeneration of tissue; certain specific protein serve as enzymes and others as antibodies; still others fulfill indispensible functions in metabolic regulation and contractile processes.

It now appears that cellular streaming, mitosis, meiosis an cell splitting involve proteins resembling those of the contractile systems. All things considered, protein concerned with virtually all physiological events.

Proteins are involved in body structure; they make up the muscle system which constitutes more than 50% of the human body (dry weight).

In addition to their contribution of the nutritional properties of foods through provision of amino acids that are essential to human growth and maintenance, proteins impart the structural basis for various functional properties of foods.
Protein in general

Foodborne viruses

Virus transmission can occur by the respiratory, fecal –oral and other routes. Foodborne viruses are an emerging food safety concern and represent a major cause of outbreaks of gastroenteritis. One of the reasons for this increased awareness is the improved laboratory capability to detect the groups of viruses causing gastroenteritis.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that each year there are 47.8 million episodes of foodborne illness and of those caused by known pathogens, 59% are caused by viruses.

Viruses need to enter living cells in order to replicate. Unlike bacteria, viruses cannot grow in food nor cause deterioration of the product.

Hepatitis A virus

Foodborne virus infection can be distinguished:
*Virus infections that cause gastroenteritis
*Virus infections that are enterically transmitted and cause hepatitis
*Virus infections that replicate in the human intestine but cause illness after they have been migrated to other organs.

Because foodborne virus infection may be asymptomatic, it is difficult to identify infected food handlers and separate them from food. Food handlers who appear healthy maybe be reservoirs of disease due to the long duration of asymptomatic shedding.

Heat represents the most efficient treatment to inactivate foodborne viruses and as a general rule, the higher the temperature, the higher and the faster the reduction in viral infectivity.
Foodborne viruses 

Protein as enzymes

Some proteins have an extremely important function by serving as enzymes. Enzymes make biological chemistry efficient and less wasteful of energy.

All enzymes are invariably proteins. It made of long chains of amino acids. Each enzyme is folded into a specific shape, which allows other molecules to fit into it. Each enzyme has its own tertiary structure and specific confirmation which is essential for its catalytic activity.

The functional unit of enzymes is called holoenzyme, which is often made up of apoenzyme which is a protein part and a coenzyme which is a non-protein part.

They require little energy and simple requirement’s. Enzymes work at mild conditions with respect to both temperature and pH.

In enzyme-controlled reactions the reactants are known as substrate. Enzymes have their effect by binding the substrates to a specially shaped active site in the protein molecule.  The enzymes and the substrate fit together using a lock and key mechanisms.

Anything which changes the shape of this active site stops the enzyme from working,

Enzymes speed up biological reactions inside and outside of body cells, such as respiration, protein synthesis, photosynthesis and digestion.
Protein as enzymes

What is the definition of flavor?

Flavor is a biological perception, a sensation produced by a material taken in the mouth, perceived principally by the sense of taste and smell, also the general pain and tactile receptors in the mouth as received and interpreted by the brain.

It is said that there are basically five flavors namely sweet, sour, bitter, salt and savory.

A flavor can in other terms be called the essence of food. Earlier it was considered that there are just four flavors. It was just in the recent years the fifth flavor that of natural amino acid glutamic acid and certain nucleotides was observed.

The Council of Europe defined flavor: A flavoring substance is a chemically-defined compound which has flavoring properties. It is obtained either by isolation from a natural source or by synthesis.

Favoring properties are those which are predominantly odor producing and which may also affect the taste.

Flavor is never eaten in its natural state, it is always incorporated in a matrix or delivery system.

Although food acceptance in humans is determined mainly by appearance and texture, flavor is nevertheless also important. For example, spices are added to food not for their nutritional value, but for their taste and favor.
What is the definition of flavor?

Blue Cheese

Blue cheese may be made from raw, heated or pasteurized whole milk or from skim.

The earliest makers of blue cheese used bread to begin production of the distinctive mold and then waited patiently for the veins of mold to grow and spread naturally between the curds.

Consumers need to ask for a taste before buying moldy chees. A good always is flavorful but never is sour or harsh.

Penicillium roquefortii is primarily responsible for ripening blue cheese. Proteolytic enzymes from the mold act to soften the curd and thus to produce the desired body in the cheese.

This cheese is a heterogeneous microenvironment comprising different habitats for microorganisms in the core with its fissures and piercing channels and on the surfaces of the cheese.

Gorgonzola cheese

Most blue cheese are pierced at specific times during aging to allow the molds access to more oxygen once they have used up the supply inside the cheese.

A complex microflora develops ripening and adapts to the pronounce pH and NaCl gradients and the large variation in content of O2 and CO2.

The best known varieties today, worldwide are considered to be Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton and Danablu, all which have been granted the status of Protected Designation of Origin.

Roquefort is the original blue cheese. The designation ‘Roquefort’ is applicable only to cheeses made from ewe’s milk in the area of France.

Gorgonzola is the principal blue mold cheese of Italy where it is claimed to have been made in the Po Valley since 879 AD.
Blue Cheese