scholarly journals Genuine and natural: the opinion of teen consumers

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Balzan ◽  
Luca Fasolato ◽  
Barbara Cardazzo ◽  
Cristiana Penon ◽  
Enrico Novelli
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Food Preference ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Natural Food ◽  
Food Label ◽  
Natural Foods

Food packaging frequently reports the terms <em>natural</em>, <em>100% natural</em> or similar. Often these indications induce consumers to purchase those products that are considered healthier and fresher. The overall goal of this study was to assess what teen consumers perceive to be genuine and natural foods. A questionnaire was distributed to the students of some high schools (lyceum, technical and professional institutes). It was completed by 349 females and 314 males with an average age of 17.6 years. Respondents are quite interested in the information on recipes, diet, beauty and food safety; websites was an important information retrieval tool. Genuine food is defined mainly as fruits and vegetables, home-made and salubrious, with less or without fat and that are good for health. Meanwhile natural is demarcated primarily by the absence of additives and manipulation or treatments (negative impact). Also fruits and vegetables and organic production are associated to natural. The existence of a natural food preference is well described and the presence on food label may could cause a wrong perceptions of healthfulness. This

scholarly journals Chemical Contamination Pathways and the Food Safety Implications along the Various Stages of Food Production: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 5795
Author(s):  
Kgomotso Lebelo ◽  
Ntsoaki Malebo ◽  
Mokgaotsa Jonas Mochane ◽  
Muthoni Masinde
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Chemical Contamination ◽  
Chemical Toxicity ◽  
Chemical Substances

Historically, chemicals exceeding maximum allowable exposure levels have been disastrous to underdeveloped countries. The global food industry is primarily affected by toxic chemical substances because of natural and anthropogenic factors. Food safety is therefore threatened due to contamination by chemicals throughout the various stages of food production. Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the form of pesticides and other chemical substances such as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) have a widely documented negative impact due to their long-lasting effect on the environment. This present review focuses on the chemical contamination pathways along the various stages of food production until the food reaches the consumer. The contamination of food can stem from various sources such as the agricultural sector and pollution from industrialized regions through the air, water, and soil. Therefore, it is imperative to control the application of chemicals during food packaging, the application of pesticides, and antibiotics in the food industry to prevent undesired residues on foodstuffs. Ultimately, the protection of consumers from food-related chemical toxicity depends on stringent efforts from regulatory authorities both in developed and underdeveloped nations.

scholarly journals An Extensive Review of Natural Polymers Used as Coatings for Postharvest Shelf-Life Extension: Trends and Challenges

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 3271
Author(s):  
Maricarmen Iñiguez-Moreno ◽  
Juan Arturo Ragazzo-Sánchez ◽  
Montserrat Calderón-Santoyo
Keyword(s):  
Food Industry ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Composite Coatings ◽  
Barrier Properties ◽  
Edible Films ◽  
Life Extension ◽  
Natural Polymers

Global demand for minimally processed fruits and vegetables is increasing due to the tendency to acquire a healthy lifestyle. Losses of these foods during the chain supply reach as much as 30%; reducing them represents a challenge for the industry and scientific sectors. The use of edible packaging based on biopolymers is an alternative to mitigate the negative impact of conventional films and coatings on environmental and human health. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that natural coatings added with functional compounds reduce the post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables without altering their sensorial and nutritive properties. Furthermore, the enhancement of their mechanical, structural, and barrier properties can be achieved through mixing two or more biopolymers to form composite coatings and adding plasticizers and/or cross-linking agents. This review shows the latest updates, tendencies, and challenges in the food industry to develop eco-friendly food packaging from diverse natural sources, added with bioactive compounds, and their effect on perishable foods. Moreover, the methods used in the food industry and the new techniques used to coat foods such as electrospinning and electrospraying are also discussed. Finally, the tendency and challenges in the development of edible films and coatings for fresh foods are reviewed.

scholarly journals Consumers´ awareness of food safety

10.5219/1003 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-17
Author(s):  
Ľudmila Nagyová ◽  
Alexandra Andocsová ◽  
Andrej Géci ◽  
Peter Zajác ◽  
Jozef Palkovič ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Rank Test ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Food Label ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Production Chain ◽  
Quality Food

Eating food is one of the most important needs of every person, so their safety and quality should be crucial for everyone. People expect, that food they eat is hygienically and health safe. Unfortunately, people usually start to focus on food safety only when various food scandals are exposed and it is too late. Mass consumption of food is the cause of a high risk to human health, but only in the case of harmful food. Food-borne diseases are a common and widespread phenomenon in all parts of the world, regardless of the economic development of the country. Protection of human, animal and plant health is one of the main economic priorities of each country. The political objective of the European Union is therefore to ensure that European Union citizens have access to safe and nutritious foods, so it must meet strict safety standards. In ensuring food safety, it is necessary to take into account all aspects of the food production chain as a whole, because each subject can have a potential impact on food safety. This paper deals with the issues of food safety and food quality. The main objective was to find out how consumers perceive higher quality food and whether they read information included on the food packaging. Primary data were obtained from a survey that was conducted on the sample of 478 respondents living in Slovakia. For a deeper analysis, several assumptions, which were verified by Friedman Test, Chi-Square Test of Independence, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, were formulated. The survey has found out that 84% of respondents buy higher quality food and 60% purchase them because of health-related reasons. More than half of respondents search for the information about food safety on the Internet and the same percentage considere government as the most reliable source of information about food safety. Unfortunately, just more than one quarter of them read the information on food label and for 34% is this information unsufficient.

scholarly journals Use of Alginates as Food Packaging Materials

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1440
Author(s):  
Michael G. Kontominas
Keyword(s):  
Food Packaging ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Water Solubility ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Whey Proteins ◽  
Mechanical Damage ◽  
Food Product ◽  
Packaging Materials ◽  
Renewable Materials ◽  
Wide Range

Packaging mainly functions by protecting and preserving its contents. In the case of food packaging, the package protects the contained food product from (i) physical/mechanical damage; (ii) physico-chemical changes due to the effect of light, oxygen, moisture and odors; and (iii) biological changes due to the presence of microorganisms and pests; all the above parameters result in the reduction in product quality and safety. Due to the negative impact of synthetic packaging materials on the environment, research organizations as well as the food industry are currently exploring the possibility of using biodegradable and renewable materials deriving from natural sources. Such biopolymers include: proteins (whey proteins, wheat, corn and soy proteins, gelatin), lipid derivatives (waxes, acetylated triglycerides) and carbohydrates (starch, cellulose and its derivatives, carrageenan, pectin, chitosan, alginates) used in food packaging applications. Alginates are natural hydrophilic polysaccharide biopolymers mainly extracted from marine brown algae. In the form of films or coatings, they exhibit: good film-forming properties, low permeability to O2 and vapors, flexibility, water solubility and gloss while being tasteless and odorless. When combined with additives such as organic acids, essential oils, plant extracts, bacteriocins and nanomaterials, they contribute to the retention of moisture, reduction in shrinkage, retardation of oxidation, inhibition of color and texture degradation, reduction in microbial load, enhancement of sensory acceptability and minimization of cooking losses. Alginates were initially used as a coating for perishable fresh fruits and vegetables to control respiration rate, but can be applied to a wide range of foods, such as meat, poultry, seafood and cheese products, resulting in the extension of product shelf life. When used as part of the principle of active, intelligent and green packaging technologies, alginates can work synergistically to yield a multi-function food packaging system comprising the ultimate goal of food packaging technology.

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices – Packing Operation Sanitation

EDIS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesscia A. Lepper ◽  
Aswathy Sreedharan ◽  
Renée Goodrich Schneider ◽  
Keith R. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Good Agricultural Practices ◽  
Produce Safety ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
Safety Rule ◽  
Handling Practices ◽  
Voluntary Program ◽  
Federal Guidelines

Good agricultural practices (GAPs) and good handling practices (GHPs) encompass the general procedures that growers, packers and processors of fresh fruits and vegetables should follow to ensure the safety of their product. GAPs usually deal with preharvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs cover postharvest practices, including packing, storage and shipping. This factsheet covers GAPs relating to packing operation sanitation. There are seven other Florida Cooperative Extension factsheets in the ‘Food Safety on the Farm’ series that focus on specific aspects of the GAPs program and how they relate to Florida crops and practices. Under the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), GAPs are a foundation of the Produce Safety Rule (PSR). Other than for round tomatoes in Florida (T-GAPs regulation), GAPs have mainly been a voluntary program. Additionally the PSR mandates all non-exempt operations to follow these new FSMA federal guidelines (6), but all exempt commodities and for those producers exporting to foreign countries, GAPs may still be required. Both the mandatory PSR and GAPs aim to reduce the foodborne illness burden associated with produce.

The Prosperity Paradox

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Martin
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Farm Workers ◽  
Farm Labor ◽  
Labor Laws ◽  
New Era ◽  
Labor Policies ◽  
The Us ◽  
Vulnerable Workers

Why do farm workers become more vulnerable as countries get richer? As countries get richer, the share of workers employed in agriculture falls. In richer countries, hired farm workers do ever more of the work on the fewer and larger farms that produce most farm commodities. These hired workers include local workers who lack the skills and contacts needed to get nonfarm jobs that usually offer higher wages and more opportunities as well as legal and unauthorized migrants from poorer countries who may not know or exercise their labor-related rights. Government enforcement of labor laws depends on complaints, and vulnerable workers rarely complain. The Prosperity Paradox explains why farm-worker problems often worsen as the agricultural sector shrinks and lays out options to help vulnerable workers. Analysis of farm labor markets in the US, Mexico, and other countries shows that unions and fair trade efforts to protect farm workers cover a very small share of all workers and are unlikely to expand quickly. Most labor-intensive fruits and vegetables are eaten fresh. Unsafe food that sickened consumers led to voluntary industry and later government-mandated food-safety programs to ensure that food is safe when it leaves the farm, with protocols enforced by both government inspectors and buyers who refused to buy from noncompliant farms. This food-safety model offers the most promise for a new era in protective labor policies.

scholarly journals The elephant at the dump: how does garbage consumption impact Asian elephants?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dulmini J. Liyanage ◽  
Prithiviraj Fernando ◽  
P. Nihal Dayawansa ◽  
H. K. Janaka ◽  
Jennifer Pastorini
Keyword(s):  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Alimentary Tract ◽  
Natural Food ◽  
Asian Elephants ◽  
Garbage Dump ◽  
Focal Animal ◽  
Morphological Criteria ◽  
Sexual Bias ◽  
Prepared Food ◽  
Dung Analysis

AbstractWe studied garbage consumption by Asian elephants at the Uddakandara garbage dump in southern Sri Lanka. Garbage at the dump was classified under six categories and quantified using a grid overlay. Elephants visiting the dump were individually identified by morphological criteria and items and quantities consumed by them were determined by focal animal sampling. Dung of elephants that did not consume garbage and those from the dump were compared quantitatively and dung constituents assessed by washing through three layered sieves. A total of 17 individual elephants visited the garbage dump during the study period, all of who were males. The observed sexual bias could be related to behavioural differences between the sexes. Elephants mostly consumed ‘fruits and vegetables’ and ‘prepared food’, possibly due to their higher palatability and nutritional value. Ingestion of polythene was incidental and associated with consuming prepared food. Proportions of the six categories in elephant diet and garbage piles were significantly different, indicating that elephants were highly selective when feeding. Elephant arrivals increased in response to unloading of garbage, suggesting attraction to fresh garbage. Dung analysis found that garbage consumption did not change the quantity and constituents of dung, except for the presence of anthropogenic items. As consumed anthropogenic items were regularly excreted, retention and obstruction of the alimentary tract are unlikely in elephants. Elephants feeding on garbage had better body condition than non-garbage consuming elephants, indicating that garbage provided better nutrition than natural food and was not detrimental to their health.

scholarly journals Biodegradable Antimicrobial Films for Food Packaging: Effect of Antimicrobials on Degradation

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1256
Author(s):  
Eva Hernández-García ◽  
María Vargas ◽  
Chelo González-Martínez ◽  
Amparo Chiralt
Keyword(s):  
Food Packaging ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Antimicrobial Compounds ◽  
Microorganism Population ◽  
Relevant Effect ◽  
Antimicrobial Materials ◽  
Spoilage Bacteria ◽  
Compost Soil ◽  
Specific Influence

The environmental problem generated by the massive consumption of plastics makes necessary the developing of biodegradable antimicrobial materials that can extend food shelf-life without having a negative impact on the environment. The current situation regarding the availability of biodegradable food packaging materials has been analysed, as well as different studies where antimicrobial compounds have been incorporated into the polymer matrix to control the growth of pathogenic or spoilage bacteria. Thus, the antimicrobial activity of active films based on different biodegradable polymers and antimicrobial compounds has been discussed. Likewise, relevant information on biodegradation studies carried out with different biopolymers in different environments (compost, soil, aquatic), and the effect of some antimicrobials on this behavior, are reviewed. In most of the studies, no relevant effect of the incorporated antimicrobials on the degradation of the polymer were observed, but some antimicrobials can delay the process. The changes in biodegradation pattern due to the presence of the antimicrobial are attributed to its influence on the microorganism population responsible for the process. More studies are required to know the specific influence of the antimicrobial compounds on the biodegradation behavior of polymers in different environments. No studies have been carried out or marine media to this end.

scholarly journals New Circular Challenges in the Development of Take-Away Food Packaging in the COVID-19 Period

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4705
Author(s):  
Ewa Kochańska ◽  
Rafał M. Łukasik ◽  
Maciej Dzikuć
Keyword(s):  
Social Transformation ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Distribution Channels ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Industrial Transformation ◽  
Specific Distribution ◽  
Food Market

The COVID-19 pandemic has set new challenges for the HoReCa industry. Lockdowns have coincided with and strongly impacted the industrial transformation processes that have been taking place for a decade. Among the most important HoReCa transition processes are those related to the rapid growth of the delivery-food market and ordering meals via internet platforms. The new delivery-food market requires not only the development of specific distribution channels, but also the introduction of appropriate, very specific food packaging. Food packaging and its functionality are defined by the administrative requirements and standards applicable to materials that have contact with food and principally through the prism of the ecological disaster caused by enormous amounts of plastic waste, mainly attributed to the food packaging. To meet environmental and administrative requirements, new technologies to produce food packaging materials are emerging, ensuring product functionality, low environmental impact, biodegradability, and potential for composting of the final product. However, predominantly, the obtained product should keep the nutritional value of food and protect it against changes in color or shape. Current social transformation has a significant impact on the food packaging sector, on one hand creating a new lifestyle for society all over the world, and on the other, a growing awareness of the negative impact of humans on the environment and increasing responsibility for the planet. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to develop a circular economy based on the paradigm of shortening distribution channels, using local raw materials, limiting the consumption of raw materials, energy, water, and above all, minimizing waste production throughout the life cycle of products, all of which are in line with the idea of low-carbon development.

scholarly journals 3D-Printed Nanocellulose-Based Cushioning–Antibacterial Dual-Function Food Packaging Aerogel

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 3543
Author(s):  
Wei Zhou ◽  
Jiawei Fang ◽  
Shuwei Tang ◽  
Zhengguo Wu ◽  
Xiaoying Wang
Keyword(s):  
3D Printing ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Antibacterial Effect ◽  
Dual Function ◽  
Printing Technology ◽  
E Coli ◽  
3D Printing Technology ◽  
The Core ◽  
3D Printed

Cushioning and antibacterial packaging are the requirements of the storage and transportation of fruits and vegetables, which are essential for reducing the irreversible quality loss during the process. Herein, the composite of carboxymethyl nanocellulose, glycerin, and acrylamide derivatives acted as the shell and chitosan/AgNPs were immobilized in the core by using coaxial 3D-printing technology. Thus, the 3D-printed cushioning–antibacterial dual-function packaging aerogel with a shell–core structure (CNGA/C–AgNPs) was obtained. The CNGA/C–AgNPs packaging aerogel had good cushioning and resilience performance, and the average compression resilience rate was more than 90%. Although AgNPs was slowly released, CNGA/C–AgNPs packaging aerogel had an obvious antibacterial effect on E. coli and S. aureus. Moreover, the CNGA/C–AgNPs packaging aerogel was biodegradable. Due to the customization capabilities of 3D-printing technology, the prepared packaging aerogel can be adapted to more application scenarios by accurately designing and regulating the microstructure of aerogels, which provides a new idea for the development of food intelligent packaging.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document