Opportunities in the Nutrition and Food Sciences Research Challenges and the Next Generation of Investigators (1994) / Chapter Skim
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4 ENHANCING THE FOOD SUPPLY
4 ENHANCING THE FOOD SUPPLY
Pages 98-142
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From page 98... ...
Micronutrient-deficiency diseases and foodborne illnesses that plagued our nation earlier this century have largely disappeared as a result of the improved supply, preservation, and enrichment and fortification of foods. In addition, technologies developed by foot!
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From page 99... ...
Exciting opportunities and challenges lie ahead as we enhance the food supply for optimal health. Nutritional recommendations per se will not be effective unless people can meet them by eating generally available food products.
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From page 100... ...
However, the United States accounts for only 8 percent of the $140 billion world market for consumer-oriented foods. It is reasonable to assume that as disposable income increases across the globe, there will be new demands for consumer-oriented food products.
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From page 101... ...
Approximately 53 percent of those employed in the food industry work in eating and drinking places, 27 percent in food stores, and 20 percent in food manufacturing and wholesaling. The 380,000 firms that process, wholesale, and retail the nation's food supply have become more international in character, deeper in debt (primarily due to mergers and leveraged buyouts)
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From page 102... ...
Iron deficiency may increase because all the major dietary guidelines recommend increasing the consumption of grains, fruits, and vegetables. Readily bioavailable forms of iron are often the most chemically and biologically reactive, thereby creating color and flavor problems in forti
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From page 103... ...
Several investigators have offered data to support the notion that meat's action is attributable, in part, to amino acids or a peptide. If meat's potent enhancing factor is a peptide (at least in part)
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From page 104... ...
Two-thircds of aclults in the United States consume "light" products an average of nearly four times each week. Approximately 10 percent of the new food products introduced in 1990 claimed to be Tow-fat or nonfat products.
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From page 105... ...
The year 2000 goal is nutrition labeling on all processed foods and at least 40 percent of fresh foods. Under the comprehensive regulations proposed by the DHHS and U.S.
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From page 106... ...
Research Opportunities Develop new tow- or no-fat and low-calorie substitutes Critical to the success of low-fat and low-calorie food products is presentation of the sensory attributes (taste, aroma, and mouthfeel) of such foods.
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From page 107... ...
Texture, although most directly involved with dentition, is not the only sensory attribute important to the enjoyment of food and food intake. Design foods and beverages with enhanced flavor to increase fluid and food intake Foods for the elderly population should have enhanced flavor and aroma to compensate for the reduced perception of these sensory characteristics.
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From page 108... ...
Modern genetic engineering techniques make it possible to enhance, suppress, or even transfer genes from one species to another to attain health benefits. Food-processing techniques may achieve the same goal by selectively removing or concentrating components of interest or by developing more acceptable products with a high concentration of health-promoting constituents in whole foods.
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From page 109... ...
Regulatory mechanisms must be developed to govern the approval, naming, labeling, and advertising of functional foods. In the case of a genetically modified food or ingredient, a scientific consensus on the ethi
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From page 110... ...
The risk of adverse effects from these food components must also be minimized. Microbiological Food Hazards A profusion of food-related illnesses, largely associated with raw milk and dairy products, in the early 1900s led to the introduction of processing techniques and safeguards that have made processed foods in the United States today among the safest in the world.
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From page 111... ...
For example, studies are needed to identify the foods most responsible for transmitting foodborne illness, identify and characterize previously unrecognized foodborne pathogens, reduce the prevalence of pathogens in animals used in food production, develop real-time procedures to detect foodborne pathogens, and develop innovative approaches to educate food handlers. Research Opportunities identify the foods involved most frequently in foodborne fitness At present, the best sources of information for identifying trends in foodborne illness and its prevalence are reports of outbreaks.
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From page 112... ...
Several approaches have been taken to educate food handlers and consumers about proper food-handling practices, yet the occurrence of foodborne illness continues unabated. Reducing the incidence of foodborne disease is a challenge for the future, with a principal problem being the improper handling of foods by consumers and those involved in commercial food preparation.
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From page 113... ...
very little scrutiny. Systematic study of naturally occurring toxicants is needed, especially in light of attempts to develop functional foods with improved health benefits and the increased development of genetically engineered foods (which requires an assessment of the toxicity of the new varieties)
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From page 114... ...
Develop genetic engineering technologies to remove undesirable traits fro no foods Genetic engineering offers the opportunity to remove or decrease naturally occurring toxicants in food selectively and specifically. An improved understanding of the formation of toxicants in foods will be needed to accomplish such feats.
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From page 115... ...
Some food icliosyncrasies, such as sulfite-induced asthma, have been well established, although their mechanisms of action remain unknown. Research Opportunities Investigate the prevalence of, and mechanisms behind, food allergies and sensitivities While the mechanism of immediate hypersensitivities is understood, many unknowns remain, such as the prevalence of IgE-mediated food allergies, the nature of most food allergens, and the effects of food processing on these allergens.
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From page 116... ...
While there exist pharmacological approaches to treat the symptoms of true food allergies, the allergies cannot be cured. The key to prevention is avoidance of the offending food.
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From page 117... ...
Expand the study of microwaves and use of microwave steriti~.ation in food manufacturing and processing The design of in(lustrial-scale microwave sterilization systems and greater scientific understanding of microwave-inducec! changes in food products is needed so that microwave technology can be used to help solve these problems.
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From page 118... ...
Studies of water dynamics in food materials and changes in their diffusional and mechanical properties are essential for understanding a number of phenomena in food processing and preservation. We also need to evaluate critically the relative importance of glass transitions and other temperature-based transitions in amorphous and semicrystalline foods and their effects on the stability of dehydrated and frozen foods.
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From page 119... ...
commercialization of a new process. Given current trends in food manufacturing and recent developments in genetic engineering research, bioseparations are likely to become increasingly critical in terms of cost and safety in coming years.
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From page 120... ...
Indeed, it is not known which, if any, of the models currently applied to simple systems can be successfully applied to multicomponent mixtures of biomaterials at supercritical temperatures and pressures. This is a barrier to developing promising applications such as removal of cholesterol from eggs and daily products, fractionation of animal fats to enhance ratios of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids, and enzymatic reactions in supercritical fluids.
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From page 121... ...
By adapting integrated time-temperature sensors, we can better monitor shelf life of foods. Full utilization of automatic process control, a road already traveled by other industries, will enable us to take greater advantage of modern developments such as fuzzy logic and neural networks.
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From page 122... ...
The role of rheological and physical properties in extrusion, baking, and puffing should be studied, and efforts to provide mechanistic bases for the rheological behavior of foods should be expanded. This includes the development of suitable sensing devices, systematic study of the theological properties of various food materials and their correlation with sensory properties, and changes in food materials , .
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From page 123... ...
In the past 50 years we have seen an evolution in the food package that has increased dramatically the health and quality of life of consumers and has reduced food waste. We have reduced the volume and weight of material used, extended the shelf life of products to permit national distribution, increased strength to meet the rigors of handling abuse, and improved product access and convenience (e.g., dispensing, childproofing, closing, and storability)
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From page 124... ...
Research Opportunities Develop new packaging methods and materials that improve food safety and expand consumer acceptance and convenience As important as environmental issues are, the food-safety function of packaging is paramount. Controlled- and modified-atmosphere packaging will have the greatest impact in the near future because of the shift from shelf-stable and convenience products to freshly prepared and catered products.
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From page 125... ...
Other considerations in developing a modern food package involve: Physical protection of food and package; - Labeling to provide critical information (i.e., product brand identification; net weight; ingredients; content; manufacturer's name, address, and codes; date by which product should be sold or used; preparation instructions; and nutrition labeling) ; Means of discouraging and indicating tampering; Visibility of contents (in some cases)
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From page 126... ...
An understanding of the regulation and rate-limiting steps in the metabolic pathways involved in amino acid biosynthesis opens the door to application of genetic engineering for improving the nutritional quality of cereal grains. Genetic engineering is being used to increase the concentration of sulfur-containing amino acids (methionine and cysteine)
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From page 127... ...
However, hydrogenation also produces bans fatty acids that may raise concentrations of cholesterol in the blood (see Chapter 51. With genetic engineering, it is now possible to increase saturated fatty acids by six times without producing any bans fatty acids.
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From page 128... ...
and in processed foods must be investigated. In vitro and in vivo model systems for validating the safety of whole foods and food ingredients derived from genetically engineered plants must be developed.
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From page 129... ...
Because PTC involves growth of plant cells in contained and controlled fermentation vats, these systems require minimal land use, are independent of weather conditions, and do not require the use of agricultural chemicals. Examples of PTC-derived food ingredients include pigments (e.g., betalains, annatto, anthocyanins, betacyanin, betaxanthin, lycopene, and other carotenoids)
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From page 130... ...
and fish used as human and animal food sources. The basic principles of biotechnology can be used for genetic improvement of animals and fish.
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From page 131... ...
The types of chemicals produced by microbial fermentation include acidulants, amino acids, vitamins, flavors,
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From page 132... ...
, improved nutritional quality (e.g., microbial production of amino acids or vitamins and engineered yeast for production of low-calorie beer) , or enhanced bioavailability of nutrients (e.g., engineering of the meat factor influencing iron absorption into starter cultures and engineered starter cultures as delivery systems for digestive enzymes)
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From page 133... ...
For example, substitution of amino acids at specific key locations within the active site of the enzyme subtilisin demonstrated that properties of the enzyme could be altered dramatically, both positively and negatively, when compared to the native enzyme. Site-specific mutagenesis could improve the versatility of enzymes in food systems and decrease the cost of processing food.
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From page 134... ...
It may be possible to engineer antibodies that possess catalytic activity; their binding and recognition sites could be used to immobilize the enzyme for food-processing applications. Improve enzymes in intact plants Enzyme- and protein-engineering techniques, coupled with plant genetic engineering, could be used to modify
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From page 135... ...
Since cereal grains are deficient in one or more of the essential amino acids isoleucine, lysine, methionine, threonine, or tryptophan, transfer of these genes to plants deficient in these amino acids could improve their nutritive value. Many plant components used in food processing are chemically modified following extraction from the plant (e.g., hydrogenation of oils and cross-linking of starch)
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From page 136... ...
For example, the use of magnetic resonance techniques in determining the types of interactions and molecular conformations of proteins in gels could allow for both higher quality and more economical production of these products. Research Opportunities Study the role of water in foods One of the most important functional properties of food biopolymers is the ability to bind water.
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From page 137... ...
In the 1980s, food scientists realized that they could better understand the relationships of food structure, food function, and water in food materials, products, and processes by applying polymer science, with its study of glassy states, glass transitions, and plasticization by water. Food polymer science, emphasizing the basic similarities between synthetic polymers and food molecules, provides a practical experimental framework to study real-world food systems that are not at equilibrium.
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From page 138... ...
ysical properties offoods related to bond energies Often the properties of a food are more related to the unique supramolecular architecture of the major food polymers than to their specific molecular properties. Many food polymers like proteins and starches are extensive structures of interacting components joined by noncovalent bonds.
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From page 139... ...
Since many of our food products are subjected to these kinds of mechanical stresses, understanding the extent of the changes they cause is critical. Not only would the physical properties of various food polymers such as proteins be affected, but the formation of free radicals could set off chain reactions leading to degradation of lipids and other components in foods.
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From page 140... ...
An important challenge in this age of envi 1 1 -- -- r -- ~ =~ no- ronmental and economic concerns is to identify, develop, and implement new systems for producing high-quality, economical, wholesome foods with reduced adverse effects on the environment and with better use of raw materials. Sustainable agriculture attempts to minimize environmental degradation through a range of practices that includes integrated pest management; low-intensity animal production systems; crop rotations to reduce pest damage, improve crop health, decrease soil erosion, and (for legumes)
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From page 141... ...
Identify economically viable uses for by-products of the food industry and develop processes for separating them Information is needed on the identities, composition, and quantities of the solid and liquid by-products generated by the food industry. Research would help to identify the ways in which by-products can be incorporated into new foods, animal feed, or nonfood products.
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From page 142... ...
However, scientists must seize the newer techniques developed by molecular biologists to design functional foods for health needs. Food engineers and microbiologists must work together to optimize new processing techniques to ensure the safety of foods while reducing food and packaging waste.
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