Sterile swabs can be used to test the level of microbial contamination on various surfaces such as air conditioning units, kitchen equipment, hospital wards, spas or any other place. Swab samples can be analysed for total viable counts (usually referred to as colony forming units) or specific indicator organisms for food spoilage or sewage contamination. […]
Introduction
The presence of drug or antibiotic residues in milk and meat is illegal. Milk supplies containing detectable concentrations are not acceptable. Unless drug residues are avoided to protect milk’s reputation as a healthy, safe food, the market becomes jeopardized. Consumers want to be confident that their food supply is free of contamination by herbicides, […]
Monitoring aw is a critical control point for many food industry operations. The importance of water activity (aw) in food systems cannot be overemphasized. Throughout history water activity in food has been controlled by drying, addition of sugar or salt and freezing. These methods prevent spoilage and maintain food quality. Water activity is the ratio […]
Malt is the product obtained from germinated barley. Barley is first softened after cleaning by steeping with water and then allowed to germinate under controlled conditions. The germinated grain then undergoes the stages of drying, grinding, extracting, filtering, and evaporating, to produce Malt Extract with 78 to 80% solids content.† Malting allows the starches […]
Fish is one of the most important triggers of food-allergic reactions. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 governs the labelling of allergenic ingredients includ- ing sh. A real-time PCR assay, using TaqMan® probes, was applied to detect sh in food. For generating primer and probes, the Hoxc13 gene was selected. Based on the alignment of available […]
Claims are often made on packaged foods as a way to convince you it may be healthier and you buy it. For instance, “low in fat”, “low in cholesterol”, “fortified with iron or calcium” or “enriched with vitamins”. Here’s a quick guide to some of the problems with these claims.
What is Fortified?
Fortified means that […]
Aflatoxin is a type of mold that is considered a human carcinogen. It’s found in certain commonly eaten foods including peanuts, peanut butter and corn, and is most harmful in parts of the world where people consume large amount of these foods, such as Asia and Africa.  The species of molds that combine to form aflatoxin grow […]
The metal cadmium is a relatively rare element and is not found in the pure state in nature . Cadmium has a limited number of applications but is used for a variety of consumer and industrial materials. It’s principal uses include: protective plating for steel, stabilizers for polyvinyl chloride, pigments in plastics and glasses, […]
What are Pesticides?
Pesticides are chemical or biological agents that are used to protect crops from insects, weeds, and infections. Acutely toxic organophosphate (OP) pesticides are widely used in the United States.
What crops are pesticides used on?
Pesticides are used on fruits, vegetables, wheat, rice, olives and canola pressed into oil,and on non-food crops such as […]
INTRODUCTION
Cryopreservation is a long-term storage technique with very low temperatures to preserve the structurally intact living cells and tissues for extended period of time at a relatively low cost. Cryopreservation is to preserve and store the viable biological samples in a frozen state over extended periods of time. A very important part research in […]