TOWARDS "HEALTHIER" CHOCOLATES-NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Chocolate is known to be a rich source of antioxidants but its consumption is constrained by the high levels of saturated fat and sugar present in these products, both dangerous food ingredients as far as human health is concerned. While consumption of high levels of fat, especially the saturated and trans fats, can cause atherosclerosis and consequent heart problem, high sugar intake is equally risky precipitating many ailments including diabetes. Chocolate making technology can be considered as one of the most foolish progresses made by mankind because a patently good food raw material is converted into a nutritionally absurd product for satisfying the palate of man. The cured raw cocoa bean is a source of many chemicals, many of them considered nutritionally beneficial to health. While it is a rich source of fat the ubiquitous cocoa press can remove most of them to give cocoa powder which is considered one of the richest sources of health-friendly bio-flavonols.

Cocoa has twice as much antioxidants as in red wine and three times the quantity present in green tea. The ORAC value of cocoa is about 25000 as compared to 18500 for Acai berry and 1540 for Strawberry. Cocoa is reported to have properties related to anti-aging and anti-inflammation. It is also a rich source of minerals that include Magnesium, Sulfur, Calcium, Potassium, Manganese besides some B-vitamins. The Bioflavonol  Epicatechin is reported to be effective in preventing fat accumulation in arteries and veins. Almost 10% by weight in cocoa is Bioflavonols and about 300 chemical compounds have been identified so far in this wonder food, the function of many of them  not yet unraveled so far. Dark chocolates with high cocoa solid content can improve insulin sensitivity significantly.

The chocolate making process uses the recovered fat from the cocoa pot to enrich the chocolate mass (finely ground cocoa mash) with more fat and uses copious amounts of white sugar to get the final product which is much sought after by consumers of all ages. The typical melting characteristics of cocoa butter confer on chocolate the unique "melt in the mouth" feeling associated with these products but the rich calorie and fat contents also make chocolate a "cat among the pigeon", being shunned increasingly by weight watchers and diet conscious people. It is against this background that chocolates are losing their luster as a culinary wonder in the present century with more and more people entering the "obesity" club world over. During the last one decade continuous efforts have been directed to modify chocolate products in such a way that they can be considered safe for consumption chucking the unhealthy tag commonly associated with it. Dark chocolates are now being offered by the industry containing almost 85% cocoa solids and less and less of sugar. Fat content is still a deterrent against its universal adoption by one and all.

A solution to high saturated fat content in chocolate has recently been found where normal fats are substituted with special fats with different metabolic characteristics. Diacylglycerols which are modified versions of normal fats with one fatty acid group less, behave differently when consumed compared to cocoa butter fat. Though both fats are commonly found in food, diacylglycerol is better known for its emulsifying properties rather than as a food fat. According to nutritionists since the normal fat molecules are too large to get across the intestinal wall in one piece, the body breaks them down into smaller components, which are reassembled once they cross the cell membranes of the intestine. Due to their different molecular structure diacylglycerols are not immediately reassembled after they cross the intestinal wall, unlike triglycerides and therefore are not stored in fat cells. They are broken down in the liver and used as energy. As it does not require for the body to carry them through the blood, unlike large triacylglycerol molecules, diacylglycerols are not expected to clog the arteries and veins in the same way as the former.  

While diacylglycerols have been used to produce vegetable cooking oils derived from canola and soybean oils for the health-food market, scientists and manufacturers have not had much success using them as confectionery fats. Most difficult part of substituting cocoa butter with any other fat is to simulate the unique melting properties of the former which influences the eating quality of a good chocolate product. Technologically this is a challenging area for fat technologists and almost all cocoa butter substitutes presently available are poor imitators of the real natural product. If the scientists who claim that diacylglycerols can be an effective substitute, are to be believed such products will be much more healthier while the sensory characteristics are not seriously affected. What is intriguing is that diacylglyceols are better known for their emulsifying properties especially in fat-water emulsions and whether it will have any constraint on the process itself. One is reminded of Olestra, a fat substitute made from sucrose and fatty acids with zero calorie density, which freaked out because of the unacceptable side effects caused in the intestine due to its ingestion. It is to be seen whether diacylglycerols will have similar effect in the GI tract though the developers preclude this possibility.

If fat saturated content is replaced with diacylglycerols will there be a calories saving for the consumer? Unfortunately the answer is in the negative because both triglycerides and digylcerides have almost same calorie count. Similarly as chocolate is a sugar rich product new formulations containing diglycerides will have no impact as far as weight reduction is concerned. Unless new chocolate formulations with low fat and low sugar contents are developed it is unlikely that these products will ever become a universal choice for all consumers across the spectrum.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

MOVE OVER CANDIES, HERE COMES THE DESI "MITHAI"!

Has any one bothered to ask the simple question as to why modern day youngsters are more enamored by foods from western countries rather than being proud of their heritage foods numbering over 5000, inherited from their forefathers? Why is that a kid, hardly 3 year old, craves for chocolate products and high sugar confectionery items like artificially colored candies in stead of hundreds of sweet meat products available in the corner shops of Halwaiwalla? Is it the taste that drives these kids to western foods or the habit formed during the early childhood due to over indulgence of the parents? Or could it be that the convenience factor, good product stability, attractive packing and massive promotion by the industry that tilt the scale in favor of confectionery products like candies and chocolates? Probably a combination of all the above must have caused this gross distortion in the food preferences of young generation.

There are thousands of ethnic foods originated in India during its 8000 years of history and these food products have been continuously evolving, influenced by successive cultures entering India from time to time. Whether it is a meal or a side dish or a snack or a sweet Indian population, as diverse as they are, can be proud of their indigenous foods which lately are captivating the taste buds of consumers all over the world. If Indian restaurants are becoming more and more popular these days, even over taking Chinese or Mexican cuisines, it can be attributed to the rich diversity of products representing more than a hundred ethnic communities in the country. These culinary treasure will only expand in the coming years if the enterprising restaurateurs pay more attention to the design of their eateries and hygiene and sanitation aspects. Indian "curries", though demonized for their strong smell and spicy and pungent taste, have become cynosure of all eyes because of the realization that spices and herbs are repository of a host of phytochemicals with health promoting properties. 

Emergence of "Retortable Pouch Process" as an industry standard during the last one decade made it possible to "stabilize" shelf life of a number of food preparations of Indian origin. Thanks to this technology there are over three dozen products of Indian origin on the shelves of super markets and retail out lets spanning the entire country. These RTE products faithfully represent the original fresh preparations with least distortion of flavor and taste. Who could have thought a few years ago that the famous Indian Pulav could be preserved for more than 9 months or for that matter the south Indian delicacy Bisibelebath for almost an year? Curry preparations like sambar, rasam, dal, aloo gobi, aloo palak, chole, paneer muttar, avial, kootu, etc are to day preservable for as long as an year. The country must salute the pioneering scientists whose committed work has resulted in making available these products to the Indian consumers in India as well as in other countries on a "platter". 

Snacks and savories which are mostly fried in edible oils are made by thousands of cottage scale operators and are sold fresh from small shops and bakeries with limited shelf life of a few days. Potato chips and extruded products, made by the organized sector enjoy a much longer shelf life because of the antioxidants and other stabilizers used during the process as well as the functionally superior packing materials but typical Indian snacks like Samosa, Vada, Bonda, Dal Vada, Chakli, Mixture, Kodubele, Vadian and Ghattia and many others are still being left in the lurch because of lack of interest among scientists to work on them as well as due to apprehension among the entrepreneurs regarding the difficulties in marketing them. Probably greater R & D efforts are called for in studying the basic aspects of their making that control the final product quality and to work out strategies to extend their shelf life. 

The Indian confectionery products like Chikki, Besan Laddu, Carrot Halwa, Doodhi Halwa, Son Papadi, Jangri, Badam Halwa, Khoa and Chhakka based items, etc are rich in nutrients like proteins derived from  milk, peanuts and Besan, micro nutrients derived from vegetables like Carrot and Ashgourd, PUFA from Almonds and other nuts, though some of them do contain high sugar and fat levels. Compare them with different type of sugar confections of the west which are practically based on white sugar and flavor. Unfortunately the processes to make Indian confections vary enormously from place to place and from person to person while there are no standard quality or safety parameters to be adhered to. No wonder the kids do not get "hooked" on such products so easily, driving them to western products like chocolates and candies.

Recent development of processes that ensure better shelf stability for some important sweetmeat products by a scientific group in CFTRI Mysore bodes well for this sector. Through this work the scientists are atoning for their past neglect of Indian traditional sweetmeat products which are universally liked in the world. For almost 3 decades the only products that could claim long life were Gulab Jamun and Rasagolla which were canned in open top sanitary cans for obtaining a shelf life of about an year without any significant quality deterioration. The CFTRI processes for preserving sweets  like Boondi Laddu, Bombay Halwa, Carrot Halwa, Doodhi Halwa, Doodh Peda, Milk Burfi and Coconut Burfi , without using any chemical preservatives are expected to kick start the revival of this sector in a big way if the technology transfer is not sought to be hampered through high price tags for selling them. As the packing technology is not matched by machinery development for their mass manufacture, it is unlikely that large players would be interested in this development. It is therefore advisable to pass on the technology through mass contact programs involving live demonstrations and some basic training of SMEs in different parts of the country.

Design of appropriate equipment portfolio for mass production of many India sweets are fraught with insurmountable technical difficulties which should be addressed immediately, if Indian sweetmeat products have to become a big hit with foreign buyers. This is an area with some dilemma for the country to decide because most of the traditional preparation processes are predominantly manual in nature involving skilled artisans and introduction of large scale automated machinery may see many of them thrown out of their jobs which may not be a desirable development in a socially sensitive country like India. Keeping this industry labor intensive also serves the purpose of keeping the process and recipe secrets within the country and ensure monopoly for years to come.       

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

EXTENDING SHELF LIFE OF FOODS-WHAT IS THE LIMIT?

Food technology strives to process and preserve food raw materials into consumable form for periods ranging from a few days to several years. But the consumer perception about fresh quality food does not help the technologists to actively pursue the research efforts to evolve processes that can ensure shelf stability beyond a certain extent. With the advent of refrigeration many foods can be preserved for a few days to a few weeks at temperatures ranging from 0C to 8C while most foods are preserved at sub-zero temperatures for a few months with minimum quality deterioration. While safety is of paramount importance, eating quality is the critical factor that decides the acceptability or other wise of the processed foods. It is always asked whether it is possible for food technologists to preserve food indefinitely or for long periods, say about 5 years. But a counter question would be who wants to eat a 5 year old food even if there is a workable technology?

A consumer is unlikely to pick up a product from the supermarket with 5 year shelf life if he has a choice of an alternative with two weeks life. Practically every house has a refrigerator with capacity ranging from 100 liters to more than 500 liters and the freezer chest coming with the Frig can carry a few items for consumption in 1-2 months. There are stand alone freezers with small to large capacities which are useful to larger families. These gadgets are normally useful for storing both short term needs as well as long period storage with the latter coming handy to "hoard" those products offered in the market from time to time at promotional or stock liquidation programs. The very fact that consumers have a tendency to pick up products from the shelves with most recent manufacturing date reflects their innate desire to buy products as fresh as possible. This again raises the question whether there will be any takers for products with extra long life?

Food is to be preserved from two angles. First and foremost it has to be safe. The eating quality comes next but it is crucial for a competitive market that food offered has most acceptable sensory quality which includes flavor, texture and taste. Historically preserved foods using salt, sugar, acidity and dehydration were only the choices till the middle of the last millennium and the consumers of yesteryear were contented with the same for want of an effective alternative. To day situation is different with a vast array of technologies available that include canning, aseptic packing, vacuum packing, retort pouch process, irradiation, high pressure processing etc that can give products with varying shelf life from a few months to a few years. The outer space missions by countries like the US, EU, China and Russia require long life food products while military missions in far away places also stock such products. Natural calamity, undeveloped remote areas, especially in the third world countries also depend on preserved products with long shelf life.

Another relevant question is who will make products with long shelf life? The food industry which works incessantly to lure the customers to the products turned out by it wants the customers to increase the frequency of purchase as much as possible and by putting long life products in the market the manufacturers naturally are bound to suffer due to slower turn over. The industry requirement is a maximum shelf life of 9-12 months which gives them sufficient time to distribute the products with least damage and minimum recall in large countries like India. One of the biggest problems faced by the industry is the mandatory provision under the labeling regulation to indicate the manufacturing date on the label which leads to the customers picking up the most recent ones which they believe to be of best quality. The possibility of products manufactured during earlier dates remaining on the shelf without sale and evetually being returned is very high. The market pull will always be the force that is capable of dictating terms to the food scientists for their development agenda and probably long life products will invariably be the ones with least priority.    

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

"SKILL" VS "DEGREE"- FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Modern education in India and many developing countries is degree oriented with the students striving hard to get a University degree or Diploma entertaining serious hope of landing in a job, preferably in government sector. On the other hand there are many lower education centers where pupils are trained to sharpen a skill or develop a skill that will help to plunge into a job requiring that particular skill. Education is a broad term and it need not be University centered because every day it is a learning process if one has the common sense to observe and understand the environment. Unfortunately the current system of education does not value non-formal education and every job available has a qualification tag, generally a university degree. If the unemployment problem is acute in the country, blame squarely lies with the present education system. 

Life has to teach a lot of lesson to youngsters aspiring to be some body to be counted by the society. There are millions of so called skilled personnel with capabilities beyond the reach of their counterparts coming out of the formal education system and these skilled workers are invariably called artisans with experience in doing specific jobs with confidence and elan. Take the case of a Mason who may be an illiterate person with no formal education but he can be depended upon to do his construction work and if one looks at the evolution of this artisan the career must have started as a menial worker with practically no knowledge about any aspects of construction to begin with. Within a few years of watching his peers work at the construction sites and after a few hesitant steps towards practicing the masonry job in a small way, he may eventually become even a civil contractor undertaking construction work with increasing complexity over a period of time. Same is true with almost all skill oriented profession. 

Food industry is a classical example of artisan predominance as 75% of the food products marketed in the country comes from unorganized or informal sector, employing millions of artisans. Almost every traditional Indian foods which have been commercialized in India are produced using traditional technology with predominantly manual operations. The machinery content in the technology is limited to a few standard unit operations like grinding, mixing, heating and concentration. Modern packaging machinery, when deployed, are restricted to semi automatic types while most packing is done manually. The failure of mechanized gadgets to make khoa, paneer, roti, idli, vada, bonda, papads, Chakli, samosa and many snack products reflects the importance of skill in making the traditional food products of acceptable quality. 

There are many institutions and universities offering degrees in food technology all over the country and hundreds of graduates, post-graduates and doctorates are produced by them year after year. Where do they fit in as a responsible operator? Unfortunately, with multinational companies with least challenges to grow, 90% of the industry in the micro enterprise, small scale and medium scale sectors do not employ any university degree holder and this should wake up the education pundits in the country regarding the exact need of this industry to flourish. Besides the so called teachers with responsibility to impart training are them selves not fully conversant with developments in food technology, being out of touch with modern developments. To a very limited extent the certificate and diploma course do serve a purpose but in absence of hands-on training facilities in these teaching "shops", at best half baked products are turned out from these centers. Industry also must carry the blame partially because of its reluctance to join forces with teaching institutions in making the "products' of these centers fully "baked". 

Any course intended to train operators in a food processing facility must focus more on practical aspects rather than being heavy on academic content. Of course food technology is a vast area and it is humanly not possible to train every one in all areas. It is here that specialization is called for. One of the most shining examples of focused training comes from Mysore where specialist milling technicians are trained at CFTRI specifically for the flour milling industry. Why not such course be planned for every sector like fruits and vegetables, baking, confectionery, snack foods, dairy products, breweries and other food product categories based on a realistic assessment of country's need. The Ministry of Food Processing Industry, instead of behaving like a funding entity, must take lead in this area to generate thousands of skilled artisans who can provide a sound foundation to the food industry in general. 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN INDIA-GROWERS' NIGHTMARE!

Agreed that fruits and vegetables come under the category of protective foods because they, if consumed in adequate quantities, can provide the precious micro nutrients like vitamins and minerals besides many health boosting phytochemicals and valuable dietary fiber. During the last hundred years the habit of consuming these foods is coming down dramatically with consumers increasingly craving for meat foods. It is forgotten that the tragic health slide being experienced by the population in rich and wealthy countries is to a large extent, attributable to this switch from fruits and vegetables to animal foods and carbohydrate/fat based products. The astronomical farm subsidies flowing into the farm sector due the folly of the governments in many advanced countries are distorting the dietary regimes in favor of cheap processed foods ignoring the crucial importance of fruits and vegetables in maintaining health. If this is so in the developed world, what is the fate of consumers in the developing countries?

Take the case of India. Theoretically it is one of the top fruit and vegetable producing nations in this globe though it is also the second most populous country after China. The mere size of the population can be daunting for any government to provide for the well being, health and safety of its subjects. It is well known that India is plagued by malnutrition and soaring inflation. But an in-depth reality check will reveal that it is not due to inadequate production that the country is suffering from lack of food. Though it is the world's second largest grower of fresh produce there is more or less unanimity that the country loses an estimated 40 percent ( or a guesstimate?) of its fruit and vegetables to rot because of gross deficiency in the infrastructure like cold stores, refrigerated trucking, negligence of railways to provide dedicated racks, poor roads, inclement weather and the despicable corruption that pervades the whole country. Of course it is a poor consolation that post-harvest food losses of the scale found in India are also a problem throughout the developing world and translate into lower incomes for farmers and higher prices for consumers.

Inflation is already undermining living standards across Asia with world food prices at record highs since December last year, according to the FAO of the U.N. In India, home to more than a third of the world's 150 million malnourished children under 5, food inflation hovers around 10 percent stubbornly. Is it not a criminal neglect on the part of the government to allow wastage of such magnitude when poverty is an omnipotent phenomenon? When will it dawn on the government that just reducing the waste could make a significant dent  in bringing down food inflation and making food more affordable to the vulnerable segment of the population? Visit any vegetable market in India and one cannot escape the heaps of rotten vegetables accumulating side by side with vendors selling salable commodities! Imagine the frustration faced by an average consumer when exorbitant prices are charged by the vendors who factor the cost of the wastage into the price charged to the consumer! How can the food inflation be controlled in this country under such a condition? The economists and the financial pundits seem to be barking at the wrong tree when the inflation is sought to be moderated through Reserve Bank by increasing the banking rates across the board, forgetting that the price distortion is purely a supply-demand distortion with too many people chasing too little food available in the market.  

it is not that sporadic efforts are not made to address the sad situation prevailing in the country by successive governments at Delhi. Recall the efforts made by the NDDB in early eighties, under direction from the government in power at that time, to organize fruit and vegetable industry under the cooperative mode, similar to milk. However while NDDB had achieved sterling success with milk, it could not boast of similar success in either the edible oil sector or horticulture produce sector. Why it has failed is a story that is not well known. Could it be because of the obsession of the government with cereal grains ignoring the fresh produce industry? In spite of the recent pompous announcement of a Horticulture Mission by the government of India to augment production of these commodities, nothing precious has happened at the ground level. One is familiar with the fate of similar Missions in the past on Pulses and edible oils and even to day the country is still dependent imports to bridge their demand-supply gap!

Is it not a shame that a consumer has to pay Rs 15-25 for an average sized Apple where as for the same amount one can get almost two kg of coarse cereal that can keep the body and soul together for a poor person as long as a week? If the poor villagers in the hinterlands live on leafy vegetables, mostly grown locally, unable to buy any normal fruit or vegetable during his life time, what quality of life he can hope to live? Practically every fruit or vegetable in the market costs upwards of Rs 20 per kg and if the NPC has defined poverty line at Rs 32 per day, what choice a poor person under the BPL category, has when it comes to buying his food? With fertile agricultural land being diverted to support the real estate business through out the country, where will be the land for increasing production of horticulture produce to meet the increasing demand for them. Horticulture scientists may be working hard to develop newer and better production technologies for many important horticultural crops but in the absence of government support for propagating these technologies nothing tangible can come out of such efforts.

If the government of the day is to be believed, it is also concerned about the situation and it has "begun" work on a strategy to cut post-harvest losses by building modern grain silos, cold storage warehouses and setting up farmers' markets in remote areas to link vegetable growers with retail outlets in the cities. If the track record of the past is any indication nothing substantial will happen, at least in the near future except frequent statements, repeated ad naseum by the concerned ministers and bureaucrats. Ask any farmer in the country and they will confess that they have no faith in the government and even the promised changes are years away if not decades. admittedly. It is recognized that growing vegetables and similar perishables in India is a business fraught with serious financial risks with the farmers finding it difficult to find ready buyers at for such perishables like tomatoes, capsicum, and other vegetables at reasonable price. They face the risk of these vegetables rotting at every stage, whether in the field, on the road, or in the markets. It is familiar sight in almost all major mandisin the country to see hundreds of vegetable and fruit trucks reach the wholesale market each morning and commission agents scouting for the best bargains in a frenzied atmosphere and most farmers are lost in this wheeling dealing atmosphere not able to strike a favorable bargain..

Paucity of refrigerated trucks means that delays at state border crossings, traffic jams, or the frequent landslides that clog hill roads can cause vegetables to wilt and rot. There are only a few trucks run by private firms, that are refrigerated. The rest are open trucks, with tarps or plastic sheets for cover in case it rains. People travelingin these trucks perched on the sacks of gunny bags containing the produce is a familiar sight to behold! Too often the contents are crushed with practically no life left when the destination is reached. The recent opening up of the retail sector to foreign investment is viewed with hope that supermarket giants such as Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour when start operating in India's multibilliondollar retail market, there could be success where the government has failed. The provision for backward integration and building infrastructure for preserving the fresh produce is cited as the reason for such a hope. One has to wait and see whether India will really attract FDI in this sector under such stringent preconditions. Even if they arrive, it is to be seen whether they can reform the fragmented farm sector ans improve the agricultural to any significant extent. 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com 

ASSESSING"FRESHNESS" OF PACKED FOODS-A NEW TECHNIQUE

It is the consumer psychology that the foods consumed by them must be as fresh as possible though health aspect also comes into reckoning with some segment of the consumers. The front of the pack label indicates when the product is manufactured and for how long the contents are good for eating. However this information does not guarantee that the food inside the unopened pack is still good, the consumer depending entirely on the label declaration to take the buying decision. Foods are packed in rigid as well as flexible containers and the packaging materials used can be metal, plastics, paper, laminates etc depending on the functionality and shelf life desired. While transparent packaging may provide some clue regarding the appearance of the product based on which some consumers decide whether they are good or bad, there is not sure way of arriving at a decision about the quality without opening the sealed pack. Recent news that scientists have come out with a a gadget that can "tell" whether the packed food is good for eating, is indeed a welcome news and it is worth evaluating the efficacy and relevance of the new gadget for the industry, retailer and consumer.

When a food is packed in any container the industry has a few options to extend the life of the product to some extent through manipulation of the gas composition inside. Most products are packed in plastic pouches and sealed under atmospheric condition. The head space with in the pack is air containing mostly about 21% oxygen, 78% Nitrogen, 1% Argon and some trace gases like Carbon Dioxide and others. It is the presence of Oxygen in the air which causes quality deterioration in food through oxidative chemical reactions and support for growth of microorganisms if the water activity in the product is conducive for them. Oxidation becomes a critical issue in dry products, especially if the concentration of oil component in the product is significantly high. Oxidative rancidity is one of the major problems for the fried product industry and there are many antioxidants deployed for retarding rancidity in such products. Vacuum packing and Nitrogen flushed packing are also employed to protect food from rancidity and consequent flavor deterioration. Use of modified atmosphere packing technology is based on controlling the composition of the gas inside a pack with predominance of CO2 which prevents growth of microorganisms, especially in high moisture products like fresh fruits and vegetables besides slowing down biological reactions to extend their effective life.  

A new laser technology developed in Sweden is claimed to be capable of detecting the gas composition inside packaged foods and determine the relative freshness of the content. Since It is a non-destructive method to test "freshness" of packaged foods, the developers feel that its utility would be of great relevance to all those involved in quality assessment of foods. Through measurements of the gas composition the product quality within can be monitored at different times effortlessly, enabling to check a much higher number of products than at present by the retailers as well as the industry. Most packaging practices use simple flexible pouches made from plastic films with varying gas permeability and oxygen is bound to seep in through the film surface into the pouch leading to oxidation, the growth of bacteria, and spoilage. The hand held instrument developed by the scientists is able to determines gas composition within food packaging using a laser spectroscopic technique which measures the absorption of light when the laser passes through the package and based on the signal, a computer provides the gas composition within. 

The only prerequisite for the technology to be successful is that light must pass through the package for measurement of the transmitted light and correlating to the gas composition. It appears almost all packaging materials currently in vogue allow at least some light to pass through making the method universally applicable. With the advent of lamination technology there are many permutations and combinations of films with Aluminum foil to control the gas and vapor transmission properties and the fact that even these packaging systems containing Aluminum foil can transmit light to the extent of as low as 0.001%, can make the laser technology relevant to almost all segments of food industry. Though technical soundness of the concept is well established beyond doubt there can be some challenges when commercial application becomes a reality.

A most critical question is whether the optical properties of the content inside can vitiate the result and if so to what extent. Similarly will there be variation from product to product and whether individual standardization will be required for each and every product. Ultimately who are the target users of this beautiful technology, whether the consumer, industry, quality monitoring agency or the retailer? Will there be a day in future when retail stores keep this instrument at each bay so that the consumers can check the products they want to buy for their freshness and if so how can the retailers avoid massive return of products left behind by the consumers to the manufacturers? Does this technology has a potential to disrupt the current food supply chain dynamics seriously? These are challenges that need to be addressed before mass deployment of this "toy"!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

EFFECT OF THE "CUP" THAT CHEERS"-NEW REVELATIONS

Coffee, by any yardstick, cannot be termed a food as it does not provide any calories or nutrients by itself and often consumed for its beverage properties. If so why is it that Coffee is the second most traded commodity behind petroleum, in the world market? Global production touching 7 million tons can vouchsafe for the popularity of coffee in many parts of the world. Top coffee producers in the world include Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Honduras, Ethiopia and India, accounting for almost 80% of global out put and this commodity happens to be major sustaining economic force for 12 countries who dominate the global trade. Interestingly most of the top coffee consuming countries do not figure in the list of top producers and the per capita consumption in these coffee producing countries is some what insignificant compared to that in many countries in Europe. Why is that coffee has become an important part of the life styles in many western countries?

It is generally agreed that Western countries are more affluent and also generally better informed about nutrition and health. If so is it possible that they have realized the health advantage in consuming coffee regularly? Or is it because of the addiction quality of coffee that has hooked the consumers in these countries to regular consumption of coffee? It may also be due to the stimulating aroma of coffee that is liked by people in the West. Otherwise how one can explain away the high consumption level of coffee in countries like Finland (12 kg per person per year), Norway (9.9 kg), Ireland ( 9 kg ), Denmark (8.7 kg), the Netherlands (8.4 kg), Sweden (8.2 kg) or Switzerland (7.9 kg)? Compare to this, consumption in India is less than 100 gm per year per person! Probably the most compelling factor could be the environment in these countries where cold climates persist most of the year and a cup of coffee is the best "friend" to keep company ( of course next to alcohol)!

Is consumption of coffee really beneficial to the human health? There is no unanimity on this issue with most scientists supporting its health value while a few believe it could be injurious. A random sampling of international opinions on effect of coffee on health would reveal that its consumption can reduce the risk of a plethora of diseases that include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, CVD, Diabetes, Liver Cirrhosis and Gout. However coffee is implicated in acid influx, especially in old age people. Also coffee in implicated in increased LDL proteins and consequent heart problems, attributed to the diterpenes, Kahweol and Cafestol, present in coffee brew made without paper filter. It is universally accepted that roasted coffee can contain more than 1000 different chemical constituents including valuable lipophilic antioxidants which are effective in sweeping off the dangerous oxyradicals generated at the cellular level. Chlorogenic acid lactones, present in coffee, are reported to be effective in protecting neuronal cells.

A recent study, performed by a Harvard Medical School team, using a sample size of 50,000 women in the US over a span on of 10 years has brought out a startling fact that coffee consumption can be very effective in decreasing depression among them significantly. According to them those women not taking coffee regularly tended to have very high level of depression compared to others consuming the beverage regularly. Drinking two or more cups of coffee a day may reduce the risk of developing depression and the increase in coffee consumption correlated to a decrease depression risk. Those who drank 2 to 3 cups a day had a 15% decrease in depression risk; drinking 4 or more cups a day decreased the risk by 20%.  Drinking decaffeinated coffee did not have the same effect on depression prevention. This empirical correlation does not seem to have any scientific backing and only further studies can figure out the effects of caffeine on the brain. Scientifically it is established that caffeine, present in coffee does promote feelings of well-being and energy. The ability of Caffeine to block adenosine, a chemical produced by the brain that slows nerve cell activity in the brain and cause drowsiness, is well known. Similarly Caffeine also increases dopamine production which plays an important role in depression. It is also claimed that the tendency to commit suicide is very low among coffee drinkers and these findings can reinforce the basis for coffee's ability to counteract depression. 

Lack of unanimity that is eluding the researchers engaged in coffee related studies can be attributed to the confusion that prevails regarding the understanding of coffee and its processing. Coffee is roasted first before grinding into powders with varying particle size and variations can exist in roasting conditions depending on the type of product desired. The chemicals extracted into the brew can vary enormously depending on whether it is a light roast or medium, medium dark, dark or very dark roast. At 200C the process of caramelization is initiated when starch is broken down to sugars and Maillard reaction also begins giving the darker color. At 205C flavor chemicals like Caffeol start forming. As roasting proceeds many aromatic oils and acids are destroyed changing the composition dramatically. Added to this the powdering operation decides the efficiency of extraction whether by boiling with water or steeping or percolation or pressure extraction. This is borne out by the fact that a cup of coffee can have Caffeine in a wide range from 75 mg to 200 mg depending on how it is made! What role addition of whiteners like milk plays on the health front is not very clear. For comparison of any scientific study the basic material used must have uniformly defined characteristics and probably it may be time such studies are organized by the International Coffee Organization to dispel all doubts about the effect of coffee consumption on human beings. Till such times these studies are organized, consumers will have to go by impartial observers that coffee consumption has more beneficial value than any serious health risks.

V.H.POTTY
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