FOOD PRODUCTION & MANAGEMENT

Module Objectives Definition of Food management Food Adulteration Common adulterants found in food & its effects on human beings Detection of food adulterants Adulterants are injurious to health Adulteration and law A few precautions to be taken by general public regarding food adulteration Exercise

What is Food Management? Food management is a broad process that involves the proper oversight of food selection, preparation, presentation, and preservation.

Steps involved in food management The movement of food from the producer to the consumer involves: Transportation Storage Processing Packaging Marketing and Distribution.

Food adulteration The process of lowering the nutritive value of food either by removing a vital component or by adding substances of inferior quality, is called food adulteration. The substance that is used to lower the quality is known as adulterant.

Common adulterants found in food Food grains and grams- marble pieces, sand particles, clay gilts, soap stone pieces. Pulses- kesari dhal – Colours Wheat flow Maida-powdered lime – talcum powder Turmeric powder (Haldi)- metanil yellow Pepper- dry papaya seeds Chilli powder- coloured saw dust Sweets- colours not permitted Honey- jaggery – sugar Tea- coloured tea leaves after removing the essence

Effects of adulteration on humans Symptoms like headache, gastro-intestinal disorders, muscular pain, drowsiness etc., appear, if adulterated food substances are used regularly.

Detection of food adulteration Tea powder and Soji (rava) : Adulterants : Iron filings: Spread the tea leaves or soji on a paper. Draw a magnet over it. The iron filings if present, are attracted by the magnet. Rice and wheat : Adulterants : Sand grit, marble pieces, soap stone pieces. These are visually detected and removed by sorting, handpicking and washing.

Common Salt, Soji : Adulterants- sand and grit A tea spoon of salt is added to a glass tumbler containing water. Salt dissolves. Sand and grit settle at the bottom. About 5 gms of soji is sprinkled on water. The sand particles sink and soji floats. Coffee powder : Adulterant- Tamarind seed powder: Two teaspoons of coffee powder is added to water in a tumbler. Coffee powder floats and the adulterants sink.

Cooking oil : Adulterant- Argemone oil: About 5 ml of cooking oil is taken in a test tube and 5 ml of concentrated nitric acid is added to it. A reddish brown colour appears if argemone oil is present in it.

Milk: Adulterant- Water: A few drops of milk is dropped on a slanting glass plate. Pure milk will flow slowly leaving a white trail behind. Milk mixed with water will flow quickly leaving no trail. Greens and Vegetables must be cleaned well before using. They must be soaked in water to which a little salt is added for ten minutes. The chemical layer of pesticides and sticky dirt that contaminate will be removed. Subsequently they are to be washed thoroughly in water.64 This test will not hold good for skimmed milk supplied by the government dairy. An instrument called lactometer is used to measure the density of milk. Unadulterated milk should give a reading of 1.026 in the lactometer.

Ghee and butter : Adulterants- Vanaspathi: A tea spoon full of butter or ghee is taken in a test tube. Concentrated hydrochloric acid and a pinch of sugar is added to it. It is stirred well and allowed to settle for five minutes. Crimson red colour appears in the lower layer if vanaspathi is present in the sample.

How dangerous are these adulterants?? The argemone oil used to adulterate ghee and butter is highly toxic. It causes a disease known as dropsy. Watery fluid collecting in some parts of the body is the main symptom. It affects the normal functioning of the body. It may also paralyse the limbs. Metanil yellow used to brighten the colour of pulses, turmeric powder and sweet meats, is a coal-tar dye. It may cause cancer.

Washing soda often added to powdered sugar and other food items, may cause intestinal disorders. Food items prepared under unhygienic conditions and stale foods cause food poisoning.

Adulteration and law The Government of India has promulgated an Act called the “Prevention of Food Adulteration Act’ in the year 1954. The Act has been periodically amended to check dishonest practices of traders. If the traders violate the standards mentioned in the Act, they are punishable under law. The quality controlling agencies like Indian Standards Institution (ISI) and Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (AGMARK) test the food products for their quality periodically. FPO - Food Processing Organisation and the local health65 departments in the Corporation also conduct periodic surveys and issue certificates. All the packets containing food products must carry ISI, AGMARK or FPO stamp.

Precaution to be taken by the public regarding adulteration It is better to avoid adulterated cool drinks , instead you can have any fresh fruit juice and tender coconut. Parents should be concerned about the quality and freshness of these food articles like chocolates, sweets that children usually like. Take the help of food adulteration testing centres. Lodge complaints to the concerned authorities, if adulteration is detected. Make sure that food packets carry ISI, AGMARK or FPO labels, before buying. Do not buy food articles, if expiry date is crossed.

Activities Collect the labels containing the date, weight, components etc. on milk, cooking oil packets and observe the details. Visit food testing centers and find out how they test the food for adulterants. 66 Collect articles on food adulteration in newspapers and magazines and make an album. Visit CFTRI - Mysore, and find out how they conduct tests for nutrients in various food samples and note down the details. Collect information about the steps taken in processed food carried by astronauts, soldiers and mountaineers.

Exercises Choose the correct answer and fill in the blanks 1. Dehydration and freezing are two methods used in .................... a) packaging b) processing c) transporting d) marketing 2. The adulterant used in turmeric powder is .................... a) Tamarind seed powder b) yellow saw dust c) talcum powder d) Metanil yellow 3. The instrument used to test the density of milk is ............. a) Lactometer b) thermometer c) hydrometer d) manometer 4. Jaggery and sugar are used as adulterants in ..................... a) sweet meats b) tea powder c) honey d) coffee powder

Answer the following questions 1. What is meant by processing of food? 2. List the stages of spoilage as the food moves from the producer to consumer. 3. What is food adulteration? 4. Mention the common adulterants used in the following food items. a) Tea powder b) Black pepper c) Honey d) Cooking 5. How is adulterant detected in cooking oil? 6. What is food poisoning? How is it caused? 7. Mention simple tests to detect adulterants in the following. a) Dairy skimmed milk b) Ghee and butter 8. What is the role of consumers in preventing adulteration? 9. How can wastage of food be prevent