Search results

The aim of the paper is to shed light on the use of chitosans and chitooligosaccharides as biopreservatives in various foods animal. Foods of animal and aquatic origin (milk, meat, fish, eggs, sea foods, etc) become contaminated with a wide range of microorganisms (bacteria, molds and yeasts) during harvesting, transporting, processing, handling and storage operations. Due to the perishable nature of these foods, their preservation is of utmost importance. Though many synthetic chemicals are available, yet their use is quite restricted due to their hazardous effects on human health.

Within the domain of food industry, traditionally chitosan is used for biopreservation of foods, which is well known for its nutritional and medicinal properties in human nutrition. However, chitooligosaccharides also possess a number of nutraceutical and health promoting properties in addition to their preservative effect and shelf-life extension of foods. In this study, the comparative effects of both chitosan and chitooligosaccharides on preservation of foods of animal and aquatic origin have been summarized.

Though chitosan has been extensively studied in various foods, yet the use of chitooligosaccharides has been relatively less explored. Chitooligosaccharides are bioactive molecules generated from chitosan and have several advantages over the traditional use of chitosan both in food products and on human health. But unfortunately, little or no literature is available on the use of chitooligosaccharides for preservation of some of the foods of animal origin. Notable examples in this category include cheese, beef, pork, chicken, fish, sea foods, etc.

This paper focuses on the effects of chitosans and chitooligosaccharides on the processing and storage quality of foods of animal and aquatic origin, which offers a promising future for the development of functional foods.

This study employs a focus group methodology to examine the factors affecting the acceptability of gene technology in food production, using genetically modified (GM) farmed salmon as a focus for the research. The results identified a small group of “triers” ‐ willing to try any GM food product, and a small group of “refusers” ‐ rejecting the technology and derivative products. For the middle majority of “undecided” consumers, the decision to accept or reject GM food products was based on a number of interrelated factors, associated with the food product and the benefits conferred.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and investigate analyzed core operational problems of aquatic products with food traceability system and their performance in the Taiwanese market and to develop the marketing strategies to solve these core operational problems.

Based on all of the core operational problems derived from the literature, the paper interviewed distributors and aquatic product producers and collected their ideas to resolve the above problems. Then, the study applies the TRIZ theory to find the improving and worsening parameters for those issues, based on which the study can develop strategies to improve the marketing model of aquatic products with food traceability systems to solve operational problems.

The findings of the study are of three fold: identified seven core problems of aquatic products with food traceability systems; identified seven strategies for improving marketing model to solve operational problems of aquatic products with food traceability systems and developed the new marketing model to solve operational problems for aquatic products with food traceability systems.

Promoting the food traceability certification comprehensively cannot only improve the food safety in Taiwan but also improve the competitiveness of Taiwanese industries as well as help to expand to the international market.

The contribution of this study lies in extending the body of knowledge of application of TRIZ methodology in marketing model for aquatic products with food traceability systems. The findings of this study can be used as a reference for aquaculture products with traceability systems in other countries, as food safety is a globally growing trend.

The rapid transition from a command to market‐based economy in China has required the development of a food safety system for aquatic products where one did not previously exist. The pace of change has meant that food safety systems have struggled to keep up. In 2007 food safety incidents damaged the reputation of aquatic products in export markets. The Chinese Government has moved quickly to strengthen the safety regime for aquatic products. The purpose of this paper is to assess these initiatives in the context of their potential to regain international acceptance of Chinese aquatic products.

A regulatory assessment approach is used.

The findings are that increased government oversight alone is not likely to lead to a fully effective food safety system for aquatic products. The development of private sector‐based incentives to encourage investment in food safety is an essential co‐requisite to increased government oversight if China's access to international markets is to be assured.

The value of this study lies in the light it sheds on the efforts of a major player in the international market for aquatic products to improve the efficacy of its food safety system. China's regulatory regimes are often opaque, limiting the ability of those wishing to assess the advisability of importing food products from China.

The impact of dietary changes associated with urbanization is likely to increase the demand for land for food production. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of urban economic development on changes in food demand and associated land requirements for food production.

Based on economic estimates from the Almost Ideal Demand System, feed conversion ratios, and crop yields, the authors forecast and compare future dietary patterns and land requirements for two types of urban diets in China.

The results show that the expenditure elasticities of oil and fat, meat, eggs, aquatic products, dairy, and liquor for the diet of capital cities are greater than those for the diet of small- and medium-sized cities. The authors forecast that capital city residents will experience a more rapid rate of increase in per capita demand of meat, eggs, and aquatic products, which will lead to much higher per capita land requirements. Projections indicate that total per capita land demand for food production in capital cities will increase by 9.3 percent, from 1,402 to 1,533 m2 between 2010 and 2030, while total per capita land demand in small- and medium-sized cities will increase only by 5.3 percent, from 1,192 to 1,255 m2.

The results imply that urban economic development can significantly affect the final outcomes of land requirements for food production. Urban economic development is expected to accelerate the rate of change toward an affluent diet, which can lead to much higher future land requirements.

Edible flowers have traditionally been consumed for their nutritional and medicinal properties. Aponogeton distachyos is an aquatic flowering plant native to the Western Cape of South Africa (SA) that used to be a wild plant gathered during the winter months, but it is now considered to be underutilised and endangered. This study aims at gaining insights from different stakeholders into the activities across the plant value chain and their impact on the consumption of Aponogeton distachyos.

The study methodology involved the identification of different stakeholders in the plant value chain and conducting qualitative in-depth interviews during the data collection. Twelve study participants were selected via purposive sampling and interviewed using semi-structured interviews (face-to-face, telephone and online).

Nostalgic connection of the flower with local culture and heritage and its unique taste and flavour are key consumption drivers. Promotional and educational efforts by food advocates and at public events help raise consumer awareness, which is generally lacking. Limited geographic and seasonal availability, perishability, price and quality issues emerged, together with low awareness, as main barriers to more frequent and geographically spread consumption.

Although wild edible flowers have been consumed for centuries, there has been little attention to their nutritional value and journey to their final consumers. The present study identifies important challenges emanating at different stages of the food value chain to consumption of one particular neglected and underutilised plant, with certain implications for people's dietary quality, environmental sustainability and biodiversity of natural resources beyond Aponogeton distachyos and SA.

(1)Aponogeton distachyos is a neglected and underutilised aquatic flowering plant native to the Western Cape of South Africa (SA). (2)The plant offers benefits related to people's dietary quality, environmental sustainability and biodiversity of natural resources. (3)Flower's nostalgic connection with local culture and heritage emerge as a key consumption driver. (4)Its unique taste and flavour highly appeal to consumers. (5)Low awareness, limited availability, price and quality are main consumption barriers. (6)There is largely unexploited public policy potential for supporting dietary diversity through growing edible flowers.

Online fresh food shopping has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. Online fresh food shopping provides consumers with an alternative to shopping in a traditional market, while also enabling procurement of such goods at a reduced risk of infection. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether online fresh food shopping behaviors change during public health emergency periods.

The data were collected through a web-based survey (508 respondents in China). Descriptive analysis, ordinal logistic regression analysis, and the Apriori algorithm were employed to explore what characteristics influence purchase frequency as well as food and delivery time preferences among different customer groups.

Based on the survey data, this study found that purchase frequency grew 71.2% during the COVID-19 crisis. City type and online shopping frequency of respondents are positively correlated with purchase frequency in normal and COVID-19 crisis periods. Number of daily hours worked by respondents only showed a significant impact for the normal period. People perceiving the risk of infection from going out are more willing to purchase fresh food online.

This is the first study to explore and compare online fresh food shopping behaviors during normal and COVID-19 crisis periods with a sample from China. The findings indicate a key role that online fresh food shopping can perform during a crisis and contribute to our understanding of fresh food online shopping behaviors during other possible public health emergency scenarios.

This study aims to examine the metal pollution in coastal sediment in the Peninsular Malaysia.

Approximately 141 published studies were screened from 1,285 documents and reviewed to determine the existing pollution status in the coastal areas of Peninsular Malaysia and the metals under review were Pb, Hg, Cd, Ar, Cu, Zn, Cr and Ni. Sources of pollutants and their effect on biological systems, marine organisms and human health were addressed in this review as well as recommendation of heavy metal removal or remedies in short. Emphasis is placed on marine pollution, particularly on the toxic metal accumulation in biota.

This study has revealed the different concentrations of pollutants, low, moderately, and chronically contaminated areas from heavy metals and the consequences to aquatic ecosystem and indirectly to human health, since an increasing in the coastal developments in Peninsular Malaysia.

This study has revealed the different concentrations of pollutants, low, moderately, and chronically contaminated areas from heavy metals and the consequences to aquatic ecosystem and indirectly to human health, since an increasing in the coastal developments in Peninsular Malaysia.

The Suez Irrigation Canal is the source of drinking water to a large community. Complaints have been raised regarding the odor and unpleasant taste of drinking water. The problems encountered reveled enrichment of the Canal with nutrients, degraded water quality and nuisance caused by algal growth. This paper aims to investigate these claims by evaluating the interaction between water and sediment with ecological indicators.

Bioassessments were used as a primary tool to evaluate the biological conditions and identify the degree of water quality degradation in the Suez Irrigation Canal. The monitoring program integrates biological, chemical, and physical data assessment. Several field surveys were carried out to these areas during the period between March 2003 and February 2005 (over 23 months) for acquiring all possible information about the current situation and to explore the impact of human activities along the canal banks on the canal ecosystem. Seasonal variations of phytoplankton and zooplankton standing crop, species diversity as well as physico‐chemical characteristics of water, sediment, fish and aquatic weeds at the intakes of drinking plants and from the discharge of agricultural and domestic drains into the Canal were investigated.

Preliminary field investigations showed great amounts of discharged wastes at several locations to the canal water creating unique conditions, which vary with changes of volume and properties of the discharged wastes. Rotifer and green algae for example demonstrated seasonal variable response to the ecological variations. Myriophyllum spicatum, Potamageton nodsus and Polygonum Salicfolium were the most common types of recorded weed. The Myriophyllum spicatum is the dominant submerged plant. The canal was characterized by high concentrations of HCO₃^‐ as well as high pH >8.2 which provides a favorable habitat for the growth of Myriophyllum spicatum. The results illustrated the ability of using the aquatic weed as biomarkers for monitoring heavy metals contaminates in the canal. The evidence suggests that there is a degree of selectivity in metals uptake and partitioning within the plant compartments.

The current paper adopts the idea of utilizing multiple organism groups in the bioassessment to effectively detect ecological change when they occur in one of the most important waterways in Egypt. These different organism groups are suited for detection various stressors, providing warnings and detection of stress impacts at different scales. The study presented provides decision makers with important information that can assist them in making objective decisions related to the design of monitoring programs based on scientific research.

The purpose of this paper is to review oil spill incidents and pipeline vandalism in Nigeria between 1970 and 2006 and to examine the potential danger posed by such activities to public health.

The approach adopted to achieve this objective is questionnaire administration on health impacts. Also secondary sources of information come from textbooks and journals. However, data from natural resources exploitation and hazards are collated and analyzed.

It is evident that, out of the 1,000 reported oil spill incidents analyzed, some hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil are lost to the environment. Graphic pictures of typical oil spill through acts of vandalism in Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, Nigeria are analyzed and reviewed. The run‐off and sedimentation of this pollutant in fresh water systems severely degrade water quality, affect fish spawning and aquatic invertebrates' habitats, thus lowering food web productivity. Incidentally the spill‐over effect on humans who directly depend on fish and other aquatic food as an alternative protein supplement is quite inundating. The effects on humans include irritation, dermatitis, cancer, occurrence of abortion, organ failure and genetic disorder.

The limitations encountered in this research work include logistics problems, poor response and uncooperative attitude from respondents, transportation difficulties and restricted access to impacted sites by law enforcement agents and funding. Therefore subsequent researchers in this area should be equipped adequately with both the necessary protective gadgets and increased funding to meet challenges of this nature.

The practical implication of the study is that oil spill incidents should be documented and reported early enough for prompt attention by the regulatory agencies in order to protect and enhance the quality of the environment.

The value of the paper is that oil spill and pipeline vandalization devastate the environment, pollute dependable potable water sources such as streams and rivers and should be seen as a serious threat and negation to the attainment of the United Nations Millennium development goals.