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In most restaurants or dining facilities, even though a set of condiments such as salt, black pepper, ketchup, and mustard, is placed on the tables, and such condiments are a staple of many cuisines, they have been largely ignored with respect to understanding their effects on food choice. The purpose of this study is to determine whether condiments placed on tables at dining facilities can affect consumers’ cuisine selection.

Four individual booths were set up with four different condiment configurations: 1) branded ketchup and mustard, 2) unbranded ketchup and mustard, 3) unbranded soy sauce and chili-garlic sauce, and 4) no condiment. In all, 68 participants were assigned in random sequence to all booths, with each given a menu listing nine different cuisines (three North American, three Asian, and three Hispanic cuisines) in a random order, and asked to identify their top three preferred cuisines at each booth.

Participants chose Asian cuisines with higher priority than Mexican and North American selections when Asian condiments were placed on the table. Interestingly, this effect occurred only when the participants had noticed the condiment setting, but not when they had unnoticed it. Such Asian condiment availability-induced cuisine selection was also more pronounced for external eaters.

Food service professionals and business owners, especially in food courts comprised of a variety of ethnic food vendors, should perhaps consider placing a set of condiments associated with their target cuisines at visible table spaces at dining facilities, thereby leading customers to select their cuisine items.

This study provides new empirical evidence that consumers are more likely to select cuisines congruent to the choice of condiment setting placed on their dining table.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of providing information regarding antioxidant content on the liking for a food item consumed in relatively small quantities as a complement to main dishes.

Heavy users consuming chilli paste three to four times a week were recruited for consumer tests (n=129). Two sessions of taste tests (with and without antioxidant information) were conducted for hedonic measurement of six ready‐to‐eat Thai chilli pastes. Antioxidant activity of the samples were analysed by DPPH and hydroxyl scavenging methods and reported relative to vitamin C. The four experimental and two commercial samples tested ranged between mild to medium hot levels classified by capsaicin quantity and were served using balanced first‐order carry‐over effect design. Principal component analysis and analysis of variance for split‐plot design of the experiment were employed for data analysis.

The key finding is that the antioxidant information had no significant effect on consumer liking (p > 0.05). Even though one of the research samples presented high antioxidant efficiency (1.63‐1.80 times higher than commercial samples sold in market places), the sample received only low liking scores and liking was not increased when the antioxidant information was attached. An interaction effect occurred when commercial samples gained high liking scores and increased to even higher when antioxidant information was given with the samples.

The research was based on a target group of Thai consumers whose ages ranged between 18‐40 years old and who were frequent consumers of the product. Also, the product tested in this research was not a principal meal item but was a condiment. Hence, caution must be exercised in generalising to other target groups or food products.

Health benefit labelling by producers needs to take into account the usage context of the food. Health information provision may not boost consumer demand in all contexts.

This is one of very few studies exploring the effect of health information provision on liking for a food that is not consumed as a main dish in large quantities, but rather as a condiment consumed in small quantities.

Crosby Gaige, world famous expert on spices, used to call them “aromatic substances that make dumb dishes eloquent”. None of all the many dozens of spices known to man for centuries fills this description better than mustard, chosen condiment of the Western world, and Britain's only spice.

In a recent speech LORD ROSEBERY charged the people of this country with possessing, to an inordinate extent, the fatal gift of complacency, and he observed that the nation which is not progressive is retrogressive. “Rest and be thankful,” said LORD ROSEBERY, is a motto which spells decay, and those who have any experience of the methods of the manufacturers of the country will admit that this seemingly severe impeachment is by no means unfounded or uncalled‐for. Industries, of which at one time the English were masters, are now gradually falling into other hands. The workers of other lands are successfully competing with our own, and yet, in spite of this condition of our mercantile affairs, the spirit of complacency is rampant. The sons are content to continue in the footsteps of the fathers, oblivious of the fact that time and seasons do not stand still and that they may be overwhelmed by the advancing flood of competition. The trade conservatism which was in the past opposed to the introduction of the steam‐engine, the power‐loom, and other mechanical appliances, is still responsible for the extreme slowness with which English firms appreciate the necessity for such innovations in the conduct of their business as would place them in a position to hold their own in the markets of the world. In respect to the protection of pure food production Great Britain and the British manufacturers are still a long way behind. Although the Sale of Food and Drugs Act of 1875 was one of the first Acts passed in any country to prevent the sale of adulterated food and drink, its machinery is cumbrous, and the subsequent Amendment Acts have not added materially to its efficiency; with the result that the Adulteration Acts do not compare favourably with those of many other countries. The spirit of complacency in regard to food products has affected alike the producer and the distributor, and the result is that in many instances there is no adequate inducement to produce anything but a mediocre article—such an article, in fact, as only escapes condemnation because of the faulty construction of the machinery of the law.

Vinegar, vin aigre or soured wine is a name that suggests the nature and origin of the substance which is the subject of this note. In France the name is applied to the substance that results from the acetous fermentation of wine. The name has at least the merit of accuracy. The term vinegar has, however, been extended in this country to denote the product obtained by the acetous fermentation of a malt liquor and in the United States of America to mean the substance resulting from the acetous fermentation of cider. In general it may be said that certain kinds of vegetable matter may be made to yield a vinegar by this process. The Census of Production under the common heading “ vinegar and acetic acid ” states that in 1924 the output of these substances, in this country, was 14,200,000 gallons of a value of a little over a million pounds sterling; in 1930 the corresponding figures were 14,600,000 gallons and £950,000; in 1935, 17,100,000 gallons and £790,000. It may be observed that vinegar and acetic acid are not by any means the same thing. Vinegar made by acetous fermentation contains about six per cent. or slightly under that amount of acetic acid as a main and essential constituent, but other substances are present that give it a characteristic bouquet. But whether vinegar be made from malt, wine, cider, or similar substances it is a palatable and wholesome condiment and preservative. It is the result of a biological as distinguished from a chemical process, and we suggest that the term vinegar be limited to the product resulting from the former and not from the latter if it be intended for use in the household as an element in the food supply. The Food Inspectors Handbook, VI Edition, 1913, p. 300, tells us that commercial vinegar is a more or less impure acetic acid. The different varieties according to their source being malt, wine, cider, beet, sugar, and wood vinegars. We cannot think that “ impure acetic acid ” is a particularly happy definition of the term vinegar. It is surely the “ impurities ” the result of secondary reactions that give the characteristic flavour and palatability to vinegar that serve to distinguish it from a merely dilute solution of acetic acid. In the same way whisky might be defined as impure alcohol, but no one, as far as we know; has ever seriously suggested that a dilute solution of absolute alcohol would be a satisfactory substitute for whisky. similarly we suggest that wood vinegar—derived as it is from the distillation of various kinds of wood—is in its origin a purely chemical product and in no sense a biological product. It would follow that if the term vinegar be restricted, as we suggest it ought to be, to the product of biological action the term wood vinegar though well known and often used is really meaningless. The Food Industries' Manual, 1945, written for the guidance of food manufacturers, describes artificial vinegar—made by diluting acetic acid with water and colouring the solution with caramel—as a very poor substitute for the genuine product. “ Artificial vinegar ” it says “is raw in taste and completely lacking in the fine bouquet of characteristic brewed vinegar.” The Extra Pharmacopœia says that vinegar is “also made by diluting acetic acid and colouring with burnt sugar.” The reference however, presumably refers to the use of this kind of “ vinegar ” in pharmacy—vinegar and brown paper for instance—and not as an ingredient in foods.

The growing consumer demand for microbiologically safe and quality products with sensory properties similar to those of natural products has spurred the search for natural flavourings with an antimicrobial effect on foods. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of “malagueta” chili pepper and “dedo de moça” hot pepper on Minas Frescal cheese supplemented with Escherichia coli strains.

Each cheese contained 0, 10, 15 and 20 per cent concentrations of “malagueta” chilli pepper and “dedo de moça” hot pepper supplemented with 200 µL of E. coli/kg cheese. The cheeses were stored under refrigeration at 7 °C for 28 days. The E. coli, pH and titratable acidity were analysed for this cheese.

“Dedo de moça” hot pepper showed a bacteriostatic effect on E. coli strains being more efficient on day 1. However, the “malagueta” hot pepper showed bactericidal effect and was efficient during the 28 days of storage. The pH showed a gradual decrease (p = 0.000) throughout the storage period; therefore, the acidity was increased even when the CFU/g count remained constant. The peppers had an antimicrobial effect on E. coli strains, and thus might be an alternative to extend the shelf life of Minas frescal cheese.

The study of natural condiments as an antimicrobial alternative is important because they prevent infections and food infections, increase shelf life and make it possible to offer differentiated products in the market.

The purpose of this monograph is to present the first English translation of a unique French colonial report on women living under colonial rule in West Africa.

The issue begins with a discussion of the contribution this report makes to the history of social development policy in Africa, and how it serves the on‐going critique of colonisation. This is followed by the English translation of the original report held in the National Archives of Senegal. The translation is accompanied by explanatory notes, translator’s comments, a glossary of African and technical terms, and a bibliography.

The discussion highlights contemporary social development policies and practices which featured in identical or similar forms in French colonial social policy.

As the report demonstrates, access to basic education and improving maternal/infant health care have dominated the social development agenda for women in sub‐Saharan Africa for over a century, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future in the Millennium Development Goals which define the international community’s agenda for social development to 2015. The parallels between colonial and post‐colonial social policies in Africa raise questions about the philosophical and cultural foundations of contemporary social development policy in Africa and the direction policy is following in the 21st century.

Though the discussion adopts a consciously postcolonial perspective, the report that follows presents a consciously colonial view of the “Other”. Given the parallels identified here between contemporary and colonial policy‐making, this can only add to the value of the document in exploring the values that underpin contemporary social development practice.

When a small schoolboy I became acquainted with the proverb Fames optimum condimentum. Nevertheless, millions of human beings, perhaps because they have little experience of famishment, persist in taking other condimenta with their food two or three times a day. Some of them, having satisfied their hunger, slake their thirst with products of a brewery—most of the commoner condiments not being even remotely associated with brewing. I have spent many years in efforts to secure that foods are called by their proper names. Egg powder, Devonshire hake, tonic cocktails, queer liquors containing isopropyl alcohol or even methyl alcohol, phoney blended whiskey—how would food lawyers have lived if these and other wrongly described goods had never come on the market ? Though a rose by any other name may smell as sweet, a dandelion called a rose does not. And those who administer the food laws have come across many examples of articles labelled on the principle of lucus a non lucendo. How these old tags stick in one's memory.

1. From the information given to the Committee by members of the trade the following conclusions were drawn : (i) Four main types of product are sold under a name commonly including the word “vinegar,” namely (a) the product of the alcoholic and acetous fermentation of a saccharine liquid, the sugars in which are derived entirely or mainly from the saccharification of starch by the diastase of malt; (b) the product obtained by the distillation of (a); (c) the product of the acetous fermentation of a distilled alcoholic fluid; (d) the product, with or without colouring and/or flavouring matter, obtained by diluting acetic acid to an appropriate strength. In addition, strong acetic acid is available in various strengths, with or without added colouring and/or flavouring matter, labelled in various ways to indicate relationship with vinegar, (ii) The commonly accepted minimum standard for the purposes of the Food and Drugs Act is 4 per cent. w/v of acetic acid. (iii) Malt Vinegar as obtained by the brewing process may contain up to 8 per cent. w/v of acetic acid. This is diluted to the required strength and three strengths are commonly recognised in the trade, being known respectively as Nos. 16, 20 and 24, which correspond approximately to acetic acid contents of 4, 5 and 6 per cent. w/v. (iv) Malt vinegar as generally sold from bulk is the No. 16 quality and contains from 4 to about 4·75 per cent. w/v of acetic acid. That sold in bottles is usually the No. 20 quality, but there is also a small sale to the public of No. 24 quality. (v) The colouring matter commonly used in vinegar is caramel, although one or two manufacturers, probably as a result of the present shortage of caramel, may use other colouring matters. (vi) The value of brewed vinegar as a condiment does not depend solely upon the acetic acid content. Other constituents add body and aroma while some have a buffering effect which makes the product less sharp to the taste than a dilution of acetic acid containing the same proportion of free acid. (vii) Dilute solutions of acetic acid, with or without added colour and/or flavour, are now commonly sold under the name “non‐brewed vinegar” and are sometimes preferred for pickling purposes and for use on fried fish. (viii) The acetic acid content of such solutions, as usually sold, falls within the range of 4 to 5 per cent. w/v. (ix) Concentrated products, often known as “vinegar essence,” frequently contain about 50 per cent. w/v of acetic acid and before use require dilution with eleven times their volume of water; products are also available which require to be diluted with as much as 17 or as little as 5 times their volume of water. (x) An excise licence is required by any person “who shall make, prepare, extract, distil, purify or sell any liquors prepared or capable of being used or applied to the purposes of vinegar or acetous acid made for sale, not being a dealer in or retailer or seller of such vinegar or acetous acid only.” An unlicensed person cannot lawfully produce artificial or non‐brewed vinegar by adding colouring matter to the liquid obtained by diluting strong acetic acid. 2. In normal times malt vinegar is prepared by the alcoholic and acetous fermentation of an infusion of malted barley with unmalted barley and with or without other cereals. The process of manufacture is characterised by the fact that the starch in the cereals is converted into sugars by the action of the diastase in the malt prior to the fermentation processes. An element of complication has, however, been introduced into the framing of a definition as a result of war‐time difficulties. In 1942, in order to secure an increased output of “malt vinegar,” the Ministry of Food approved the addition of sugar to the wort. The amount that may be added must not exceed 15 per cent. of the sugars present in the wort as a result of the action of diastase on the starch, but since the sugars in the infusion which undergoes fermentation are no longer derived entirely from the starch by the hydrolytic action of the diastase of malt, the product no longer conforms to what the Committee would regard as the appropriate peacetime definition of malt vinegar. It was stated by the manufacturers that the analytical characterisations of the vinegar obtained in this way arc within the range appropriate to genuine malt vinegar of peacetime quality, and that no difference is detectable by the ordinary user. The Committee desires, however, to record its view that this use of sugar should be regarded as a war‐time expedient and should be discontinued as soon as the requisite cereals are again in full supply. 3. Distilled vinegar is prepared, as the name implies, by distilling vinegar. It is understood that the only distilled vinegar now on the market in this country is that prepared by the distillation of malt vinegar, and the Committee recommends that the name “distilled vinegar” without any further qualification should be applied only to distilled malt vinegar. 4. Spirit vinegar is prepared by the acetous fermentation of a distilled alcoholic liquid. As thus prepared it contains about 10 per cent. weight in volume of acetic acid and for retail sale it is commonly diluted to a strength of 4 to 5 per cent. 5. The nomenclature of the products obtained by diluting acetic acid, with or without the addition of colour, has been a matter of controversy in the vinegar trade for many years, and the Committee received representations on the subject on behalf of the Malt Vinegar Brewers‘ Federation and the Association of Non‐Brewed Vinegar Manufacturers. 6. The Malt Vinegar Brewers' Federation, while advocating that these products should be known as “artificial” or “imitation” vinegar, raised particular objection to the current practice of describing them as “non‐brewed vinegar.” Their argument was that the term is misleading as to the source, nature, substance and quality of the article and that its use on a label is an offence under Section 6 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938 (since replaced by Regulation 1 of the Defence (Sale of Food) Regulations, 1943). It was claimed that the term indicated merely that a mashtun had not been used in the manufacture of the product and that it might be applied with equal propriety to other kinds of vinegar, for example, wine vinegar, molasses vinegar, etc. The attention of the Committee was also directed to the fact that in the Dominions and other countries where the labelling of foods is more fully controlled than here, these products are required to be so labelled as clearly to distinguish them from products made by a method which includes a process of acetous fermentation, and reference was made to the statement issued by the Society of Public Analysts and Other Analytical Chemists in 1935, after consultation with the Malt Vinegar Brewers' Federation, recommending the use of the description “artificial” or “imitation.” 7. On behalf of the Association of Non‐Brewed Vinegar Manufacturers it was claimed that the Society of Public Analysts had not consulted them before issuing their statement and that the use of the description “artificial” or “imitation” would have a serious effect on sales since it would convey to the public the idea that the product was inferior to “vinegar.” It was pointed out that the term “vinegar” originally connoted sour wine, and it was suggested that malt vinegar was equally an “imitation” of the original article and also “artificial” in the sense that it is manufactured by a process which is controlled by artificial means. 6. The two trade organisations differed in their statements as to the period during which the term “non‐brewed” had been in use. Whereas the Federation suggested that it had only been used during the last five years, the Association claimed that it had been in use to a gradually increasing extent for at least 20 years and that for more than twelve years they had recommended its use whenever they had been asked to advise in regard to labels. The Association agreed that the general use of the name by manufacturers dated from the case of Sutton v. Tame which came before the County of London Sessions Appeals Committee in 1937 and which is generally regarded in the trade as a test case on the nomenclature of vinegar. The proceedings were originally instituted under Section 2 of the Food and Drugs (Adulteration) Act, 1928, as the result of a sale of coloured diluted acetic acid when “table vinegar” was demanded. After hearing much evidence from both sides the Appeals Committee decided that the sale of a substance as “vinegar” or “table vinegar” without any qualification or explanation as to its origin being given by the seller to the purchaser implied that the product had been produced by a process of fermentation. In announcing this decision, the Chairman of the Appeals Committee remarked that “the fact that a very large majority of manufacturers add such words as ‘wood,’ ‘non‐brewed’ or similar words of that description to the products shows, in the opinion of the Committee, that the words “table vinegar” are not considered by the custom of the trade sufficient to describe it.” (Analyst, 1937, 62, 607.) 9. The manufacturers of the products consisting of diluted acetic acid have regarded these remarks as justifying the use of the name “non‐brewed vinegar,” but the Committee was informed on behalf of the malt vinegar brewers that this interpretation was not accepted by them and that had it not been for the war they would have taken all possible steps to challenge the name under the provisions of Section 6 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938. The present position, however, according to the evidence available to the Committee, is that practically all manufacturers of the product are using the description “non‐brewed” on labels, and that the quantity sold is nearly equal to that of malt vinegar. 10. In reviewing the various arguments put before it the Committee has primarily had regard to the protection of the consuming public. If “non‐brewed vinegar” was about to be marketed for the first time the Committee would have considered that the description “artificial vinegar” was more appropriate than “non‐brewed vinegar,” and better calculated to convey to the public the idea of a product which embodies some, but not all, of the properties of malt vinegar. On the other hand, the Committee feels bound to take cognisance of the fact that the description “non‐brewed” has been in use to a greater or lesser extent for several years; that the description did not attract any adverse comment from the Chairman of the London Sessions Appeals Committee in 1937; and that no instance of a successful prosecution under Section 30 (1) of the Food and Drugs (Adulteration) Act, 1928, or Section 6 of the Food and Drugs Act, 1938, has been brought to its notice. The description “non‐brewed” probably conveys no more to the general public than that the product is something different from malt vinegar, but the Committee would hesitate to say that the description is misleading. 11. In short, it appears to the Committee that the importance of the description attached to this product can easily be exaggerated, and that if, as it suspects, the term “non‐brewed” conveys little to the general public the proper remedy is better instruction. It is suggested that the publication of a simple and impartial statement of the facts would help them to appreciate the nature, substance and quality of the different types of vinegar on the market. For the purpose of this report, therefore, and in the absence of an authoritative ruling as to the appropriate designation of the product, the Committee has adopted the alternative descriptions “artificial vinegar” or “non‐brewed vinegar.” 12. In regard to the nomenclature of solutions of acetic acid of strengths in excess of that suitable, without further dilution, for use as vinegar, it was suggested to the Committee that for the protection of the public it was desirable that such preparations should not be described by any designation incorporating the word “vinegar,” however qualified. Names such as “edible acetic acid,” or “acetic acid of edible quality” were put forward as suitable alternatives, but they are open to the suggestion that only those with technical knowledge would appreciate their significance. To the majority of persons the adjective “edible” would convey the impression that preparations so labelled are suitable for use without further dilution, whereas, in fact, they have hitherto commonly contained 50 per cent. of acetic acid and sometimes considerably more. On the other hand, it was urged that the chief purchasers of those products are fish fryers, who are thoroughly familiar with their use and that it would be unreasonable to prohibit the inclusion of the word “vinegar” in the name of a product which on dilution gives a liquid identical with that frequently sold under the name “non‐brewed vinegar.” The essential requirement is that the user should appreciate that the product is not suitable for use in the form in which it is purchased, and that he should know exactly how to dilute it to the appropriate strength. 13. The Committee was informed that several of these products are at present sold without any indication on the label of the extent to which they should be diluted before use. Although the matter is not strictly within its terms of reference, the Committee wishes to record its opinion that such information should be required to appear on labels, particularly since there is considerable variation in the strengths of the products now on the market. In the opinion of the Committee, vague directions such as “Dilute to taste” are not a sufficient protection. 14. A further aspect of the sale of concentrated products to which the attention of the Committee was directed was the danger that may arise from distribution to the public in small bottles. Although, again, the matter may not be strictly within its terms of reference the Committee suggests that consideration might well be given to prohibiting such sales provided interference with the legitimate sale of the higher concentrations of acetic acid, labelled as such, can be avoided. It would also be a further safeguard if all these products were required to conform to a single standard of strength and it is suggested that a strength of from 50 to 60 per cent. weight in volume would be appropriate. 15. If on further examination it is found practicable to give effect to those suggestions, there will be less necessity to rely on the name given to the product to secure adequate protection. Among the names at present in use are “Vinegar Essence,” “Concentrated Vinegar Essence,” “Wood Vinegar Essence” and “Non‐Brewed Vinegar Essence”; there are also a number of products sold under proprietary names, most of which suggest some association with vinegar. The Committee is of the opinion that the statement made by the Chairman of the London Sessions Appeals Committee in the case referred to above, to the effect that the name “Vinegar” without qualification indicates a product obtained by fermentation, is equally applicable to the concentrated preparations. It therefore considers that the name “Vinegar Essence” is misleading. In this report the descriptions “concentrated artificial vinegar” or “concentrated non‐brewed vinegar” have been adopted corresponding to the descriptions adopted for dilute solutions. The Committee recommends that products sold under a proprietary trade name should be required to use one of those descriptions either in addition to or instead of the trade name. 16. The Committee accordingly recommends the following definitions for the various descriptions of vinegar : “Malt Vinegar” means the product containing not less than 4 per cent. weight in volume of acetic acid, CH3.COOH, made by the alcoholic and subsequent acetous fermentation without intermediate distillation of an infusion of malted barley with or without unmalted barley or other cereals, the starch of which has been saccharified by the diastase of malt; and includes the product obtained by fermentation of a cereal infusion as aforesaid to which infusion has been added sugar in amount not exceeding 15 per cent. of the sugars present in the infusion as a result of the saccharification by the diastase of malt. It may contain added colouring matter. “Artificial Vinegar” or “Non‐Brewed Vinegar” means a solution of acetic acid of edible quality, with or without added colouring and/or flavouring matter, containing not less than 4 per cent. weight in volume and not more than 8 per cent. weight in volume of acetic acid, CH3.COOH, the acid not being wholly produced by a process of acetous fermentation; but does not include such a solution containing neither colouring nor flavouring matter unless so sold or described as to lend an intending purchaser to believe that he is purchasing a description of vinegar. “Concentrated Artificial Vinegar” or “Concentrated Non‐Brewed Vinegar” means a solution of acetic acid of edible quality, with or without added colouring and/or flavouring matter, containing not less than 50 per cent. and not more than 60 per cent. weight in volume of acetic acid CH3.COOH, the acid not being wholly produced by a process of acetous fermentation; but does not include such a solution containing neither colouring nor flavouring matter unless so sold or described as to lead an intending purchaser to believe that he is purchasing a description of concentrated vinegar. “Spirit Vinegar” means the product, with or without added colouring matter and containing not less than 4 per cent. and not more than 15 per cent. weight in volume of acetic acid, CH3.COOH, obtained by the acetous fermentation of a distilled alcoholic liquid. “Distilled Vinegar” means the product, with or without added colouring matter and containing not less than 4 per cent. weight in volume of acetic acid, CH3.COOH, obtained by the distribution of malt vinegar.

Ever since historical records have been kept, salt has played an astonishingly important part in the lives of men. Wars have been fought over its sources, and for centuries its trade was more important than that of any other material. The salaries that we draw today are in direct lineal descent from the salt money paid to the Roman soldiers.