Category: Nutrition and Dietetics

Mar 26

Food Borne Illness: Infections and Intoxications

Food borne illness, also known as food poisoning, is a common public health problem that occurs when people consume contaminated food or drink. It is caused by harmful microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or their toxins that contaminate food or water.Symptoms of food borne illness can vary but often include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. In some cases, food borne illness can be severe and even life-threatening, particularly for individuals with weakened immune systems, young children, pregnant women, and elderly people. Common causes of food borne illness include improper handling and preparation of food, inadequate cooking or storage, and contamination from sources such as infected food handlers or animals. Prevention measures such as proper hand hygiene, safe food storage and preparation, and avoiding risky foods and water sources can help to reduce the incidence of food borne illness.

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Mar 18

Top universities to Study Food Science and Food Technology

Food science is a dynamic field that combines the principles of biology, chemistry, and engineering to understand and improve the quality, safety, and nutritional value of food products. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in food science, it’s important to find a university with a strong program that will prepare you for success in the field. Here are the popular 22 universities to study food science, food technology, food safety and nutrition.  This article contains all the details that every student would  worry about such as major subjects, degree offered, application criteria, application deadlines, scholarships offered and department link are provided in the article.

1. Cornell University, USA

Located in Ithaca, New York, Cornell University is a top-ranked Ivy League school with a renowned food science program. The university was founded in 1865 and has since then been a leader in research and education.The Department of Food Science offers undergraduate and graduate programs that focus on the chemical, microbiological, and sensory aspects of food. The Department of Food Science at Cornell is a renowned department that has been providing excellent education and research opportunities to students since its inception in 1880. The Department of Food Science at Cornell is known for its exceptional research facilities and faculty members, who are involved in cutting-edge research projects.

Fig. 1: Overview of Cornell University

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Feb 16

Method of Heat Penetration during Thermal Processing

Heat penetration

During processing of food, heat penetration is an important factor and it should be known to ensure that every particle of food within the container receive the required heat treatment. If the cans are heated from outside, larger the can, larger time it will take to heat the center portion of can to any desired temperature. However, there are several factor besides size and shape of can that affect the heat penetration into food within it.

Liquid food such as canned tomato juice can be readily set into convection heating motion after receiving heat by conduction from the wall of the can. On other hand, solid food such as canned beef hash is too viscous to circulate and so it will be completely heated by conduction through the can wall and through itself. A product containing a combination of free liquid and solid such as  can of peas within a sugar syrup will be intermediate and will rise in temperature from the combination of conduction and convection. Convection heating is more rapid than conduction heating.

Methods of heat Penetration

During thermal processing, contents of the can is heated by following methods; Read more

Oct 07

Why refined grains are bad for us and how they can affect our health?

For many years now, we have heard nutritionists and health professionals all over the world say that we should limit the intake of refined grains as they are bad for us. Or they say that we should replaced refined grains with whole grains due to higher incidence of diet related illnesses such as diabetes, obesity and heart diseases. But have you ever wondered as why is that so? Why are refined grains bad for us and how they can affect our health?

Eating healthy and nutritious foods is very important for good health. Despite being consumed widely, the health effects of grains are still to be known clearly as some people believe they are healthy whereas some believe them to be harmful for us. So, a clear understanding is very important and this article will provide you an insight into refined grains and how they are different from the whole grains and what effects they have on our health? Read more

Aug 09

Mixing and Homogenization

Mixing is a unit operation in which uniform mixture is obtained from two or more compounds by dispersing one within another. When two or more materials are mixed, the goal of mixing is to obtain homogeneous final mixture. Homogeneity is the quality of being homogeneous. A perfect homogeneous sample indicates the state of complete mixing. Mixing has no preservative effect on food. It is a processing aid to alter eating quality of food and to achieve different functional and sensory quality of food. In some food adequate mixing is necessary to ensure that the proportion of each component in the sample complies with legislative standards. Read more

Aug 05

Extraction Techniques

Depending upon need and quantities of material to be handled, different extraction techniques are used in food industries. Some popular extraction techniques are
1. Single stage batch extraction
2. Multi stage cross flow extraction
3. Multi stage counter current extraction

1. Single stage batch extraction:
It is a batch extractor in which the solids are brought in contact with adequate quantity of solvent so as to leach out the solute from solid into the solvent. The process can be accompanied with heating or stirring as the process demands. When the extraction process reaches equilibrium, the solution is decanted and excess solvent from the solution is removed to obtain pure solute. Example; brewing tea or coffee, extraction of oleoresins. Read more