[en] Various existing food processing technologies are reviewed in the paper. The benefits, problems and potential prospects of each of the technologies are discussed. The paper will also present new processing techniques including food irradiation and provide an insight into the future trends in food technology

[en] Abstract only

[en] The Codex Alimentarius Commission of 1979 recognizes the purposes of irradiating teleost fish and fish products, which are to control insect infestation of dried fish during storage and marketing (average dose up to 1 kGy). To reduce microbiological load of packaged or un packaged fish or fish products (average dose up to 2.2 kGy). To reduce the numbers of certain pathogenic micro-organisms in packaged or un packaged fish and fish products (average dose up to 2.2 kGy). Dried Fish Products The most promising application for radiation processing of fish products is disinfestation. Insect damage reduces the amount of marketable product by 20% or more, and also results in loss of nutritional value . Merchants adjust market prices by mark-ups to recover the value of the product lost, increasing costs to consumers for a product of lower quality. Radiation at less than 0.7 kGy will prevent insect development without affecting nutritional values and will prevent market losses. Merchants will be able to sell products at reasonable mark-ups since storage losses will be reduced sharply. Packaging will be required to prevent re infestation. The cost of treatment and packaging will be less than 1% of the value of the product. Manufactured Fish Products Combined heat and radiation processing of medium moisture manufactured fish products such as fish sausage, fish balls, fish noodles and similar analogues will eliminate most micro-organisms responsible for market losses and potential health problems. A radiation dose, less than 2 kGy, combined with mild heat, 45 degrees C, will achieve at least 5 log reduction in the most probable microbiological contaminants. The cost of such radiation processing will be less than 5% of the value of the product. Marketing of the packaged product could be through traditional channels or in the evolving supermarket system. Shrimp, Shellfish and Fish Fillets. The primary problem for the more traditional product forms is quality control of the raw product. Codex Alimentarius requires application of good manufacturing practices in the raw materials to be processed by radiation. A 2 kGy dose will achieve 3 to 4 log reduction in the most probable microbiological contamination. The cost of treatment will be less than 10% of the value of the product. This cost will require careful evaluation by processors and marketing organizations to determine feasibility. One obvious advantage will be reduced product liability and risk to the consumer. Public health and economic aspects of radiation processing of fisheries products will be reviewed in this paper. Benefits and constraints will also be discussed

[en] Food irradiation has recently been viewed as a technology that can contribute to the solution of problems associated with the preservation of Malaysia's agricultural produce, hence improving the economic status of the rural sector. Economic, political, social and environmental factors need to be taken into consideration in the implementation of a food irradiation program in Malaysia. Coordinated research is being carried out on various food items such as rice and pepper. The government holds a positive view of the technology. However, it is important to consider consumer acceptance of the technology and its legislation before the technology is adopted

[en] The International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU), a non-profit, non-party political foundation that represents the interests of consumers worldwide. It consists of some 1,140 organizations in over 50 countries of the world in the North, South, East and West. IOCU also represents the interest of the consumers in the U N system and enjoys consultative status with many of its various organs and agencies. This paper also speaks from the additional perspective of a Third World person who active in consumer public affairs issues over the last two decades

No abstract available

[en] In the past several years, a number of experiments have searched for neutrino oscillations, where a neutrino of one type (say bar ν_μ) spontaneously transforms into a neutrino of another type (say bar ν_e). For this phenomenon to occur, neutrinos must be massive and the apparent conservation law of lepton families must be violated. In 1995 the LSND experiment published data showing candidate events that are consistent with bar ν_μ oscillations. Additional data are reported here which provide stronger evidence for neutrino oscillations

[en] The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has the responsibility of assuring consumers that meat and poultry products sold in interstate commerce within the United States are safe, wholesome, and accurately labelled. An important aspect of this charge involves the study and evaluation of promising innovations in food technology. The Agency is now focusing closely on food irradiation as a possible technique for meat and poultry production that would offer advantages to producers and consumers beyond those of traditional methods. Radiation treatment of food in the United States is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which proposed in February 1984 to allow the use of low levels of ionizing radiation for preserving food products and higher levels for disinfesting spices. Meat and poultry products were not included in the proposal, but FDA has recently entered that area by approving, on July 22, 1985, the use of ionizing radiation to control trichina in pork carcasses or fresh, non-heat processed cuts of pork. Other applications may be approved in the near future. The use of radiation for food production would have important implications for public health protection. The FDA approval of irradiated pork has brought food irradiation to the forefront of FSIS attention

[en] This article investigates subalkalic sodium deposits of the Northern Pamirs

[en] Aim of study: In this study, both the direct and indirect methods by conditional maximum likelihood (CML) and moments for fitting Johnson’s SBB were evaluated. To date, Johnson’s SBB has been fitted by either indirect (two-stage) method using well-known procedures for the marginal diameter and heights, or direct methods, where all parameters are estimated at once. Application of bivariate Johnson’s SBB for predicting height and improving volume estimation requires a suitable fitting method. Area of study: E. globulus, P. pinaster and P. radiata stands in northwest Spain. Material and methods: The data set comprised of 308, 184 and 96 permanent sample plots (PSPs) from the aforementioned species. The suitability of the method was evaluated based on height and volume prediction. Indices including coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square Error (RMSE), model efficiency (MEF), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) and Hannan-Quinn Criterion (HQC) were used to assess the model predictions. Significant difference between observed and predicted tree height and volumes were tested using paired sample t-test at 5% level for each plot by species. Main results: The indirect method by CML was the most suitable method for height and volume prediction in the three species. The R2 and RMSE for height prediction ranged from 0.994 – 0.820 and 1.454 – 1.676, respectively. The percentage of plot in which the observed and predicted heights were significant was 0.32%. The direct method was the least performed method especially for height prediction in E. globulus. Research highlights: The indirect (two-stage) method, especially by conditional maximum likelihood, was the most suitable method for the bivariate Johnson’s SBB distribution.