This article in the Globe & Mail points out that Organic Foods are no safer than non organic foods when it comes to normal food safety risks such as microbial infection, chemical changes and foreign material contamination.
To me this is quite obvious, but it apparently is not to the consumer. Hopefully, growers and processors all understand this and apply the necessary quality and safety management practices that are applied to all food.
Yes there is a competition for the best Fish and Chip Shop in the UK, although I understand there are now more curry shops!
Click on the image of the page to read about the winners
This is rather an old story, but one that always comes to my mind when I think of food research and product development in “off the main track” areas.
These Indian scientists have really worked on influencing the shape of the salt crystal during the crystallisation process. They have found that they could add glycine and recycle the excess to produce a product with anti caking and improved flow properties.
Interestingly they appear to have been in competition with other researchers focussing on physical methods.
Scientists in Taiwan have persued the potential of the bright crimsom colour of hibiscus and developed a feeze dried, stabilised product that shows promise.
In this time of a growing demand (although from a small part of the world’s population) for natural food ingredients, could this develop into a market for West Africa’s experience in producing hibiscus
Link to Full Article in Food Navigator.com
Hibiscus extracts show extra potential as colourant powders
By Stephen Daniells
14/12/2007 – Freeze-dried extracts from hibiscus stabilised by trehalose or maltodextrin can provide colourants for a range of food applications with superior stability, report researchers from Taiwan.
When formulated into a model beverage, lead author Kiattisak Duangmal from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok reports that the hibiscus extracts performed well in comparison to commercially used colorants: San Red RC and synthetic carmoesin.
Hibiscus extracts are already used by the food industry to give colour and flavour to beverages. The new research, published in the journal LWT – Food Science and Technology, indicates that when the extracts are freeze-dried as powders, they could offer a stable colourant for industry.
Scanned from Time Magazine
