Search results for: food chain

Authors: Shimayali Kaushal, Nitesh Priyadarshi, Nitin Kumar Singhal

Abstract:

Food borne bacterial species have been identified as major pathogens in most of the severe pathogen-related diseases among humans which result in great loss to human health and food industry. Conventional methods like plating and enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) are time-consuming, laborious and require specialized instruments. Nanotechnology has emerged as a great field in case of rapid detection of pathogens in recent years. The AuNRs material has good electro-optical properties due to its larger light absorption band and scattering in surface plasmon resonance wavelength regions. By exploiting the sugar-based adhesion properties of microorganism, we can use the glycoconjugates capped gold nanorods as a potential nanobiosensor to detect the foodborne pathogen. In the present study, polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated gold nanorods (AuNRs) were prepared and functionalized with different types of carbohydrates and further characterized by UV-Visible spectrophotometry, dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The reactivity of above said nano-biosensor was probed by lectin binding assay and also by different strains of foodborne bacteria by using spectrophotometric and microscopic techniques. Due to the specific interaction of probe with foodborne bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa), our nanoprobe has shown significant and selective ablation of targeted bacteria. Our findings suggest that our nanoprobe can be an ideal candidate for selective optical detection of food pathogens and can reduce loss to the food industry.

Keywords: glyco-conjugates, gold nanorods, nanobiosensor, nanoprobe

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: N. Nivedita, S. Durbha

Abstract:

Critical Infrastructure (CI) consists of services and technological networks such as healthcare, transport, water supply, electricity supply, information technology etc. These systems are necessary for the well-being and to maintain effective functioning of society. Critical Infrastructures can be represented as nodes in a network where they are connected through a set of links depicting the logical relationship among them; these nodes are interdependent on each other and interact with each at other at various levels, such that the state of each infrastructure influences or is correlated to the state of another. Disruption in the service of one infrastructure nodes of the network during a disaster would lead to cascading and escalating disruptions across other infrastructures nodes in the network. The operation of Healthcare Infrastructure is one such Critical Infrastructure that depends upon a complex interdependent network of other Critical Infrastructure, and during disasters it is very vital for the Healthcare Infrastructure to be protected, accessible and prepared for a mass casualty. To reduce the consequences of a disaster on the Critical Infrastructure and to ensure a resilient Critical Health Infrastructure network, knowledge, understanding, modeling, and analyzing the inter-dependencies between the infrastructures is required. The paper would present inter-dependencies related to Healthcare Critical Infrastructure based on Hierarchical Coloured Petri Nets modeling approach, given a flood scenario as the disaster which would disrupt the infrastructure nodes. The model properties are being analyzed for the various state changes which occur when there is a disruption or damage to any of the Critical Infrastructure. The failure probabilities for the failure risk of interconnected systems are calculated by deriving a reachability graph, which is later mapped to a Markov chain. By analytically solving and analyzing the Markov chain, the overall vulnerability of the Healthcare CI HCPN model is demonstrated. The entire model would be integrated with Geographic information-based decision support system to visualize the dynamic behavior of the interdependency of the Healthcare and related CI network in a geographically based environment.

Keywords: critical infrastructure interdependency, hierarchical coloured petrinet, healthcare critical infrastructure, Petri Nets, Markov chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 524

Authors: Madhu Babu Cherukuri, Tamoghna Ghosh

Abstract:

Factory supply chain management spends billions of dollars every year to procure and manage equipment spare parts. Due to technology -and processes changes some of these spares become obsolete/dead inventory. Factories have huge dead inventory worth millions of dollars accumulating over time. This is due to lack of a scientific methodology to identify them and send the inventory back to the suppliers on a timely basis. The standard approach followed across industries to deal with this is: if a part is not used for a set pre-defined period of time it is declared dead. This leads to accumulation of dead parts over time and these parts cannot be sold back to the suppliers as it is too late as per contract agreement. Our main idea is the time period for identifying a part as dead cannot be a fixed pre-defined duration across all parts. Rather, it should depend on various properties of the part like historical consumption pattern, type of part, how many machines it is being used in, whether it- is a preventive maintenance part etc. We have designed a predictive algorithm which predicts part obsolescence well in advance with reasonable accuracy and which can help save millions.

Keywords: obsolete inventory, machine learning, big data, supply chain analytics, dead inventory

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Muhammad Saiful Islam Khan, Yun Ji Kim

Abstract:

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) have been widely used to replace more persistent organochlorine pesticides because OPPs are more soluble in water and decompose rapidly in aquatic systems. Extensive uses of OPPs in modern agriculture are the major cause of the contamination of surface water. Regardless of the advantages gained by the application of pesticides in modern agriculture, they are a threat to the public health environment. With the aim of reducing possible health threats, several physical and chemical treatment processes have been studied to eliminate biological and chemical poisons from food stuff. In the present study, a micro-plasma device was used to reduce pesticides from the surface of food stuff. Pesticide free food items chosen in this study were perilla leaf, tomato, broccoli and blueberry. To evaluate the removal efficiency of pesticides, different washing methods were followed such as soaking with water, washing with bubbling water, washing with plasma-treated water and washing with chlorine water. 2 mL of 2000 ppm pesticide samples, namely, diazinone and chlorpyrifos were individuality inoculated on food surface and was air dried for 2 hours before treated with plasma. Plasma treated water was used in two different manners one is plasma treated water with bubbling the other one is aerosolized plasma treated water. The removal efficiency of pesticides from food surface was studied using HPLC. Washing with plasma treated water, aerosolized plasma treated water and chlorine water shows minimum 72% to maximum 87 % reduction for 4 min treatment irrespective to the types of food items and the types of pesticides sample, in case of soaking and bubbling the reduction is 8% to 48%. Washing with plasma treated water, aerosolized plasma treated water and chlorine water shows somewhat similar reduction ability which is significantly higher comparing to the soaking and bubbling washing system. The temperature effect of the washing systems was also evaluated; three different temperatures were set for the experiment, such as 22°C, 10°C and 4°C. Decreasing temperature from 22°C to 10°C shows a higher reduction in the case of washing with plasma and aerosolized plasma treated water, whereas an opposite trend was observed for the washing with chlorine water. Further temperature reduction from 10°C to 4°C does not show any significant reduction of pesticides, except for the washing with chlorine water. Chlorine water treatment shows lesser pesticide reduction with the decrease in temperature. The color changes of the treated sample were measured immediately and after one week to evaluate if there is any effect of washing with plasma treated water and with chlorine water. No significant color changes were observed for either of the washing systems, except for broccoli washing with chlorine water.

Keywords: chlorpyrifos, diazinone, pesticides, micro plasma

Procedia PDF Downloads 183

Authors: Vallejo Michael, Acuña Edgar, Roa Juan David, Peñuela Rosa, Parra Alejandra, Casallas Daniela, Rodriguez Sheyla

Abstract:

Congenital Zika Virus Syndrome is an entity composed by a variety of birth defects presented in newborns that have been exposed to the Zika Virus during pregnancy. The syndrome characteristic features are severe microcephaly, cerebral tissue abnormalities, ophthalmological abnormalities such as uveitis and chorioretinitis, arthrogryposis, clubfoot deformity and muscular tone abnormalities. The confirmatory test is the Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) associated to the physical findings. Here we present the case of a newborn with microcephaly whose mother presented a confirmed Zika Virus infection during the third trimester of pregnancy, despite of the evident findings and the history of Zika infection the RT-PCR in amniotic and cerebrospinal fluid of the newborn was negative. RT-PCR has demonstrated a low sensibility in samples with low viral loads, reason why, we propose a clinical diagnosis in patients with clinical history of Zika Virus infection during pregnancy accompanied by evident clinical manifestations of the child.

Keywords: congenital, Zika virus, microcephaly, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 205

Authors: T. Malmir, U. Eicker

Abstract:

Landfilling of organic waste is still the predominant waste management method in the USA and Canada. Strategic plans for waste diversion from landfills are needed to increase material recovery and energy generation from waste. In this paper, we carried out a statistical survey on waste flow in the two cities New York and Montréal and estimated the energy recovery potential for each case. Data collection and analysis of the organic waste (food waste, yard waste, etc.), paper and cardboard, metal, glass, plastic, carton, textile, electronic products and other materials were done based on the reports published by the Department of Sanitation in New York and Service de l'Environnement in Montréal. In order to calculate the gas generation potential of organic waste, Buswell equation was used in which the molar mass of the elements was calculated based on their atomic weight and the amount of organic waste in New York and Montréal. Also, the higher and lower calorific value of the organic waste (solid base) and biogas (gas base) were calculated. According to the results, only 19% (598 kt) and 45% (415 kt) of New York and Montréal waste were diverted from landfills in 2017, respectively. The biogas generation potential of the generated food waste and yard waste amounted to 631 million m³ in New York and 173 million m³ in Montréal. The higher and lower calorific value of food waste were 3482 and 2792 GWh in New York and 441 and 354 GWh in Montréal, respectively. In case of yard waste, they were 816 and 681 GWh in New York and 636 and 531 GWh in Montréal, respectively. Considering the higher calorific value, this amount would mean a contribution of around 2.5% energy in these cities.

Keywords: energy recovery, organic waste, urban energy modelling with INSEL, waste flow

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Gifty Kumadey, Albert Tchey Agbenyegah

Abstract:

(i) Overview and research goal(s): This study aims to address research gaps in the Ghanaian pharmaceutical industry by examining the impact of environmental supply chain management (ESCM) practices on environmental and operational performance. Previous studies have provided inconclusive evidence on the relationship between ESCM practices and environmental and operational performance. The research aims to provide a clearer understanding of the impact of ESCM practices on environmental and operational performance in the context of the Ghanaian pharmaceutical industry. Limited research has been conducted on ESCM practices in developing countries, particularly in Africa. The study aims to bridge this gap by examining the drivers and barriers specific to the pharmaceutical industry in Ghana. The research aims to analyze the impact of ESCM practices on the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Ghanaian pharmaceutical industry, focusing on SDGs 3, 12, 13, and 17. It also explores the potential for partnerships and collaborations to advance ESCM practices in the pharmaceutical industry. The research hypotheses suggest that pressure from stakeholder positively influences the adoption of ESCM practices in the Ghanaian pharmaceutical industry. By addressing these goals, the study aims to contribute to sustainable development initiatives and offer practical recommendations to enhance ESCM A practices in the industry. (ii) Research methods and data: This study uses a quantitative research design to examine the drivers and barriers to environmental supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry in Accra.The sample size is approximately 150 employees, with senior and middle-level managers from pharmaceutical industry of Ghana. A purposive sampling technique is used to select participants with relevant knowledge and experience in environmental supply chain management. Data will be collected using a structured questionnaire using Likert scale responses. Descriptive statistics will be used to analyze the data and provide insights into current practices and their impact on environmental and operational performance. (iii) Preliminary results and conclusions: Main contributions: Identifying drivers/barriers to ESCM in Ghana's pharmaceutical industry, evaluating current ESCM practices, examining impact on performance, providing practical insights, contributing to knowledge on ESCM in Ghanaian context. The research contributes to SDGs 3, 9, and 12 by promoting sustainable practices and responsible consumption in the industry. The study found that government rules and regulations are the most critical drivers for ESCM adoption, with senior managers playing a significant role. However, employee and competitor pressures have a lesser impact. The industry has made progress in implementing certain ESCM practices, but there is room for improvement in areas like green distribution and reverse logistics. The study emphasizes the importance of government support, management engagement, and comprehensive implementation of ESCM practices in the industry. Future research should focus on overcoming barriers and challenges to effective ESCM implementation.

Keywords: environmental supply chain, sustainable development goal, ghana pharmaceutical industry, government regulations

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Dixit Garg, S. Luthra, A. Haleem

Abstract:

During recent years, the natural environment has become a challenging topic that business organizations must consider due to the economic and ecological impacts and increasing awareness of environment protection among society. Organizations are trying to achieve the goals of improvement in environment, low cost, high quality, flexibility and more customer satisfaction. Performance measurement frameworks are very useful to monitor the performance of any organization. The basic goal of this paper is to identify performance measures and ranking of these performance measures of GSCM performance measurement towards sustainability framework. Five perspectives (Environment, Economic, Social, Operational and Cost performances) and nineteen performance measures of GSCM performance towards sustainability have been have been identified from extensive literature review. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique has been utilized for ranking of these performance perspectives and measures. All pair comparisons in AHP have been made on the basis on the experts’ opinions (selected from academia and industry). Ranking of these performance perspectives and measures will help to understand the importance of environmental, economic, social, operational performances, and cost performances in the supply chain.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, green supply chain management, performance measures, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 514

Authors: Zerrin Erginkaya, Gözde Konuray

Abstract:

Microbial degradation of foods is defined as a decrease of food safety due to microorganism activity. Organic acids, sulfur dioxide, sulfide, nitrate, nitrite, dimethyl dicarbonate and several preservative gases have been used as chemical preservatives in foods as well as natural preservatives which are indigenous in foods. It is determined that usage of herbal preservatives such as blueberry, dried grape, prune, garlic, mustard, spices inhibited several microorganisms. Moreover, it is determined that animal origin preservatives such as whey, honey, lysosomes of duck egg and chicken egg, chitosan have antimicrobial effect. Other than indigenous antimicrobials in foods, antimicrobial agents produced by microorganisms could be used as natural preservatives. The antimicrobial feature of preservatives depends on the antimicrobial spectrum, chemical and physical features of material, concentration, mode of action, components of food, process conditions, and pH and storage temperature. In this review, studies about antimicrobial components which are indigenous in food (such as herbal and animal origin antimicrobial agents), antimicrobial materials synthesized by microorganisms, and their usage as an antimicrobial agent to preserve foods are discussed.

Keywords: animal origin preservatives, antimicrobial, chemical preservatives, herbal preservatives

Procedia PDF Downloads 369

Authors: Ahlem Dhahri, Waleed Omri, Audrey Becuwe, Abdelwahed Omri

Abstract:

In industrial processes, decision-making ranges across different scales, from process control to supply chain management. The purchasing decision-making process in the supply chain is presently gaining more attention as a critical contributor to the company's strategic success. Given the scarcity of thorough summaries in the prior studies, this bibliometric analysis aims to adopt a meticulous approach to achieve quantitative knowledge on the constantly evolving subject of purchasing decision-making in supply chain management. Through bibliometric analysis, we examine a sample of 358 peer-reviewed articles from the Scopus database. VOSviewer and Gephi software were employed to analyze, combine, and visualize the data. Data analytic techniques, including citation network, page-rank analysis, co-citation, and publication trends, have been used to identify influential works and outline the discipline's intellectual structure. The outcomes of this descriptive analysis highlight the most prominent articles, authors, journals, and countries based on their citations and publications. The findings from the research illustrate an increase in the number of publications, exhibiting a slightly growing trend in this field. Co-citation analysis coupled with content analysis of the most cited articles identified five research themes mentioned as follows integrating sustainability into the supplier selection process, supplier selection under disruption risks assessment and mitigation strategies, Fuzzy MCDM approaches for supplier evaluation and selection, purchasing decision in vendor problems, decision-making techniques in supplier selection and order lot sizing problems. With the help of a graphic timeline, this exhaustive map of the field illustrates a visual representation of the evolution of publications that demonstrate a gradual shift from research interest in vendor selection problems to integrating sustainability in the supplier selection process. These clusters offer insights into a wide variety of purchasing methods and conceptual frameworks that have emerged; however, they have not been validated empirically. The findings suggest that future research would emerge with a greater depth of practical and empirical analysis to enrich the theories. These outcomes provide a powerful road map for further study in this area.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis, citation analysis, co-citation, Gephi, network analysis, purchasing, SCM, VOSviewer

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: Suvidha Gupta, R. A. Pandey, Sanjay Pawar

Abstract:

The effluents from various food processing industries are found with high BOD, COD, suspended solids, nitrate, and phosphate. Mixotrophic growth of microalgae using food processing industrial wastewater as an organic carbon source has emerged as more effective and energy intensive means for the nutrient removal and COD reduction. The present study details the treatment of non-sterilized unfiltered food processing industrial wastewater by microalgae for nutrient removal as well as to determine the tolerance to COD by taking different dilutions of wastewater. In addition, the effect of different inoculum percentages of microalgae on removal efficiency of the nutrients for given dilution has been studied. To see the effect of dilution and COD tolerance, the wastewater having initial COD 5000 mg/L (±5), nitrate 28 mg/L (±10), and phosphate 24 mg/L (±10) was diluted to get COD of 3000 mg/L and 1000 mg/L. The experiments were carried out in 1L conical flask by intermittent aeration with different inoculum percentage i.e. 10%, 20%, and 30% of Chlorella sp. isolated from nearby area of NEERI, Nagpur. The experiments were conducted for 6 days by providing 12:12 light- dark period and determined various parameters such as COD, TOC, NO3-- N, PO4-- P, and total solids on daily basis. Results revealed that, for 10% and 20% inoculum, over 90% COD and TOC reduction was obtained with wastewater containing COD of 3000 mg/L whereas over 80% COD and TOC reduction was obtained with wastewater containing COD of 1000 mg/L. Moreover, microalgae was found to tolerate wastewater containing COD 5000 mg/L and obtained over 60% and 80% reduction in COD and TOC respectively. The obtained results were found similar with 10% and 20% inoculum in all COD dilutions whereas for 30% inoculum over 60% COD and 70% TOC reduction was obtained. In case of nutrient removal, over 70% nitrate removal and 45% phosphate removal was obtained with 20% inoculum in all dilutions. The obtained results indicated that Microalgae assisted nutrient removal gives maximum COD and TOC reduction with 3000 mg/L COD and 20% inoculum. Hence, microalgae assisted wastewater treatment is not only effective for removal of nutrients but also can tolerate high COD up to 5000 mg/L and solid content.

Keywords: Chlorella sp., chemical oxygen demand, food processing industrial wastewater, mixotrophic growth

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Khor Khai Ling, Vashnarekha A/P Kumarasuriar, Tan Kok Wei, Ooi Pei Boon

Abstract:

The food pyramid had been stressed for years and used to promote a healthy diet. Recently, the Ministry of Health in Malaysia has changed the food pyramid structure. They moved fruits and vegetables to the bottom layer and encouraged citizens to consume more fruits and vegetables. Past research has shown that the amount of vegetables and fruits consumption has associated with cognitive health. However, Malaysians have yet to achieve the amount of fruit and vegetable intake as per recommendation. Thus, this study aims to investigate Malaysian’s habitual diet and cognitive functioning via a cross-sectional study. One hundred and ninety-three participants will be recruited via convenient sampling. A Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) measures the habitual diet, and an online cognitive test measures attention, executive functioning, and memory objectively. The collected one hundred samples to the date of abstract submission, and the data collection is still in progress. This study will provide an insight to Malaysian about the diet pattern and its relationship with cognitive performance.

Keywords: attention, cognitive, executive functioning, habitual diet, memory

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: Medina Muñoz Lina Rocio

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to examine the debates related to the harmonization of intellectual property rights on plant material, the corporate governance of the seed market in Colombia and the political economy of seeds defended by indigenous communities. In recent years, the commodification of seeds through genetic engineering and political intellectual property, codified as a result of the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, has come into conflict with the traditional production of seeds carried out by small farmers and indigenous populations. Agricultural and food practices. In order to understand the ontological dimension of conflicts over seeds, it is necessary to analyze the conceptions that indigenous communities have about good, which they consider a common element of their social organization and define them as sentient beings. Therefore, through a multiple approach, in which the intellectual property policy, the ecological aspects of seed production and the political ontology of indigenous communities are interwoven, I intend to present the discussions held by the actors involved and present the strategies of small producers to protect their interests. It demonstrates that communities have begun to organize social movements to protect such interests and have questioned the philosophy of GM corporate agriculture as a pro-life movement. Finally, it is argued that the conservation of 'traditional' seeds of the communities is an effective strategy to support their struggles for territory, identity, food sovereignty and self-determination.

Keywords: intellectual property rights, intellectual property, traditional knowledge, food safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: Mohammed Bala Banki

Abstract:

This paper examines the relationship between employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and loyalty in fast food restaurants in Nigeria and ascertains if prior job experience of employees before their present job moderate the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty. Data for this study were collected from matched pairs of employees and customers of fast restaurants in four Nigerian cities. A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used for the analysis to test the proposed relationships and hierarchical multiple regression was performed in SPSS 22 to test moderating effect. Findings suggest that there is a direct positive and significant relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction and loyalty while the path between employee satisfaction and customer loyalty is insignificant. Results also reveal that employee’s prior job experience significantly moderate the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty. Further analysis indicates that employees with more years of experience provide more fulfilling services to restaurants customers. This paper provides some theoretical and managerial implications for academia and practitioners.

Keywords: employee’s satisfaction, customer’s satisfaction, loyalty, employee’s prior job experience, fast food industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Hedia El Ourabi, Marc Alexandre Tomiuk, Ahmed Khalil Ben Ayed

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the labeling cues traceability (T), health claim (HC), and verification of health claim (VHC) on consumer affective response and sensory appeal toward a wide array of functional food carriers (FFC). Predominantly, research in the food area has tended to examine the effects of these information cues independently on cognitive responses to food product offerings. Investigations and findings of potential interaction effects among these factors on effective response and sensory appeal are therefore scant. Moreover, previous studies have typically emphasized single or limited sets of functional food products and categories. In turn, this study considers five food product categories enriched with omega-3 fatty acids, namely: meat products, eggs, cereal products, dairy products and processed fruits and vegetables. It is, therefore, exhaustive in scope rather than exclusive. An investigation of the potential simultaneous effects of these information cues on the affective responses and sensory appeal of consumers should give rise to important insights to both functional food manufacturers and policymakers. A mixed (2 x 3) x (2 x 5) between-within subjects factorial ANOVA design was implemented in this study. T (two levels: completely traceable or non-traceable) and HC (three levels: functional health claim, or disease risk reduction health claim, or disease prevention health claim) were treated as between-subjects factors whereas VHC (two levels: by a government agency and by a non-government agency) and FFC (five food categories) were modeled as within-subjects factors. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the six between-subjects conditions. A total of 463 questionnaires were obtained from a convenience sample of undergraduate students at various universities in the Montreal and Ottawa areas (in Canada). Consumer affective response and sensory appeal were respectively measured via the following statements assessed on seven-point semantic differential scales: ‘Your evaluation of [food product category] enriched with omega-3 fatty acids is Unlikeable (1) / Likeable (7)’ and ‘Your evaluation of [food product category] enriched with omega-3 fatty acids is Unappetizing (1) / Appetizing (7).’ Results revealed a significant interaction effect between HC and VHC on consumer affective response as well as on sensory appeal toward foods enriched with omega-3 fatty acids. On the other hand, the three-way interaction effect between T, HC, and VHC on either of the two dependent variables was not significant. However, the triple interaction effect among T, VHC, and FFC was significant on consumer effective response and the interaction effect among T, HC, and FFC was significant on consumer sensory appeal. Findings of this study should serve as impetus for functional food manufacturers to closely cooperate with policymakers in order to improve on and legitimize the use of health claims in their marketing efforts through credible verification practices and protocols put in place by trusted government agencies. Finally, both functional food manufacturers and retailers may benefit from the socially-responsible image which is conveyed by product offerings whose ingredients remain traceable from farm to kitchen table.

Keywords: functional foods, labeling cues, effective appeal, sensory appeal

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Qingxin Chen, Liben Jiang, Andrew Smith, Karim Hadjri

Abstract:

Since 2007, the Chinese food industry has undergone serious food contamination in the baby dairy industry, especially milk powder contamination. One of the milk powder products was found to contain melamine and a significant number (294,000) of babies were affected by kidney stones. Due to growing concerns among consumers about food safety and protection, and high pressure from central government, companies must take radical action to ensure food quality protection through the use of an appropriate quality management system. Previously, though researchers have investigated the health and safety aspects of food industries and products, quality issues concerning food products in China have been largely over-looked. Issues associated with baby dairy products and their quality issues have not been discussed in depth. This paper investigates the impact of quality management systems on the Chinese baby dairy product industry. A literature review was carried out to analyse the use of quality management systems within the Chinese milk power market. Moreover, quality concepts, relevant standards, laws, regulations and special issues (such as Melamine, Flavacin M1 contamination) have been analysed in detail. A qualitative research approach is employed, whereby preliminary analysis was conducted by interview, and data analysis based on interview responses from four selected Chinese baby dairy product companies was carried out. Through the analysis of literature review and data findings, it has been revealed that for quality management system that has been designed by many practitioners, many theories, models, conceptualisation, and systems are present. These standards and procedures should be followed in order to provide quality products to consumers, but the implementation is lacking in the Chinese baby dairy industry. Quality management systems have been applied by the selected companies but the implementation still needs improvement. For instance, the companies have to take measures to improve their processes and procedures with relevant standards. The government need to make more interventions and take a greater supervisory role in the production process. In general, this research presents implications for the regulatory bodies, Chinese Government and dairy food companies. There are food safety laws prevalent in China but they have not been widely practiced by companies. Regulatory bodies must take a greater role in ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. The Chinese government must also play a special role in urging companies to implement relevant quality control processes. The baby dairy companies not only have to accept the interventions from the regulatory bodies and government, they also need to ensure that production, storage, distribution and other processes will follow the relevant rules and standards.

Keywords: baby dairy product, food quality, milk powder contamination, quality management system

Procedia PDF Downloads 471

Authors: Cornelius Michael Ekenta, Aderonke Bashirat Mohammed, Sefi Ahmed

Abstract:

The research examined the impact of flooding on food calorie intake and health challenges among smallholder farm households in Koton Karfe Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. Purposive and random sampling techniques were used to select 130 farm households in selected villages in the area. Primary data were generated through the administration of a well-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Double Difference Estimator (DDE), Calorie Intake Estimation Function, t-test, and multiple regressions. The result shows that farm households lost an average of 132, 950kg of selected crops amounting to about N20m ($56, 542) loose in income. Food daily calorie intake indicates a loss of an average of 715.18Kcal, showing a significant difference in calorie intake before and after flooding (t = 2.0629) at 5% probability. Furthermore, the health challenges most prevalent during flooding were malaria fever, typhoid fever, cholera, and dysentery. The determinants of daily calorie intake were age, household size, level of income, flooding, health challenges, and food price. The study concluded that flooding had negative impacts on crop output and income, daily food calorie intact, and health challenges of a farm household in the study area. It was recommended that the State Government should make adequate and proper arrangements to relocate residents of the area at the warning of possible flooding by the National Metrological Centre and should, through the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), provide relieve items to the residents to cushion the effects of the flooding.

Keywords: calorie, cholera, flooding, health challenges, impact

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: W. Kongnoo, J. Loysongkroa, S. Chotivichien, N. Viriyautsahakul, N. Saiwongse

Abstract:

Obesity, stunting and wasting problems among Thai school-aged children are increasing due to inappropriate food consumption behavior and poor environments for desirable nutritional behavior. Because of a low school lunch budget of only 0.40 USD per person per day, food quality is not up to nutritional standards. Therefore, the Health Department with the Education Ministry and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation have developed a quality school lunch project during 2009–2013. The program objectives were development and management of public policy to increase school lunch budget. The methods used a healthy public policy motivation process and movement in 241 local administrative organizations and 538 schools. The problem and solution research was organized to study school food and nutrition management, create a best practice policy mobilization model and hold a public hearing to motivate an increase of school meal funding. The results showed that local public policy has been motivated during 2009-2011 to increase school meal budget using local budgets. School children with best food consumption behavior and exercise increased from 13.2% in 2009 to 51.6% in 2013 and stunting decreased from 6.0% in 2009 to 4.7% in 2013. As the result of national policy motivation (2012-2013), the cabinet meeting on October 22, 2013 has approved an increase of school lunch budget from 0.40 USD to 0.62 USD per person per day. Thus, 5,800,469 school children nationwide have benefited from the budget increase.

Keywords: public policy, quality school lunch, Thailand, obesity

Procedia PDF Downloads 345

Authors: N. A. Kazemi Sefat, M. M. Mohammadi, J. Hadjati, S. Talebi, M. Ajami, H. Daneshvar

Abstract:

Colorectal cancer metastases result in a significant number of cancer related deaths. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors induce growth arrest and apoptosis in a variety of human cancer cells. Sodium butyrate (SB) is a short chain fatty acid, belongs to HDAC inhibitors which is released in the colonic lumen as a consequence of fiber fermentation. In this study, we are about to assess the effect of sodium butyrate on HCT116 human colorectal carcinoma cell line. The viability of cells was measured by microscopic morphologic study and MTT assay. After 48 hours, treatments more than 10 mM lead to cell injury in HCT116 by increasing cell granulation and decreasing cell adhesion (p>0.05). After 72 hours, treatments at 10 mM and more lead to significant cell injury (p<0.05). Our results may suggest that the gene expression which is contributed in cell proliferation and apoptosis has been changed under pressure of HDAC inhibition.

Keywords: colorectal cancer, sodium butyrate, cytotoxicity, MTT

Procedia PDF Downloads 359

Authors: Seyed Babak Asadi

Abstract:

In this experiment the effect of recycled soybean oil (RSO) on the growth and performance carcass of broiler was investigated. The percentages of recycled soybean oil (RSO) used in this experiment were 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8. In this regard, 300 one-day-old broilers were selected randomly consisting of five treatments and three replicates(20 chickens per replicate). The chicks were kept in an accumulated manner for the first week, then divided between treatments and kept until they reached the age of 42 days. Body weight at 21 and 42, weight gain, food intake and food conversion ratio in starter (0-21 d), finisher (21-42 d) and overall were measured. At the end of the experiment (42 days-old) 2 chicks from each replicate which had the nearest weight to the average group in their group were selected, slaughtered and different parts of their carcass were weight separately. The result showed that the rate of feed intake and feed conversion coefficient have significantly increased with higher levels of recycled soybean oil. There was not a significant different between experimental groups for liver, heart, intestine and the weight of carcass. Results from this experiment showed that it is possible to use recycled soybean oil for up to 8 percent of food ration for broiler chicks without any significant effects on carcass quality.

Keywords: broiler, recycled soybean oil (RSO), growth, performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 401

Authors: Ilma Ulfatul Janah, Ibnu Rizky Briwantara, Muhammad Afif

Abstract:

The agricultural sector is one of the sectors that contribute to national development. The benefit of the agricultural sector can be felt directly by the majority of Indonesian people. Indonesia is one of the agricultural countries and most of the people working in the agricultural sector. Hence, the agricultural sector’s become the second sector which has contributed greatly to the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) after the manufacture sector. Based on the National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) from 2015 to 2019, one of the targets to be achieved by the Indonesian government is rice’s self-sufficient. Rice is the main food commodities which as most people in Indonesia, and it is making Indonesian government attempt self-sufficient in rice. Indonesia as an agricultural country becomes one of the countries that have a lower percentage of food security than other ASEAN countries. Rice self-sufficiency can be created through agricultural productivity and the availability of a market for the output. There are some problems still to be faced by the farmers such as farmer exchange rate is low. The low exchange rate of farmers showed that the level of the welfare’s Indonesian farmers is still low. The aims of this paper are to resolve problems related to food security and improve the welfare of the national rice farmers. The method by using materials obtained from the analysis of secondary data with the descriptive approach and conceptual framework. Integrated Farmers barn raising rice production is integrated and managed by the government coupled with the implementation of technology in the form of systems connected and accessible to farmers, namely 'SIBUNGTAN'.

Keywords: agriculture, self-sufficiency, technology, productivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Phutthiwat Waiyawuththanapoom, Pimploi Tirastittam, Manop Tirastittam

Abstract:

Thailand is the agriculture country which mainly exports the agriculture product to the other countries in so many ways which are fresh vegetable, chilled vegetable or frozen vegetable. The gross export for Thailand’s vegetable is 30-40 billion baht per year, and the growth rate is about 15-20 percent per year. Ginger is one of the main vegetable product that Thailand export to Japan because Thailand’s Ginger has a good quality and be able to supply Japan’s demand with a reasonable price. This research paper is aimed to study the factors which affect the efficiency of the supply chain process of Thailand’s ginger to Japan. There are 5 factors which related to the exporting Thailand’s ginger to Japan which are quality, price, equipment and supply standard, custom process and distribution pattern. The result of the research showed that the factor which reached the 'very good' significant level is quality of Thailand’s ginger with the score of 4.86. The other 5 factors are in the 'good' significant level. So the most important factor for Thai ginger farmer to concern is the quality of the product.

Keywords: critical success factor, export, ginger, supply chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 362

Authors: Athena Johnson

Abstract:

Veganism has seen a rapid increase in members over recent years. Understanding the mechanisms of social change associated with these dietary practices in relation to gender is significant as these groups may seem small, but they have a large impact as they influence many and change the food market. This research article's basic methodology is primarily a deep article research literature review with empirical research. The research findings show that the popularity of veganism is growing, in large part due to the extensive use of social media, which dispels longstanding gendered connotations with food, such as the correlations between meat and masculinity.

Keywords: diversity, gender roles, social media, veganism

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: Qurrat-ul-Ain Gulfam, Zbigniew Ficek

Abstract:

The novel idea to use single atoms as highly reflecting mirrors has recently gained much attention. Usually, to observe the reflective nature of an atom, it is required to couple the atom to an external medium such that a directional spontaneous emission could be realized. We propose an alternative way to achieve the directional emission by considering a system of correlated atoms in free space. It is well known that mutually interacting atoms have a strong tendency to emit the radiation along particular discrete directions. That relieves one from the stingy condition of associating the atomic system to another media and facilitates the experimental implementation to a large degree. Moreover, realistic 3-dimensional collective emission can be taken into account in the dynamics. Two interesting spatial setups have been considered; one where a probe atom is confined in a linear cavity formed by two atomic mirrors and, the other where a probe atom faces a chain of correlated atoms. We observe an evidence of the mirror-like effect in a simple system of a chain of three atoms. The angular distribution of the radiation intensity observed in the far field is greatly affected by the atomic interactions. Hence, suitable directions for enhanced reflectivity can be determined.

Keywords: atom-mirror effect, correlated system, dipole-dipole interactions, intensity

Procedia PDF Downloads 544

Authors: Pawit Tangviroon, Apichit Svang-Ariyaskul

Abstract:

Rubber seed oil is an attractive alternative feedstock for biodiesel production because it is not related to food-chain plant. Rubber seed oil contains large amount of free fatty acids, which causes problem in biodiesel production. Free fatty acids can react with alkaline catalyst in biodiesel production. Acid esterification is used as pre-treatment to convert unwanted compound to desirable biodiesel. Phase separation of oil and methanol occurs at low ratio of methanol to oil and causes low reaction rate and conversion. Acid esterification requires large excess of methanol in order to increase the miscibility of methanol in oil and accordingly, it is a more expensive separation process. In this work, the kinetics of esterification of rubber seed oil with methanol is developed from available experimental results. Reactive distillation process was designed by using Aspen Plus program. The effects of operating parameters such as feed ratio, molar reflux ratio, feed temperature, and feed stage are investigated in order to find the optimum conditions. Results show that the reactive distillation process is proved to be better than conventional process. It consumes less feed methanol and less energy while yielding higher product purity than the conventional process. This work can be used as a guideline for further development to industrial scale of biodiesel production using reactive distillation.

Keywords: biodiesel, reactive distillation, rubber seed oil, transesterification

Procedia PDF Downloads 343

Authors: Hamish Love, Navjot Bhullar, Nicola Schutte

Abstract:

Self-control and related psychological constructs have been shown to have a large role in the improvement and maintenance of healthful dietary behaviour. However, self-control for diet, and related constructs such as motivation, level of conflict between tempting desires and dietary goals, and attentional bias for tempting food, have not been studied together to establish their relationships, to the author’s best knowledge. Therefore the aim of this paper was to conduct model testing on these constructs and evaluate how they relate to affect dietary outcomes. 400 Australian adult participants will be recruited via the Qualtrics platform and will be representative across age and gender. They will complete survey and reaction timing surveys to gather data on the five target constructs: Trait Self-control, Attentional Bias for Food, Dietary Goal-Desire Incongruence, Motivation for Dietary Self-control, and Satisfaction with Dietary Behaviour. A model of moderated mediation is predicted, whereby the initial predictor (Dietary Goal-Desire Incongruence) predicts the level of the outcome variable, Satisfaction with Dietary Behaviour. We hypothesise that the relationship between these two variables will be mediated by Trait Self-Control and that the extent that Trait Self-control is allowed to mediate dietary outcome is moderated by both Attentional Bias for Food and Motivation for Dietary Self-control. The analysis will be conducted using the PROCESS module in SPSS 23. The results of model testing in this current study will be valuable to direct future research and inform which constructs could be important targets for intervention to improve dietary outcomes.

Keywords: self-control, diet, model testing, attentional bias, motivation

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Constance Kirker

Abstract:

This paper examines examples of the shared use of mango references as a culinary metaphor powerful in maintaining immigrant identity in the works of diaspora authors from a variety of regions of the world, including South Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa, and across a variety of genres, including novels, culinary memoirs, and children’s books. There has been past criticism of so-called sari-mango literature, suggesting that use of the image of mango is a cliché, even “lazy,” attempt to “exoticize” and sentimentalize South Asia in particular. A broader review across national boundaries reveals that diaspora authors, including those beyond South Asia, write nostalgically about mango as much about the messy “full body” tactile experience of eating a mango as about the “exotic” quality of mango representing the “otherness” of their home country. Many of the narratives detail universal childhood food experiences that are more shared than exotic, such as a desire to subvert the adult societal rules of neatness and get very messy, or memories of small but memorable childhood transgressions such as stealing mangoes from a neighbor’s tree. In recent years, food technology has evolved, and mangoes have become more familiar and readily available in Europe and America, from smoothies and baby food to dried fruit snacks. The meaning associated with the imagery of mangoes for both writers and readers in diaspora literature evolves as well, and authors do not have to heed Salman Rushdie’s command, “There must be no tropical fruits in the title. No mangoes.”

Keywords: identity, immigrant diaspora, culinary metaphor, food studies

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Pichaya Poonlarp, Danai Boonyakiat, C. Chuamuangphan, M. Chanta

Abstract:

Current consumers’ behavior trends have changed towards more health awareness, the well-being of society and interest of nature and environment. The Royal Project Foundation is, therefore, well aware of organic agriculture. The project only focused on using natural products and utilizing its highland biological merits to increase resistance to diseases and insects for the produce grown. The project also brought in basic knowledge from a variety of available research information, including, but not limited to, improvement of soil fertility and a control of plant insects with biological methods in order to lay a foundation in developing and promoting farmers to grow quality produce with a high health safety. This will finally lead to sustainability for future highland agriculture and a decrease of chemical use on the highland area which is a source of natural watershed. However, there are still shortcomings of the postharvest management in term of quality and losses, such as bruising, rottenness, wilting and yellowish leaves. These losses negatively affect the maintenance and a shelf life of organic vegetables. Therefore, it is important that a research study of the appropriate and effective postharvest management is conducted for an individual organic vegetable to minimize product loss and find root causes of postharvest losses which would contribute to future postharvest management best practices. This can be achieved through surveys and data collection from postharvest processes in order to conduct analysis for causes of postharvest losses of organic pak-choi, baby pak-choi, and choy sum. Consequently, postharvest losses reduction strategies of organic vegetables can be achieved. In this study, postharvest losses of organic pak choi, baby pak-choi, and choy sum were determined at each stage of the supply chain starting from the field after harvesting, at the Development Center packinghouse, at Chiang Mai packinghouse, at Bangkok packing house and at the Royal Project retail shop in Chiang Mai. The results showed that postharvest losses of organic pak-choi, baby pak-choi, and choy sum were 86.05, 89.05 and 59.03 percent, respectively. The main factors contributing to losses of organic vegetables were due to mechanical damage and underutilized parts and/or short of minimum quality standard. Good practices had been developed after causes of losses were identified. Appropriate postharvest handling and management, for example, temperature control, hygienic cleaning, and reducing the duration of the supply chain, postharvest losses of all organic vegetables should be able to remarkably reduced postharvest losses in the supply chain.

Keywords: postharvest losses, organic vegetables, handling improvement, shelf life, supply chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 471

Authors: Ayşe Çoban, Orhan Çoban, Murat Birekul

Abstract:

In this study, the effects of radio frequency identification system on the retailing sector were theoretically analysed. The technology of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a method enabling to identify the objects individually and automatically, using radio frequency. RFID generally consists of a tag and reader. RFID tags can be programmed to receive, store, and send the information of object such as Electronic Product Code (EPC). Having read the tags placed on product by the reader, the information associated with the management of supply chain can be automatically recorded and replaced. Recently, RFID technology used in many areas has particularly important effects on the businesses that are active in the retailing sector. The most important disadvantage of this technology is that the cost of installation and operation is higher compared to its alternatives. However, it provides important advantages to the business enterprises in the application process. At present, it is especially adopted by the large sized enterprises and with chain stores in the international areas. The application results point out that RFID technology provides business enterprises with the important competitive advantage.

Keywords: RFID, retailing sector, RFID technologies, electronic product code

Procedia PDF Downloads 379

Authors: Dereje Regasa

Abstract:

The global food system is at a crossroads, which requires prompt action to minimize the effects of the crises. Agroecology is gaining prominence due to its contributions to sustainable food systems. To support efforts in mitigating the crises, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) established alternative approaches for sustainable agri-food systems. Agroecological elements and principles were developed to guide and support measures that countries need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs require the systemic integration of practices for a smart intensification or adaptation of traditional or industrial agriculture. As one of the countries working towards SDGs, the agricultural practices in Ethiopia need to be guided by these agroecological elements and principles. Aiming at the identification of challenging aspects of a sustainable agri-food system and the characterization of an enabling environment for agroecology, as well as exploring to what extent the existing policies and strategies support the agroecological transition process, five policy and strategy documents were reviewed. These documents are the Rural Development Policy and Strategy, the Environment Policy, the Biodiversity Policy, and the Soil Strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). Using the Agroecology Criteria Tool (ACT), the contents were reviewed, focusing on agroecological requirements and the inclusion of sustainable practices. ACT is designed to support a self-assessment of elements supporting agroecology. For each element, binary values were assigned based on the inclusion of the minimum requirements index and then validated through discussion with the document owners. The results showed that the documents were well below the requirements for an agroecological transition of the agri-food system. The Rural Development Policy and Strategy only suffice to 83% in Human and Social Value. It does not support the transition concerning the other elements. The Biodiversity Policy and Soil Strategy suffice regarding the inclusion of Co-creation and Sharing of knowledge (100%), while the remaining elements were not considered sufficiently. In contrast, the Environment Policy supports the transition with three elements accounting for 100%. These are Resilience, Recycling, and Human and Social Care. However, when the four documents were combined, elements such as Synergies, Diversity, Efficiency, Human and Social value, Responsible governance, and Co-creation and Sharing of knowledge were identified as fully supportive (100%). This showed that the policies and strategies complemented one another to a certain extent. However, the evaluation results call for improvements concerning elements like Culture and food traditions, Circular and solidarity economy, Resilience, Recycling, and Regulation and balance since the majority of the elements were not sufficiently observed. Consequently, guidance for the smart intensification of local practices is needed, as well as traditional knowledge enriched with advanced technologies. Ethiopian agricultural and environmental policies and strategies should provide sufficient support and guidance for the intensification of sustainable practices and should provide a framework for an agroecological transition towards a sustainable agri-food system.

Keywords: agroecology, diversity, recycling, sustainable food system, transition

Procedia PDF Downloads 84