Advances in Food Science and Technology

Advances in Food Science and Technology Vol. 2 (9), pp. 260-268, September, 2014. © International Scholars Journals

Review

The Ethiopian perception on food safety system

Teshome Kalekidan, Kokeb Behailu and Habahwi Rediet

College of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Piazza, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 09 August, 2014

Abstract

Ensuring food safety to protect public health remains a significant challenge in both developing and developed countries. In the last decade, large efforts have been made on the global level towards development and implementation of food safety management systems to assure food safety in the agri‐food chain. Current and new challenges to food safety include changes in animal husbandry, food or agricultural technology, lifestyle and consumer demands and others. In Ethiopia, key stakeholders involved in food safety management include Ministry of Health , Ministry of Agriculture, Quality and Standards Authority of Ethiopia, Environmental Protection Authority, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Trade, different Federal and Regional Governmental Bodies, Research Institutions, Ministry of Education, Food Manufacturers, Food distributors and Hotels. Even though effective food safety systems are vital to maintain consumer confidence in the food system and to provide a sound regulatory foundation for domestic and international trade in food, there are gaps in Ethiopian food safety system on legal and policy frame work, food-borne diseases surveillance, coordination of organizations involved in food safety management, and laboratory services for relevant food hazards. Lack of appropriate food safety assurance systems are problems that have become obstacles to Ethiopia’s economic development and public health safety. There is no appropriate policy framework that guides food safety management. Initiating the establishment of National food safety Authority/policy, upgrading the capacity of existing public health laboratory, personnel, food-borne diseases surveillance, and legal and policy frame work are as such suggested to overcome these problems.

Key words: Ethiopia, food safety, regulatory body, policy.

Advances in Food Science and Technology Vol. 2 (8), pp. 252-259, August, 2014. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Industrialization of a microbial medium coined from industrial food waste

Chimony Mhembere, Stewart Salau and Tatender Mapeto

Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Zimbabwe,

Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe.

E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 31 July, 2014

Abstract 

A microbial medium, designated DYSP medium, was produced from food wastes that included defatted soya, clear beer spent yeast, potato solid waste and opaque beer spent grains. Various combinations of the food wastes were used for the media formulations and evaluated for extent of supporting microbial growth of pure cultures. A 3.0 M sodium hydroxide hydrolysis followed by a neutralization process using concentrated hydrochloric acid has been established and standardized for the preparation of the medium. A dry pulverized medium was produced that could be reconstituted in distilled water (dH₂O) without settleable solids.The formulated DYSP medium supported the growth of Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The composition of the medium was 35.45% protein, 5.7% nitrogen, 56.6% ash, 8.6% moisture and 0.012 mg/ml of total reducing sugar. The pH of the DYSP broth was 6.6 when reconstituted in distilled water. Traditional classical microbiological studies demonstrated that the test cultures could grow and retain normal phenotypic and morphological properties when cultured on the formulated medium.The DYSP medium containing ampicillin, isopropyl ß-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ß-D-galactoside proved to be an equally alternative medium in molecular biology for selection and screening E. coli TG1 cells transformed with pUC18 plasmid. Other preliminary biotechnological results showed that the formulated medium could form a base for studying and optimizing the production of penicillin by P. chrysogenum.

Key words: Food wastes, chemical hydrolysis culturing medium, fermentation and molecular biology.

Advances in Food Science and Technology Vol. 2 (8), pp. 245-251, August, 2014. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Safety aspects and improvement of nutritional food

Yasir Haxor, Jordan Monir and Koushik Rocy

Institute of Food Science and Technology, Bangladesh Open University, Bazar Bangladesh.

E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 15 July, 2014

Abstract 

Malnutrition is persisting among children in Bangladesh due to lack of proper weaning foods. A highly nutritive instant weaning food was prepared in our laboratory by using locally available food resources with the aim to ensure the availability of low cost weaning food in Bangladesh. The developed food was evaluated for their nutritional characteristics and microbiological quality. The food contained the major nutrients like moisture, ash, fat, protein, fiber, carbohydrate and energy 2.43%, 2.26%, 11.32%, 15.98%, 1.06%, 75.35% and 456.6 kcal/ 100 g, respectively which were comparable to those of the three good quality imported commercial weaning foods F-1, F-2 and F-3. The vitamin A, iron and calcium contents were significantly different (p<0.05) than the commercial foods. The highest protein efficiency ratio and feed efficiency ratio were shown in the rats feed on the prepared weaning food than the imported commercial weaning foods. The overall bacteriological status of the prepared and the imported commercial weaning foods were observed to be satisfactory. The costs of the developed weaning food is considerably cheaper than the three imported commercial weaning foods of same quality and suitable for low income people of Bangladesh.

Key words: Instant, low cost, weaning food, cereals, rice.

Advances in Food Science and Technology Vol. 2 (7), pp. 239-244, July, 2014. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Ideal extension Practice for improved food products in Kakamega District

Batila Taranji, Wangari Amal and Siddharth Shinoda

School of Public Health and Community Development and Administration Africa Nazarene University, Ongata Rongai, Kenya.

E-mail: [email protected].

Accepted 29 June, 2014

Abstract 

Despite the importance of agriculture to Kenya's economy, the Kenya government's budgetary allocation to the sector has declined over the years. This resulted in the sector being resource constrained with a high farmer to staff ratio, hence the need for extension methods that can effectively reach more clients at the lowest cost. This paper reviews effective extension methods which have the least constraints and most cost effective that can be used by extension staff in Kakamega district. Kakamega district experiences low food production, despite the fact that it is one of Kenya's food baskets. One hundred extension staffs were systematically sampled from the department of livestock and the department of agriculture from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, cross tabulations, correlations and Chi-square. The research revealed that group demonstrations were the most cost effective extension methods with the least constraints. The study therefore recommended that group demonstrations and a combination of group demonstration and individual farmer follow-up be used to pass extension methods in Kakamega district.

Key words: Extension methods, food production, Kenya, Kakamega district, extension service.

Advances in Food Science and Technology Vol. 2 (7), pp. 232-238, July, 2014. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Synergy between city household food security and agriculture in Gweru City, Zimbabwe

Tatender Mapeto

Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Zimbabwe, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Email:[email protected]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Accepted 02 June, 2014

Abstract 

It is estimated that 25% of Zimbabwe’s population lives in urban areas (CSO, 2002), 70% below the poverty line, and a million in the city of Gweru. The worsening macroeconomic situation in 2008 resulted in urban food insecurity. Households adopted different survival strategies, including the intensification of urban agriculture. In an effort to assess the extent to which urban household food insecurity is mitigated by UA activities, a comparative analysis between households practicing and not practicing UA was done in Gweru in 2009. Household size as well as household head sex, age and employment status were found to affect household UA practice. Results indicated that UA practicing households were food-secure than non-practicing households. Household size, UA participation, household income, household head sex, maize meal price affected household food expenditure. Household head sex, UA participation, household head age and informal activities carried out by household members significantly affected urban household food security. The study concluded that there are synergies that exist between UA and urban household food security.

Key words: Urban agriculture, household food security, Gweru.

Advances in Food Science and Technology Vol. 2 (6), pp. 225-231, June, 2014. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

The use of ethanol product from food waste hydrolysate by co-culture of (Zymomonas mobilis) and (Candida shehata) under non-sterile situation

Buttowski E., Tawongsa W. and Adran Abdelmoula

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Thaksin University of Bangkok Metropolis. Bangkok 10300, Thailand

E-mail: [email protected].

Accepted 20 May, 2014

Abstract 

A complete conversion of the hexose and pentose sugars in the food wastes hydrolysates (FWH) to ethanol is a prerequisite for maximizing the profitability of an industrial process for bioethanol production. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the effects of nitrogen source [(NH₄)₂SO₄], phosphorus source (KH₂PO₄), yeast extract and inoculum size on ethanol production from FWH by co-culture of Zymomonas mobilis and Candida shehatae under non-sterile condition. The optimal conditions for ethanol production were 1.15 g/L of (NH₄)₂SO₄, 0.95 g/L of KH₂PO₄, 1.38 g/L of yeast extract and 14.75%v/v of inoculum. The results indicate that the most significant parameters affecting ethanol production from FWH by co-culture under non-sterile condition was yeast extract. Ethanol production of 77.6 g/L obtained under optimized condition was 56% increased as compared with the use of raw FWH (34 g/L) and was in good agreement with the value predicted by quadratic model (79.98 g/L), thereby confirming its validity. Ethanol yield of FWH in batch fermentation by co-culture was 0.15 g-ethanol/g-food waste (77.6 g/L), which was 94.6% of the theoretical yield while Z. mobilis alone yielded 0.11 g-ethanol/g-food waste (54.2 g/L) and C. shehatae alone yielded 0.09 g-ethanol/g-food waste (48 g/L). Ethanol production from FWH in 1-L fermentor by co-culture also gave ethanol yield of 0.16 g-ethanol/g-food waste (78.8 g/L) which was 96% of the theoretical yield. Despite of being a waste, an ethanol yield of 0.16 g-ethanol/g-food waste demonstrated the potential of food waste as a promising biomass resource for ethanol production.

Key words: Co-culture, food waste hydrolysates, non-sterile fermentation, response surface methodology, optimization.