Tiny Devices to Feed Advances in Food Safety and Quality
(ContentDesk) February 23, 2006 -- The GoodFood project aims to do just that by using micro and nanotechnology to develop portable devices to detect toxins, pathogens and chemicals in foodstuffs on the spot. Food samples would no longer have to be sent to a laboratory for tests a comparatively lengthy and costly procedure but could be analysed for safety and quality at the farm, during transport or storage, in a processing or packaging centre or even in a supermarket. The aim is to achieve full safety and quality assurance along the complete food chain, explains Carles Can?, the coordinator of the IST programme-funded project at the National Microelectronics Centre in Spain.Sensors used for screening The tiny biomechanical and microelectronic sensors can be used to screen for virtually any pathogen or toxin in any produce, although the project partners are focusing their research on quality and safety analysis for dairy goods, fruit and wine.For the dairy sector they are developing a device based on a fluorescent optical biosensor that measures the reaction of a probe coated with antibodies when it comes into contact with antibiotics present in milk or other dairy products. Though the use of antibiotics as growth enhancers is prohibited in dairy cattle in Europe, farmers are permitted to employ them to treat ailments affecting individual animals. These can enter the milk and could prove harmful to consumers - especially if they end up in baby food - by creating cumulative resistance to antibiotic treatments.Checking milk for antibiotic residues is typically carried out with a non-reusable litmus paper testing kit. An electronic device of the kind being developed by GoodFood would make the tests faster, cheaper and more accurate.The same would be true, the project partners say, if a microelectronic device is used to detect pathogens such as salmonella and listeria bacteria in milk, cheese and other dairy products.
The partners are therefore also developing a device using DNA biochips to detect pathogens - a technique that could also be applied to determine the presence of different kinds of harmful bacteria in meat or fish, or fungi affecting fruit. Other sensors based on an immunodiagnostic microarray will be developed to identify pesticides on fruit and vegetables.To date detecting the presence of bacteria or pesticides in different foodstuffs has only been possible by sending samples, usually selected at random, to a laboratory and waiting hours or even days for the results. A portable device would not only accelerate the testing procedure, but would allow more tests to be carried out on more produce samples, increasing the overall safety of the food. Improving quality as well as safetyImproving food safety is not the only goal of the project, however, which is also planning to use micro- and nano-sensors to increase food quality, with evident benefits not just for consumers but also farmers and processors.Sensors that measure the quantity of oxygen and ethylene a gas produced by fruit as it ripens - in fridges where unripe fruit is stored for months until it is ready to go on sale would give suppliers greater control over how well the produce is being maintained. Employed on the farm, sensors to measure environmental and climatic conditions would give farmers important information about their crops, especially when the sensors are connected wirelessly to an analysis system.This and other systems developed by the project are being tested over the course of this year at a vineyard near Florence in Italy where the grapes due to be harvested in September will have grown under the watchful eye of the GoodFood sensors. Wine making is a precise art and a difference of a few days in when the grapes are picked can make a huge difference in the quality of the wine, the coordinator notes.
With the GoodFood system, the Florence vineyard owner can look forward to 2006 being an excellent vintage. In the future other farmers, processors and consumers will also benefit from better and safer food, with Can? expecting the projects research to lead to commercial systems, initially for testing and monitoring more expensive foodstuffs such as wine and baby food and eventually for other produce.Contact:Carles Can?Centro Nacional de Microelectr?nicaCampus UABBellaterraSpainTel: +34-935947700Mobile: +34 647 418 493Email: e-mail protected from spam botsSource: Based on information from GoodFoodPLEASE MENTION IST RESULTS AS THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY AND, IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE HYPERLINK TO: http://istresults.cordis.lu/.
Liver Foods That Make Your Liver Stronger and Useful
Most people don't think about what foods are good for keeping their liver strong.
But, if you have been discovering and using a diet that is good for your overall health, then, most likely you are helping your liver.
So here again is a list of healthy eating that will result in a strong useful liver.
Oils - use mostly olive oil for your food preparation.
This oil can be heated to a relative medium level without causing free radicals.
Use flax seed oil or fish oil every day.
Avoid margarine or any other artificial butter since their processing creates chemicals the liver cannot recognize as food.
Use Ghee, which doesn't require refrigeration, or raw butter,
Sunflower, safflower, and other seed oils should be kept in the refrigerator to keep them from becoming rancid.
When you eat too much fat, the fat accumulates in the liver.
The liver is responsible for breaking...
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Never Before - Finally Revealed: Best Practices of Legal Marketing for Law Firms
(ContentDesk) May 28 2004--"It's amazing how much money is wasted on legal marketing that doesn't pay off," says Allan Boress CPA, CFE, one of the nation's leading business development consultants to the professions and author of the brand new book, Best Practices of Marketing Legal Services. "How many times do law firms and individual attorneys try to reinvent the wheel?"Boress, the author of the best-selling The I-Hate-Selling Book, and Michael Cummings, principals of SAGE Legal Marketing (www.sagelegalmarketing.com), have just published the first complete Best Practices of Law Firm Marketing for the profession. They have come up with proven step-by-step solutions to the following marketing dilemmas every law firm faces:? Exactly what has to be done to grow the practice on a daily, weekly and monthly basis? How to leverage one's existing strengths as an attorney and apply them to business development for results? How to...
Never Before - Finally Revealed: Best Practices of Legal Marketing for Law Firms
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Fruit, vegetables may reduce pancreatic cancer risk
An epidemiologic study suggested eating a lot of fruit and vegetables may help reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer in men.The case-control study involved 585 pancreatic cancer cases and 4,779 controls in eight Canadian provinces between 1994 and 1999. The dietary habits were surveyed and analyzed using a multivariate analysis method. Identified and grouped were three dietary patterns, WESTERN characterized by high intake of meat, sugar, and refined grains; FRUIT/VEGETABLES characterized by high intake of fresh fruits and cruciferous vegetables; DRINKER characterized by high intake of liquor, wine and beer.The study found that those who ate the highest amount of fruit and vegetables (highest quartile) are 50 percent less likely to have pancreatic cancer than those who used the lowest amount of fruits and vegetables (lowest quartile). There was no association with the Western dietary and drinker patterns.Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in men and the fifth...
Fruit, vegetables may reduce pancreatic cancer risk
Fruit > Fruit, vegetables may reduce pancreatic cancer risk
Fairtrade, Organic or Locally Produced Food?
Again, I find myself torn apart with choices when deciding which is the most ethical, eco friendly and/or healthy option when it comes to shopping for food and non-food products.
Should I buy food and products that support workers in Third World by buying Fairtrade labelled products even though these goods normally travel thousands of miles from Africa, South America or South East Asia? What if these foods were produced with the use of pesticides and additives?
It makes sense then to look for and to buy Fairtrade, organic food to both help the producers in the Third World and fulfil my lifestyle choice to eat healthy and additive/pesticide free food. Thankfully, many producers are now wising up to this dilemma by increasingly producing organic and Fairtrade labelled products. I am currently using Fairtrade, organic t-bags at home! Now comes another important question, should I buy Fairly Traded organic sugar from Kenya that has travelled thousands of miles,...
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Tiny Devices to Feed Advances in Food Safety and Quality Fruit
Happy Birthday to You!
With so many choices, it's almost impossible not to find a great birthday gift basket for anyone. For her there are spa gift baskets, full of luxurious lotions and bubble bath. For him there are fishing gift baskets, baseball gift baskets, and even golf gift baskets.Birthday gift baskets are often full of goodies and treats and often contain a special centerpiece item such as a Teddy bear, picture frame, or lotions and soaps. Try to choose something that reflects the personality of the recipient....
Happy Birthday to You!
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New 'Buying Power of Black America' Report Shows African-American Consumers Spending More on Home Life
(ContentDesk) October 25, 2005 -- As the American economy continues to move sluggishly, African-American households are cutting back their spending in many categories, including food, clothing and basic household items, while investing more in home repair, home entertainment and consumer electronics. Although they are trimming back, black consumers are still spending more than their white counterparts on most of these products. According to the newest edition of The Buying Power of Black America ...
New 'Buying Power of Black America' Report Shows African-American Consumers Spending More on Home Life life insurance Tiny Devices to Feed Advances in Food Safety and Quality
Fruit > New 'Buying Power of Black America' Report Shows African-American Consumers Spending More on Home Life
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