Computer modeling helps to improve the quality and microbiological safety of food

By Elton Alisson

Agência FAPESP – The foodstuff industries of several countries have utilized a new tool to improve the microbiological safety and quality of their products. Predictive microbiology is a software-based system that uses mathematical models and statistics to predict the behavior of microorganisms in fresh and processed food.

The new method is based on the principle that the ability of bacteria and fungi to multiply in food depends on the properties of the product, such as its composition, acidity, humidity, salt levels and antimicrobials present, in addition to the temperature conditions, relative humidity and atmosphere in which it is maintained. In this manner, the effect of each of these factors can be calculated mathematically using different predictive models… >>Continue Reading<<

Source and Photo: FAPESP, January 22nd, 2014

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Mathematical Modelling of the Dynamics and Control of Salmonella

The Pig Site – Key findings are outlined from a research project carried out at the University of Liverpool which was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and BPEX, as part of a Collaborative Award in Science and Engineering (CASE) studentship.

The aim of the research was to develop mathematical models to understand the dynamics of Salmonella transmission on finishing pig farms in the UK and assess whether farm structure has any effect on this. The aim was to use these models to investigate where control strategies should be aimed.

Two key forms of unit structure (fully slatted and solid floor) were analysed and three models describing Salmonella transmission were developed:

• Single room, fully-slatted floor
• Multiple rooms, fully-slatted floor
• Single room, solid floor

The models identified some key results with regard to on-farm Salmonella dynamics.

A principal finding showed that there is not a single action that can solve the problem but rather, a number of aspects should be targeted… Continue Reading

 

 Source and Photo: The Pig Site, November 28, 2013

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People eat more when food is labeled ‘healthier,’ study finds

MSN News – People will choose larger portions of food if they are labeled as being “healthier,” even if they have the same number of calories, according to a new study.

“People think (healthier food) is lower in calories,” said Pierre Chandon, a marketing professor at the INSEAD Social Science Research Center in France, and they “tend to consume more of it.”

That misconception can lead to people eating larger portion sizes of so-called healthy foods, and therefore more calories.

“Foods are marketed as being healthier for a reason, because food producers believe, and they correctly believe, that those labels will influence us to eat their products and perhaps eat more of their products,” said Dr. Cliodhna Foley Nolan the director of Human Health and Nutrition at Safefood, a government agency in Ireland.

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