Malnutrition Defined

What is malnutrition?

Nutrition status could be defined as the physiological condition of an individual that results from the balance between nutrient requirements and intake and the ability of the body to use these nutrients (Pridmore and Hill 2009). The term malnutrition is derived from to words, Mal and nutrition. Mal meals bad and therefore malnutrition can also be referred to as bad nutrition. Malnutrition /bad nutrition can be defined as a condition of impaired development caused by either a long-term deficiency or an excess in energy and nutrient intake (Ngozi and Tola, 2011). Malnutrition is defined as the cellular imbalance between the supply of nutrients, energy and the body’s demand for them to ensure growth, maintenance and specific functions (Olwedo et al., 2008). Malnutrition could also be defined as a state of nutrition in which a deficiency, excess or imbalance of energy, protein, or other nutrients, including minerals and vitamins , causes measurable adverse effects on body function and clinical outcome (Puntis,  2010). 

Classes of malnutrition

Malnutrition may either be under or over- nutrition where under-nutrition could be looked at as a condition in which the body does not have enough of the right kind of food to meet its energy, macro-nutrient (proteins, carbohydrates and fats) and micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals) needs. On the other hand over-nutrition is a condition where the body has too much food, especially fats and sugars (Pridmore and Hill, 2009). This malnutrition may be due to abuse, neglect, famine, poverty, inadequate nutrition knowledge or disordered eating (Skipper, 2012). Children have a high demand for nutrients due the fact that they are rapidly growing; this puts them at a very high risk of being malnourished. This is evidenced by the high rates of child infection, inadequate complementary foods accompanied by very poor and unhygienic child-feeding practices (Bakusuba et al., 2009). The causes of malnutrition are many, complex and multidisciplinary and include dietary factors (prolonged breastfeeding, low energy of complimentary foods) and environmental factors (Turyashemererwa et al., 2009). Under-nutrition leads to children being overall undernourished (low weight for age), too thin/wasted (low weight for height) or too short/stunted (low height for age). Wasting is proved to result from an acute, significant food shortage and or disease; it’s also the strong predictor of mortality among children less than five years. Stunting usually results from mild chronic under-nutrition; it is increasingly used as the key measure of nutritional status in under two year old because it can lead to irreversible cognitive damage (Pridmore and Hill 2009). 

References

 

Ngozi,U,F., Tola,A., 2011. The silent and neglected crisis of malnutrition: scientifif evidence for taking decisive action. Global journal of health science. Vol. 3,No. 1; April 2011

Turyashemerera, F,M., Kikafunda,J,K., Agaba,E., 2009. Principles of early childhood malnutrition and influencing factors in peri urban areas of kabarole district, western Uganda. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development / June, 2009

Olwedo. M.A., Mworozi.E., Bachou.H., Orach.G.C., 2008. Factors associated with malnutrition among children in internally displaced person's camps, northern Uganda. Afr Health Sci. 2008 December; 8(4): 244–252.

Pridmore, P., and Hill, C, R., 2009. Addressing the underlying and basic causes of child undernutrition in developing countries: What works and Why?

Bukusuba. J., Kikafunda ,J,K., and Whitehead, R,G., 2009.  Nutritional Status of Children (6-59 months) Among HIV-Positive mothers/caregivers living in an urban setting of Uganda. Volume 9, African Journal of food, Agriculture, nutrition and development. Published by African scholarly science communication trust.

What to know about laboratory report writing

How to write a Laboratory experiment report

September 20, 2012

Format of a laboratory report

General formatting

The body of the document should all have a font size of 12 point preferably times new roman or courier; all text should be double spaced, including the list of references. Margins should be 1 inch all around. Page numbering begins on the title page and should be centered at the bottom of each page (American sociological Association, 2009). Paper should be 8.5 by 11inches A4. Margins should be 1.25 left and right; 1 inch top and bottom According to Knisely, 2005, the font should be 12 point (points to the inch). And the typeface should be times new roman. All symbols used in the paper should be from word processing software and not hand written. The pagination should be Arabic numerals and inserted on the top right of each page except the first (Knisely, 2005). The page number is flush to the right margin; every page should be numbered, including the table. The page header is all in caps and can be no more than 50 characters, including spaces (Schwartz et al., 2012). The paper should have a double spacing and 0.5 inch double spacing for a new paragraph (Knisely, 2005). There should be only one space after punctuation marks including commas, colons, semicolons, punctuation at the end of sentences, periods in citations and all periods in the reference section. Arabic numerals are used correctly to express numbers that are 10 or greater; numbers that immediately preside a unit of measurement; numbers that represent times, dates, ages, participants, samples, populations, scores or points on a scale; and numbers less than 10 when those numbers are compared to a number greater than 10. Words are used correctly to express numbers less than 10 and numbers at the beginning of a title, sentence or heading (Jackson, 2009)

Paper format

A paper consists of sections and possibly subsections. There is rarely any need to break the subsections into sub-sections. Don’t break text into small blocks; three headings on a page are too many. Headings below the subsections should be paragraph leads, not lines by themselves.  Headings may or may not be numbered. It’s preferred to use only two level headings, major and minor and to only number major headings. Major and minor headings are clearly distinguished by font, size, or placement (Zobel, 2004). Each subheading should be boldface and flush left, and it appears on its own (Schwartz et al., 2012). The first heading should be capital, the second should be bold and the third should be in italics (UN, 2003). Heading one should be 14 point, heading two should be 13 point and heading three should be 11 point. There are generally three level headings in every chapter of a paper, i.e. middle heading; as the first level, left side heading as the second level and paragraph heading as the third level (Calmorin and Calmorin, 2007). The first level heading should be: all capital centered or left justified. The second level heading should be italics, upper and lowercase, centered or left justified (American sociological association, 2009). Align headings for abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and references on the left margin or centre them. Use consistent format for capitalization. No section should be started on a separate page unless it works out that way coincidentally (Knisely, 2005)

FOOD ALLERGY: Causes, Symptoms and Prevention

Food Allergy

An adverse food reaction consists of any abnormal reaction after the ingestion of a food. It may be due to a food intolerance, which is an adverse physiologic response, or to food hypersensitivity (allergy), which is an adverse immunologic reaction (Hugh, 2003). Food allergy is a potentially serious immune response to eating specific foods or food additives (Branum, 2008). The term food allergy is used when an immunological mechanism has been defined or is suspected (Cassim, 2004). Food allergy occurs in 6-8% of children and 2% of adults (NIAID, 2003). More than 160 foods can cause allergic reactions in people with food allergies; the law identifies the eight most common allergenic foods. These foods account for 90% of food allergic reactions, and are the food sources from which many other ingredients are derived (FDA, 2010). They also account for over 905 of allergic reactions in affected individuals: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. Reactions to these foods by an allergic person can range from a tingling sensation around the mouth and lips and hives to death, depending on the severity of the allergy.  Food allergy is more prevalent in children than adults, and the majority of affected children will outgrow food allergies with age (Branum, 2008)

Underlying Mechanisms of Food Allergy

The gastrointestinal tract processes ingested food for absorption. It neutralizes foreign antigens and blocks them from entering the circulation. Enzymes from salivary, gastric, pancreatic and intestinal secretions, combined with mastication, gastric acid, and peristalsis, reduce ingested substances to small sugars, peptides and fats. Non-specific (mucin coat) and specific (secretory IgA) mechanisms ‘hold up' and/or block potentially harmful antigenic substances from penetrating the intestinal barrier. Many of the immunological and mechanical barriers involved in this process are immature at birth, leaving the infant at risk. Large amounts of immunologically intact food proteins penetrate the gut barrier in children and adults and enter into the circulation, but clinical tolerance prevents pathologic reactions. A failure to develop tolerance or a breakdown in tolerance results in excessive production of food-specific IgE antibodies.

Mast cells line the GI tract from the lips to the rectum. Food antigens are most rapidly absorbed from the small intestine, colon and rectum and more slowly from the oesophagus and stomach. When food allergens penetrate mucosal barriers and reach specific IgE antibodies bound to mast cells, mediators such as histamine, leukotrienes and prostaglandins are released inducing an immediate hypersensitivity reaction manifested by vasodilatation, smooth muscle contraction and other alterations in normal physiology (Cassim, 2004).

Risk factors and symptoms

According to NIAID (2003) the risk factors linked to food allergy include are: Family history of allergy and asthma, genetic predisposition to allergic disease, age (< 3 years old), elevated allergen-specific serum IgE concentration. According to FDA (2010), the symptoms of food allergies typically appear from within a few minutes to two hours after a person has eaten the food to which he or she is allergic. Allergic reactions vary in intensity and time of onset between individuals and may include:

• Hives, flushed skin or rash, tingling or itchy sensation in the mouth
• Face, tongue or lip swelling
• Vomiting and or/diarrhea
• Abdominal cramps coughing or wheezing
•  Dizziness and or light headaches
•  Swelling of the throat and vocal cords
•  Difficulty breathing
•  Loss of consciousness

Persons may still be allergic to- and have serious reactions to- foods other than the eight foods identified by the law. So, always be sure to read the food label’s ingredient list carefully to avoid food allergens in question.

What to do if symptoms occur

The appearance of symptoms after eating food may be a sign of a food allergy. The food that caused these symptoms should be avoided, and the affected person, should contact a doctor or health care provider for appropriate testing and evaluation.

Persons with a known food allergy who begin experiencing symptoms while, or after, eating a food should initiate treatment immediately, and go to a nearby emergency room if symptoms progress.

Following ingestion of a food allergen, a person with food allergies can experience a severe, life threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. This can lead to:

•  Constricted air ways
• Severe lowering of blood pressure and shock (“anaphylactic shock”)
• Suffocation by swelling of the throat

Each year in the U.S., it is estimated that anaphylaxis to food results in: 30,000 emergency room visits, 2000 hospitalizations and 150 deaths. Prompt administration of epinephrine by autoinjector (e.g., Epi-pen) during early symptoms of anaphylaxis may help prevent serious consequences.

Prevention

According to Cassim (2004), the World Allergy Organization and the World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding only for the newborn infant up to six months and no special diet for the lactating mother. Infants who have cow milk allergy should avoid cow milk proteins, and if a supplement is needed, hypoallergenic formula, if available, should be given to improve symptom control. Individuals with food allergies should alert restaurant personnel about their food allergy and ask whether ingredients are contained in menu dishes or whether there is possible contamination of foods due to shared preparation areas or equipment. Individuals allergic to egg should not be given influenza vaccines without prior consultation with their physician.

According to the food and drug administration (2004), persons found to have a food allergy should be taught to read food labels and avoid the offending foods. They should also be taught, in case of accidental ingestion, to recognize the early symptoms of an allergic reaction, and be properly educated on- and armed with- appropriate treatment measures.The food to which an individual is allergic should be avoided. Where avoidance of the implicated food may result in nutritional deficiency, dietary supplementation is necessary (FDA, 2010).

FDA’s Role

To help Americans avoid the health risks posed by food allergens, congress passed the food allergen labeling and consumer protection act of 2004 (FALCPA). The law applies to all foods whose labeling is regulated by FDA, both and imported (FDA regulates the labeling of all foods except for poultry, most meats, certain egg products and mo0st alcoholic beverages.) Before FALCPA, the labels of foods made from two or more ingredients were required to list all ingredients by their common or usual names. The names of some ingredients, however, do not clearly identify their food source.

Now, the law requires that labels must clearly identify the food source names of all ingredients that are- or contain any protein derived from- the eight most common food allergens, which FALCPA defines as ‘major food allergens.” As a result, food labels help allergic consumers to identify offending foods or ingredients so they can more easily avoid them.

The FALCPA requires that food labels identify the food source names of all major food allergens used to make the food. This requirement is met if the common or usual name of an ingredient (e.g., buttermilk) that is a major food allergen already identifies that allergen’s food source name (i.e., milk). Otherwise, the allergen’s food source name must be declared at least once on the food label in one of the two ways: In Parentheses following the name of the ingredient, examples: Lecithin (Soy), flour (wheat) and whey (milk) or immediately after or next to the list of ingredients in a “contains” statement, example: “contains wheat, milk and soy.”

References

Branum.A.M, Lukaca.S.L., 2008: Food allergy among U.S. Children: Trends in Prevalence and hospitalizations. NCHS data Brief.

Cassim M., 2004: Food Allergy

Food and Drug administration, 2010

Hugh.A.S., 2003: Food Allergy. Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 2003;111:S540-7

NIAID, National Institute of allergy and infectious disease. Report of the expert panel on food allergy research, June 30 and July,2003.

HACCP In Sugar Cane Juice Processing

Joel tumwebaze

Sugar cane Juice processing

PROCESS FLOW AND HACCP

BY Joel Tumwebaze

7/19/2012

The document highlights the terms involved in drawing a HACCP plan for Juice manufacture, steps in identifying critical control points, process flow chart for sugar cane juice manufacture together with the critical control points at relevant stages Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS HACCP

Hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) is a system that identifies and monitors specific food-borne hazard-biological, chemical or physical properties that can adversely affect the safety of the food product. The HACCP system identifies biological, chemical and physical hazards at specific points in the flow of food and the ways these contaminants can be prevented from causing or spreading food-borne illness. The FDA puts the HACCP principles in regulating Low acid canned food industries, seafood industry, and the juice industry (Arduser, 2005)

In 1998 the U.S. Department of Agriculture established HACCP for meat and poultry processing plants as well. Most of these establishments were required to start using HACCP by January 1999. (USDA regulates meat and poultry; FDA all the others). HACCP has been endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (an international food standard-setting organization), and the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods(Arduser, 2005)

HACCP’s Seven Principles

HACCP focuses on how food flows through the process-from purchasing to serving. Each step in the food-preparation process there are a variety of potential hazards. HACCP provides managers with the framework for implementing control procedures for each hazard. It does this through identifying critical control points (CCPs). These are points in the process where hazards are more likely to be introduced. The seven principles of HACCP include:

1.   Analyze hazards; Potential hazards associated with food and measures to control those hazards are identified. The hazards could be biological, such as microbes: chemical, such as toxins; or physical, such as ground glass or metal fragments.
2. Identify critical control points; These are points in a food’s production process at which the potential hazard can be controlled or eliminated.
3. Establish preventive measures with critical limits for each control point; For cooked food, for example, this might include setting the minimum cooking temperature and time required to ensure the elimination of any harmful microbes.
4. Establish procedures to monitor the critical control points; Such procedures might include determining how and by whom cooking time and temperature should be monitored.
5. Establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring shows that a critical limit has not been met; For example, reprocessing or disposing of food if the minimum cooking temperature is not met.
6. Establish procedures to verify that the system is working properly; For example, testing time-and temperature-recording devices to verify that a cooking unit is working properly.
7. Establish effective recordkeeping to document the HACCP system; This would include records of hazards and their control methods, the monitoring safety requirements, and the action taken to correct potential problems. Each of these principles must be backed by sound scientific knowledge; for example, published microbiological studies on time and temperature factors for controlling food-borne pathogens.

HACCP IN SUGARCANE JUICE MANUFACTURE

Freshly extracted sugarcane juice cannot be stored for a couple of hours due to its fast deteriorating quality. It should therefore be preserved by adding food grade preservatives where the shelf life can be extended to about six months. In sugarcane juice, the microbial contamination found is mainly yeast. Sugar cane juice is quite nutritious as it contains natural sugars, minerals like iron, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium and organic acids e.g. malic acid, succinic acid, acotinic acid, amino acids, protein, starch, gums, waxes, non-sugar phosphatides. Sucrose, monosacharides, some polysaccharides and glycoproteins are associated with sugar cane Juice. Some processors of sugarcane juice also add lemon, ginger and mint for enhancing the taste. Lemon is also used as a disinfectant. Fresh juice processed, preserved and aseptically packaged has a good storage life.

The sugarcane processing plant should be situated at a place where sugarcane is easily available. Sugarcanes can be available through out the whole year. The preservatives, packaging and additives are also locally available.

Definition of terms

1. Cleaning means washing with water of adequate sanitary quality
2. Control means to prevent, eliminate, or eradicate.
3. Control measure means any action or activity that is used to prevent, reduce to acceptable levels, or eliminate a hazard
4. Critical control point (CCP) means a point, step, or procedure in a food process at which a control measure can be applied and at which control is essential to prevent, reduce to an acceptable level, or eliminate an identified food hazard.
5. Critical limit means the maximum or minimum value to which a physical, biological or chemical parameter must be controlled at a critical control point to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to an acceptable level the occurrence of the identified hazard
6. Culled means the separation of damaged fruit  from undamaged fruit
7. Food hazard means any biological, chemical, or physical agent that is reasonably likely to cause illness or injury in the absence of its control.
8. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) means a systematic approach to the identification, evaluation, and control of food safety hazards.
9. HACCP Plan means the written document that is based upon the principles of HACCP and delineats the procedures to be followed
10. HACCP Team means the group of people who are responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining the HACCP system
11. Hazard Analysis means the process of collecting and evaluating information on harzards associated with the food under consideration to decide which are significant and must be addressed in the HACCP plan.
12. Juice means the aqueous liquid expressed or extracted from one or more fruits or stem, root or tuber vegetables
13. Juice concentrate means the aqueous liquid extracted from one or more fruits, root stem or tuber vegetables and reduced in volume through the removal of water from the juice.
14. Monitor means to conduct a planned sequence of observations or measurements to assess whether a process, point or procedure is under control and to produce an accurate record for future use in verification
15. Pasteurization means a heat treatment sufficient to deatrol vegetative cells of pathogens.
16. Process Authority means an expert in the processes for controlling pathogenic microorganisms in food, and ad such, is qualified by training and experience to evaluate all of the aspects of your pathogen control measure, e.g process time, temperature, type of equipment, e.t.c. and determine that your measures, if properly implemented, will control pathogens effectively.
17. Retail establishment means an operation that provides juice directly to consumers and does not sell or distribute juice to other businesses. The term “provides” includes storing, preparing, packaging, serving, and selling juice.
18. Shelf stable product means a product that is hermetic ally sealed and when stored at room temperature, should not demonstrate any microbial growth.
19. Validation means that element of verification focused on collecting and evaluating scientific and technical information to determine whether the HACCP system, when properly implemented, will control effectively the identified food harzards.
20. Verification means those activities, other than monitoring, that establish the validity of the HACCP plan and that the system is operating according to the plan. It includes validation procedures.

Juice hazard analysis

The juice hazard analysis is a process of collecting and evaluating information on hazard associated with juice, to determine which hazards are reasonably likely to occur and must be addressed in a HACCP plan.

CCP Decision Tree Table

                  

Process for sugarcane juice manufacture

Incoming materials

• Sugarcane deteriorates quickly after it has been cut and should be processed as quickly as possible. The sugarcanes are received directly from the field or from local storage facilities.
• Packaging materials are delivered in clean, well-maintained, and covered vehicles.

 Processing

• Sugarcanes are visually inspected prior to unloading and placed into cold storage or proceed to the next step
• Sugarcanes are washed prior to primary culling
• During primary culling, damaged sugarcanes are culled out and disposed off
• Sugar canes are rinsed with portable water
• Blanching of sugarcanes stems in boiling water for 5minutes before squeezing and/or addition of 0.1% ascorbic acid was an efficient method to prevent the browning and diminish the enzyme activities in the fresh juice. The key enzyme related to the browning of suagarcane juice is polyphenol oxidase (PPO) that reacted with phenolics compounds.
• Peeling can either be done manually by knives or mechanically by abrasive peeler. the mechanical method is more efficient with the uice yields 76.4% and 94.6%, respectively, the reason being that peeling by the abrasive tool leaded to less sugarcane flesh loss in the peeled skins due to a constant depth of peeling whereas the manual peeling by knives strongly relied on the skills and consistency of the worker. Furthermore mechanical peeling is more convenient and much faster. The peeling process exposes the inner fibre.
• Squeezing can either be done using a rolling squeezer or a hydraulic pressing machine. The hydraulic pressing machine utilizes thinner and shorter size sugarcanes hence the intensity of the compression force on the sugarcane stem is higher resulting in the more amount of squeezed juice compared to the roller squeezer. Despite the higher yield from hydraulic pressing, the time consumed from the pressing method was 186minutes compared to around 20 minutes for the rolling squeezer at the same amount of sample (10kgs).
• The juice so obtained is clarified and filtered to get a clear solution. Required quantities of permitted preservatives, additives and flavours are added. The process should be carried out under hygienic conditions. The bagasse from the cane should be disposed off quickly or dried at a distant place since it attracts flies and ferments leading to foul odour
• Juice concentration/pasteurization Juice concentration using hot water as heating medium at a temperature of 700c under vacuum pressure 70cmHg could produce the highly concentrated sugarcane juice (app.600Bix) unlike freeze concentration.

Packaging and shipping

• Juice is filled into HDPE blow-molded bottles of various sizes. Bottles are capped, passed through a metal detector, labeled, cased, and stored refrigerated until shipping.

Flow chart of sugarcane juice manufacture with HACCP