UNIT - 11 RECENT CONCERNS

Emerging pathogens

Despite advances in hygiene, consumer knowledge, food treatment and processing, foodborne diseases mediated by pathogenic microorganisms or microbial toxins still represent a significant treat to public health worldwide.
Emerging Pathogens are those causing illnesses that have only recently appeared or been recognised in a population or that are well recognised but are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range.

Emerging Pathogens are those that have:

• Appeared recently
• Extended to new vehicles of transmission 
• Started to increase rapidly in incidence or geographic range 
• Been widespread for many years but only recently identified through new or increased knowledge or methods of identification and analysis of the disease agent 

Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically modified foods or GM foods, also known as genetically engineered foods or bio-engineered foods, are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering.
Common Genetically Modified Foods
Milk

Canola Oil
Aspartame
Soy
Corn
Potato
Papaya
Rice
Tomato
Cotton

Genetically Modified Foods – Merits & Demerits

Before we think of having GM foods it is very important to know about is advantages and disadvantages especially with respect to its safety.
MERITS

• GM foods are useful in controlling the occurrence of certain diseases. 
• By modifying the DNA system of these foods, the properties causing allergies are eliminated successfully. 
• These foods grow faster than the foods that are grown traditionally.
• Moreover, these foods are a boon in places which experience frequent droughts, or where the soil is incompetent for agriculture. 
• At times, genetically engineered food crops can be grown at places with unfavourable climatic conditions too. 
• Genetically engineered foods are reported to be high in nutrients and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods. 
• Other than this, these foods are known to taste better. 
• Another reason for people opting for genetically engineered foods is that they have an increased shelf life and hence there is less fear of foods getting spoiled quickly.

DEMERITS

• The biggest threat caused by GM foods is that they can have harmful effects on the human body. 
• It is believed that consumption of these genetically engineered foods can cause the development of diseases which are immune to antibiotics.
• Manufacturers do not mention on the label that foods are developed by genetic manipulation because they think that this would affect their business, which is not a good practice. 
• Experts are also of the opinion that with the increase of such foods, developing countries would start depending more on industrial countries because it is likely that the food production would be controlled by them in the time to come.

Food Labelling

• Food Labelling serves as a primary link of communication between the manufacturer or packer of food on the one hand and distributor, seller, and user or consumer on the other hand. 
• By way of labelling the manufacturer introduces his product to his distributor or seller and to the target consumer or user of his product by providing all the information regarding his product on the label.
• As per Food Laws, every packaged food article has to be labelled and it has to be labelled in accordance with the law applicable in the country of the user. 
• Every packaged food article for the domestic use has to be labelled in accordance to the related Indian Food Law i.e. Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, notified by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

In order to safeguard the interest of the consumer, The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, provides that every packaged food article has to be labelled and it shall provide the following information –

• The name of Food
• List of Ingredients,
• Nutritional Information,
• Declaration regarding Veg or non-veg,
• Declaration regarding Food Additives,
• Name and complete address of the manufacturer or packer
• Net Quantity,
• Code No,/Lot No./Batch No.,
• Date of manufacture or packing,
• Best Before and Use By Date,
• Country of Origin for imported food and
• Instructions for use

If the food product is not labelled in accordance to the regulations or it does not provide the required complete information or the food product is promoted for sale with false, misleading or deceptive claims then it is considered as misbranded food and attracts the penalties as given below-

OFFENCES & PENALTIES

Misbranded Food Up to 3lakh rupee
Misleading advertisement Up to 10lakh rupees
The consumer can notice the labelling defect easily through visual inspection and that may create suspicion about the quality of the product also in the mind of the consumer.

BSE (BOVINE SERUM ENCEPHTHALOPATHY)

• A brain disorder in adult cattle that may be spread to humans through diseased meat.
• Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy and fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that may be passed to humans who have eaten infected flesh. 
• BSE causes a spongiform degeneration of the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, of 2.5 to 5 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of four to five years. 
• As of January 2004, more than 180,000 cases of BSE were confirmed in Great Britain in more than 35,000 herds of cattle. The epidemic peaked in January 1993 at almost 1,000 new cases per week.
• BSE is caused by a misfolded protein—a prion.
• Humans may acquire the disorder by eating diseased meat products. When it comes from cattle, the disorder is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). CJD ultimately leads to dementia and death. The condition is rare.
• The disease is marked by rapid mental deterioration, usually within a few months. Most people eventually lapse into a coma.
• Treatment focuses on keeping the person as comfortable as possible.

NEWER TRENDS IN FOOD PACKAGING AND TECHNOLOGY

The food packaging industry is vibrant and highly competitive, with food manufacturers always on the look-out for packaging that can provide consumers with increased convenience as well as longer shelf life at a lower cost than their existing packaging.
1. Material substitution - Over the past few decades there have been significant changes in the relative proportions of the packaging materials glass, metal, paper and plastics used to pack food. Most noticeable has been the switch from glass (and to a lesser extent metal) to plastics with, for example, the majority of beverages nowadays packed in polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

2. Lightweighting - Lightweighting has been going on for decades, driven primarily by economics but in recent years it has always been trumpeted as being driven by environmental concerns.

3. Smart labels - The Universal Product Code is a bar code symbology used for scanning packages at point of sale. It has been widely used on food and other packs since its launch in 1974 on a 10-pack of chewing gum.

4. Sustainability - Although sustainable packaging is widely discussed at conferences and in the packaging media, there is no consensus as to what it is. Many in the packaging industry are confused; consumers are also very confused and the potential exists for unscrupulous companies to market packages as ‘sustainable’ when they are not and thus mislead consumers.

5. Biobased but not biodegradable plastics - Sustainable means to maintain or keep going continuously and the word has been used in connection with forest management for over a century. To be sustainable, consumption of resources must match their rate of renewal and therefore the use of non-renewable resources, such as petroleumbased plastics (and metals), is unsustainable. This has led