UNIT 1: Food, Nutrition and the Environment—The Interrelationships

Food and Nutrition Common Definitions

Learning Objectives

• define the common terms in food science and nutrition listed in the course notes;

• list the six classes of nutrients and their division into two subgroups;

• differentiate between essential, non essential and conditionally essential nutrients;

• define calorie and recall the food energy provided by carbohydrates, protein, fat and
alcohol;

• define phytochemical, functional food and nutraceutical and discuss their potential role in
health;

Course Notes

Definition of Food

• Any solid or liquid material consumed by a living organism that maintains life and
growth.

• Supplies energy, carrier of nutrients.

• Can be processed or raw.

Nutrients
Nutrients are substances the body uses for the growth, maintenance and repair of its tissues.
There are 6 classes of nutrients that can be divided into 2 groups:
Group A Group B

Energy providing (meaning that the body can use the energy Other nutrients (or non-energy
they contained) containing)

1. carbohydrate 1. water

2. fat 2. vitamins

3. protein 3. minerals

Within the 6 classes of nutrients, there are essential, conditionally essential and non-essential
nutrients.

Essential Nutrients: The nutrients that the body cannot make for itself from other raw
materials. Examples of essential nutrients are the minerals, and the essential fatty acids, linoleic
and linolenic acid.
Conditionally Essential Nutrients: Some nutrients are conditionally essential, meaning that
the body cannot make enough to meet the requirements for health (e.g., the amino acid histidine
during periods of growth).
Non-Essential Nutrients: These are nutrients that the body can make for itself, so does not
have to rely on our food intake (e.g., some amino acids, some fatty acids).

Measuring Food Energy

Food energy is measured in calories. Energy is expressed in 1,000-calorie metric units known as
kilocalories (shortened to kcalories), but commonly called “calories”. When you read “100
Calories” in popular books or magazines, it actually means 100 kcalories (kcal). Note: a
kcalorie is not a constituent of foods; it is a measure of the potential energy in foods.

The definition of calorie is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of one
litre of water by one degree Celcius.
The amount of energy that a food provides depends on the content of carbohydrate, fat and
protein.

• Carbohydrate provide us with 4 Cal/g (=kcal/g)

• Fat (lipid) provide us with 9 Cal/g

• Protein provide us with 4 Cal/g

• Alcohol provide us with 7 Cal/g, but is not a nutrient

How to calculate the energy available from foods

Multiply the number of grams of carbohydrate by 4, protein by 4 and fat by 9. Add the results
together.

Example: 1 slice of bread with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on it contains 16 grams of

carbohydrate, 7 grams of protein and 9 grams of fat.

16 g carbohydrate x 4 kcal/g = 64 kcal 7 g protein x 4 kcal/g = 28 kcal

9 g fat x 9 kcal/g = 81 kcal

Total = 173 kcal

How to calculate percentage of kcal for each nutrient (in relation to total kcal from the
nutrients)
Divide kcal of nutrient by total kcal.

Example: 1 slice of bread with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on it contains 16 grams of

carbohydrate, 7 grams of protein, 9 grams of fat and 173 kcal.

For fat:
9 g fat x 9 kcal/g = 81 kcal
81kcal / 173kcal = 0.468
Multiply result of division by 100
(0.468 x 100 = 46.8%). So this means that 46.8% of the calories in the bread with peanut butter
are coming from fat. For protein:
7 g protein x 4 kcal/g = 28 kcal
28kcal / 173kcal = 0.162
0.162 x 100 = 16.2%
Phytochemicals
In plant foods, we also have substances called phytochemicals.

• Nonnutrient compounds derived from plants

• Have biological activity in the body

• May support health beyond roles of traditional nutrients

At one time, phytochemicals were thought to only play a role in the sensory qualities of a food
(taste, colour, texture, etc.).

Phytochemicals give hot peppers their burning sensation, onions and garlic their pungent flavour,
and tomatoes their deep

red colour.
Scientists have since recognized that some phytochemicals have profound physiological effects
on our body:

• may act as antioxidants

• may mimic hormones

• may alter blood constituents to protect against some disease processes, e.g., cancer, heart
disease.

Supplementing Phytochemicals
Phytochemicals can be naturally occurring in a food, or added to foods. Added phytochemicals
may produce effects that are vastly different from those seen in whole foods. These effects can
even be harmful. Before taking, check the research: does it work, is it safe, has the FDA or
Health Canada issued warnings, is it in line with nutrition guidelines (i.e., what food has the
phytochemical been added to, a nutritious food or a dessert food)?

Foods contain thousands of different chemicals, some with beneficial effects, some with no
effect, some with harmful effects. These chemicals can exert different effects on different people
or when taking differing doses, or at different life
stages. Phytochemicals have the potential to alter body functions, sometimes powerfully, in
ways only partly understood. In most cases, the beneficial effects that we see from some foods
cannot be attributed to one individual phytochemical, and therefore not a purified supplement
form of that phytochemical. Although we have been consuming foods that contain
phytochemicals for tens of thousands of years, this does not mean that there is sufficient
evidence to support that phytochemical supplements are safe.

Therefore, food, not supplements, is currently the most effective and safest source of
phytochemicals. Currently, there is insufficient evidence to say for certain whether any
phytochemical is effective at fighting disease, or if it is safe to consume phytochemicals in
concentrated doses.
Functional Foods
Functional foods are products that may look like or be a conventional food and are consumed as
part of a usual diet, but have physiological benefits or can reduce the risk of chronic disease
beyond basic nutritional functions, e.g., soy-based foods. Regular consumption of foods
containing soybean has been shown to reduce the risk of developing hypertension.

Cranberry juice is another example of a functional food. Cranberries contain a phytochemical

that may dislodge bacteria from the urinary tract. For urinary tract infection prevention, the
recommended doses range from 90 to 480 milliliters (3 to 16 ounces) of cranberry cocktail
twice daily, or 15 to 30 milliliters of unsweetened 100% cranberry juice daily. Concentrated
cranberry tablets may significantly increase risk of kidney stones. Cranberry has not been shown
effective as a treatment for documented UTI.

Yogurt is also a functional food. Yogurt contains probiotics (live bacteria that may provide
health benefits, e.g., Lactobacillus microorganisms). Research is showing that probiotics may
improve the diarrhea that often accompanies the use of antibiotic drugs. Some research suggests
that yogurt may benefit some chronic intestinal diseases, e.g., Crohn’s, colon cancer, ulcers, and
irritable bowel syndrome. More research is needed in the role yogurt plays in these conditions
as well as reducing urinary and yeast infections in women, and lower blood cholesterol.

Nutraceuticals
Nutraceuticals are products isolated or purified from food, generally sold in a medicinal form
not usually associated with food and have physiological benefits or provide protection against
chronic disease, e.g., isoflavones (phytochemical) from soybeans can be extracted and sold in
pill form. Isoflavone activities mimic those of hormones such as estrogens.

How Food Science is Guided by Research

Learning Objectives

• describe the scientific method

 • differentiate between the research study designs;

Course Notes

Definition of Food Science

Food science is an interdisciplinary field of science which overlaps with many other areas, such
as nutrition, biology, chemistry, physics, even engineering.

Food Science is the scientific study of:

• Raw food materials.

• Behaviour of raw food materials when created, processed, stored, packaged, and
evaluated as consumer food products.

Definition of Food Technology

Applying food science to the:

• selection

• preservation • processing • packaging

• distribution • use
of safe, nutritious, wholesome food.

As humans, our need for food is vital. The foods that we typically consume have been affected
by technology in many ways, and this technology allows for the wide availability and variety of
foods. For example, we can purchase canned, pickled, frozen, fresh or dried vegetables and
fruits, and we can buy foods in all sorts of different types of packaging (think of the type of
package your prewashed salads come in versus the bag that your frozen vegetables come in).
Technology also affects our processed foods through the use of food additives, which can be
anything from emulsifiers that help the fat to bind to watery food components (think of your
mayonnaise – this is how the fat in the oil and egg yolk stays mixed together with the water and
vinegar), to the colour stabilizers in the food or the preservatives that help to keep the food fresh.

Safety and Quality of Food

Food science considers all safety and quality aspects of foods before consumed including the
following aspects:
 • Food processing and manufacturing

• Food preservation and packaging

• Food safety and wholesomeness

• Food quality evaluation

• Food distribution

• Consumer food use and preparation

Definition of Food Scientist

• Applies scientific knowledge and technological principles to the study of foods and food
components.

• Can work in research or manufacturing.

Food Science and Nutrition Research

Research begins with a question, e.g., what foods or nutrients might protect against the common
cold? In search of an answer, scientists make an educated guess called a “hypothesis”. The
scientists then systematically conduct research studies to test each hypothesis.
The scientific method is the steps that scientist take when trying to solve a problem or doing an
experiment.
It is important to find, read and assess previous research that has been done on the topic in
question. When interpreting
research, it is important to take an evidence based approach, with the gold standard for scientific
information being peer-
reviewed literature. There are many databases that are available through the University of
Manitoba library which provide
access to full-text peer reviewed journal articles. Examples include PubMed, MEDLINE, and
EBSCOhost. Table 2.2 in your
textbook offers information on how to assess an article from peer-reviewed literature. There are
many different research study designs:

1.

2.

Descriptive Studies: can generate a hypothesis, can focus on an individual or a population.

Examples include:

Population or correlational study: researchers compare data from entire populations to identify
factors that might influence the incidence of a disease in various populations. It is impossible to
establish causality though
Analytical Studies: can test specific hypotheses, can include observational and intervention
studies. Examples include:

Case-control study: researchers compare people who have a given condition such as a disease
with other people who do not have the disease. They closely match them in age, gender and other
key variables so that

since the whole population is being examined. Also referred to as epidemiological studies. o
Case report: detailed report on a single patient
o Case series: a compilation of multiple case reports
o Cross-sectional survey: examines both exposure and disease in individuals.

differences in other factors will stand out.

o Cohort study: classifies participants based on exposure and follows them for a period of time
to assess disease

development.
o Intervention study: researchers ask people to adopt a new behaviour (e.g., take a vitamin C
supplement) and

compare their results to a control group taking a placebo. These trials help determine the
effectiveness of such interventions in the development or prevention of disease. Intervention
studies are usually randomized

(participants are randomly assigned to either the treatment or placebo group). With a double-
blind design, neither the researchers nor the study participants know who is receiving the
treatment and who is receiving the placebo and are considered to provide the most compelling
outcomes.

Food Choices
Learning Objectives

• describe the factors that play a role in food choices;

• define ethnocentrism and cultural relativism;

• discuss the food consumption trends that are forecast to 2020;

Course Notes
Many factors play a role in the food choices that we make:
• Availability: rural areas may have less accessibility to some foods than urban
communities

• Cost: is the food affordable?

• Convenience: if you need to eat your meal at school or on the run, does the food meet
that need?

• Emotional factors: ice cream after a break-up

• Social factors: wing night with friends

• Media advertising: a commercial makes you hungry, kids commercials – marketing

unhealthy food to kids through the use of
cartoon characters

• Habit: choosing familiar foods (e.g., eating cereal for breakfast because you have always
eaten this for breakfast since you
were a child)

• Positive or negative association: we tend to like foods that have happy associations (e.g.,
cake and ice cream at a birthday
party). We tend to dislike foods with negative associations (e.g., if you ate a food and
then felt sick, you are more likely to
avoid that food in the future)

• Personal values: may avoid eating certain foods because of personal beliefs/ values (e.g.,
may avoid red meat or may choose
organic foods over conventionally grown products)

• Weight, health, nutritional value: choosing foods that we perceive to be “good for us”
 • Personal preference: choosing food because of taste

• Occupation: can influence the pattern of eating that we follow. For example, if we work
shift work, we eat our meals at a different time.

• Cultural / ethnic factors: every culture has typical foods and ways of preparing them.
Food beliefs, customs, attitudes and taboos affect the diet and determine what foods are
acceptable.

The Travel Channel has a show titled “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmer” which highlights
different foods that are

consumed around the world. If you are interested in viewing highlights from this program, you
can visit the Travel Channel

website: http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/bizarre-foods
We tend to view our own patterns of behaviour as being right, normal and superior. This can
influence our food choices. For example, people in Scotland eat porridge, however some British
people will not, as they believe oats are for animal

consumption, not for humans. In Mexico, corn is a staple food, however many Europeans believe
that corn is for chickens, not people.

Ethnocentrism: The belief that one's own pattern of behaviour is preferred over those of other
cultures
Cultural Relativism: an approach of understanding and accepting other cultures. Recognizing
that values and beliefs can

differ, based on culture, but that all are equal.

Food Consumption Trends

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada have made predictions as to Canadian food trends that will
been seen up to 2020:

1. Aging Canadians
It is projected that there will more seniors and fewer children in the Canadian population in 2020
then we have seen

in past years. This will influence the types of food that there is demand for in the population.
2. An Evolving Society
It is predicted that brand names will become less of a status symbol, and will be used by
consumers to express individuality. Other changes in society are also expected to affect food
choices, including decreased family size, environmental awareness, globalization, and
participation in the workforce.

3. Changing Meal Patterns

Food preparation is predicted to decline, with a shift towards small, frequent meals or snacks
instead of three meals a day. This would result in a greater demand for more portable food
options.

4. Shifting Expenditures
It is forecast that the decline in amount of disposal income spent on food will continue to
2020. This is expected to impact the frequency that Canadians visit restaurants.

5. Food for Health

The most significant health conditions expected to drive food choices are obesity, heart
disease and diabetes.

6. The Educated Consumer

Consumers will be more conscious of what is in their foods through label reading, with a
focus on:

o Zero trans-fats
o Low sodium
o High fibre/healthy carbohydrates o Reduced
sugar
o Allergen identification o Fortification
o Health claims

7. The New Face of Canada

As immigration into Canada continues to increase so will the influence on our food supply. We
will see diversification, fusion and blending of cuisines, as well as easier access to unfamiliar
food ingredients, cooking methods and presentation styles.
8. No Trade-off for Convenience
Consumers will want it all. They will not be willing to make any sacrifices for convenience,
so the pressure will be on food producers to create convenient forms of foods that are
nutritious, great tasting, fresh and varied (ethnic foods as well).

9. Veggies Anyone?
The consumption of non-meat meals is expected to increase among non-vegetarians. This is
due to consumer focus on health, quick preparation and ethnic food options.

10.Organic Foodss
Organic food consumption is expected to continue to increase.
11.Small Indulgences
It is predicted that there will be an increased demand for gourmet foods and boutique brands
of food. We could potentially see a shift from demand for big portions of cheap food to a
demand for smaller portions of high quality, nutritious foods.

12.Food Safety and Production Issues

Consumer confidence in foods will continue to influence their decision to purchase. Food
borne illness, food additives, food processing techniques (like biotechnology and irradiation),
ethics, country of origin and contaminants will all continue to be important to consumers.

Hunger and the Global Environment

Learning Objectives

• define food security, food insecurity, food poverty and other hunger terms;

• discuss the four pillars of food security;

• discuss the reasons for hunger in developed and developing countries;

• discuss common methods of food recovery and Canadian programs that promote food
security;

Course Notes
World-wide, one in every five people experiences chronic lack of food on a daily basis. Every
two seconds, one person dies in the world because of starvation. In many cases, those who are
experiencing hunger live in countries that produce excess food, but do not have access.

Although we often think of this as a problem only in developing countries, we are not immune to
food insecurity in North

America.

See Table 15.2: Hunger Terms

Food insecurity: Limited or uncertain access to foods of sufficient quality or quantity to sustain
a healthy and active life. Access to foods of sufficient quality means that a person may have
access to enough calories but not necessarily enough nutrients.
Risk factors for food insecurity include anything that limits resources available for food
acquisition, such as an increase in non-food expenditures, under-employment and poverty. Food
insecurity leads to hunger, and hunger is a major health issue.

Food security: Access by all people at all times to nutritionally adequate, safe, personally
acceptable foods from normal food channels.

The four pillars of food security are:

1. Availability: sufficient amount at all times, and variety at a reasonable cost. This is affected by
time of year/season, civil

conflict/war, food preservation and supply.

2. Accessibility: determined by entitlements (the bundle of resources needed to acquire food).
Accessibility is affected by:

o market prices
o employment/funds ($)
o production and marketing systems
o gender and power relations within the household o
education
o transportation o water
o sanitation

3. Adequacy- provide nourishment. Adequacy is affected by: control over resources, nutrient
content of the food/quality,
information about food/nutrition. 4. Acceptability- refers to food that is:

o personally palatable
o acquired by a socially-acceptable means of obtaining food o culturally appropriate

Hunger in Developed Countries

The main cause of hunger in developed countries like Canada is food poverty. Although enough
food exists in the area, it cannot be obtained because of:

• Lack of Money: To buy nutritious foods and pay for other necessities like housing, clothing,
medications, utilities... Often

food is the sacrifice made.

• Political reasons: Up to 80% of hungry children live in countries that produce surplus
food, but the decisions of policy
makers in those areas, largely determines who in the population has access to the food.

• Countries of War: Food transportation may be limited. Also, have other concerns
beyond hunger.

• Lack of transportation: Can they get to a store to access food?

• Cannot Afford: may be on welfare (prices have increased, but welfare moneys have stayed
fairly constant), or may be part of working poor (not on welfare because working, but pay too
low to meet needs).

To stretch meager food supplies, adults often:

• skip meals or cut their portions

• may be forced to break social rules: beg from strangers, steal from markets, scavenge
through garbage cans, may even
harvest dead animals from roadside. Can lead to dangerous food borne illnesses.
• may rely on foods with low nutrient density, but high calorie density, so calorie needs are met,
but not nutritional needs. Inexpensive foods like white bread, mac and cheese, pastas. Diet tends
to be low in fruit and vegetables, milk product and meats/protein.

According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/about-us/

publications/economic-

publications/alphabetical-listing/an-overview-of-the-canadian-agriculture-and-agri-food-
system-2015/?id=1428439111783):

• “About one-third of the global food supply is lost or wasted every year. Food is lost or wasted
at all stages of the agri-food system and for many reasons ranging from pest and climate issues at
the farm level, to infrastructure challenges in the

distribution stage to consumer decisions at the household level.”

• “Analysis of food loss and waste in Canada, the United States (U.S.), and other developed
countries shows that most of the

food loss and waste occurs in households and in the food retail and service sectors.”
• “In Canada, 6 billion kilograms of food was lost or wasted at the household and retail levels,
representing 29.4% of the food

supply in 2010, with household food loss and waste accounting for 20.3% of this total and retail
accounting for the other 9.1%.”

See Table 15-3: More Examples of Canadian Programs that Promote Food Security in your
NCC Supplement for a list of

programs aimed at preventing or relieving malnutrition in Canada.

National food recovery programs involve the collection of wholesome foods for distribution to
low-income people who are hungry which would otherwise have gone to waste.

Four common methods of food recovery are:

 • Field gleaning: collecting crops from fields that either have already been harvested or are not
profitable to harvest.

• Perishable food rescue or salvage: collecting perishable produce from wholesalers and
markets.

• Prepared food rescue: collecting prepared foods from commercial kitchens.

• Non-perishable food collection: collecting processed foods from wholesalers and markets.
Local efforts: Food recovery programs depend on volunteers. Concerned citizens work
through local agencies and churches
to feed the hungry. For example, soup kitchens serve prepared meals. Other community
programs include:

• Food Banks: provide groceries and food. Food bank use in Canada is increasing.

• Community kitchens are programs were individuals come together to prepare meals that
they can take home to their
families. Typically ingredients for set recipes are provided.

• Community gardens are typically grown on donated plots of land, and typically the
supplies and seeds are donated to a

community group as well. The participants are responsible to care for the garden and benefit
from the yield of produce.

• School feeding programs provide meals, such as breakfast and/or lunch, to children at
school.

• Food Share programs. An example of a food share program in Winnipeg is Fruit Connect
(http://www.fruitshare.ca/home-
2/fruit-connect/). People with fruit trees can register to have people come and pick the
fruit from their trees. Fruit pickers can register to pick fruit. The fruit picked is then
shared equally between the owner, picker and community groups that accept local fruit.
In information video about Fruit Connect can be viewed
at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTA_bXiqIo0&t=5s.
See Table 15.4: Fourteen Ways Communities Can Address Their Local Hunger Problems in your
NCC Supplement.

Visit http://www.winnipegharvest.org/ to learn more about Winnipeg Harvest. Click on

“Donate”, then “Top 10 Most Wanted Food Items” to view the items most needed by Winnipeg
Harvest.
World Hunger
Food Poverty is still the primary cause of hunger in developing countries, however the poverty in
developing countries is much more severe. To put this into perspective, the “poorest poor” must
manage with less than one dollar a day. The average cat in North America is feed more protein
each day than a person considered the “poorest poor” and we spend more on our cat each year
than that person makes in an entire year. See Figure 15.4: Hunger Hotspots in your NCC
Supplement. Women and children are usually the most affected.

See Figure 15.3: Causes and Outcomes of Hunger in your NCC Supplement.

• Quantity, quality and availability of food – e.g. drought causing famine

• Discrimination factors that affect distribution – e.g. war, government corruption

• Individual household’s access to available food – e.g. transportation to get food

• Access to clean water and health services

• Individual childcare practices (e.g. child fed while others in the family go hungry,
knowledge of how to mix baby formula)

• Inadequate food or nutrient intakes – causing malnutrition, weakness, disease

• Ultimately disease conditions and malnutrition can worsen one another. This affects the
life expectancy rates – in some
African countries, the life expectancy averages 50 years of age.

Two major challenges exist to banishing world food insecurity:

1. Provide enough for the worlds expanding population, without destroying natural resources
need for continued food

production.
2. Make sure everyone has access to this food.
The world population is growing at a rapid rate. Every 30 seconds, 15 children die of
malnutrition, while 125 are born. Every
day, the earth gains 220,000 new residents to feed – most born into impoverished nations (see
Figure 15-5: Income and
Birthrate in your NCC Supplement).
When you look at the world food supply, enough food is produced to feed the entire current
population, however many that are in need are unable to get adequate food, while others have
an overabundance.

Globally, there are approximately 800 million people who experience hunger and protein-
energy malnutrition. However there are over 1.1 billion people worldwide who are overweight/
obese.

Environmental Issues and Nutrition

Learning Objectives

• discuss factors that affect global food production and distribution;

• discuss biodiversity;

• define sustainability and discuss sustainable agricultural practices;

• discuss ways that you could positively impact the environment;

Course Notes

It is important that we have the ability to produce food for the world, while maintaining a healthy
environment.

Food and agricultural factors affecting nutrition and health:

A. Increased demand for food is influenced by:

B.
o

population growth – at the present rate of growth, the world’s population is expected to soon
surpass the current

Increased food production is influenced by:

rate of food production

o urbanization – new developments, destroys farmland o food losses, wastage and spoilage

o demand for high animal-protein diets – plant based foods take the least amount of energy to
produce, while animal foods take the most energy to produce

o productive land o irrigation

o fuel
o animal health
o animal wastes
o increased productivity
o agricultural chemicals
o aquaculture
o biotechnology – genetic engineering o decreased food
losses

C.

Environmental changes that may have negative effects on food production:

o climate changes – can cause droughts and flooding, destroying crops and peoples homes
o ozone layer depletion - growing thinner, allowing harmful radiation from the sun to penetrate
the earth. May

potentially damage crops and ecosystems.

o pest resistance to pesticides
o resistance of pathogens to antibiotics and chemicals
o ocean pollution – pollution is killing fish in large dead zones along the coasts o over-fishing
is depleting the fish stock
o fresh water shortages—supplies are dwindling and becoming polluted
o loss of genetic resources
o loss of food producing land - erosion, loss of top soil, land being paved. We are trying to
feed more people, with less land to produce food

o deforestation
o accelerated fossil fuel use - causing pollution of air, soil and water o inappropriate
agricultural systems and/or technology

o extinction of species - more than 140 species of animals and plants become extinct each day.
Another 20 percent of species are expected to die out over the next 10 years. We may see plants
and animals that will not exist when our children or grandchildren are born. For example, of the
5,000 food plants grown throughout the world a few centuries ago, only 150 are cultivated in
commercial agriculture today.

Why plants disappear

1. Inability to adapt to climate changes.

2. Loss of forests or harvesting of forest resources.

3. Severe soil erosion by wind or heavy rains or soil pollution by repetitive use of chemical
fertilizers.

4. Market pressure on farmers to switch to commercial production of single varieties.

Why should we care?

1. Plants provide the essentials of life: food, clothing and medicine.

2. Different plants have different characteristics which are determined by their genes. When a
plant species vanishes, so do
its genes.

3. As the plant gene pool shrinks, so do our options for food and medicine.
Biodiversity

• Refers to the variety and variability of living organisms and their ecosystems.
 • Biodiversity includes diversity within species (genetic diversity), among species and
among ecosystems.

• Decrease in biodiversity began with the ‘Green Revolution’ - the dramatic increase in
food production in the 1960s due to
new seeds developed from crossbreeding.

• The new seeds were used with pesticides, fertilizers and irrigation systems to improve the
resistance to insects and disease,
and to increase the yield by millions of tons of extra grain

• Insects and viruses were able to mutate, overcoming the pesticides and the protection of
these plants.

• Scientists were forced to search for new genetic codes, resulting in crops that are
genetically uniform.

• Net result is the extinction of many plant species and decrease in biodiversity.

• See the video: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-biodiversity-so-important-kim-

preshoff#watch

Moving Towards Solutions

Everyone (governments, enterprises, educators, professionals, individuals) can play a role in
fighting hunger, poverty and protecting the environment.

What can you do?

• Leave your car at home – walk / ride bike to school/work or to grocery store

• Choose foods lower on the food chain:

o Choose plant foods, choose smaller fish more often. Grains are the lowest on the food chain,
followed by vegetables and fruit. Smaller fish are lower on the food chain because they
themselves eat lower in the food chain (eat

plants/tiny fish).

o Limit use of canned beef products. Canned beef products often come at the expense of
cleared rain forest land. 200sq feet of rain forest can be permanently lost for every 1 pound of
beef produced. Figure C15.1 in your NCC Supplement compares the amount to grain required to
produce 1 pound of bread versus 1 pound of animal weight gain. Beef requires the MOST to
produce, whereas the bread requires the LEAST.

o Grain products require the least amount of energy to produce, followed by plant foods like
vegetables and fruits, and pulses/legumes.

• Choose locally grown foods - require less transportation, packaging and refrigeration.

• Avoid overly packaged foods – choose bulk

• Use reusable products, not “throw aways”

• Use fast cooking methods – e.g., stir fry, microwave, and pressure cooking use less
energy than stove top or oven cooking.

• Practice wise resource use: reduce, reuse, and recycle.

• Promote sustainability - using resources at a rate at which the earth can keep replacing
them (e.g., cutting down trees at a
rate no faster than new ones grow). In a sustainable economy, resources do not deplete
and pollution does not accumulate.

▪ Integrated pest management - the use of two or more techniques such as crop rotation and
natural predators
(rather than pesticides) to control pests.
▪ Use of manure to decrease need for chemical fertilizers.
▪ Plowing of compost back into the soil to increase its water holding capacity.
▪ Open range grazing.

▪ See Table C15.2: High-Input and Low-Input Agricultural Techniques Compared and Table
C15.3: Sustainable Energy-Saving Agricultural Techniques in your NCC Supplement.

o Examples of sustainable agricultural practices are:

• See Figure C15.2: Ecological Footprints and Table C15.4: How Big Is Your Ecological
Footprint? in your NCC Supplement.

Sensory Evaluation of Foods

Learning Objectives

• define sensory evaluation;

• discuss the five classes of stimuli related to food;

• discuss the variables controlled during sensory evaluation;

• discuss the important aspects when planning the sensory test environment; and

• describe the sensory tests used for the sensory evaluation of food.

Course Notes
Why use sensory evaluation?

• To determine consumer acceptability

• To determine if product reformation results in a perceived difference

 • To identify taint contamination and determine source of contamination

• Necessary to determine end-product quality

• Necessary to establish product specifications for quality assurance programs

• Necessary to establish shelf-life of products

Sensory Evaluation
Sensory Evaluation: the assessment by the human senses of all of the qualities of a food product
that are perceived. It is a multidisciplinary science that uses humans to measure the acceptability
and sensory properties of food and other materials. Sensory properties often determine the
acceptance or rejection of foods. All five senses are used: sight, smell, touch, taste and sound.

Sight

Our eyes perceive a foods colour, shape, size, texture, opacity and consistency, all of which give
us an impression of the foods initial quality.

Colour plays an important role in consumer perception of quality and acceptability. It is a

cosmetic attribute that can affect consumer perception of freshness and taste. The colour of
foods is based on wavelengths of absorbed and reflected light.

Think about foods that we eat that are a specific colour. For example, we think of quality salmon
having a reddish pink colour; sweet oranges having a deep orange colour; watermelon rind
having a dark green colour. Would you be less likely to buy one of these foods if the colour was
different, e.g., the salmon was light pink, the orange was only pale orange, or the watermelon
rind was whitish green?

Smell

Smell receptors in the nose are attached to nerves that enter the brain and report on the aromas
and odours of food. Hot foods are easier to smell than cold foods because only volatile
molecules carry odor. Odors can be sniffed directly through
the nostrils or can be sensed through a passage at the back of the throat due to the fact that the
oral cavity, throat and nasal chambers are interconnected. We have the ability to distinguish
between thousands of different odors, however this varies from person to person and can be
affected by a number of different things (including hunger, gender, pregnancy, etc). Overtime
adaptation occurs, which is a gradual decline in the ability distinguish odors.

Taste

Taste has the biggest impact on whether we choose a food. A substance should be dissolved in
water, oil or saliva in order to be tasted. Taste buds perceive taste and are tiny receptor organs
buried in the surface of the tongue (specifically in the papillae), mucosa of the palate and areas
of the throat. The number of taste buds we have decreases throughout our lifespan; so older
adults tend to have less taste sensitivity. Taste perception can vary from person to person and
this may be due to genetic variations, and how perceptible sweet, fatty and bitter components
are in a food. Taste buds recognize 5 sensations: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savoury).

Flavour is a combination of the sensations of taste, odour, and mouthfeel, with odor or aroma
being the most powerful, providing about 75% of the impression of flavour. Mouthfeel is the
perception of tactile sensations and thermal response by the epithelial lining in the mouth.
Thermal mouthfeel sensations include heat (e.g., cayenne pepper), coolness (menthol), metallic
(if there is contamination with a metal like iron or copper) and astringent (e.g., tea).

Sound

Sounds, such as popping, crunching or crackling can communicate a lot about a food. Most
sounds are affected by the water content of the food and can indicate the foods freshness and
ripeness.

Touch

Whenever we take a food or beverage into our mouth, we perceive the texture. Texture
perception is complex: first is visual, next is touch either through touch or utensils, third is
mouthfeel. Texture is a measure of the physical characteristics of a food, measured as
mechanical (e.g. hardness, cohesiveness, viscosity, adhesiveness, gumminess, springiness),
geometrical
(e.g. flaky, gritty, grainy, crystalline), and moisture properties (e.g. dryness, moistness, oiliness,
wetness).

Variables Controlled During Sensory Evaluation

All sensory tests require carefully controlled conditions in order to obtain valid, reproducible
results. It is important that the sensory testing environment is carefully planned to minimize any
distractions that may divert panellist attention away from the samples. Typically, individual,
partitioned sensory booths are used, along with neutral colour, comfortable seating, and
adequate lighting. It is important that the room is a comfortable temperature to ensure panellist
comfort and that there is adequate ventilation to prevent competing odours from influencing the
panellists. Samples must be standardized, and panellists are instructed to avoid communication
with one another to avoid bias towards samples. Palate cleansers, such as plain bread or room
temperature water can be used to prevent carry over taste between samples.

There are two general types of panels used in sensory evaluation; a descriptive panel and a
consumer panel.

1. Descriptive panel: determines differences between food samples. Typically participants

receive in-depth training and are

selected through a series of tests.

2. Consumer panel: are not trained and are selected from the public based on specific
demographics / criteria.
Other considerations to optimize panelist performance include providing clear and concise
instructions to panelists,
planning the timing of tests appropriately, and offering incentives for participation.

Measurements and Scales Used in Testing

There are four levels of measurement commonly used in sensory evaluation: nominal, ordinal,
interval and ratio. Interval and ratio are higher levels of measurement (more desirable), while
nominal and ordinal are lower level.

Three common scales used in sensory evaluation are category, line and magnitude estimation
scales. Category scales are simple and easy to tabulate. See Figure 3.3: Examples of Category
Scales. Line sales can give participants the feeling that
their responses are less limited. See Figure 3.4: Examples of Line Scales. With magnitude
estimation scales, participants assign numbers to samples based on the strength of a sensation
that they feel compared to other samples. This can yield data that is more difficult to analyze.
Types of Sensory Tests
Sensory tests can be analytical (based on differences) or affective (based on acceptability or
preference).

Analytical tests

There are two types of analytical tests: difference/discriminative and descriptive.

Overall Difference / Discriminative Tests

o Used to determine if there are differences between two products.

o Typically a control and a test sample are used.
o The simplest of the sensory tests
o Examples of difference / discrimination tests include triangle test and duo-trio test.

1. Triangle test: Participants are given three number coded samples and told to choose the
sample that is most different.
Two of the samples are usually the same (only the researcher knows this). Typically used
when the difference between
the products is qualitative. See Figure 3.5: Example of a triangle score sheet and Table
3.1: Triangle Test Design.

2. Duo-trio test: One reference sample is presented, followed by two test samples (one of
which is the same as the
reference). Participants are asked to choose the test sample that matches the reference
sample or is different from the reference sample. See Figure 3.6: Example of a duo-trio
score sheet.

Attribute Difference / Discriminative Tests

o Focus on testing for one specific sensory attribute.

o Often used to evaluate qualitative differences in texture, taste or colour.

1. Paired comparison: Participants are given two samples and have to choose one that has
more of a specific characteristic,
e.g., which of the two samples is sweeter? See Figure 3.7: Example of a paired
comparison score sheet.

2. Ranking test: participants are given samples and asked to rank them from lowest to
highest for a specific characteristic.
See Figure 3.8: Example of a ranking score sheet.

3. Rating difference test: Participants are asked to rate samples using a rating scale based
on a specific characteristic.
See Figure 3.9: Example of a rating difference score sheet.

Descriptive Tests

o Attempt to describe the specific attributes of food product (texture, flavour, taste, mouthfeel,
etc.) by quantifying how

intense the panellists perceive specific characteristics.

o Frequently used for flavour and texture profiling.
o Panellists need to be well-trained.
o Provide the most comprehensive information of all test methods.
o Examples include Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) and Flavour Profile Analysis
(FPA) and Sensory Spectrum (SS).

Affective Test Methods

There are two types of affective tests: acceptance and preference. Affective test methods quantify
the degree of like or dislike (hedonic basis) of one product or another.

Acceptance Tests

o Panellists rate two or more samples on a scale to determine the difference in acceptance. See
Figure 3.10: Example of a 5-point acceptance score sheetand Figure 3.11: Example of a 9-point
verbal hedonic scale sensory sheet.
Preference Tests

Paired Preference: panellist makes a choice between two products based on a hedonic basis. See
Figure 3.12:

Example of paired preference score sheet.

o Preference Ranking: panellists put samples in order based on how much they like the
samples, or in order of the

intensity of a specific attribute (e.g., put in order from most sour to least sour). See Figure 3.13:
Example of a preference ranking score sheet.