Foods Jlhongm

Just about foods information

Author Archive: blogger

Food Storage Companies Join Network Marketing

There are some newcomers to the MLM (multi-level marketing or network marketing) business these days aside from the many cosmetics, vitamins, nutritional drinks, travel, long distance phone service, and other types of companies which already exist. Emergency preparedness and food storage companies have joined the area of MLM.

Network marketing, as they prefer to be called, allows people to own their own business for a nominal start up fee as compared to regular brick and mortar businesses. It also provides a compensation plan which pays the person for bringing others into the business to share in the work and the profits. The people in several lines downward or sideways may bring cash earnings to the person who brought them into the business. They earn money from the efforts of others instead of only on their own work.

During these difficult economic times when many people throughout the world are suffering and with the natural disasters which are striking whole communities, people are seeing the value of emergency preparedness and food storage. As grocery store shelves become quickly depleted when a natural calamity hits, it becomes apparent that families would do well to be prepared with some basic essentials.

Some organizations and churches have long admonished their members to prepare themselves for emergencies and disasters. Indeed, the motto of the Boy Scouts of America is: Be Prepared.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has received quite a lot of press in the past several years because of all the natural disasters such as Katrina which have hit the United States, recommends that people have enough food, water, and first aid for three days. If a natural disaster strikes, it usually takes at least three days before government and charitable aid is able to help sufficiently.

The bad economy has caused people to lose jobs and paychecks for long periods of time. Getting government or charitable help is not always easy or quick. Having a supply of food on hand (or food storage) can help alleviate the pain and suffering which can come. Companies which provide this service are now available in network marketing. Plans can be made through them to build up a food supply for emergencies by a small investment each month from the food budget. People can earn money through the network marketing aspect, and the companies are helping people to be prepared for whatever comes.

Important Food Safety Terms You Should Know

Understanding food safety techniques first requires an understanding of key terms and concepts. This article will define and explain some of the most important terms you need to know to keep you and your family healthy.

BACTERIA: Microorganisms that can cause food borne illness and food spoilage. Bacteria are more commonly involved in food-related illness than viruses, fungi, or parasites. Some bacteria spores can survive freezing and high temperatures.

CONTAMINATION: The presence of harmful substances in food. Some contamination occurs naturally. Some may be introduced by humans or other environmental agents.

CROSS-CONTAMINATION: When harmful substances or bacteria is physically transferred from one source (e.g. human) to another.

FOOD CONTACT SURFACE: Any surface that touches food.

FOODBORNE ILLNESS: Sickness or disease transmitted to people via food.

FUNGI: Molds and yeasts are examples of fungi. Fungi can range in size from microscopic single-celled organisms to large, multi-cellular organisms. Fungi are often the cause of food spoilage.

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT: Programs to prevent pests from infesting food sources and serving establishments and measures to eliminate any pest intrusions.

MICROORGANISMS: Tiny living organisms that can be seen using a microscope.
The four types of microorganisms that can contaminate food and cause food borne illness are bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi.

PARASITE: An organism that needs a host organism to survive. Parasites can live inside many animals that are used for food including cows, chickens, pigs and fish. Proper heating, cooking and freezing kills parasites. Avoiding cross-contamination and proper hand washing is also vital in preventing food borne illness caused by parasites.

PATHOGENS: Microorganisms that cause disease including disease in food.

POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOOD: Types of food in which microorganisms are able to grow quickly. Potentially hazardous food groups often has a history of being involved in food borne illness outbreaks, has potential for contamination due to methods used to produce and process it, and has characteristics that generally allow microorganisms to thrive. Potentially hazardous food is often moist, high in protein, and chemically neutral or slightly acidic.

PRODUCE TRACEABILITY: The ability to accurately track fresh produce from its point of origin (field) to the time of purchase by the end consumer. Complete traceability, known as whole chain traceability.

SANITIZE: The action and process of reducing the number of harmful microorganisms on a surface to make it safe for contact with food.

TOXINS: Harmful substances or poisons.

VIRUS: The smallest microbial food contaminants. Viruses require a live host to survive and reproduce. Virus usually contaminates food via a food handlers insufficient and improper handling and hygiene. Virus can survive some cooking and freezing temperatures.

The 15 terms described above are examples of the most important core food safety terms. Use this information to as a starting point for your deeper research.

French Door Refrigerators More Than Classy Kitchen Appliances

French door refrigerators are the modern answer to the ubiquitous food storage appliance. There was a time when the side-by-side refrigerator was the kitchen must have. Newly unveiled in the late sixties, they pleased the aesthetically inclined who were tired of the ?ice box” look that had changed minimally in the last century. By the twentieth century however, the side by side was becoming a tired trend, and many owners were bored with the design that proved to be cumbersome in daily use. They needed something lovely but completely food storage friendly; enter French door refrigerators.

French door refrigerators trickled onto the appliance market in the nineties, and are now offered by nearly every major appliance manufacturer. In recent years, the popularity of these refrigerators has soared, and for good reason. French door refrigerators combine great design with excellent usability. The refrigerator’s double doors operate like a pair of French doors in a home, equally sized and used to access the large refrigeration ?room”?unlike a side-by-side refrigerator which houses refrigeration behind one long door and the freezer behind the other. The French door refrigerator’s freezer compartment is accessed by a single door the width of the refrigerator beneath the double doors.

Common complaints about side by side or even standard refrigerators relate to accessibility and storage. It’s not difficult to lose a carton of blueberry yogurt in the back of a fridge, or have trouble stuffing a twenty pound turkey in amongst the week’s shopping. French door refrigerators on the other hand, have an extensive amount of space within their double doors. Even though its cubic feet may match that of your bisque beauty, it’s the smart layout of that interior refrigeration space and its shelves, cubbies, and drawers that make the difference. Additionally, with the refrigeration compartment at eye level, there’s no stooping or squatting to find foods or clean shelves. The freezer of the French door model wasn’t overlooked in the design phase; most have multiple drawers of varying depths to make organization of frozen foods simple.

It isn’t just enough that a refrigerator be practical; it has to be pretty too. Ideally, you want your refrigerator to be a workhorse when it comes to function and a beauty when it comes to form. French door refrigerators offer the best of both worlds; ease of use and classic styling updated for this century. French door refrigerators are easily at home in a suburban Colonial kitchen or a Manhattan penthouse. Makers provide an extensive selection of colors and finishes for their French door refrigerators, from the classic white, almond, and black, to stainless steel and titanium. You can also opt to select a wood finish for your French door refrigerator that matches that of your kitchen cabinetry.

French door refrigerators aren’t a fad; their quality of design and handsome good looks are capable of taking anything a family of six can dish out, while still looking impeccable for a late night dinner party with friends. The side-by-side may have been the new kid once, but French door refrigerators are a smart appliance choice that is here to stay.

french door refrigerators

Food Adulteration

Food Adulteration is the major problem related to food faced by all the countries all over the world. Not only the developing countries like India, all the developed countries are facing the problem of Food Adulteration. As a result of this the people who consume the adulterated food are badly affected and sometimes even may resulting to food poisoning. Sometimes the results of consumption of adulterated food are immediate. In other cases the affect may be delayed and the delayed affect may be more dangerous even which may lead to cancer. The best example of this delayed effect is consumption of metal contaminated food. Metals enter into the food through air, water, soil or by industrial pollution and contaminate the food. Metallic components of arsenic oxides, Barium carbonates may accidentally make their way into the foods. Packaging material, containers, metal machinery that is used during food processing and distribution are the other sources of contamination. Metals are naturally present in foods and even mere changes in the dietary uptake it leads to toxic effects. Some of the metals like lead, tin cadmium, mercury, arsenic, zinc, copper, aluminum, cobalt and chromium when consumed in large quantities are toxic. Studies conducted by scientists at Industrial Toxicology Research centre, Lucknow found that silver foil used for sweets and in pan masala contain nickel, lead, chromium, and cadmium. These metals when accumulated slowly in the body become carcinogenic and may result in cancer. Silver foil with a purity of 99% can be used in edible form. A survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical research (ICMR) also found high levels of pesticide residues in bovine milk and metals like arsenic, cadmium and lead in infant canned products and turmeric. Nickel, a trace metal that could cause cancer is present in Indian chocolates, water, and hydrogenated vegetable oil and even in milk. These types of Adulterants which are incidentally which enters the food products are called as Incidental Adulterants or Unintentional Adulterants.
The Incidental adulterants pass sequentially through the food chian in the following way: Contamination begins when farmers use pesticides to protect crops. The Health department sprays pesticides to control malaria-causing mosquitoes. Residues remain long after spraying .Cattle, fodder and chicken feed are affected, and ground water, meat, fish, milk and egg get toxic. More spraying done to prevent fungus and rodents from attacking stored grain. Further increases the residue levels in foodstuffs. Sellers dip vegetables in pesticides to make them look fresh as well as to preserve them. Oils and sweets are adulterated with prohibited substances. Even after cooking toxic residues are not destroyed and when ingested pesticides are absorbed by small intestine. Fatty tissues present in the body store these pesticides which can lead to the damage of heart, Brain, kidney and liver. Strict control on various sources of contamination, established control of quality control by authorities, strict follow up with the accepted standards and food labeling will avoid the excessive contamination of food with metals. These standards and rules include Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954(PFA 1954), PFA Rules 1955, Standard weights and measures Act 1976, AGMARK, Bureau of Indian Standards (ISI) , Food Safety and Standard Act 2006( FSSA 2006 ).
The incidental poisoning can be prevented by doing the following things:
–>Regular market surveys to warn people dangerous build-up of toxins in food.
–>Stepping up the integrated pest-management programme to teach farmers to use pesticides judiciously. No spraying should be done a week, before harvest.
–>Taking up on a war footing the control of pests using their natural predators.
–>Using safer pesticides like synthetic pyrethroids or Malathion.
–>By washing vegetables thoroughly before cooking.

Smart, Stylish Pet-food Storage Solutions

If pets had their way, they’d raid the bags containing their kibble and help themselves to an all-day feast, every day. This is hardly a desirable scenario, as it leads to obesity and digestive upset, so take care to store food where pets can’t get at it while you’re not looking.

Dogs, by the way, are not the only ones guilty of raiding bags of kibble; hungry cats have also been known to apply their claws and teeth to almost-full bags – even those heavy-duty foil models! – and help themselves to heaps of between-meal snacks.

Most pet-food storage containers are made of plastic, which is porous (so their contents are not safe from bacteria) and easily gnawed open by a large, determined dog.

Pet-supply stores sell large clips to “reseal” opened bags of kibble – but these do nothing to prevent the contents from growing stale, or permitting the entry of hungry insects.

Happily, there are much better, more sanitary ways to store large bags of opened kibble.
If there’s room in your refrigerator, stick the opened bag of kibble in there. Or, decant the contents of the bag into glass food-storage jars. These are widely available at kitchen-supply stores and online, and they come in a variety of sizes and shapes, from round to square. Some have threaded metal lids, others close with a rubber washer that securely closes with a metal clamp.

If you’d like double protection – refrigeration plus a glass jar – investigate refrigerator glassware, widely available in nesting sets, complete with convenient plastic lids. Just don’t subject glass that isn’t made for refrigerator storage to your fridge’s chilly atmosphere, or it will crack and break, and you’ll have wasted all that kibble.

In the fridge or out, glass jars keep pets and bugs away from the food, and they look quite decorative just sitting there on your kitchen counter or shelf. The good habit of transferring kibble from the bag to the jar could even inspire you to be better about putting away flour, sugar, and other bagged food items!