STUDIES ON THE QUALITY AND PROCESS CONTROL FACTORS DURING THE PRODUCTION AND STORAGE OF SALTED DRIED FISH PRODUCTS

In this study the quality and process control factors during the production and storage of salted dried fish products. The study reveals that quantity of dry fish production in the state is decreasing and dry fish processing industry should be encouraged by central and state governments. The dry and wet salting may be carried out to a period of 4 to 8 hours respectively and time may depend on temperature, size, and concentration of medium. Demand is an unavoidable factor for sale of fish. The packed dry salted lots kept at room temperature are useful only for 20 days. The refrigerator- stored lots had more storage life and nutritional content are good up to 3 months. The cold storage stored dry salted lot had more storage life than the wet salted lot. The use of preservatives in salting is encouraged to reduce pH. The low temperature preservation maintains the nutritional value and quality for long period. It further encourages the labeling of nutritional value of dry fish as in tinned products.

Development of Safety and Quality Management System in Shrimp Farming

Shrimp Aquaculture has provided tremendous opportunity for the economic and social upliftment of rural communities in the coastal areas of our country Over a hundred thousand farmers, of whom about 90% belong to the small and marginal category, are engaged in shrimp farming. Penaeus monodon is the most predominant cultured species in India which is mainly exported to highly sophisticated, quality and safety conscious world markets. Food safety has been of concem to humankind since the dawn of history and the concern about food safety resulted in the evolution of a cost effective, food safety assurance method, the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). Considering the major contribution of cultured Penaeus monodon to the total shrimp production and the economic losses encountered due to disease outbreak and also because traditional methods of quality control and end point inspection cannot guarantee the safety of our cultured seafood products, it is essential that science based preventive approaches like HACCP and Pre requisite Programmes (PRP) be implemented in our shrimp farming operations. PRP is considered as a support system which provides a solid foundation for HACCP. The safety of postlarvae (PL) supplied for brackish water shrimp farming has also become an issue of concern over the past few years. The quality and safety of hatchery produced seeds have been deteriorating and disease outbreaks have become very common in hatcheries. It is in this context that the necessity for following strict quarantine measures with standards and code of practices becomes significant. Though there were a lot of hue and cry on the need for extending the focus of seafood safety assurance from processing and exporting to the pre-harvest and hatchery rearing phases, an experimental move in this direction has been rare or nil. An integrated management system only can assure the effective control of the quality, hygiene and safety related issues. This study therefore aims at designing a safety and quality management system model for implementation in shrimp farming and hatchery operations by linking the concepts of HACCP and PRP.

Influence of foliar diseases and their control by fungicides on grain yield and quality in wheat

Twenty-eight field experiments on sandy-loam soils in the UK (1982-2003) are reviewed by relating the extension of the green area duration of the flag leaf (GLADF) by fungicides to effects on yield and quality of winter wheat. Over all experiments mean grain yield = 8.85t ha(-1) at 85% DM. With regards quality, mean values were: thousand grain weight (TGW) = 44.5 g; specific weight (SWT) = 76.9 kg hl(-1); crude protein concentration (CP (N x 5.7)) = 12.5 % DM; Hagberg falling number (HFN) = 285 s; and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)-sedimentation volume = 69ml. For each day (d) that fungicides increased GLADF there were associated average increases in yield (0.144 1 ha(-1) d(-1), se 0.0049, df = 333), TGW (0.56 gd(-1), se = 0.017) and SWT (0.22 kg hl(-1) d(-1), se 0.011). Some curvature was evident in all these relationships. When GLADF was delayed beyond 700 degrees Cd after anthesis, as was possible in cool wet seasons, responses were curtailed, or less reliable. Despite this apparent terminal sink limitation, fungicide effects on sink size, eg endosperm cell numbers or maximum water mass per grain, were not prerequisites for large effects on grain yield, TGW or SWT. Fungicide effects on CP were variable. Although the average response of CP was negative (-0.029%DM/d; se = 0.00338), this depended on cultivar and disease controlled. Controlling biotrophs such as rusts, (Puccinia spp.) tended to increase CP, whereas controlling a more necrotrophic pathogen (Septoria tritici) usually reducedCP. Irrespective of pathogen controlled, delaying senescence of the flag leaf was associated with increased nitrogen yields in the grain (averaging 2.24 kg N ha-1 d(-1), se = 0.0848) due to both increased N uptake into the above ground crop, and also more efficient remobilisation of N from leaf laminas. When sulphur availability appeared to be adequate, fungicide x cultivar interactions were similar on S as for CP, although N:S ratios tended to decline (i.e. improve for bread making) when S. tritici was controlled. On average, SDS-sedimentation volume declined (-0. 18 ml/d, se = 0.027) with increased GLADF, broadly commensurate with the average effect on CP. Hagberg falling number decreased as fungicide increased GLADF (-2.73 s/d, se = 0.178), indicating an increase in alpha-amylase activity.

Quality control, validation and user feedback of the European Flood Alert System (EFAS)

The quality control, validation and verification of the European Flood Alert System (EFAS) are described. EFAS is designed as a flood early warning system at pan-European scale, to complement national systems and provide flood warnings more than 2 days before a flood. On average 20–30 alerts per year are sent out to the EFAS partner network which consists of 24 National hydrological authorities responsible for transnational river basins. Quality control of the system includes the evaluation of the hits, misses and false alarms, showing that EFAS has more than 50% of the time hits. Furthermore, the skills of both the meteorological as well as the hydrological forecasts are evaluated, and are included here for a 10-year period. Next, end-user needs and feedback are systematically analysed. Suggested improvements, such as real-time river discharge updating, are currently implemented.

Subjective quality of life and self-esteem in children: the role of primary and secondary control in coping with everyday stress

Two major predictors of subjective quality oflife (SQOL) in adults are known to beself-esteem and a sense of primary control.Moreover, secondary control is known to be animportant defence strategy when primary controlfails. This study aimed to determine whetherthese relationships also apply to children. Asample of 66 children aged from 5 to 12 yearswere compared on their use of primary andsecondary control and on their ratings of SQOLand self-esteem. SQOL was measured using theComprehensive Quality of Life Scale,self-esteem by using the CoopersmithSelf-Esteem Inventory, and primary andsecondary control were measured by codingchildren's responses to three short video clipsof children in stressful situations. It wasfound that younger children use more primarycontrol and less secondary control than olderchildren. However, five year olds were foundcapable of producing secondary controlstrategies. Contrary to expectation, primaryand secondary control did not predict eitherself-esteem or SQOL. However, self-esteempredicted SQOL as expected and no sexdifferences were found. These findingsemphasise important differences from the adultliterature and the reasons for this arediscussed.

Health-related quality of life and metabolic control in children with type 1 diabetes : a prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE—To assess change in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with diabetes over 2 years and determine its relationship to change in metabolic control.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—In 1998, parents of children aged 5–18 years attending a tertiary diabetes clinic reported their child’s HRQOL using the Child Health Questionnaire PF-50. Those aged 12–18 years also self-reported their HRQOL using the analogous Child Health Questionnaire CF-80. HbA_1c levels were recorded. In 2000, identical measures were collected for those who were aged ≤18 years and still attending the clinic.

RESULTS—Of 117 eligible subjects, 83 (71%) participated. Parents reported no significant difference in children’s HRQOL at baseline and follow-up. However, adolescents reported significant improvements on the Family Activities (P < 0.001), Bodily Pain (P = 0.04), and General Health Perceptions (P = 0.001) scales and worsening on the Behavior (P = 0.04) scale. HbA1c at baseline and follow-up were strongly correlated (r = 0.57). HbA_1c increased significantly (mean 7.8% in 1998 vs. 8.5% in 2000; P < 0.001), with lower baseline HbA_1c strongly predicting an increase in HbA_1c over the 2 years (r² = 0.25, P < 0.001). Lower parent-reported Physical Summary and adolescent-reported Physical Functioning scores at baseline also predicted increasing HbA_1c. Poorer parent-reported Psychosocial Summary scores were related to higher HbA_1c at both times but did not predict change in HbA_1c.

CONCLUSIONS—Changes in parent and adolescent reports of HRQOL differ. Better physical functioning may protect against deteriorating HbA_1c, at least in the medium term. While the HRQOL of children with diabetes does not appear to deteriorate over time, we should not be complacent, as it is consistently poorer than that of their healthy peers.

Quality control mechanisms regulating the copper-transporting ATPases ATP7A and ATP7B

This project provides compelling evidence that the clusterin, COMMD1 and ApoE proteins function in the quality control of the essential copper-transport proteins ATP7A and ATP7B. This knowledge is significant because variations in the clusterin, COMMD1 or ApoE genes may explain the variability of patient symptoms in the copper-transport disorders, Menkes and Wilson diseases.

APPLICATION of THE HAZARD ANALYSIS and CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) SYSTEM on THE MUSHROOM PROCESSING LINE FOR FRESH CONSUMPTION

The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a preventive system that intends to guarantee the safety and harmlessness of food. It improves the quality of products as it eliminates possible defects during the process, and saves costs by practically eliminating final product inspection. This work describes the typical hazards encountered on the mushroom processing line for fresh consumption. Throughout the process, only the reception stage of mushrooms has been considered a critical control point (CCP). The main hazards at this stage were: the presence of unauthorised phytosanitary products; larger doses of such products than those permitted; the presence of pathogenic bacteria or thermo-stable enterotoxins. Putting into practice such knowledge would provide any industry that processes mushrooms for fresh consumption with a self-control HACCP-based system for its own productions.

Development, optimization and validation of gas chromatographic fingerprinting of Brazilian commercial gasoline for quality control

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Development, Optimization and Validation of Gas Chromatographic Fingerprinting of Brazilian Commercial Diesel Fuel for Quality Control

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)