Human beings play several roles in the food

Human beings play several roles in the food chain, where matter and energy transfer between organisms as food. Humans plant the seeds. Animals eat the plants. Humans eat the plants and the animals. With nourishment, the humans plant more seeds, and the cycle begins again. Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by the cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). The practice of agriculture, also known as "farming“, also includes the scientists (through biotechnology, microbiology, chemistry, and genetics) and inventors who improve plants, animals, microorganisms and implements for food production.

The economic principle of ‘supply and demand’ links the cost of food to the production of food. When supplies are Problem: Today’s plentiful, prices go American farmer has down. When supplies the expertise and Should farmers are scarce, prices go equipment to produce less to up. more food than what Of course, food American consumers keep the prices processing also affects can use. If they work high? the cost of food. hard and produce a Should fewer people large supply, the price choose farming as a they get for their career? products goes down; If we can produce and they make less more food, why are money. there starving people in the world? What does one year of adverse weather conditions do to the supply?

Food processing takes clean, harvested, or slaughtered and butchered components, and uses them to produce marketable food products. Benefits of food processing: toxin removal, preservation, easing marketing and distribution tasks, increases food consistency and seasonal availability of many Drawbacks of processed foods: foods, enables long-distance often has lower nutrient content and higher transportation of perishable calorie content, preservation methods and foods, and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by deadditives may have adverse health effects, activating spoilage and quality and hygiene standards must be pathogenic micro-organisms. monitored, and it is costly.

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor, improve shelf-life, improve its taste, appearance, texture, consistency, odor, alkalinity or acidity or to serve any other technological function in relation to food. '. The term “Food Additives” in the U. S. covers more than 5, 000 added chemicals to food products. Food additives include acids, acidity regulators, anticaking agents, anti-foaming agents, antioxidants, bulking agents, food coloring, color retention agents, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, flour treatment agents (such as bleaching), humectants (keeps food from drying out), tracer gas (protects package integrity to extend shelf life), preservatives, stabilizers, sweeteners, and thickeners.

A food supplement is a nutrient added to a foodstuff which would otherwise not contain that nutrient. In general, the term is restricted to those additives which are deemed to be positive for health, growth or well-being. The term ‘nutraceutical’ is used for substance that is a food or a part of a food that has medical or health benefits. Three categories of food supplements are recognized: 1. additives which repair a deficit to "normal" levels (deficits that may occur during processing) 2. additives which appear to enhance a food 3. supplements taken in addition to the normal diet (controversy and risk surrounds this category of supplements)

Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in a way that preserves its value as food. The main effort is to stop or greatly slow down spoilage to prevent foodborne illness, while maintaining or creating nutritional value, texture and flavor. Common methods of food preservation include drying, spray drying, freeze drying, freezing, refrigerating, vacuum. Some methods preserve food AND packing, canning (pasteurizing), jellying, fermentation, food add flavor, such as pickling, salting, irradiation, adding preservatives smoking, preserving in syrup or alcohol, sugar crystallization and curing. or inert gases such as carbon dioxide (modified atmosphere).

Food packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. It also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of the packages. Packaging serves several purposes: physical protection, barrier protection, containment, information transmission, marketing, security, convenience, and portion control.

The Universal Product Code (UPC) is a barcode that is widely used in the United States and Canada for tracking trade items in stores. The barcode (also bar code) is a machine-readable representation of information. Barcodes can be read by optical scanners called barcode readers or scanned from an image by special software. SKU: BQ-CBH This SKU reserved for this specific box of Wheaties, this size, this package design. A Stock Keeping Unit, or SKU is a unique identifier for each distinct product and its variants (such as different sizes or colors of the same product). Usage of the SKU system enables the merchant to systematically track their inventory, such as in warehouses and retail outlets.

Research and development specialists participate in all aspects of food product development. They do market research, test prototypes, troubleshoot production problems, and participate in quality control, and marketing/sales. To launch a new product nationwide usually costs a company over $5 M, and over half of all new products fail. A good research and development department can help assure success of a product. Success depends on: product is a unique idea, fills a real consumer need, appeals to a large enough market, fulfills its promise, good value for the money, superior to competition, current with consumer trends, retailers accept it, advertising is persuasive, can earn enough money in the first year to support a second year on the market, easy for consumers to adopt, makes a rational or emotional connection.

The competition for companies introducing new food products is intense. Approximately 30, 000 new SKUs are introduced every year. There are nearly 1, 000 SKUs available from all resources. The average supermarket carries 50, 000 SKUs. The average family meets 80 -85% of all their needs with just 150 different SKUs. New products fail because they: are poorly positioned in the marketplace, fail to meet consumer expectations, are given insufficient advertising or incentive to try them, or are inadequately distributed.

The Principal Display Panel (PDP) or Alternate Principal Display Panel (A-PDP) is the one most likely seen by the consumer at the time of purchase. It must contain a statement of identity and the net weight or amount of product. The statement of identity must list the common name and description (if needed) of the food. It must describe the ‘form’ of the food if numerous forms are available (whole, halves, sliced), and must include the word ‘imitation’ if it resembles another food but is nutritionally inferior. A juice product with less than 100% real juice must be labeled as a juice beverage, drink, cocktail, or diluted. The net weight statement must appear in the bottom 30% of the PDP, and can NOT have qualifying terms such as ‘ 2 BIG oz’.

The information panel is the part of the package that is immediately to the right of the Principal Display Panel. It must contain a list of ingredients, in descending order by predominance of weight; name and address of manufacturer, packer, or distributor; nutritional facts; and an expiration date which is required for most perishable food products. Exceptions include meat, seafood, poultry, and produce. If they are an ingredient in the food, the 8 major food allergens must be addressed. They may be listed in the ingredients OR in a statement following the list of ingredients: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans.

Serving size and number of servings per box Total calories and calories from fat PER SERVING Limit these nutrients % of RDA: 5% or less is low; 20% or more is high Get enough of these nutrients Footnote on diet This is how you use the %DV column on the label: If you eat one serving of this food item today, you will get 12 g of fat OR 18% of your total daily recommended amount of total fat. You have 82% left to eat today. Other nutrients must be listed on the label only IF: it has been added to the food; there is a nutrient claim regarding that substance; advertising or product literature connects that nutrient to the food

What are you buying. . . the picture on the box, the toy inside, or the cereal? As consumers grow increasingly removed from food production, the role of product creation, advertising, and publicity become the primary vehicles for information about food. With processed food as the dominant category, marketers have almost infinite possibilities in product creation. Advertising vs. reality

Whether the food preparation and serving is done at home, in a restaurant, or an institution, it is the final step to consumer satisfaction and safety. The ability to follow recipe or package directions in determining cooking times, temperatures, and processes begins with scientific knowledge about how food components react to various conditions. The pleasing appearance, temperature, taste, and texture of the food when served also influence the consumer.

Some U. S. studies indicate that eating fast food more than twice a week has strong links with weight gain, heart disease, and insulin resistance, a precursor to Type 2 diabetes. What’s so bad about some fast food? 1. Food is often cooked in trans fats, which are hydrogenated fats linked to heart disease 2. High fat and sugar content adds calories and becomes almost ‘addictive’ 3. Portion distortion: consumers overeat with large, extra-large, and supersized food portions 4. Foods distributed globally, such as many fast foods, tend to undergo a great deal of processing which destroys nutrients, contain refined flours, sugars, and grains, artificial colors and flavoring, and preservatives to extend shelf life