Packaging food is a method of food preservation.

Key Points 
Food preservation:

• It is a method by which food is treated and handled to stop or slow down food spoilage, loss of quality, edibility, or nutritional value and thus allow for longer food storage.
• Preservation usually involves preventing bacteria, fungi (such as yeasts), and other microorganisms from developing, as well as retarding the oxidation of rancid-causing fats.
• Packaging food is a method of food preservation because it acts as a barrier and protects food from spoilage. Some examples of packaging methods are aseptic packaging, MAP and CAP, etc.

Additional Information

Food adulteration:

• The act of intentionally debasing the quality of food offered for sale either by the admixture or substitution of inferior substances or by the removal of some valuable ingredient.

Food irradiation:

• It is the process of exposing foodstuffs to ionizing radiation, the energy that is transmitted to the food without direct contact capable of stripping electrons from the food.
• This treatment is used to preserve food, reduce the risk of food-borne illness, prevent the spread of invasive pests, and delay or eliminate sprouting or ripening.

Concept:

• Food fortification refers to adding a vitamin or mineral to increase the nutritional value.
• It helps to increase economic and health benefits.
• Large-scale fortification is adding micronutrients during commonly consumed products such as salts and oils.

Explanation:

• Food intoxication refers to food poisoning caused by toxins of the bacteria present in the food.
  • It is characterized by nausea, vomiting, and fever.
• Food adulteration is the contamination of food by adding substances to it.
  • Urea, chalk powder, and soap powder are added to the milk.
  • It reduces the nutritional value and causes harmful effects.
• Food additives are added to enhance the taste and flavor of the food.
  • For example, food colors.

Additional Information

• The FSSAI had issued a draft regulation for mandatory fortification of edible oil and milk with Vitamin A and D, in January 2021.
• It is also planned to make rice fortification mandatory from 2024 with Vitamin B12, Iron, and Folic Acid in India.

The correct answer is Iodine Test.

Key Points

• “Adulterant” means any material which is or could be employed for making the food unsafe or sub-standard or misbranded or containing extraneous matter.
• Adulteration of food is commonly defined as “the addition or subtraction of any substance to or from food so that the natural composition and quality of food substance is affected".
• Adulteration is either intentional by either removing substances to food or altering the existing natural properties of food knowingly.
• Unintentional adulteration is usually attributed to ignorance, carelessness or lack of facilities for maintaining food quality.
• Incidental contamination during the period of growth, harvesting, storage, processing, transport and distribution of foods are also considered.
• Iodine test is undertaken to detect the presence of Starch in Milk.
• When a few drops of tincture of Iodine or Iodine solution is added, the formation of blue colour indicates the presence of starch.

Concept:

Food security:

• According to FAO (1996), food security at the individual, household, regional, national, and global levels exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
• It also declared that poverty eradication is essential to improve access to food.

Explanation:

FAO recognizes pillars of food security:

• FAO's full form is 'food and agriculture organization'.
• According to FAO, there are mainly four pillars of food security.
• Namely: Availability, Access, Utilization, and Stability.

Availability of food:

• It means food production within the country, food imports, and the previous year's stock stored in government granaries.
• We all know that due to competition between the agricultural production areas and expanding urban settlement areas one-day food supply may run insufficient, so this can affect the availability of food.
• The availability of food sources may vary between different regions according to food demand.

Accessibility of food:

• It means food is within reach of every person.
• Consumption of desired food items sometimes gets restricted due to high prices.
• Sometimes we need to rely upon street vendors and small merchants who are commercial food value earners because they have increased in number.

Utilization of food:

• To achieve a state of nutritional well-being in which all physiological needs are met, food must be utilized through a sufficient diet, clean water, sanitation, and health care.
• This highlights the necessity of non-food inputs in ensuring food security.
• In urban areas, there is a lack of regulation in the setting for street stands and commercial workers.
• It sometimes impacts low food security. 
• In the transition of malnutrition from undernutrition to overnutrition, hypertension can sometimes be seen in the consumption of food in urban areas.

Stability of food:

• ​A population, household, or individual must have access to sufficient food at all times to be food secure.
• In urban area sometimes a certain food item has a different kind of demand and because of that, the price of that certain food fluctuate.
• This problem creates a barrier to people in food consumption.
• Sometimes food security gets overlooked due to the political conflict arising in a huge population clash of thought.
• Because of the low socioeconomic development, the risk of increasing food security is higher in slum areas.

Thus, FAO recognizes four pillars of food security.

Additional Information  Factors that affect food security:

• Poor and highly unstable growth performance especially in agriculture.
• Low and unequal distribution of income.
• Poverty.
• Unemployment and underemployment.
• Low and declining farm size.
• Low land utilization.
• Social discrimination.
• Inequalities inland distribution.
• High maternal and infant mortalities.
• Population growth.
• Climate-induced insecurity.
• Low per capita income.

Explanation:

Right to Food:

• The right to food is a basic human right.
• It is connected with other rights like the right to life, and the right to health.
• This right can be fully acceptable if people have proper access to health care and education according to their cultural values, economic and political position, and the right to access and possess property.
• The Universal Declaration of Human rights in 1948 recognized the right to food, as a part of the right to an adequate standard of living.
• According to Article 25 “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food.”.

Important Points

• This right to food has mainly two-component:
• ​Right to adequate food:
  • Adequate food means food is sufficient that fulfills dietary needs, not of age, sex, health, or occupation.
  • This right has three elements adequacy, availability, and accessibility to food with dignity.
• Fundamental right to be free from hunger:
  • According to international al law, it is the only right that is recognized as fundamental.
  • According to the Right to food committee, this right ensures everyone under jurisdiction access to minimum food that is safe, has nutritional value, and is sufficient for ensuring people's freedom from hunger.

Thus, 'Right to Food' was recognized as Human Right in the year 1948.

Concept:

• Every food product in India has numerous logos and symbols on its packaging.
• These logo's and symbols help the user to identify the quality and composition of the product.
• In some cases, certain logos or marks are necessary for selling food products in India.

Key Points

​FSSAI:

• FSSAI or Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is headquartered in New Delhi.
• It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• It was founded in August 2011 and is responsible for promoting and protecting public health through supervision and regulation of food safety.

Important Points 

FPO:

• FPO stands for Fruit Products Order. 
• FPO mark is issued by the Ministry of Food Processing Industry which also develops the standards for this mark.
• This mark guarantees that the product was manufactured in a hygienic environment.
• Also, the specifications and quality control requirements, thus ensuring that the product is fit for consumption.​
• Now FPO has been repealed by FSSAI.

​Thus, one should look for an FSSAI mark while buying a bottle of fruit jam.

Additional Information

Agmark:

• It is a certification mark employed on agricultural products in India.
• It is the quality mark provided under The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937.
• The Act stipulates the conditions which govern the use of standards and lays down the procedure for grading, marking and packing of agricultural produce.
• AGMARK is the acronym for Agricultural Marketing. 
• An Agmark symbol is usually found on the packets of rice, flour, pulses, biscuits, oil etc.​​

ISO:

• ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization.
• As the name implies it’s an independent international organisation that develops International Standards.
• There are various standards under ISO such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 etc.
• The aim of getting an ISO certification depends on the ISO standard.
• An ISO certification is usually issued to an institution, organisation or any registered body.

Concept:

The National Food Security Act (NFSA):

• The National Food Security Act is also known as 'The Right to Food Act'.
• This act was enacted into law on 12 September 2013.
• This Act provides for food and nutritional security life at affordable prices and enables people to live a life with dignity.
• Under this act, 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population have been categorized as eligible households for food security.
• This is enacted by the Manmohan Singh's government.

Explanation:

NFSA 2013 includes:

​​Midday Meal Scheme:

• ​In 1995 Mid-day-meal scheme was started throughout India.
• It was started by the ministry of education.
• It is a school meal program.
• This scheme benefits every eligible individual.
• Objectives:
  • ​This scheme helps to promote student attendance and boost their enrollment.
  • It has an implicit subside that serves both children and parents.
  • It attracts those students who do not want to come to school.

Integrated child development service scheme:

• This scheme is under the program of GOI.
• This program provides preschool education, primary health care, and food to children under six-year and also helps their mothers.
• Objectives:
  • This scheme promotes child development.
  • Look after the nutritional value and health of the mother.
  • Through this program mortality, malnutrition, morbidity, and school dropout can be reduced.
  • It provides proper health care and nutrition to children from 0 to 6 years old.
  • It also takes care of the psychological, physical, and social development of a child.

Public Distribution System (PDS):

• The food procured by the FCI is distributed through government-regulated ration shops among the poorer section of the society.
• This is called the Public Distribution System (PDS). 
• The public Distribution System (PDS) is the most important step taken by the Government of India (GOI) toward ensuring food security.

• This program only reaches two-thirds of the population (50% urban area, 75% rural area).
• Through this program, individual beneficiaries can get five kilograms of cereals per month (prize of rice 3 Rs/kg, wheat  2 Rs/kg).

Recognizes maternity entitlements:

• According to NFSA 2013 eligible, lactating mothers and pregnant women were provided with daily free cereals.

Thus, the National Food Security Act, 2013 includes both Midday Meal Scheme and Integrated Child Development Services.

Additional InformationAntyodaya Anna Yojna:

• AAY was launched in December 2000 by the prime ministership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• Under this scheme, one crore of the poorest among the BPL families covered under the targeted public distribution system was identified.
• Poor families were identified by the respective state rural development departments through a Below Poverty Line (BPL) survey.
• Twenty-five kilograms of foodgrains were made available to each eligible family at a highly subsidized rate of  2 per kg for wheat and 3 per kg for rice.
• This quantity has been enhanced from 25 to 35 kg with effect from April 2002.
• The scheme has been further expanded twice by an additional 50 lakh BPL families in June 2003 and in August 2004.
• With this increase, 2 crore families have been covered under the AAY.

Gelatin:

• Gelatin is a colourless flavourless foodstuff derived from collagen.
• Gelatin is a protein derived from the collagen in animal tissue.
• It's the only protein with the power to thicken liquids.
• Gelatin acts as an emulsifier.

Gelatin in ice cream:

• It is used to make the ice cream to get a soft texture and fresh appearance.
• It prevents the formation of large crystals.
• It also helps to maintain the consistency of the ice cream by lowering its water content.
• Ice cream is a colloid and gelatin is added to stabilize the colloid.

​Thus, the main role of gelatin in ice cream is to get a soft texture.

The correct answer is ​Sodium benzoate.

Key Points

• Sodium benzoate is a preservative that is most widely used in acidic foods such as salad dressings, carbonated drinks, jams and fruit juices, pickles, condiments, and yoghurt toppings.
• Food preservation is a method to protect food from unwanted microbial growth and is done to preserve food for a longer time.
• Sodium benzoate is a widely used preservative found in many foods and soft drinks to prolong shelf life.
• It is an odourless, crystalline powder made by combining benzoic acid and sodium hydroxide.
• Benzoic acid is a good preservative on its own, and combining it with sodium hydroxide helps it dissolve in products.
• Sodium benzoate does not occur naturally, but benzoic acid is found in many plants, including cinnamon, cloves, tomatoes, berries, plums, apples, and cranberries.

Additional Information

• Pasteurization refers to the process of heating the milk and again cooling it down so that the microorganisms present are killed. This process is followed in order to increase the shelf-life of milk and also the quality of milk products. 
• Temperature range needed for pasteurization of acidic vegetable products is 116 – 121°C. When the pH of the food is below 4.5, spoilage microorganisms and enzymes are the main targets of pasteurization. When the pH of the food is greater than 4.5, the heat treatment must be severe enough to destroy pathogenic bacteria.
• For pasteurization of milk, it is heated at 63°C for 30 minutes.
• 60°C temperature is required for pasteurization of fruit juices.
• 10°C temperature is enough for killing yeasts, causing non – the poisonous type of decay in fruit products and vegetables.
• Temperature range of 87 – 88°C is required for blanching okra before canning.