Consumer concerns to synthetic chemicals have led to strong preference for ‘clean’ label starches. Lipid and hydrocolloids are food friendly chemicals. This study determines the effects of stearic acid and xanthan gum alone and in combination on the functionality of maize, wheat, teff and cassava starches. An increase in viscosity was observed for all starches with stearic acid and xanthan gum compared to the controls with cassava having the least increase. A further increase in viscosity was observed for the cereal starches with combination of stearic acid and xanthan gum. Stearic acid reduced retrogradation, resulting in soft textured pastes. Combination of stearic acid and xanthan gum reduced the formation of type IIb amylose–lipid complexes, syneresis, and hysteresis in cereal starches compared to stearic acid alone. A combination of stearic acid and xanthan gum produce higher viscosity non-gelling starches and xanthan gum addition increases physical stability to freezing and better structural recovery after shear.
In this article, the concept of “liberal democracy” and its implications for biotechnology such as human genetic engineering will be examined. Liberal democracy is characterised by a number of features, some of which has extensive repercussions on biotechnology, especially concepts such as the equal protection of human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, political freedom for all people and autonomy and libertarianism. Advocates of human genetic engineering for purposes other than the healing of genetically transmitted diseases often appeal to these features in the quest for its legalisation. I will examine whether the attributes of liberal democracy would indeed justify the use of this type of biotechnology and if yes, what a possible theological response would be, drawing on the political theology of Jürgen Moltmann.
South Africa has a diverse population, with some pockets of society being in a first world setup and other pockets in a third world impoverished setup. Food provision in impoverished societies is particularly crucial. Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is a hardy crop and prominent in ensuring household food security; through its rich supply of energy, high yield potential and market value. In addition, orange-fleshed cultivars in particular are prominent in combating vitamin A deficiency due to high content of naturally bio-available β-carotene. This paper reviews interventions with regard to biofortification of sweet potato in South Africa towards addressing food and nutrition security. The focus was on the development of biofortified (high β-carotene content) cultivars and screening procedures for desired varietal traits; assessment of β-carotene, anti-oxidant and mineral content and the processing potential of orange-fleshed cultivars. Efficacy of orange fleshed sweet potato to improve vitamin A status was shown and positive effects of household production of orange-fleshed sweet potato, in conjunction with other β-carotene rich vegetables, on dietary intake, vitamin A status and food security were recorded. Dissemination efforts were initially focused on home gardens, which gradually expanded to subsistence production and enterprises. During 2014/15, over 1 million cuttings were disseminated and 5 to 40 small-scale commercial farmers in six provinces planted 0.25 to 1 ha of orange-fleshed sweet potato as means for income generation. In order to exploit the nutritional benefits of sweet potato and its potential to reduce vitamin A malnutrition and food insecurity, it is recommended that policy makers set directives to incorporate orange-fleshed sweet potato in government programs related to health, rural development, social development and agricultural production. There is a great need for investment in promotion of orange-fleshed sweet potato, particularly to consumers and retailers. Private–public partnerships and investment by private companies will be crucial for upscaling the impact of orange-fleshed sweet potato on food and nutrition security.
The end of this year (2015) marks the target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by world leaders at the United Nation General Assembly in the year 2000. One of these goals is to reduce the proportion of hungry and undernourished people in the world by half. A significant reduction in global hunger has indeed been achieved over the last two decades, during which the prevalence of global undernutrition has been reduced from 18.7% to 11.3% (FAO, IFAD & WFP, 2014). Although progress has been made, food insecurity continues to be a formidable challenge. Food security is said to exist when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food, allowing them to maintain a healthy and active life (FAO, 2009). In a world currently inhabited by approximately 7.3 billion people, there are more mouths to feed than ever before. An estimated one in every nine people across the globe does not have access to sufficient food to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle (FAO, IFAD & WFP, 2014). Across regions, there are disparities in the prevalence and severity of food insecurity at regional, national and household levels. Developing countries retain the highest prevalence of food insecure households, with around two-thirds of the worlds’ food insecure residing in these regions (FAO, IFAD & WFP, 2014). Latin America and the Caribbean have achieved the best regional reduction in food insecurity over the last two decades (FAO, IFAD & WFP, 2014). While Eastern and South-Eastern Asia have already achieved most of their MDG hunger targets, the prevalence of hunger in Southern Asia has declined at a slower rate. The prevalence of hunger in Northern Africa has been consistently less than 5% over the last two decades while its prevalence in Sub-Saharan Africa has ranged from 23%–33% (FAO, IFAD & WFP, 2014). Regionally, the highest prevalence of food insecurity occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.
South Africa has a diverse population, with some pockets of society being in a first world setup and other pockets in a third world impoverished setup. Food provision in impoverished societies is particularly crucial. Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is a hardy crop and prominent in ensuring household food security; through its rich supply of energy, high yield potential and market value. In addition, orange-fleshed cultivars in particular are prominent in combating vitamin A deficiency due to high content of naturally bio-available β-carotene. This paper reviews interventions with regard to biofortification of sweet potato in South Africa towards addressing food and nutrition security. The focus was on the development of biofortified (high β-carotene content) cultivars and screening procedures for desired varietal traits; assessment of β-carotene, anti-oxidant and mineral content and the processing potential of orange-fleshed cultivars. Efficacy of orange fleshed sweet potato to improve vitamin A status was shown and positive effects of household production of orange-fleshed sweet potato, in conjunction with other β-carotene rich vegetables, on dietary intake, vitamin A status and food security were recorded. Dissemination efforts were initially focused on home gardens, which gradually expanded to subsistence production and enterprises. During 2014/15, over 1 million cuttings were disseminated and 5 to 40 small-scale commercial farmers in six provinces planted 0.25 to 1 ha of orange-fleshed sweet potato as means for income generation. In order to exploit the nutritional benefits of sweet potato and its potential to reduce vitamin A malnutrition and food insecurity, it is recommended that policy makers set directives to incorporate orange-fleshed sweet potato in government programs related to health, rural development, social development and agricultural production. There is a great need for investment in promotion of orange-fleshed sweet potato, particularly to consumers and retailers. Private–public partnerships and investment by private companies will be crucial for upscaling the impact of orange-fleshed sweet potato on food and nutrition security.
Although South Africa has reported national food security for decades, current production patterns, land uncertainty and consumer preferences put future national household food insecurity in question. Household food insecurity in South Africa is at unacceptable levels. This paper reviews the country’s agricultural legislative framework in terms of food security and the right to food. The review found that South African agricultural policies do not actively promote food security and the lack of enforceable food security policy makes it difficult to coordinate existing policies. The lack of food security legislation means that the right to food has no enforceable framework. A comprehensive food security policy, legislative framework and implementation strategy are urgently needed to address hunger poverty to progressively achieve the targets set out for national growth and development and realise the right to food enshrined in the Constitution.
This study determined the level and causes of food insecurity of 150 households, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa using the Household Food Insecurity Access Prevalence (HFIAP) and the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). The majority (67.7 %) of the households interviewed were severely food insecure, the main cause being the abandonment of own food production. Average HFIAS for the sample was 12.41 and ranged from 0 to 27. Most households were dependent on government social grants for household food requirements rather than own food production or food purchases, using wages and remittances. Households in the study area were net purchasers of food, as is the situation in most rural households of South Africa. High levels of unemployment (97.5 %) among household heads were observed in the study areas. In times of food shortages, most households relied on borrowing from shops against future payment. Most of the food insecurity coping strategies used by the households had long-term detrimental effects. The ultimate way to improve the food security in rural South Africa is to increase per capita incomes and/or ensure that households have the resources and capacity to produce their own food through farming.
The recent increase in human population coupled with rural-to-urban migration has led to challenges in managing a balanced diet in both food ‘secure’ and food ‘insecure’ regions. As a result of this geographic phenomenon, the human population continues to suffer from caloric-related conditions and diseases, including obesity and coronary heart diseases. In addition, fat and fatty acid composition of the diet has come under severe attack from the media and different human nutrition corridors in the past as they have been implicated in aiding the increase in cases of coronary heart diseases despite their important roles in cellular functions. In this view, fat and fatty acids is of great significance to the modern society, which aims at balancing their dietary proportions for efficient functionality of the human body systems. To improve food and nutrition, understanding the physiological function of the body and biochemical function of the fatty acids and polar lipids and getting a clearer view of the socio-economic aspects surrounding food consumption is also important. However, to further enhance the utilisation of fats accessed from diets, it is important to highlight significant current innovative technologies used to improve food fatty acid profiles and the influence of media on dietary and food consumption patterns. This review discusses the significance of health-related fatty acids, socio-economic aspects governing their presence in food and consumption, and how all these factors have a bearing on achieving the goal of human health, well-being and food and nutrition security.
In addition to being an important source of macro- and micronutrients, beef can also be a source of trans (t)-18:1 fatty acids (FA). Overall, trans-FA have been associated with an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease in humans. Recent research has, however, shown that t-18:1 FA are a group of distinct isomers which elicit differential biological effects. The current review examines the potential of different nutritional strategies to enrich potentially beneficial or deplete detrimental t-18:1 isomers in beef. The possible contribution of seemingly beneficial t-18:1 isomers to global food and nutrition security is highlighted. The review also describes the importance of developing a regulatory framework to govern the consumption of individual t-18:1 isomers to enhance and sustain their contribution to food and nutrition
Hendriks, S.L., 2015. The food security continuum: a novel tool for understanding food insecurity as a range of experiences. Springer Netherlands 7: 609. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-015-0457-6