Water is an essential recurring input for agriculture productivity and key to food security. Its availability in space and time has been a matter of great concern in many parts of the world. In India there is growing awareness about the scarcity of water under the increased water demand from agriculture and other sectors. Further, the projected reduction in water availability to the agriculture sector from the share of 89

The objective of this study was to determine the changes in water activity and moisture content in the dry fermented sausages Herkules, a typical multicomponent food, during ripening and storage. The sausages were made with lean beef, lean pork, pork fat, nitrite salt mixture, and sugars, and fermented with two starter cultures (Pediococcus pentosaceus + Staphylococcus carnosus and S. carnosus + S. xylosus + Lactobacillus farciminis). The samples were taken and tested during ripening (21 days) and storage (91 days). The water activity was measured by indirect manometric method in a static environment, the moisture content by halogen dryer. The water activity and moisture content decreased considerably, but very irregularily during the ripening, whereas they declined only slowly and linearly during the storage. The decrease during the storage was expressed by mathematical equations describing the changes of water activity and moisture content in function of the time. The use of different starter cultures had no influence on the two variables studied.

Melting processes of refrigerated fruits and vegetables (Jonathan apple, sour cherry, red currant, onion, cauliflower and cucumber) were studied using the DSC method. Prior to the tests apple and onion were stored without and the other products with refrigeration. The refrigerated products were melted in microwave space, then chopped and homogenized. Measuring was carried out with the juice obtained from the homogenized sample, and the sample containing the fibre was also measured. Besides the DSC examinations, the water content of the samples was also determined by drying in exsiccator at 105 C/degrees/ to constant weight. The DSC curve of the samples examined is a characteristic endotherm curve, with phase shift temperatures varying from product to product. An analysis of the temperature dependence of the phase shift temperature showed that at the beginning of intensive melting 7-23 o/o, while at the usual temperature of cold storage 1-10 o/o of the water content was in liquid state

The food remains of Neomys fodiens (particularly trichopteran larvae, Gastropoda and Amphibia) found on the banks of ponds and small creeks in Lower Austria are described. Characteristic bite marks, the manner of opening the cases and shells, as well as data on feeding patterns are presented. Food caches mainly consisted of caddis fly larvae and snails, but also contained non-palatable items which shrews apparently had confused with real prey and retrieved. The composition of the caches varied seasonally, showing a marked mid-summer decline and a shift in the proportion of Trichoptera and Mollusca in late summer and autumn. Shrews employed particular methods when breaking snail shells and opening caddis fly cases, and in the consumption of vertebrate carcasses.

Diagrs., illus., tables. Includes bibliographies