Vitamins form a heterogeneous chemical group having different stability. In foodstuffs some of them might be bound to matrix components. In the case of vitamin supplemented food products, since the vitamins are not strongly embedded in the matrix a general extraction method could be fit for purpose. The aim of this study was the simultaneous determination of the most common water-soluble vitamins, i.e. ascorbic acid (C), riboflavin (B ₂), niacin (B ₃), pyridoxine (B ₆), folic acid (B ₉) in enriched food products. Sample preparation based on the European Standard (CEN, 2003) was optimised for further LC-MS compatible chromatography. The separation of the vitamins was achieved by reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Detection was carried out with a photodiode array detector at four different wavelengths. The chromatographic method and the sample preparation were successfully applied for vitamin-enriched cereal, instant cacao powder and fruit juice samples.

To foster their competitive advantage, food firms pay an increasing attention to strategies that tend to distinguish their products from the one supplied by their competitors, dedicating to this task most of their resources, knowledge and creativity. In such a framework, also the resource “water”, often seen as an homogenous product, is more and more utilized in the advertisement as an element that increase the quality of the final good. This paper aims to build a model that can explain the observed behavior in the different food industries and that can give some insights about the future perspectives of the utilization of the water as a differentiation factor. To reach this goal, first we present a survey of the commercials of specific food industries (beverages, pasta, bread, fresh produce) in which it is shown the contribute of water on the product. On the base of the empirical evidence, we argue that the propensity to use the water as an element of differentiation is greater when greater are the degree of technological knowledge, the consumers’ perceptions, and the importance of the differentiation strategy in that specific industry. Since we expect that these three factors will increase over time, we also conclude that it is rational to experiment a generalized increase of the utilization of the water in the commercials of the food products. We also recommend to extend the analysis testing the results using a quantitative approach.

Increasing population and income and a wheat self-sufficiency policy are already stressing Iran's strategic Karkeh River Basin. Examining three scenarios to the year 2025, the authors of this study find: (1) business as usual leads to an aggravation of groundwater overdraft and may jeopardize the ecosystem services provided by the Hawr Al Azim marsh area; (2) giving priority to environmental flow requirements and restoring groundwater tables leads to a shortfall in wheat production; but (3) reducing agricultural water demand could maintain a certain level of food production. Appropriate policy could minimize the tradeoffs between food self-sufficiency, sustainable water use and farmers' income.

The partition coefficients (K ow) of benzoic acid and sorbic acid in systems of fish oil (sand eel)-water, fish oil-buffer solution, rape oil-water and olive oil-water were experimentally determined in a temperature range from 5 to 43°C and pH from 4.5 to 6.5°C. The dimerization of benzoic acid in fish oil-water system was observed at 25°C. Two modifications have been made to the Nordic Food Analysis Standard for the determination of sorbic acid by HPLC. The experimental results show that the K ow of benzoic acid and sorbic acid in fish oil-buffer system is ca. 100 times lower than that in fish oil-water system. The K ow values of benzoic acid and sorbic acid in fish oil and water system decrease with increasing system pH values. The partition coefficients of plant origin and fish origin oils are in the same order of magnitude even though their molecular structures are very different.

Established in 2002, the CPWF was designed as a 15-year research-for-development program. Phase 1 ran from 2004–2008 and Phase 2 runs from 2009–2013.<br/><br/> This year’s Annual Report is structured to provide the reader with a broad overview of CPWF’s direction in Phase 2, while reporting on key activities from 2009. The report also show how Phase 1 research has been used in the design of Phase 2 and how the program will be structured and managed in Phase 2.

This study was conducted to investigate the growth of microorganisms, including pathogenic bacteria such as Cronobacter sakazakii and Bacillus cereus, in Sunsik beverages made of water, milk, soymilk, or honey-water during storage at room temperature. Prepared Sunsik beverages were stored at room temperature and the growth of total aerobic counts, Escherichia coli/coliforms, and yeast and mold were measured. Also, samples inoculated with a cocktail of C. sakazakii or B. cereus spores were stored at room temperature and their growths were determined during storage. Populations of total aerobic counts and coliforms significantly increased with increasing storage time at room temperature, which resulted in higher than 8 log and 7 log after 24 h in all samples except for the honey-water sample, respectively. Levels of total aerobic counts and coliforms were significantly lower in the honey-water sample than in the other samples after 6 and 9 h of storage, respectively. Initial populations of C. sakazakii and B. cereus ranged from 0 to 1 log CFU/mL, respectively, and these populations significantly increased with increasing storage time at room temperature. Therefore, populations of C. sakazakii and B. cereus were approximately 7 to 8 log CFU/mL after 24 h of storage. However, after 12 and 9 h of storage, there were significant differences in levels of C. sakazakii and B. cereus between the honey-water sample and the other samples, respectively. Based on these results, the addition of honey can inhibit microbial growth in Sunsik beverages; however, the best way to avoid pathogen infection would be to consume Sunsik beverages as soon as possible after preparation.

The efficacy of the ozonated water (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 1.0 ppm) in reducing the risk of food-borne disease was investigated in this study. After inoculation of Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 19112), Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica biovar Typhimurium (ATCC 12598), Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ATCC 43890) to lettuce, spinach, and beef, inhibition effect with different washing concentrations, time, and methods with ozonated and tap water were evaluated. As a result, there were 2.16 to 3.85 log CFU/mL reduction in different foods and 7 log CFU/mL reduction on cutting boards after watering with ozonated water. Higher than 0.2 ppm of ozonated water treatment reduced the growth of food-borne disease bacteria with increasing washing time and ozone concentration. These results suggested that the ozonated water treatment effectively improved the microbiological quality and food safety.

One of the CPWF's research approaches was to examine in detail the issues of development, poverty and water productivity in 10 river basins worldwide in the Basin Focal Projects. This Special Issue has papers from nine of these basins: the Andes system of basins in South America; the Limpopo, the Niger, the Nile and the Volta in Africa; the Karkheh in Iran; and the Ganges, the Indus, the Mekong and the Yellow in Asia. A second Special Issue of the same journal looks at cross-basin analyses.

Growing global population and a combination of dietary change, biofuels production, urban and industrial water demand and climate change will see food crises becoming more frequent in the next 40 years. Food and feed production must double to feed 9.1 billion people in 2050. This will require using twice as much water as at present or increasing water productivity. It is argued that we need a Blue-Green revolution to deliver water productivity increases. This revolution will depend on increases of both rainfed and irrigated production and has to include improvements in soil fertility and institutional and governance of agriculture and natural resources.