Water activity of multicomponent food mixture was analysed and measured. Samples of dry fermented sausages with two different starter cultures (Pediococcus pentosaceus + Staphylococcus carnosus and Staphylococcus carnosus + Staphylococcus xylosus + Lactobacillus farciminis) were tested during ripening (21 days) and storing (91 days). The basic raw materials were the same for all samples: lean beef meat, lean pork and pork fat in equal parts, nitrite salt mixture (2.5 %), and sugars (1.0 %). The method used for water activity tests was indirect manometric in a static environment. Moisture content of samples was measured using halogen dryer. The course of water activity and moisture content of sausages was variable during ripening and steady during storage. Diagrams showed gradual decrease of both parameters. Mathematical models of water activity and moisture content for storage of dry fermented sausages were developed and statistically verified. The influence of starter cultures was not significant.

The soda-water invented by Anyos Jedlik has an important tradition in Hungary. This popular - especially in the county - carbonated water filled in special siphon-bottles is produced by several hundreds of smaller and bigger soda-water works in Hungary. In this beautifully illustrated article the authors outline the history of this "hungaricum".

This paper highlights the difficult choices that must be made as mounting pressure from the world’s growing population for more food could lead to greater water consumption and increasing environmental degradation. Globally, agriculture uses between 70 to 90% of developed water supplies and the livelihoods of 70% of the world’s poor depend largely on farming. Despite the benefits, large-scale irrigation systems have led to pollution in rivers and the drying up of wetlands: at least 30% of the world’s river flows need to be used to maintain the condition of freshwater ecosystems worldwide.The paper argues that there is less water available for the competing demands for water (water to feed people, water to reduce poverty and water to sustain natural ecosystems) because of increasing water demands by cities and industries. It identifies a number of ways of resolving this dilemma: <B>Improved water productivity:</B> this might be achieved through improved crop varieties, combined with better tillage methods and more precise drip or micro irrigation. Drought resistant seeds, water harvesting schemes and small plot technologies such as manually operated treadle pumps have the potential to boost yields by 100% in many areas of sub- Saharan Africa where most farmers depend on rain fed agriculture. An improvement of water productivity by 40% over the next twenty five years would be reduce the global need for extra water for irrigation to zero. <B>Influencing peoples’ diets:</B> Western diets based on meat from grain fed cattle account for as much as 5,000 liters per capita per day while vegetarian diets deplete less than half as much water. With prevailing land and water management practices, a balanced diet requires 3287 liters of water per day compared to the 50 used for an average household’s domestic needs. <B>Increasing the trade of ‘virtual water’: </B>this trade in food from water abundant countries to water scarce ones is another option to be considered, but it is questionable whether low income countries will be able to afford ‘virtual water’ and there may be negative consequences for poor farmers. <B>Increasing the use of urban wastewater for irrigation: </B> up to one-tenth of the world’s population eats food produced using wastewater from towns and cities. Using wastewater and saline water for irrigation may improve the quality of water available for ecosystems in basins where there is still some outflow<B>Reforming agricultural policy: </B> agricultural subsidies in the west are a major factor in keeping prices low for agricultural producers in developing countries. However, decisions on diet and trade tend not to factor in water issues directly. While diet transitions in developing countries increase water demands, and some farm practices can be changed, influencing people's diets may not be a practical means of addressing water scarcity across the world. Global trade flows similarly resist influence, as economic and political motivations tend to override environmental ones.Of these options, increasing water productivity and the upgrading of rain-fed systems have the most potential to improve food security and reduce poverty at the lowest environmental cost. The paper finds that gains from increased irrigation efficiency are a lot less than imagined.This draft version of the report was prepared for a World Water Week 2004 event held in Stockholm

Water affects safety, stability, quality and physical properties of food. The influence of water on physical properties of food is dependent on the state of water in food. The state, expressed as water activity, is briefly discussed in the paper. Further, the influence of water on such physical properties as rheological, thermal, mass transfer, electrical, optical and acoustic is presented in details.

In terms of water resources, floods and droughts are considered to be the main factors affecting stable food production. In recent years, extreme cases (various extents and severities of such natural disasters) have been occurring at an alarming rate around the world, apparently due to recent climate changes and human activities such as changes in land use, agricultural practices, etc. In Monsoon Asia, distinct dry and rainy seasons coexist and both floods and droughts occur irregularly in the same areas, yet sustainable rice cultivation has been carried out for centuries due to various types of unique water uses which are totally different from those in dry and/or arid regions. However, the mechanisms of water use and the effects of changes on food production in this area have not been fully elucidated. The speaker, therefore, presents and outlines the differences in hydrologic conditions between arid (including semi-arid) and monsoon regions, and the sustainability of rice production by analyzing the unique characteristics of water use in Monsoon Asia. There is also an attempt to determine the effects of such water use on food production and vice versa. First, the unique features of paddy irrigation in humid regions are illustrated by comparing hydrological environments, types of irrigation, and characteristics of paddies with those in arid and semi-arid regions (examples of Australia and USA). About 54% of the world population lives in the Asian monsoon region, which covers only about 14% of the world land area. The majority of Asia large population is supported by intensive paddy rice cultivation, which is not only an outstanding form of agriculture with high land productivity, but can also be considered as a sustainable and environmentally friendly economic activity suited to the climatic and topographical conditions of the region. This economic activity has continued to evolve for hundreds or thousands of years in various areas, as witnessed by the archaeological vestiges of 7,000-year-old rice cultivation in China. Second, although agriculture in Monsoon Asia accounts for a large part of total water use, a sustainable water supply and use mechanism derived from various water use patterns, has been developed there. That is, from the viewpoint of watershed management, not only do the paddy areas regulate floods by functioning as retarding basins (ponds), but the water resources are used effectively by optimizing the natural hydrologic conditions. While this function is commonly found in low-lying paddy areas such as paddies in Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries, it is especially noticeable in the Mekong River Basin (drainage area: 790,000km2, river length: 4,400km). Third, an attempt was made to refine a water use model and to combine it with global water and food analyses in order to examine the effects of changes in water circulation on food production in terms of agricultural land use, water use, irrigation patterns, etc. Unfortunately, the above-mentioned unique characteristics of water supply and demand as elements of water use have not yet been appropriately considered in many "world water and food" models that have been developed since 1990 at many research institutes, such as JIRCAS, IFPRI, and IWMI.

Environmental deterioration in ponds and costal waters has been a common evidence after each intensive shrimp culture due to the accumulation of organic wastes and occurrence of eutrophication processes. Mangrove is a wetland that potentially supports the natural food web in the estuary and coastal areas. The planting of mangroves in recycling shrimp farms would serve the purpose of developing sustainable shrimp farms by utilizing the enriched organic matters and nutrients thus enhancing the natural food web in the shrimp farms. However, mangrove trees in pond dikes tend to grow small and the roots may not be able to support the tree during pond erosion resulting in the mortality of the mangrove trees. Brackishwater weeds, which cover the soil in the pond dikes, could serve the function of the young mangrove trees.

Japan's Specifications and Standards for Food Additives, 7th Edition (JSFA-VII) does not set limits for total contents of water-soluble chlorides and water-soluble sulfates (water-soluble inorganic salts) in food color aluminum lakes (FC-Als). However, the regulatory limit is 2% in JECFA and CFR. We used column switching suppressor-type ion chromatography (CSS-IC) for determination of anions. The total contents of water-soluble inorganic salts in FC-Als (112 qualified samples) were determined using the modified CSS-IC from fiscal year 1998 to fiscal year 2003. Total contents of water-soluble inorganic salts in four samples exceeded 2%. From an international point of view, it is desirable that the total content of water-soluble inorganic salts in FC-A1 should again be regulated in Japan.

This book explores human exposure and consumer risk assessment in response to issues surrounding pesticide residues in food and drinking water. All the three main areas of consumer risk assessment including human toxicology, pesticide residue chemistry and dietary consumption are brought together and discussed. - Includes the broader picture - the environmental fate of pesticides - Takes an international approach with contributors from the European Union, USA and Australia - Highlights the increasing concerns over food safety and the risks to humans