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New and innovative consumer demands and expectations on the Hungarian food market
485-499Views:47Food and eating have always encompassed more than the simple intake of nutrients; therefore, when thinking about food consumption, we need to examine several groups of influencing factors whose correlations from the aspect of the consumer are described by a complicated matrix. This paper focuses on the selection of signs indicating new and innovative consumer behaviours, and on the megatrends that are the driving forces of transitions and that lead to the consequences of strikingly reconsidered consumer decisions nowadays. The authors stress that there are qualitative and structural changes in food consumption in Hungary, with an increasing quantity of differentiated consumer demands appearing, a few of them influencing our everyday decisions even at
the concept level. The findings of primary research originated from a personal questionnaire survey consisting of 2001 respondents, in which we also focused on the attitude towards eating and media consumption related to gastronomy.
This paper is an introduction to the market segments detectable in the present Hungarian population aged 15–74 in the topics concerned. -
Microbial assessment of potential functional dairy products with added dried herbs
59-63Views:121The market of dairy products is a dynamically developing sector of the food industry. Potential, functional dairy products, made by adding herbs or spices, will have antimicrobial and antioxidant effect due to the active biochemical agents of the plant additives. Furthermore, these active components will widen the storage life of food products and enhance their organoleptic properties too. We worked out a technology for creating fresh cheeses using a gentle pasteurizing method by treating the mixture of raw milk and 1.5% fat contained in commercial milk. As herb additives, we used citronella (Melissa officinalis), and peppermint (Mentha x piperita) harvested by us and dried them via Tyndall-method in convective dryer on 40 °C for 5.5 hours per day. The drying period took three days. We bought dried citronella and mint from the supermarket, which were dried by ionizing radiation, to compare the microbiological pollution with the herbs dried by us.
The main target of this research was to create a microbiologically stable, potential functional dairy product. However, because of the bad quality of the raw milk and the gentle heat treatment we used for sterilizing bulk milk, or else, cheeses were not safe for human consumption. As a consequence, we need further studies to modify our technology and get a microbiologically stable product.
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Agricultural land use and food safety
55-60Views:155The world’s food production needs to be doubled in order to cover the need of the population by 2050 even if it exceeds 9 billion. The output of agriculture is expected to increase by 1.7% every year until 2020 (OECD, FAO 2011) which is a major decrease in comparison with the average 2.6% increase of the previous decade. At the same time, the meat, dairy, sugar and vegetable oil consumption is likely to increase by 2020 to a higher extent than so far. Due to the increasing food prices, the amount of starving people will increase and food consumption will decrease – especially in developing countries – as people will be able to buy less and only cheaper food products. Also, obesity may become a more severe problem and the inequality of the population’s health status could increase.
One of the most important elements of adapting to global climate change is food safety; therefore, it is especially important to breed new biological bases and to introduce production systems which contribute to adapting to changed circumstances.
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Consumption tendencies of foods of animal origin in Hungary
7-17Views:128One of the most important indices of the population's food consumption are the quantities of the consumed foods expressed in a natural measure. In the course of my examination from the 1980 years I examined how our dietary habits changed. I was able to demonstrate it by the time series examination well, in which years and in a what kind of measure these consumer changes occurred. The trend analysis was in it onto my help, that let me be allowed to depict his beat as the changes of the food consumption visual.
In his totality the Hungarian population nutritional and from his consumer customs we may relate that the present nourishment increases it unambiguous the diet pendant the risk of illnesses, furthers their development, aggravates their effect, and contributes to the population's adverse health conditions powerful.
It was over in some years, in a decade on a unfortunate manner, we lost the natural instinct of the selection of the food in a considerable part. Our diet fundamental the narrower and the customs of wider environment, his rules, the social values, beliefs define it. Because of this to feed it is necessary to study it.
The changed and the health-conscious nourishment would be important for him herding back into a upturned dietary habit correct bed with a wide circle recognizing him with the population, his role could be big for the healthy, or functional foods. The nourishment gives his pleasure likewise while we take over healthy foods.
The recognition of the changes of the demand and accompanying him with attention could be the domestic food producers' fundamental interests. The consumer types and the market segments should be mapped, that they suitable marketing a strategy can be aimed at it, and into the direction of the healthy nutrition to push away, and would be need onto an efficient informative campaign, onto an advertisement message formulated well, onto the making aware of this, that let the advertisement supply an educational function in one. -
The energy balance of maize production – alternative approaches
59-63Views:153Agricultural production is a crucial area, perhaps the most important for humanity. This is the only area which cannot be avoided. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to know how sustainable the system is in the long run as regards energy consumption. We have chosen the maize production sector as the main focus of this study. This crop is especially important all over the world, therefore; it requires significant input also in terms of energy. Currently, the system of maize production (as with the others) operates as an open energy system.This study aims to examine how much of the agricultural land’s energy demand could be met with the help of the byproducts of 1 hectare of agricultural land - operating as a closed system, using only the remaining maize stalk and cob byproducts for energy - under the conditions of Hungarian maize production.Energy demand is largely determined by the land’s fertilizer requirement, followed by the input factor of the energy demand of the machinery during earthwork and transport.The study assumes that the energy from the byproducts of maize production will be used exclusively with biogas technology. This can even be implemented on a county level. The final question is whether the maize production system will be able to sustain itself solely by using its own byproducts. -
The effect of the supply chain exerting physical stress on the microbiological status of bottled natural mineral water
189-193Views:181Mineral water consumption increased dramatically in the last 30 years. One reason for this change lies in the changing consumer behaviour: consumers are increasingly recognizing the importance of healthy nutrition and appreciate the beneficial nutritional physiological properties of mineral water. Local mineral water harmonizes well with imported waters. Bottled mineral water may travel several hundred kilometres until it reaches consumers. In the present study, the dynamic mechanical vibration caused by transporting on public roads was simulated in laboratory vibration tests then samples were subjected to microbiological examinations in compliance with legislations currently in force. Due to this vibration, the initial microbe count increased by two orders of magnitude, while after terminating the 4-hour mechanical action it decreased gradually. Growing dynamics of microbes constituting the total germ count at 22 °C and 37 °C were almost similar.
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Comparison of macroelement and microelement contents of conventionally and organically grown crops
87-92Views:152Nowedays one of the most important issues to discuss is the healthy nutrition: feeding our bodies with high quality nutrients, which is free of chemical residues. The demand for healthy and nutritious food is increasing worldwide, that results in the growing popularity of consumption of organic food. Several studies dealing with the nutrient content of traditional and organic food have been published lately, since it became clear that eating food contaminated with chemical residues damage to health, food and the environment. Therefore it would be desirable to find out if organic food is really superior to conventional one. In our study we analyzed the dry matter, ash, macroelement and trace element content of organically and conventionally grown crops (carrot root, potato tuber and parsnip). Our results provide further information to consumers about the nutritional value of organic and conventional crops.
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Trends in Dry Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Production
53-58Views:131Dry pea is an important, cool-season grain legume, which is grown worldwide on over 6 million hectares. The major producing countries outside Europe are China and Canada, followed by India, Australia, and the United States. France, Canada and Australia produce over 2 million hectares and are major exporters of peas. During the 1980’s, in developed countries of the European Union, pea production rose yearly by 6-10%, which represents a significant increase in both area and yield. Europe accounts for 50-75% of world pea production. In the 1990’s, the European Union produced 4-5 million tonnes of dry pea, of which 3-4 million tonnes were used for feed and 1 million tonnes for export. At the end of the 20th century, the growth in production was low, mainly because of the absence of support measures, and the better returns offered by other crops. In the countries of the former Soviet Union, dry pea was primarily used as feed and pea production dropped, due to a trend in livestock raising.
Food consumption of dry pea is concentrated in developing countries, where grain legumes represent a useful complement to cereal-based diets as a relatively inexpensive source of high quality protein. As a result, human consumption of grain legumes fell from 2,2 kg/capita in 1961 to 0,5 kg/capita in 1999. The importance of grain legumes in food protein supply decreased, while that of cereal products increased. Shortage of grain legumes has adverse effects on the nutritional standard of poor people in developing countries.
World dry pea production reached 16,7 million tonnes in 1990, with 3,7 million tonnes used as food, 11,4 million tonnes used as feed, and 1,0 million tonnes used as seed. Dry pea production was 10,9 million tonnes in 1999, and 3,5, 5,8 and 0,8 million tonnes was used as food, feed and seed, respectively. In the coming decades, world grain legume production and utilization as feed are expected to expand at a slower rate than in the 1980’s. Most of the increase is expected to occur in Eastern European countries, Canada and Australia, where production is anticipated to grow at 2% annually. The projection for the new millennium was derived from adjusted trends in area and yield over the period 1961-2000, based on FAO statistical data. -
The effect of washing for the shelf-life parameters of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)
131-135Views:36Spinach is a very popular green leafy vegetable because of its versatile usage and beneficial for the health. However, spinach may contain several pathogen bacteria: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Salmonella spp., Enterobacter spp., Citrobacter spp., Shigella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause several serious health problems. This study investigates the effects of washing with citric acid for the shelf-life parameters of spinach in comparison to the effect of washing with water and control. Washing of spinach with 0.5% citric acid solution decreased the elasticity of the spinach leaves, as well as the chlorophyll content. On the other hand, the total plate count, as well as the yeast and mold count could be decreased with this treatment, but difference was not detectable at the forth storage day. The fecal indicator E. coli did not change, indicating washing was not effective in this case. Further optimisation of treatment and storage conditions may decrease microbial risk of fresh spinach consumption without decreasing its sensory quality.
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Anti-Oxidants in Agriculture
195-200Views:86Today’s programmes aiming at enhancement of fruit and vegetable consumption have been intensified. In the unanimous view of experts, different health problems, such as those of the immune system, inflammations, and even certain cancerous diseases can be prevented and/or cured with regular consumption of fresh (raw) fruit and vegetables. It is well-known fact that among the biologically valuable components, antioxidant compounds – C- and E vitamins, as well as carotinoides – play an important role. In this field, Hungary can expect success in the future since it has excellent plant genetic stock. Regretfully, national data banks regarding cultivation technology, cultivation areas or varieties for fruits and vegetables and their antioxidant contents do not exist in Hungary. Nevertheless, in connection with the so-called “Hungaricums” its existence would be of urgent necessity. Such excellent Hungarian products are – among others – a lot of sour cherry varietiles, the Szeged green pepper and the Makó onion. They enjoy high priority as “Hungaricums” even in the European Union and such activities that support these kinds of products should be enhanced by intense and consequent research work, which may prove their role as functional foods. Presently’ the USA leads in the research of antioxidant compounds of sour cherry, and so far 17 of these compounds have been found partly in Hungarian varieties. Similar research on green, and ‘pritamin’ peppers have not gone so far since they were limited only for seasoning paprika. In Hungary, studies on onion and garlic have not been performed. It should be mentioned that due to the continental climate, these products may be cultivated, consumed or processed only in a limited period. Taking this into consideration, processing and conserving methods are needed which make the consumption of these fruit and vegetables as functional food possible year-round. Scientific establishment of this set of questions is of current concern, because consumption of these products could have an important role in improving the health status of the Hungarian population in the future.
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Harnessing diversity in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) to enhance climate resilience and micronutrient concentration through genetic and agronomic biofortification
9-20Views:177Huge consumption of wheat-driven food products with low bioavailability and small concentrations of zinc is responsible for zinc-induced malnutrition and associated health complications. The contemporary durum wheat varieties have inherently tiny zinc concentrations in developing grain, which cannot meet the daily human zinc demand. Despite the fact that over two billion people are suffering from iron and zinc-induced malnutrition, various intervention measures have been deployed to reverse the effect of zinc-induced malnutrition on humans. There are evidences that agronomic and genetic biofortification approaches can increase grain yield and nutritional quality (i.e. zinc, iron, protein, and vitamins) of durum wheat to a greater extent. However, there is a lack of direct empirical evidence for which the influence of both biofortification approaches on improving human health. Application of micronutrient-containing fertilizers either in the soil or foliarly is effective in combination with NPK, organic fertilizers coupled with efficient durum wheat varieties, emphasizing the need for integrated soil fertility management (ISFM). Although genetic biofortification is a cost-effective and sustainable approach, agronomic biofortification provides an immediate and effective route to enhancing micronutrient concentrations in durum wheat grain. The application of zinc-containing fertilizers is more effective under drought conditions than in normal growing situations. Hence, this article provides a key information for agronomists and breeders about the potential of biofortification interventions to improve durum wheat yield and enrich the grain qualitative traits to ensure food and nutritional security of the ever-increasing world population.
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Some strategic aspects of animal protein production
11-19Views:184The access to food shaped human societies and dietary models throughout the history of mankind. Animal protein consumption became a part of human culture. Data are presented showing the relationship of daily calorie and animal protein consumption as affected by capita GDP changes. Examples are presented how genetic improvement of animal and fodder plants influenced the resource efficiency and the overall environmental footprint per unit product. The two examples presented are: the dairy industry of the USA the 1944 and 2007 situation, and the Hungarian broiler chicken sector considering data relevant to 1930, 1960 and 2010. In both cases, dramatic improvements in resource efficiency could be demonstrated. The agricultural area required to animal feed production was reduced by more than 80% in both cases per unit product. Future possibilities are briefly discussed, referring to the still unutilized land reserves of the Globe, the new evolving technologies in progress inclusive the CASPR/Cas 9 genetic editing methods.
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Health factor in food consumption
125-132Views:75Consumer lifestyle and health are relevant factors to understanding consumption preferences. In the last few decades the number of lifestyle diseases has dramatically increased. The main cause for these diseases is the change in lifestyle; including a lack of attention to physical activity and good nutrition. Health and lifestyle are important factors by purchase decision process. In accordance with these, I examine the consumer behaviour toward soft drinks with special regards to healthy lifestyle and the state of health. My examinations can be considered mainly as a
qualitative research, which can serve as a basis for further analyses and research, however, the conclusions and experience gained from it are worthy of consideration. I differentiated five soft drink categories: ice tea, carbonated soft drinks, fruit juices, mineral waters, sport and energy drinks and studied the consumer behaviour toward them. The study focuses on the consumption of these and the factors influencing their purchase with special regards to lifestyle. -
The stinging nettle as an alternative food crop
68-70Views:78Vegetables play an important role in human health and have an important effect on the human diet. It is equally serious to improve the volume, the diversity and the year round equability of vegetable consumption. The stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) is an alternative vegetable crop and available from the beginning of Spring to the end of Autumn; therefore, it can improve both the diversity and the equability of vegetable consumption. The stinging nettle has a superb nutritive value, it is a prospinach and it can be cooked in many ways.
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Determining the antioxidant compounds of beer
5-10Views:317The increasing consumption of beer indicates the necessity of the thorough analysis of its composition. In this study, the total phenolic content, flavonoid content and colour intensity of 24 beer samples have been determined. The samples contained pale barley, dark barley, pale wheat and dark wheat beers. The aim of the study was to determine the amount of the antioxidant compounds in beer, as well as to find correlation between different beer types and the above mentioned parameters.
Dark barley samples contained phenolic compounds in the highest concentrations, and it can also be concluded that dark beers contain phenolic compounds and flavonoids in higher concentrations than pale beers in the case of barley and wheat samples.
According to the performed statistical analysis, these beer types cannot be differentiated based on the analysed parameters. The highest percentage of correctly classified samples could be observed in case of dark barley samples, but this value has only been 75%, and the total result of correctly classified cases was only 41.7%. The analysis of more samples and parameters is required to carry out a successful differentiation.
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Dietary fibre prevalence and its role in human nutrition
9-13Views:225The role of dietary fibre and its impact on health is increasing. It is worth noting that their beneficial effects on the body are becoming more widely known, but their consumption is still below the recommended daily intake from food. Dietary fibre, as a class of compounds, includes a mixture of plant carbohydrate polymers, both oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Dietary fibre has been linked to a number of diseases, as its consumption can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. They influence the composition of the bacteria present in the human gut. Consuming the right quantity and quality of dietary fibre can play a role in the prevention of certain types of cancer. Nowadays, it is common to produce various fibre-enriched foods, called functional foods, because of the beneficial effects they have previously had on the body. In the present work we want to give a general description of dietary fibre and its role in the body.
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Some Variable Traits of Broiler Genotypes
25-30Views:136One the most effective ways to satisfy the requirements of mankind for food of animal origin is the fattening of chicken. Healthy and cheap meat with low fat and high protein content can be produced rapidly and in large quantities by broilers with low feed consumption. This paper presents the production results and carcass traits of three genotypes (Ross 308, Cobb 500, Ross broiler parent) females and males at the age of 42 days.
In both sexes, we found that the average body weight of the Ross parents genotype was higher (females: 2643 g; males: 3089 g) than the
average body weight of the other two hybrids – significant difference was found only between pullets. However, the smallest difference in the
average body weight between the two sexes (446 g) was found in this genotype. In both sexes, the lowest average weight was detectable in
the case of the Cobb 500 hybrids (females: 2443 g; males: 3052 g).The feed consumption ability of the females were worse – in all but one
case (Ross pullet) – than that of the males. For one kg of weight gain - in the order of genotypes – 1.79kg, 2.08kg and 2.08 kg of feed was
used. The same values for the males were as follows: 1.81kg, 1.80kg and 1.89 kg, respectively.
Carcass traits were examined and it was found that the average grillfertig weight, the weight of whole thigh meat and thigh meat of the
Ross parents’ genotype was higher than the average weight of the other two hybrids. Significant difference was found only in grillfertig- and
whole thigh meat weight. Pullets of the Ross parents’ paternal line had worse results in the average weight of breast meat with bone and
breast meat fillet than the other two genotypes. In the case of cocks was detectable the inverse of this: the average weight of breast meat with
bone was the highest in the cocks of the Ross parents’ maternal line. -
Recent data about the fish consumption of great Cormorant in the area of Hortobágy Fish Farm Co
75-80Views:206The cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a bird species that nests sporadically but in colonies, besides larger fishponds and rivers in Hungary. The number of its individuals has been increasing during the last two decades. The species eats solely fish, therefore it can cause serious depredation of the fish stocks in fishponds of intensive system and after the freezing of the ponds, in larger rivers, which are not yet frozen. The aim of our research was to reveal the damages the birds can cause on the studied areas and the extent of the losses the Hortobágy Fish Farm Co. has to realize.
Our studies were carried out between April 2012 and November 2014. During cleaning, the investigation of the craw contents of the birds and their biometric studies were conducted. The results revealed the diverse food base of the species. In the samples, we have determined 379 fish individuals; in 368 cases, the exact fish species were determined, too. Significant differences were found between the consumed fish species rations of the units (P=0.05% beside). We have also found significant difference in the fish consumptions of adult males and females.
Under the ever harder fish production conditions, the presence and thus the permanent predation of the birds affect the fishermen. In favour of maintaining ecological balance as well as to hold the income of the fish farmers, elaboration of adequate protective and preventive methods will be needed in near future.
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Some basic problems concerning world animal production at the beginning of the XXI century
77-80Views:118The author summarizes the main new challenges facing animal agriculture: growing GDP in many countries increasing animal protein demand, bioenergy industry as a new player using potential food or feedstuffs, increasing demand, Growing water and land scarcity, weaking the position of plant agriculture, feed production. Forecasts are summarized regarding the magnitude of meat consumption increases, and the possible plant biomass quantities required additionally in the next 20 years to cover the needs of food, feed and biofuel on a global scale.
Efficiencies of various animal production sectors, poultry, pork, beef, mutton meat, milk and eggs and their environmental footprints are compared, summarizing the most important research results concerning UK, USA, OECD evaluations. Intensive systems using highly productive plant and animal population will play an even more important role in the future especially in poultry, pig, milk and aquaculture production system being efficient users of resources (feed, water, land) and the environmental foot print is smaller per unit product. -
Pre- and postharvest technologies to extend the shelf life of Prunus cerasus
85-89Views:227Fresh tart cherry consumption cannot be increased without the development of an appropriate technology for its elongated storage. This requires the development and optimization of the pre- and postharvest treatments. Currently, we have only limited knowledge about tart cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) postharvest technology, however, related studies on sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) may be adopted. In this article, we have collected the most important research results in this topic.
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Fresh fruit purchase analysis in the town’s circle in the Nothern Great Plain Region
101-106Views:127In my research I aimed to examine the previous theories about consumer habits and behaviors as well as the preference of different fruit species in the Northern Great Plain Region. Furthermore, I also wanted to know if there are any correlations between the product atributes that influence fruit consumption and different ages, genders and income categories.
The importance of my research field is reflected in the fact that issues in connection with foodstuffs, healty diet and food safety have been highly emphasized recently.
I belive in order to live longer we need to pursue healthy diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables. It seems, however, not every can follow this lifestyle in their every day diet since most people prefer junk food that contains harmful ingridients.
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Leaf and root evaluation of bioactive compounds of different beetroot varieties
135-139Views:201The importance of beetroot lies in the numerous health benefits, attributed to its wide-ranging array of minerals, vitamins and bioactive compounds which play a key role in the human diet. Generally, beetroot is consumed for its root, however, its leaves also contain a good amount of bioactive compounds. The experiment was carried out with four beetroot varieties in order to compare the amount of bioactive compounds in the root and the leaf. The analyzed data were total dry matter content, total polyphenol, flavonoid and vitamin C.Results have shown that roots contain the highest amount of bioactive compounds. Nevertheless, leaves can be also considered a significant source. Therefore, consumption of the young leaves is highly recommended due to their availability after thinning or at maturity stage (60 days after the germination). Of the examined varieties, ‘Libero’ demonstrated the highest total polyphenol, flavonoid and vitamin C values, although it was found to be statistically insignificant. -
Seed treatment with Bacillus bacteria improves maize production: a narrative review
105-111Views:108Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important crop in relation to its production and consumption. Production of maize is constrained by soil infertility and poor quality seed. Microbial technologies like seed treatment with Bacillus bacteria improves the productivity of maize on infertile soil. However, due to variations in maize growth environments and Bacillus species, this review was conducted to identify the common species of Bacillus species used for seed treatment, and provide an overview of the effect of seed treatment with Bacillus on maize growth and yield. Results show that Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens were the dominant species used for seed treatment. Bacillus was used as both a biofertiliser and biopesticide. The conspicuous positive effects of Bacillus were in plant height, shoot and root length, and shoot dry matter depending on the species. In terms of grain yield, Bacillus subtilis (8502 kg ha-1), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (6822 kg ha-1) and Bacillus safensis (5562 kg ha-1) were the bacterial species that had an overall pronounced effect. The highest increase in grain yield was in the interactive effect of Bacillus megaterium + Bacillus licheniformis (18.1%) and sole Bacillus subtilis (15.6%), while Bacillus pumilus reduced grain yield by 4.8%. This shows that the improvement of maize productivity using Bacillus bacteria requires careful selection of the species for seed treatment.
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Insect base-protein: A new opportunity in animal nutrition
129-138Views:479The consumption of insect protein, as well as its use in animal feeding, has become a trend. This trend is particularly receiving a lot of attention in animal nutrition because the current protein source of the highest quality in animal feeding which is fishmeal is unsustainable, expensive and its demand is higher than supply. Insect protein can be of great potential in combating world hunger as the world population continues to increase. The potential of insect protein is wide-ranging, it could improve the economics of feed production, lead to cleaner production due to its low environmental footprint.
This review focuses on the need, (nutritional and environmental) advantages of insect protein in feed production, as well as previous research findings.
The unanimous conclusion of the reviewed papers is that insect protein has a great potential in feed production in terms of nutritional value, environmental implication, sustainability as well as economic implication.
However, there is a need for the intensification of research on this alternative protein source in Europe, especially in aquaculture due to the approval of 7 insect species in aquafeeds by the European Union. Another reason for the intensification is that there is still much to be done as a result of past research which shows that growth effects vary based on species and inclusion level.
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Folic acid content of beetroot leaf and root by different growing stages and genotypes
115-119Views:237An increasing interest has been observed of beetroot leaf as a salad component due to recent studies focusing on their nutritional value. The randomized field experiment was carried out on lowland chernozem soil with 6 varieties, 3 replications and 2 sowing dates. Sampling was performed on 23 of August 2018 at the stage of 30 and 50 days of vegetation, where leaf (30 and 50 days) and root (50 days) were collected. Total dry matter, folic acid and nitrate content were evaluated.
The results of this investigation show that higher total dry matter content was measured in the root (8.47–10.30%) compared to the leaf in both developmental stages (6.47–9.20%). Nevertheless, higher folic acid content was found in the young leaves of 30 and 50 days of development (58.77–113.86 µg 100g-1). Among the examined varieties, Bonel has presented great amount of folic acid not only in the leaves (99.35–113.61 µg 100g-1), but also in the root (89.99 µg 100g-1). Finally, lower nitrate content was found in Libero (316.16 mg kg-1) at 30 days and in Akela (340.41 mg kg-1) at 50 days of development. Thereby, fresh consumption of beetroot leaves are highly recommended.