Food Science for Life

Have you ever seen a sticker or label on fruit in the market? Do you know the significance of that label or the message given from that label? Many people think that sticker on fruits is for the convenience of the cashier to decide the price of that produce. That is also one reason. But it also provides more important information about the produce. This small sticker placed on fresh produce has 4- or 5-digit code. It displays the PLU code. This code provides information on many product attributes, including commodity, variety, growing method (e.g. conventional / organic / GM) and size (large or small). In many countries the price of fruits is determined by these factors. These codes are assigned by the International Federation of Product Standards (IFPS). The PLU code guarantees the right price to be paid by the customer by assisting the cashier to identify the products without wasting time for checking whether they are conventionally or organically grown, or GMO or non- GMO and the ...

Have you ever experience abdominal cramp, diarrhea, bloating, nausea, vomiting, flatulence and allergic rash after the consumption of milk and other dairy products?   It is called lactose intolerance. Lactose is the main sugar/ carbohydrate present in milk. Normally lactose is digested into glucose and galactose by the lactase enzyme in the digestive track and absorb into the body. But in the lactose intolerance condition, lactase enzyme is not produced or produced in a very little amount. Therefore lactose digestion is not taken place properly. In this case, lactose attracts extra amount of water into the digestive track and leads to diarrhea. When lactose comes to colon, gut bacteria and water cause fermentation of milk that results gases and acid. That is the reason behind abdominal cramp, diarrhea, bloating, vomiting and flatulence which are called lactose intolerance symptoms. To avoid these conditions, what can we do?   You can reduce milk and dairy product consump...

  After eating chili have ever got a burning feeling? This is about reason for the hotness of chili pepper for those who love spicy foods. More than 6000 years ago chili cultivation was started in Mexico in American continent and also could be seen in countries like Peru, Bolivia in a large extend. Through the American exploratory people chili was introduced to Europe and the through the Portuguese traders it came to Asia. There are more than 400 chili varieties in all over the world. But there are 5 species which are commonly used. They can be named as Capsicum chinese, Capsicum frutescence, Capsicum baccatum, Capsicum annum and Capsicum pubescence .   Capsicum chinese can be found as the most pungent species. Chili varieties such as bell pepper are not pungent. Reason behind the pungency of chili is chemical compounds produce in chili called capsaicinoid compounds. Capsaicin is the main compound responsible for the pungency of chili which represents 69% of capsaicinoids. O...

  Do you eat kottu or fried rice frequently from outside? After eating, have you ever experienced too much thirsty?   In 1908, Japanese scientist, Kakunae Ikada identified a different taste from seaweeds. It was not similar to tastes (sweet, salt, sour and bitter) which are generally identified by our tongue. This newly recognized taste was name as “UMAMI/SAVORY” taste. The amino acid called Glutamate or Glutamic acid responsible for the umami taste. This scientist extracted Glutamate from seaweeds and sodium was added to make a kind of crystalline salt. This sodium incorporated salt is named as Monosodium Glutamate/ MSG. But most of people know it as Ajinomoto of its commercial name.   Glutamic acid is naturally available in tomato, potato, mushrooms, grapes, milk, cheese, meat and fish etc. It is produced in body as a non-essential amino acid as well. Glutamate produced in brain helps for nerve pulse transmission. It contains in mother’s milk as well. Therefore, uma...