Food Processing Technology and Methods for Cereal

Food Processing Technology and Methods for Cereal Most of the principles of making breakfast cereals are similar to all products. Trix cereal is made with corn. The process of converting corn into the delicious product many children as well as adults will be discussed in this section. The corn from the field is dried milled, sifted and cleaned to separate the germ from the bran, oils and debris collected from the field and the milling process. The goal of this separation is to get to the endosperm where most of the starch that will be used for production is located. Most cereals produced are produced as flakes. Prior to flaking the grits are cooked and mixed with sugar, malt syrup, proteins, and salt into a large amount of water to create what is called cooking liquor. This cooking liquor provides the Milliard reaction that occurs during cooking and is what provides most of the flavor to the flakes or in the case of Trix, corn puffs. This mixture is loaded into a cylindrical industrial steam pressure cooker for about two hours at a 15-18 psig steam pressure (Smith Hui, 2004). In the case of Trix the cooking process is done by puffing. Puffing is done either through high temperature ovens, guns or extrusion. The use of any of these three methods is to expose the moist grain to high temperatures where its moisture will be converted to steam. The steam released by the grain expands and puffs the kernel. Prior to placing the grits into any of these three methods, the grains are delumped in lump-breaking machines which incorporate large volumes of air. The air supplied through the machine helps with the cooling of the product. The cooling of the grit in the lump-breaking machine helps with the initial drying step of the process of making ready to eat cereal. Grits usually have a moisture content of 28-34% (Smith Hui, 2004) are dried to about 14-17% through the use of forced air dryers at a temperature of 250 °F (Smith Hui, 2004). Once the grains have gone through this initial drying, the grains are controlled cooled to 100 °F to prevent hardening of the grain and to allow the grain to return to ambient temperature. (Smith Hui, 2004). Once the grain is dried to the moisture levels desired, the grain is tempered. Tempering of the grits takes about 2-3hours, helps reduce the darkening the product that occurs during Milliard reactions, and allow the grit to retrograde. This process uses temperature of 80o F and increases the firmness of the cooked grit (Smith Hui, 2004). From this point the grit is ready for flaking, shredding, or any of the methods of puffing grits. General Mills utilizes puffing guns to make Trix cereals. The science behind the puffing gun utilized by General Mills and some of its competitors, works by introducing the grains to high (500-800  °Ã‚  F) temperatures. This high temperature evaporates the moisture within the granules creating a steam pressure build up (100 to 200 psi) inside the chamber. When this pressure is released the moisture attempting to escape the grain, causes the endosperm to expand and simultaneously puff. Puffing guns have come long ways from when they were first introduced in the cereal business. Today General Mills utilizes a continuous puffing gun systems and extrusion puffing. Continuous puffing guns work the same way as it predecessors. The continuous gun contains a rotating cylinder that is set a specific angle. The cylinder is heated either by gas flames or electrically, and it is fed through a rotary valve. The pressure in the cylinder remains constant via the exit, thus continuously discharging the product. The contents explode into a bin provided with a floor opening leading to a conveyor belt. The product is directed to a rotating heating cylinder to dry, and then cooled. At this point the product is visually inspected for stickiness and color and sent to the packaging line. Direct expansion or extrusion puffing is the other method used by many cereal manufacturers. This type of technology was received with open arms by the cereal industry because it allows the combination of the steps in the process into one. Cereals ingredients are introduced in one batch into long barrels equipped with single or twin screws. The screws mix, shear, and pressurize the barrel and transport the â€Å"dough† to a forming die. As the mixture flows through the extruder, vitamins, flavors and colors are introduced and then the mixture exits through the die. The same principle of the puffing gun is applied to extruders. As the moisture vapor expands and the excess pressure is released, the volume of the mixture increases. The temperature in the barrel increases the mixture to about 300o-350 o F and the pressure to about 350-500 psi at the die head. As the dough exits through the orifices of the die, it is sliced off in to the different shapes and the slices expand immediately. Despite this quick expansion, the pieces still maintain moisture content of about 27% and are further dried on vibrating screens in hot air puffing ovens where the final cooking of the product occurs (Smith Hui, 2004). Pieces are inspected and sent to the packaging line. Although extruded and gun puffed mixtures products are enriched and fortified during the cooking process, the puffs receive a final spray of vitamins, sugar and flavors inside rotating spray drums. Both final sprays assist with the reduction of lipid oxidation and moisture which improve the overal l quality of the product as it relates to its texture and crispiness. One aspect of producing cereal is its quality. The cereal industry uses multiple methods to assess the quality of its product during the production process. The biggest issue for a good cereal product is moisture. Moisture is measured through near infrared analysis (NIR), wet chemistry, and image analysis. During the process the product the raw material is analyzed for moisture to ensure it can be flaked, shredded, shaped, maintained for control of oven temperatures, and to control the sugar content applied to the product. This type of testing can also be done to the final product where the fat, sugar, and moisture are analyzed to ensure the operation is working at optimum conditions. These test is necessary due to any unacceptable moisture content could lead to poor product quality as well as possible bacteria growth. At present, cereal industries are performing little or no analytical testing, and are relying on the vendors to provide them with highest quality level of product for their market. This can present a problem in production process. Despite the fact that the cereal industry does little or no analytical testing, most of the moisture content testing is performed as the product exits the oven using a 16 hour vacuum oven method or a moisture balance method (Unity Scientific, 2014). According to Unity Scientific, â€Å"both methods use loss on drying to measure moisture content.† The main problem with the 16 hr oven method is the time it takes to get results, and when these are received they â€Å"have no impact on real time process control† (Unity Scientific, 2014). When it comes to the moisture balance method Unity Scientific says, although the sample can be â€Å"analyzed in 15 minutes it is â€Å"2-3 times less accurate the vacumm oven method.† The key to cereals i s the control of its moisture and texture. Moisture as mentioned previously, is critical to maintaining a cereal’s integrity, and it is crucial that the moisture of a cereal product is not greater than 3%. Anything less or greater could reduce its crunchiness as well as make it brittle. Therefore, NIR is one of the best methods of testing for moisture as well as fat content in any step of the process. In regards to its crunchiness the cereal industry uses mechanical as well as sensory evaluation methods to ensure the products texture. Nonetheless, sensory evaluations can be subjective. One of the best ways to analyze texture is the use of mechanical instruments as these provide a quantitative measure of texture. Currently instruments used by the cereal industry include Stevens, Instron and Ottawa Texture Analyzer. The purpose of these crunch evaluation methods is to find the bowl life by exposing the product to milk for a small period of time and then performing a shear test. Other equipments used are the multiple crunching probes and the Ottawa Cell shearing test. The final step in the production process is packaging. Different equipment and films are used across the board in the cereal industry. Some of the machinery used include Ishida multi-head weighers, Bosch vertical form fill seal machines and Triangle bag in box packaging. When it comes to films, they either use wax paper or various polymer films (Smith Hui, 2014). However, before selecting a packaging film, cereal manufacturers consider whether the location the product is going to be sold is humid or arid. Based on these conditions the film is selected and used for production. One of most common packaging materials used in the cereal industry is polyethylene films (Smith Hui, 2014). The packaging film must protect from water vapor transmission and flavor loss. As mentioned previously, moisture plays a big role in the process and any sign of moisture gain could lead to potential loss of crispiness and acceptability of the product. Another issue for cereals is the instability of lipid s. Lipid oxidation leads to rancidity thus, creating a bad aroma in the product. To prevent lipid oxidation and moisture gain in the product, the cereal industry utilizes different antioxidants. The antioxidants commonly used are butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydrooxytoluene (BHT) (Smith Hui, 2004). Although their use is limited in the production process, these can be added before cooking. However, after several trials, it was discovered that due to their non polarity and their volatility these would not hold during the manufacturing process. Nonetheless, it was discovered it was better to apply these antioxidants to the packaging material as the antioxidants would transfer to product after packaging (Smith Hui, 2014). Packaging does more than protect from decay, it provides the identification, and it provides consumer attraction and appeal to the product. Producing cereals entails more than what is see in the grocery store shelves or what is consumed at homes. Essentially behind all of this manufacturing process is the effort to make profit, but no matter what idea the manufacturer may have, protecting the product and providing the best quality of product to consumer becomes primordial. Accurate shelf lives, quality of stored cereal, its freshness are what attract and appeal the consumer. References How Products Are Made. Cereal. 2014. Available at: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Cereal.html. Accessed September 03, 2014. Smith, J. (2004).Food processing: Principles and applications. Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Pub. Kulp, K. (2000).Handbook of cereal science and technology(2nd ed., pp. 626- 627). New York: Marcel Dekker. Breakfast Cereal. (2014, January 1). Retrieved October 18, 2014, from http://www.unityscientific.com/industries/food-dairy/cereal.asp

Essay --

Ocean Acidification Water is the dominating force of life; it has etched, carved and determined the fate of humanity itself since the beginning of time. All living organisms are reliant on water; forced to migrate or adapt at a turn of events as simple as a drought. Despite pipes, wells and most other man made engineering, even humans still spend their days chasing clouds. So for once on this planet there are no arguments, no debates, as to the fact that we need water to survive. We even depend on the undrinkable oceans coating the earth; that act as a shelter for tens of thousands of ecosystems, food chains, and organisms. Some of which have achieved such a precarious balance, that the loss of any creature in a food web may lead to the downfall of the planet itself. â€Å"We are already well into a new geological era†¦ where human interference is the dominant factor in nearly every planetary ecosystem, to the detriment of perhaps all of them† (Lynas, 49). So why exactly are humans shifting such an important balance for the sake of excess? We’re tipping the scale; and might not be able to tell when the water starts to burn. Ocean acidification is a process that disrupts some of the most important biological functions and processes that all living organisms are dependent on. What is Ocean Acidification? Ocean Acidification is the act of CO2 dissolving into seawater, decreasing its alkalinity and increasing it's hydrogen ion concentration; making organisms sensitive to shifts in the water. Anything from temperature change to toxic waste inflicts some sort of change upon the ocean and the creatures it engulfs. As most people are aware, humans are altering the earth’s climate through producing greenhouse gas that is blanketing our atmosph... ...of coral. Zooxanthellae provides corals with their pigmentation as well as glucose and amino acids. Loss of zooxanthellae leads to "bleaching", a loss of coloration and stamina within the coral that lends the organism prone to disease. Conclusion Somehow our oceans maintain the balance between being some of the most powerful forces on the earth, and the most easily disturbed masses on the planet. There are so many things that could go wrong within the countless cycles, and the delicate processes that stabalize nature and sustain the biosphere; and people are continually interfering with these cycles. Ocean acidification is one of the most obvious results of human interference upon nature. â€Å"Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we've been ignorant of their value.† ("R. Buckminster Fuller, in Memoriam").

Do Black People Have Equality with Whit People in the Us in Teh 21st Century? Essay

I would agree with this statement but I would also think there are aspects of the status of black people that did change in these years and the impacts of which could be debated. In 1945, the Second World War ended. Black people’s status hadn’t changed but their attitudes had. They started to question why they were fighting for freedom in other countries, against the Nazi oppression of minorities (mainly Jewish), when they didn’t even have it at home? The war provided a basis for the civil rights movement to argue their case for equality. However, the threat of communism to the Americans was very real, they feared it would take over their capitalist government and traditions of ‘freedom’. The threat was very serious to the USA as can be seen over the next decade, with the Korean War in 1953 where the country was split in half between communist and capitalist and the whole of the Cold War (1947-1991 approx). This fear of communism was used against groups such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) and as a result they were banned in Alabama in 1956. Using communism to dirty the reputations of black organisations was common and quite effective due to the fear of it, heightened thanks to Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was a senator who accused members of the United States government of being communist or being Soviet spies. It could be said that they were gaining enough influence/importance to be considered a threat and banned which, in turn, could show some progress. Education was a major part of the civil rights movement. Schools were segregated and discrimination was current throughout most of the southern states. Cases like the Brown vs. Topeka case in 1954 could challenge the ‘separate but equal’ idea easily and had a good chance of winning, and of proving discrimination. Black schools were vastly different to white schools especially in funding, each white child would be ‘worth’ over $100 more than a black child. Black classes were overcrowded and black teachers got paid significantly less. This meant that they were not given the same opportunities as white children. The Brown vs. Topeka case challenged all this but while there was change in legal terms (de jure), it influenced the events at Little Rock and was a winning case for the civil rights movement, there was little change in peoples opinions and the status and treatment of black people (de facto) and progress was very slow with much white resistance. Some schools even closed down so they wouldn’t have to enrol black students, and there was an influx in Klu Klux Klan members and also the setting up of White Citizens Councils. This showed that many whites did not want these changes to happen and would go to great lengths to resist them. Another large problem, where black people were treated as inferior, was the segregation on buses and on public transport. Many black people could not afford private cars and lived some distance from their employment due to the separate areas where white and black had to live. Because of this 75% of local bus revenue was gained from black people. Despite the high black to white ratio of use on the bus there were strict rules ,regarding seating, such as having to give up the seat, or not allowed to sit next to or in the same row as a white person. This did not change much in the years 1945- 1955 apart from the boycott in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Similar to the boycott in Montgomery two years later (Martin Luther King was inspired by this idea and also how they organised car-pooling), in Baton Rouge local bus companies suffered a significant loss of money and were forced to compromise with black people. While the first two rows of the bus were still reserved for whites and black people still had to enter from the back, the middle seats were on first come basis. Although not as successful as the Montgomery Bus Boycott 2 years later, it provided a stepping stone for the civil rights movement and showed that peaceful protest could achieve, however limited, results. However this happened in one place and received little or no media coverage and this meant the rest of America didn’t know about it and it didn’t affect them. Conditions for black people stayed the same. It is, in my opinion, not accurate to say the status of black people changed due to President Truman. Instead, the awareness of black discrimination increased. Although there are doubts about Truman’s real motives for his role in trying to fight racism. He established a committee for civil rights called United States Commission On Civil Rights. The FECP which released a report titled ‘To Secure These Rights’ in 1947, in which problems and solutions to combat discrimination were outlined. This was a dangerous move for Truman and his lack of support especially from the south made it difficult to follow through with the solutions his committee proposed. He used his authority to desegregate the army. This however was not as successful at first as many people (even top army generals) resisted it for as long as they could and there was still the same amount of racism. It did change the status of black soldiers because they, technically, were on the same level as white soldiers. Another thing that Truman did was integrate his inauguration, which seems like a small step but a step none the less showed that he was making a point against segregation. So while he did open the public’s eyes to the racism and discrimination that happened, in some ways he didn’t particularly change the status and even made it worse in some ways. For example some slums were knocked down to build better housing but the accommodation built was more spacious meaning less houses and many people were left homeless. In conclusion, the status of black people did not change a lot in the years 1945-1955 even though there were some important breakthroughs, such as the Brown vs Topeka case and Truman’s attempts at reform. However I believe these attempts didn’t change the actual status of black people and the attitudes towards them by white people. Some could argue that the views of the USA were hypocritical, when fighting for freedom in other countries but couldn’t even provide equality at home. The years following 1955 saw the civil rights movement pick up and changes in society.

Essay about The Criminal Justice System in USA - 1657 Words

The Criminal Justice System in the United States of America was established with noble intentions. The basis of the system can be traced back from the first book of the Bible Genesis, and the story of Cain and Able. The criminal justice system was established to be morally suitable for a growing diverse society. Moral dilemmas within the system arise from concerns related to principles of officials’ right and wrong behavior. These principles are often embedded into a culture of the human character, in other words, viewed as essential to the criminal justice system. This biblical story mentioned above has defined the way justice has been administered for thousands of years. The quote Eye for an eye continues to be the standard†¦show more content†¦Moral issues within law enforcement, the courts and the corrections system have made it complex and difficult to navigate fairly throughout the criminal justice system. Enforcement strategies, court practices and the i ncarceration rates have created discrimination towards minority groups. Carelessness and unintentional actions are moral issues. The criminal justice system has failed to account for operational procedure which creates the perception of discrimination. The moral issues with law enforcement, with many questionable practices, have damaged public trust. A New York Times’ story relays a graphic breakdown of police stops by race: blacks made up 55 percent of all stops in 2009, though they are only 23 percent of the city’s population; whites accounted for 10 percent of all stops, though they are 35 percent of the city’s population; Hispanics made up 32 percent of all stops, though only 28 percent of the population, and Asians, 3 percent of all stops and 12 percent of the population. The article details a host of other police actions by specific racial numbers, including arrests, frisk, and use of force. 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