The need for improving the

quality and quantity of food

The population of Malaysia stands at about 25 million today. The rapid
increase in the countrys population improves a greater demand on food
supply. There is a need to improve the quality and quantity of food
production to meet the demand of the growing population.

In order to improve the quality and quantity of food, the Agriculture Ministry
of Malaysia has drawn up several strategies to maintain the production of
food in country.

Effort by various agencies to diversify food production
Method used to improve the quality and quantity of food production
Necessity for food processing
Correlating the food processing method with factors causing food spoilage
THE EFFORT BY VARIOUS AGENCIES TO DIVERSIFY FOOD
PRODUCTION
Various campaigns were carried out by the government to encourage people to take food from various
sources.
These include the following:
ULAM




Kacang botor Pegaga(Centella asiatica) Petai(Parkia speciosa) Shoots of papaya
Consist of fresh leaves, fruits, and other plant parts which are eaten raw.
Examples of ulam include kacang botor, pegaga (Centella asiatica), shoot of papaya and petai (Parkia speciosa)/.
They are rich in mineral ions, vitamins and fibre.
Some of this plants are also used in the preparation of herbal medicines and drinks.



VARIOUS SOURCES OF PROTEIN
The main sources of proteins include chicken, fish and meat.
In other to diversify the sources of protein, the government encourages the consumption of rabbit meat, quail
meat, ostrich meat, fresh water fish and prawns.
Rabbit meat is rich in protein but low in fat and cholestrol.
Ostrich meat is nutritious, rich in protein and low in fat.
Freshwater fish like tilapia, jelawat and haruan are low in cholestrol.
Fish protein is easily digestible and is much needed by growing children for healthy development.






Quail meat Rabbit meat Ostrich meat





Tilapia Jelawat


















































MUSHROOMS

Many variety of mushrooms available in this country
For example: button mushrooms, abalone mushroom and shitake mushrooms.
These mushrooms have a high nutrient content and some, like the shittake mushrooms, are
believed to be able to increase the bodys immunity.







Shittake mushrooms Abalone mushrooms Button mushrooms
Various methods are employed to improve the quality and
quantity of food production in the country.
These include
(a) direct seeding for rice,
(b) hydroponics and aeroponics for vegetables,
(c) breeding of plants and animals
(d) tissue culture,
(e) genetic engineering,
(f) soil management, and
(g) biological control
Direct seeding is a method in which the seeds are sown directly
into the soil by using special machines.
This method does not involve the transplanting of seedlings and
therefore results in less damage to the roots of the seedlings.
The plants achieve faster growth and this increases crop yield.
Less water is also needed to irrigate the fields.
This method is widely used in the planting of paddy to obtain
higher yields of rice.

Hydroponics is a commercial technique for growing certain
crop plants in culture solutions rather than in soil.
The roots of the plants are immersed in a solution which
contains all the macronutrients in the correct proportion.
The plants are supported by a medium such as pebbles.
The culture solution is aerated to provide sufficient oxygen
for respiration.
Aeroponics is a modified technique of hidrophonics.
The plants are suspended in a special chamber with the roots
exposed to the air.
Nutrient solutions are sprayed onto the roots of the plants at
suitable intervals.
This enables the plant roots to absorb more oxygen in
between the period of spraying.
Almost all type of vegetables can be cultivated by using this
methods.
By using this methods light intensity and temperature can be
controlled.
The plants can be grown all year round and higher yields can
be obtained.
Plants: different plant species with certain beneficial
characteristics are selective to hybrid.
The best breeding of plants inherit the beneficial characteristics
of both parent plants.
These plants may have:
- increased nutritional value
- higher yields and
- greater resistance to disease and climatic changes
The most widely planted variety of oil palm is the Tenera sp. It is
varieties produced by crossing the parents varieties of Dura sp.
and Pisifera sp.
Animal breeding involves the cross breeding of two different
breeds of animals.

Animals have been selectively bred to enhance the yields of
farm products.
In Malaysia, the hybrid cattle called Mafriwal is bred in farm for
its milk. produces more milk with low fat content.



An entire plant can be generated from the cells or tissues of a
parent plant.
They are grown in a sterile culture medium or culture solution
which contains the necessary nutrients and growth hormones.
Plantlets which are produced can be transplant to nurseries.
Tissue culture of plants enables commercial propagation of
clones which have all the beneficial characteristics of the
parents or which have undergone manipulation via genetic
engineering.



Genetic engineering, also called genetic
modification, is the direct manipulation of an
organism's genome using biotechnology .
(Indirect genetic modification through artificial
selection has been practiced for centuries.) New
DNA may be inserted in the host genome by first
isolating and copying the genetic material of
interest using molecular cloning methods to
generate a DNA sequence, or by synthesizing the
DNA, and then inserting this construct into the
host organism. Genes may be removed, or
"knocked out", using a nuclease. Gene targeting is
a different technique that uses homologus
recombination to change an endogenous gene, and
can be used to delete a gene, remove exons , add a
gene, or introduce point mutations .

.
Technological development in
food processing
The necessity for food
processing

Through technology of food processing , the
following problems can be overcome.
(a) The expiry date of food can be extended
(b) wastage of food can be avoided
(c) utilisation of food can be diversified
(d) food is not spoilt as a result of action of
microorganism and oxidation
(e) maintains the natural form and taste of food
(f) safe to be eaten for a period of time
(g) food supply is sufficient


Methods of food processing
1. cooking: to kill bacteria and some of their spores with high
temperature
2. fermentation:
(a) The alcohol content of the products of fermentation can
check the action of bacteria which spoil food
(b) Examples of food are tapai and tempe
3. Drying
(a) Food is dried in hot air or the oven until the
water content becomes very low
(b) Microorganism cannot live without water. Enzyme
activity in food is stopped
(c) In the method of spray drying, liquid food is sprayed in a
a steam of hot air
(d) Examples of food are powdered milk and wheat powder
4. Freeze-drying
(a) Food is dried quickly at a very low temperature
(b) the taste of the food is mantained
(c) examples of food are instant coffee powder, instattea
powder and instant noodles
5. Pasteurisation
(a) using heat to kill microorganism which are harmful and
which spoil food
(b) food is heated to a temperature of 63 degree for 30 minutes
and cooled quickly, or heated to 72 degree for 15 minutes
and cooled quickly
(c) the abrupt change in temperature kills microorganism which
spoil food
(d) This technique can maintain the nutrient content and taste
of the food
(e) An example of food is milk

6. Refrigeration
(a) food is cooled quickly to -15 degree celcius and
wrapped so that it is not hydrated
(b) Food is cooled to a very low temperature for
stopping or slowing down the action of enzymes
of decay or microorganisms
(c) Microorganism cannot breed or grow at very low
temperature, so that food can be stored longer
(d) This technique is used for processing nearly all
types of food


7. Salting or preserving with sugar
(a) Food is soaked in concentrated salt solution or
boiled with sugar. Water in food is removed
through osmosis.
(b) Microorganisms are killed because of the dry
condition.
(c) Examples of food include meat, vegetables and
eggs.
8. Pickling
(a) Food is soaked in an acid solution such as vinegar
(b) Most microorganism cannot live in low in low ph
conditions
(c) Examples of food are chillies, ginger, mangoes,
papayas and onions.

9. Sterilisation
(a) Heating of food by using steam under high pressure
and at high temperatures.
(b) Temperatures exceeding 100 degree celcius can usually
kill all bacteria as well as their spores
(c) An example is the boiling of milk at ultra high
temperature (UHT). UHT milk is sterilised at a
temperature of 132 degree celcius in a thick paper box
or a metal tin under high pressure for one second and
cooled quickly.
(d) This method does not change the nutritional value or
colour of milk. Milk can be stored for as long as several
months
(e) Sterilisation can be followed by bottling, canning or
packaging.

10. Irradiation
(a) Sterilising food using x-rays and gamma rays for
killing microorganisms in the food
(b) Food can be stored for a longer time but this
method changes the original taste, colour, texture
and nutritional value of the food.
(c) The disadvantage of this process is that during
irridiation, the toxins which are released by the
bacteria are still present although the bacteria are
killed.
The effects of processed food on
health
1. Processed food usually contains food additives
such as preservatives, flavourings and colouring.
2. Sodium nitrate is preservative which is added to
meat for preventing the growth of clostridium
botulinum which causes(food poisoning).
Sulphur dioxide is added ti jam and fruit juices
so that growth of bacteria and fungi checked.
3. Flavourings include sugar and monosodium
glumate which give a delicious taste to a food.


Food can be preserved in many ways.i.e
Cooking is the easiest way to prevent food
spoilage.Cooking at high temperature or boiling at least
5 minutes can kill bacteria and some bacterial spores
which cause food spoilage.(E.g meat,fish,vegetables)
Fermentation.Yeast is added to food substances to
produce alcohol.The purpose is because high alcohol
content inhibits bacterial action.(E.g tapai,tempe)


Drying under the hot sun removes water from food and
this prevents growth of microorganisms by bringing about
the dehydrated condition.(E.g
flour,fruits,vegetables,fish,meat)
Pickling.Soaking food in acid or vinegar.This is to lower the
pH inhibited activity of microorganisms.(E.g
chillies,ginger,mangoes,papayas)
Treating with salt/sugar.Soaking food in concentrated
salt/sugar solution will cause the microorganims to lose
water due to osmosis.(E.g meat,vegetables,ducks
eggs,fruits)
Pasteurisation.Heating milk at 63C for 30 mins or 72C
for 15 seconds and then rapidly cooled to below
10C.This method help kills microorganisms without
destroying nutrient content.(E.g milk,wine)
Canning.Food is sterilised at 100C under high pressure
and then sealed in tins/bottles.The purpose is to kill
bacteria and keep out other bacteria.(E.g
vegetables,fruits,sardines)
Refrigeration is a common method employed at
home.Food is chilled at temperatures typically between -
2C-8C.Microorganisms are not killed but made inactive
by low temperatures.(E.g fruits,vegetablees,dairy
products)