[For further information on the Electronic Forum on Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture see Forum website.
Note, participants are assumed to be speaking on their own behalf, unless they state otherwise.]

-----Original Message-----
From: Biotech-Mod3
Sent: 28 June 2004 07:59
To: biotech-room3@mailserv.fao.org
Subject: 31: Traditional fermentation drinks - toxic products

This is from Jose F. Nunez. I´m a senior lecturer (biochemistry and biotechnology) at the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, National University of Ancash, Huaraz, Peru. My academic background is biochemistry.

Let me congratulate FAO for considering this conference in order to improve and widely develop the ancient technology on fermented products. We have a lot of traditional foods and drinks which are tasty and nutritious but some of them also contain toxic products. Since food and drink processing has been used since the ancient past around the globe, we are concerned about this indigenous knowledge and how to improve these ancient techniques in order to benefit the poor and justify the conference´s objective. This is about the nutritional quality of fermented drink products. In Peru there are two traditional alcoholic fermented drinks: "Chicha de Jora" and "Chicha de Molle" (Jora is a processed maize and Molle is a shrub fruit) and now these are widely used by peasant people. Some of them contain toxic products like furfural compounds (0.0016%) and formaldehyde (0.009%). What about the safety level of these and other toxic products, and how to improve their removal? In order to use these traditional drinks for commercial purposes we concerned about the drink safety considerations.

Jose F. Nunez
Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology,
Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidad Nacional de Ancash,
Av. Centenario 200, Huaraz,
Peru.
Phone: 5143-722085
Fax: 5143-721393
e-mail: jnunez00 (at) yahoo.com

[Furfural is a derivative of furan, that can be prepared commercially by dehydration of pentose sugars obtained from cornstalks and corncobs, husks of oat and peanut, and other waste products. It is used in the manufacture of pesticides, phenolfurfural resins, and tetrahydrofuran...Moderator].

-----Original Message-----
From: Biotech-Mod3
Sent: 28 June 2004 11:48
To: biotech-room3@mailserv.fao.org
Subject: 32: Studies on fermentation processes // SCP

I'd like to thank the moderator for his timely intervention in cutting the thread of the discussion on GMOs. I was relieved to see his comment after message 28 (June 24) because as far as Nigeria is concerned, we are not ready for that yet. I don't think we have done enough studies on the traditional fermentation processes. Detailed studies on these foods, their fermentation processes, the organisms involved and proper identification of the nutritional, organoleptic and aroma characteristics of the products are needed to form a strong scientific database for these foods. Thereafter, we can use the well documented information to develop new varieties of these foods. For example, in Table 1 of Olusola Oyewole's message (nr. 4, June 17), Pupuru (a fermented, smoked cassava ball very similar to fufu and consumed in the middle-belt and Niger-Delta regions of Nigeria) was not listed among the fermented cassava products.

I also wish to contribute to the messages on single cell proteins (SCP). I came across a publication some time ago which stated that SCP could include microbial cultures grown on renewable waste materials in order to enrich them by improving their protein contents and reducing components such as fibre to tolerable levels. Based on this information, I have tried to ferment wastes such as maize chaff, cowpea husk and cassava peels and so on with selected cultures of microorganisms. The products have been used by colleagues in feeding fish, rabbits and other animals and our findings are in the process of being published. While I cannot answer the question raised by Nand Lal (Message 15, June 21) on the safety and toxicity of SCP, I believe that even with my type of SCP, this needs to be looked at, particularly because we have observed some adverse effects of one or two of these products on some animals. However, I believe that the advantages of utilizing wastes as SCP, such as reduction in pollution and creation of alternative animal feeds (thereby releasing protein-rich foods for human consumption), far outweigh the disadvantages some of which can be properly addressed with adequate research.

Dr. Olayinka Edema
Microbiology Department,
College of Natural Sciences,
University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta,
Nigeria.
moedemao (at) yahoo.co.uk

[Organoleptic characteristics of the food are those relating to the senses (taste, colour, smell, feel)...Moderator].

-----Original Message-----
From: Biotech-Mod3
Sent: 28 June 2004 11:53
To: biotech-room3@mailserv.fao.org
Subject: 33: Re: Monosodium glutamate

On monosodium glutamate (MSG) I wish to comment as follows:

MSG is the water-soluble, pure, white crystalline form of glutamate. As earlier stated [Messages 20 and 22, June 22...Moderator], glutamate is an amino acid found in a variety of foods such as tomatoes, mushrooms, fish, meat, cereals and cheese. It is also a component of breast milk. Hundreds of scientific studies have been conducted on glutamate as a food ingredient. In 1991, the scientific committee for food reaffirmed the safety of MSG. The 1995 report of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) to the Food and Drug Administration stated that there is no difference between naturally occurring free glutamate in mushrooms, cheese or tomatoes and the glutamate from MSG. Other authorities have also concluded that the ingredient is safe. However, the national agency for food and drug administration and control in Nigeria has said that the amount of MSG added to food as seasoning is in the range of 0.1% to 0.8% of the food consumed. The ajinomoto and other brands in Nigeria, like A-one and vedan, suggest on their packaging materials that 5g of MSG be added per litre of soups, sauce or stew to enhance taste. It is made using a fermentation process similar to that used for industrially produced products such as beer, wine or soy sauce. The most common source of MSG is molasses from sugar beet or sugar cane. In line with the focus of this conference, other resources can be investigated for use in the production of MSG using biotechnology applications.

Dr. Olayinka Edema
Microbiology Department,
College of Natural Sciences,
University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta,
Nigeria.
moedemao (at) yahoo.co.uk

[The 1995 FASEB report was also mentioned in Message 25 (June 23) by Patrick Gurgel...Moderator].