Research Output
1 - 10 of 132
Publication
Food and Health Some Current Issues and Future Trends
1991, Gormley, T. R. (Thomas Ronan)
This paper deals with some of the many current issues and future trends in the area of food, diet and health in Europe. A complete coverage would be impossible in a short article in view of the extent and complexity of the food system and its major interaction with health. It is also important to stress at the outset that food/diet is only one component of health and other factors such as environment, overall lifestyle and genetics also play a major role. The genetic dimension is of particular importance as there is an increasing realisation that a person's genetic make-up plays a major role in their ability to 'deal' with infection or to 'cope' with certain foods or other agents, e.g. tobacco, which may be associated with various conditions such as atherosclerosis and lung disease. Food is eaten for sustenance ('we eat to live') but also for pleasure ('we live to eat') and so in Europe overnutrition is often a problem and contrasts with starvation and famine sometimes found in Third World countries. As a result the so-called diseases of affluence, and the accompanying enormous cost of health care, are major problems in most European countries leading to increasing pressure for more preventive and less curative medicine. With the above backdrop it is not surprising that there is unprecedented interest by consumers in developed countries in food/health issues and while consumers of the 80s asked 'are there additives'? the consumers of the 90s ask 'is the food safe'?. While microbiological food poisoning is a major problem in Europe today, the modern consumer often sees a more sinister dimension arising out of the use of agri- and veterinary chemicals/preparations in food productions and the use of additives and a range of technologies by the food industry. As a result the quest by consumers for reliable information in this area is unprecedented. This paper addresses some of the above issues and also the major role the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) can play in promoting an interdisciplinary approach in the solution of some of the current and future food and health issues.
Publication
Analysis of Tomato Fruit: Effect of Frozen Storage on Compositional Values- an Inter-laboratory Study
1983, Buret, Michel, Gormley, T. R. (Thomas Ronan), Roucoux, Pierre
Tomato culturing trials often result in too many samples to analyse while fresh. The most common technique is to seal them in containers and preserve them by deepfreezing for subsequent analysis. An inter-laboratory study has been made of the effect of freezing for various lengths of time on a number of compositional factors. Tests for soluble solids, dry matter content, electrical conductivity, titratable acidity, potassium, pH, glucose, fructose, sucrose, total N and Vitamin C in frozen tomatoes indicated that the levels of most of these constituents remained relatively constant during frozen storage and were similar to values found in the fruit prior to freezing. When the tomatoes were frozen as a purée it was essential to thaw them in the stabilising/ extracting solution used in the Vitamin C analytical procedure, otherwise there was a large loss in ascorbic acid.
Publication
A Complete Quality Control System
1971, Kramer, A., Gormley, T. R. (Thomas Ronan)
Many people i the food industry feel that if they perform a test somewhere along the line the have performed their duty in relation to quality control and this is all that needs to be done. Any work done in quality control for maintaining a quality level is wasted unless a complete quality control system is used, i.e. that action results from the operation. A complete quality control system consists of a cycle which begins and ends with the buyers requirements or specifications (Fig.1). The specifications are the heart of the system and the purpose of quality control is to satisfy the buyers specifications at the least cost. The tests to be done on the product must be established and a sampling procedure decided upon. This is essential since it is usually not possible to test every unit of the product especially if the test is a destructive one. After testing, the results must be reported in such a way that they will lead to action if it is needed.
Publication
Assessment of Taste Panelists
1978, Gormley, T. R. (Thomas Ronan), Sherington, J.
The tasting performance of 81 tasters who took part in 58 rank type laboratory taste panels on a range of products was studied by examining correlation coefficients, termed PO correlation coefficients, between personal rank scores and the overall rank score for each panel. The tasters who had the highest PO correlation coefficients over a number of panels can be considered as above average tasters. There was incomplete agreement between the rating of tasters as determined by this method and that obtained by screening the panelists with sweet, sour, salt and bitter solutions.
Publication
Quality of Intensively Produced Crops
1983, Gormley, T. R. (Thomas Ronan)
Farmers and growers are seeking higher crop yields to help balance increasing productions costs. Methods/practices used to increase yield include crop zoning to suitable climates (Bunting et al., 1982), improved cultivars, higher applications of fertilizers and agrochemicals, use of growth promoters/ripening agents, using modified soil management practices, growing in different media, modifying atmospheres and controlling temperature in protected cultivation, and through using irrigation and higher plant densities. These methods/practices, while increasing yield, may lower the sensory quality of the crop and adversely affect composition. In the period 1961-1979 the world cereal grain yield per hectare (ha) has increased by 26% with an increase of 42& for millet (MacKey, 1981); in the last 10 years the yield of greenhouse tomatoes in Ireland has risen by 30% to about 250t/ha (Gornley, 1982). Similar increases have been recorded with many other crops. However, crop yields are often inversely related to quality (MacKey, 1981; Gormley et al., 1973, 1982) and there are increasing consumer complaints about the quality of intensively produced food, i.e. that fruit, vegetables and other foods do not have the flavour they had when yields were lower and agricultural practices les intense; this has led to an upsurge in the demand for organically grown foods in some countries (Kramer, 1973; Knorr, 1979). The Commission of the European Communities (1978,1983) has expressed its concern on the intensity versus quality issue by launching a research programme o this topic in member states; the sensory and compositional aspects of intensively produced apples, tomatoes and poultry are being studied and it is proposed to include beef and potatoes in future programmes. Saurer (1981) has discussed some of the effects of modern agricultural methods on the quality of cereals and vegetables while Stoll (1969) emphasised the detrimental effects of excessive fertilizer applications on crop quality. This discussion examines some of the effects of intensive production methods on the quality of plant foods; this is a wide topic and only superficial coverage can be given to many of the aspects. Most attention is given to studies where a significant amount of quality evaluation of the food produced, in terms of sensory and/or chemical and/or physical analyses, has been carried out. The impact of plat breeding and cultivars, as part of the intensive production system is not discussed in view of the extensive nature of this area. However, it is important to note that there is considerable emphasis on breeding for high quality in addition to yield (Axtel, 1981) in many crops, including apples (Alston, 1981), legumes (Milner, 1973), cereals (Doussinault et al, 1975) and strawberries (MacLachlan, 1981).
Publication
Food and Health in the Year 2010
1987, Gormley, T. R. (Thomas Ronan), Downey, Gerry, O'Beirne, D.
Using a previous report for the FAST ALIM 2 programme as a springboard, projections are made of future (to the year 2010) developments in Europe in the understanding of the relationship between food and health. Implicit in these projections is the assumption that no cataclysmic economic event(s) occurs in the interim period but rather that an evolution of current economic and political trends continues without significant medium to long-term disruption. Should this assumption prove false, major changes in national and international priorities may alter the relative importance of the topics highlighted.
Publication
Contributions to the first European Food Conference, 2008
2008-11-09, Roessle, C., Gormley, T. R. (Thomas Ronan), Butler, Francis
Includes abstracts for the following papers: Performance of Different Apple Cultivars in Fresh-Cut Fruit Salad Applications. Ready-Desserts from Apples: selecting/Optimising Cultivars and Processes. Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Minimally Processed Apple Desserts Containing Creams or Custard. Effect of Dip Concentration and Time on the Efficacy of Natureseal AS1 Browning Inhibitor in Apple Wedges and on AS1 Residues in the Product
Publication
Aroma in Fruit and Vegetables
1981, Gormley, T. R. (Thomas Ronan)
Quality of food can be divided into sensory and hidden quality, In the sensory area there is appearance, texture and flavour. Of these characteristics, appearance is the most important at point of purchase. This is followed by texture and then by flavour, i.e. aroma and taste when the food is consumed (Kramer, 1973). While it has been established that taste is “four dimensional”, aroma is much more complex and has many dimensions. The importance of aroma in fruit and vegetables in relation to consumer acceptability is a matter of debate. For example, there is no doubt that with onions aroma is important, as it is with certain apple cultivars and in wine and fruit juices. It can be countered that aroma of many foods is only of major importance to a flavourists who wishes to blend chemical compounds to produce a flavour and is of secondary importance to a consumer who may buy on price, appearance and texture. Kazeniac (1977) has pointed out that an important criterion for the success of a food flavour appears to be recognition and compatability of the flavour of the food with flavours familiars to the consumer. The increased interest in home-grown foods offers evidence of changing habits towards natural food flavours, In the UK there are signs that the domestic purchaser is selecting fruit on sensory properties (Williams and Knee, 1977) especially Cox’s Orange Pippin apples. However, the position with Golden Delicious is different and both Belgian, British and Irish consumers seem to buy on the basis of colour (Monin, 1974; Centre Francais du Commerce Exterieur, 1975; Gormley and Egan, 1977). This paper reviews some of the work on the identification of aroma compounds in fruit and vegetables, gives an account of aroma related studies at Kinsealy Research Centre and touches on other aspects of aroma including off-flavours and aroma in processed foods.