Food

Food Trivia | 100 did you know trivia & facts about Food [Part 2]

Food is one of most important things for our bodies. Our organism cannot function without food.

So let’s find out some trivia and facts about food!

Freezing food preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten
Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved grains and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season
Freezing food slows down decomposition by turning residual moisture into ice, inhibiting the growth of most bacterial species
In the food commodity industry, there are two processes: mechanical and cryogenic (or flash freezing)
The kinetics of the freezing is important to preserve the food quality and texture
Quicker freezing generates smaller ice crystals and maintains cellular structure
Cryogenic freezing is the quickest freezing technology available utilizing the extremely low temperature of liquid nitrogen −196 °C
Preserving food in domestic kitchens during modern times is achieved using household freezers
Accepted advice to householders was to freeze food on the day of purchase
An initiative by a supermarket group in 2012 promotes the freezing of food “as soon as possible up to the product’s ‘use by’ date”
The Food Standards Agency was reported as supporting the change, providing the food had been stored correctly up to that time
A functional food is a food given an additional function by adding new ingredients or more of existing ingredients
The term may also apply to traits purposely bred into existing edible plants, such as purple or gold potatoes having enriched anthocyanin or carotenoid contents, respectively
Functional foods may be “designed to have physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions, and may be similar in appearance to conventional food and consumed as part of a regular diet”
The term was first used in Japan in the 1980s
There is a government approval process for functional foods called Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU)
Health food is food marketed to provide human health effects beyond a normal healthy diet required for human nutrition
Foods marketed as health foods may be part of one or more categories, such as natural foods, organic foods, whole foods, vegetarian foods or dietary supplements
These products may be sold in health food stores or in the health food or organic sections of grocery stores
A healthy diet is a diet that helps to maintain or improve overall health
A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients, micronutrients, and adequate calories
For people who are healthy, a healthy diet is not complicated and contains mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and includes little to no processed food and sweetened beverages
The requirements for a healthy diet can be met from a variety of plant-based and animal-based foods
Although a non-animal source of vitamin B12 is needed for those following a vegan diet
Various nutrition guides are published by medical and governmental institutions to educate individuals on what they should be eating to be healthy
Nutrition facts labels are also mandatory in some countries to allow consumers to choose between foods based on the components relevant to health
A healthy lifestyle includes getting exercise every day along with eating a healthy diet
A healthy lifestyle may lower disease risks, such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cancer
There are specialized healthy diets, called medical nutrition therapy, for people with various diseases or conditions
There are also prescientific ideas about such specialized diets, as in dietary therapy in traditional Chinese medicine
The World Health Organization (WHO) makes 5 recommendations with respect to both populations and individuals
Maintain a healthy weight by eating roughly the same number of calories that your body is using
Limit intake of fats
Not more than 30% of the total calories should come from fats
Prefer unsaturated fats to saturated fats
Avoid trans fats
Eat at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day (potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots do not count)
A healthy diet also contains legumes (e.g. lentils, beans), whole grains and nuts
Limit the intake of simple sugars to less than 10% of calorie
Below 5% of calories or 25 grams may be even better
Limit salt / sodium from all sources and ensure that salt is iodized
Less than 5 grams of salt per day can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
Kosher foods are those that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of kashrut (dietary law)
Primarily derived from Leviticus and Deuteronomy
Food that may be consumed according to halakha (law) is termed kosher in English
This means “fit”
Food that is not in accordance with law is called treif
This means “torn”
Live food is living food for carnivorous or omnivorous animals kept in captivity
In other words, small animals such as insects or mice fed to larger carnivorous or omnivorous species kept in either in a zoo or as pet.
Live food is commonly used as feed for a variety of species of exotic pets and zoo animals
Common live food are crickets
They are used as an inexpensive form of feed for carnivorous and omnivorous reptiles such as bearded dragons and commonly available in pet stores for this reason
Other common live foods are waxworms, mealworms and to a lesser extent cockroaches and locusts, to small birds and mammals such as mice or chickens
Medical foods are foods that are specially formulated and intended for the dietary management of a disease that has distinctive nutritional needs that cannot be met by normal diet alone
In the United States they were defined in the Food and Drug Administration’s 1988 Orphan Drug Act Amendments
They are subject to the general food and safety labeling requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
In Europe the European Food Safety Authority established definitions for “foods for special medical purposes” (FSMPs) in 2015
Medical foods are distinct from the broader category of foods for special dietary use, from traditional foods that bear a health claim, and from dietary supplements
In order to be considered a medical food the product must have some specific requirements
Be a food for oral ingestion or tube feeding (nasogastric tube)
Be labeled for the dietary management of a specific medical disorder, disease or condition for which there are distinctive nutritional requirements, and
Be intended to be used under medical supervision
Medical foods can be classified into the 4 categories
These categories are Nutritionally complete formulas, Nutritionally incomplete formulas, Formulas for metabolic disorders and Oral rehydration products
Natural foods and “all natural foods” are widely used terms in food labeling and marketing with a variety of definitions, most of which are vague
The term is often assumed to imply foods that are not processed and whose ingredients are all natural products, thus conveying an appeal to nature
But the lack of standards in most jurisdictions means that the term assures nothing
In some countries, the term “natural” is defined and enforced
In others, such as the United States, it is not enforced
“Natural foods” are often assumed to be foods that are not processed, or do not contain any food additives, or do not contain particular additives such as hormones, antibiotics, sweeteners, food colors, or flavorings that were not originally in the food
In fact, many people (63%) when surveyed showed a preference for products labeled “natural” compared to the unmarked counterparts
This is based on the common belief (86% of polled consumers) that the term “natural” indicated that the food does not contain any artificial ingredients
The terms are variously used and misused on labels and in advertisements
The international Food and Agriculture Organization’s Codex Alimentarius does not recognize the term “natural” but does have a standard for organic foods
A negative-calorie food is food that supposedly requires more food energy to be digested than the food provides
Its thermic effect or specific dynamic action would be greater than its food energy content
The thermic effect is the caloric “cost” of digesting the food
Despite its recurring popularity in dieting guides, there is no scientific evidence supporting the idea that any food is calorically negative
While some chilled beverages are calorically negative, the effect is minimal
Also, drinking large amounts of water can be dangerous
Organic food is food produced by methods that comply with the standards of organic farming
Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming in general features practices that strive to cycle resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity
Organizations regulating organic products may restrict the use of certain pesticides and fertilizers in farming
In general, organic foods are also usually not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents or synthetic food additives
Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as organic within their borders
In the context of these regulations, organic food is produced in a way that complies with organic standards set by regional organizations, national governments and international organizations
Although the produce of kitchen gardens may be organic, selling food with an organic label is regulated by governmental food safety authorities
Some of these authorities are the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or European Commission (EC)
Fertilizing and the use of pesticides in conventional farming has caused, and is causing, enormous damage worldwide to local ecosystems, biodiversity, groundwater and drinking water supplies, and sometimes farmer health and fertility
These environmental, economic and health issues are intended to be minimized or avoided in organic farming
From a consumers perspective, there is not sufficient evidence in scientific and medical literature to support claims that organic food is safer or healthier to eat than conventionally grown food
While there may be some differences in the nutrient and antinutrient contents of organically and conventionally-produced food, the variable nature of food production and handling makes it difficult to generalize results
Claims that organic food tastes better are generally not supported by tests
Peasant foods are dishes specific to a particular culture, made from accessible and inexpensive ingredients, and usually prepared and seasoned to make them more palatable
They often form a significant part of the diets of people who live in poverty, or have a lower income compared to the average for their society or country
Peasant foods have been described as being the diet of peasants, that is, tenant or poorer farmers and their farm workers and by extension, of other cash-poor people
They may use ingredients, such as offal and less-tender cuts of meat, which are not as marketable as a cash crop
Characteristic recipes often consist of hearty one-dish meals, in which chunks of meat and various vegetables are eaten in a savory broth, with bread or other staple food
Sausages are also amenable to varied readily available ingredients, and they themselves tend to contain offal and grains.