Food Terms… get to know them

You might read cook books and find yourself in trouble on what some Food Terms are they talking about.

Well I have researched out and found these Food Terms for you

Convenience Foods

Convenience Foods may be defined as processed foods in which a considerable amount of the preparation has been carried out by the manufacturer. Examples of convenience foods include frozen foods, breakfast cereals, cooked poultry dishes and ready meals. The growth in the convenience food industry, and of ready meals in particular, is associated with factors such as a busy lifestyle.

Fast Foods

Fast Foods (that is to say, fast service foods) is a general term for a limited menu of foods that lend themselves to production-line techniques. Examples of this category of foods includes pizzas, hamburgers and jacket potatoes. The growth of the fast food industry is associated with a move towards a less structured, more individualistic form of eating. Eating has become less than a household ritual. There is a social dimension to fast food outlets and this is capitalised on in advertising and promotion.

Functional Foods

This group of foods has been described as the third generation of health foods to hit the European market. The first generation  were foods such as fruit juices and wholemeal bread in the mid 1970s. The second generation comprised foods with reduced amount of fat and sugar in the mid 1980s. Functional foods, also known as pharmafoods are a big business in the Japanese market. The term functional foods is applied to food ingredients andmanufacturers’ products that are designed and promoted to provide identified health benefits. There is a wide range of functional foods in Europe, with the greatest innovation taking place in the UKand France. In contrast to Japan, where the emphasis during the early development of these foods focused on fibre-enriched drinks, European manufacturers have centered their activities on dairy foods. Examples of functional foods include bio-yogurts, fruit juices with soluble fibre added, spreads with added omega-3 fatty acids and milk with folic acid.

Genetically Modified Foods

Genetic modification has evolved as scientists have learnt to identify genes, which genes control which characteristics. Scientists are also learning how to transplant genes from one plant or animal to another. Genetic modification offers a short-cut to improving corps and livestock. There are concerns about the genetic modification of foods. For example could it harm the environment, is it ethical and what about food safety? These issues have been addressed by government. Government has accepted that food should be labelled if it contains genes that would not be excepted to be there and which might cause real concern to some people on ethical grounds.

Novel Foods

‘Novel Foods’ are defined as foods or food ingredients which have not been used for human consumption to a significant extent in the UK and/or have been produced by extensively modified or entirely new food production processes. Thoroughly safety evaluations, including toxicological and nutritional ones, must be carried out to ensure thatr there are no health risks. All of these studies are assessed by the Government’s Advisory Commitee on Novel Foods and Processes.

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