The COVID-19 pandemic struck Pakistan when the country was combating various other crises such as... more The COVID-19 pandemic struck Pakistan when the country was combating various other crises such as extensive drought conditions, locust attacks, dire economic situation, widespread poverty, and various food security and safety challenges. Recently, the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization collaborated for a food security and nutrition analysis aimed at stocktaking of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihood, food security, agricultural supply chain, prices of food commodities, market conditions, and management strategies along with suitable measures for mitigating the effects of this pandemic on food insecure groups. The findings of the analysis revealed that close to 36.43 million people were highly vulnerable to food insecurity owing to both natural and manmade hazards, including the ongoing pandemic. Also, around 49 million people (25%) were moderately food insecure, while 21 million (10%) households were severely food insecure in the country. The demographic groups most susceptible to the COVID-19 pandemic were the daily wage earners (22% of all the wage earners), refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), senior citizens, and persons with preexisting medical conditions, as well as low-income urban households, market-dependent rural communities, and households where the primary breadwinners were underage children. Figure 1 presents a glimpse of the impact of the COVID-19 conditions in the context of the food security situation prevalent in Pakistan. In 2019-2020, the Food Security and Agriculture Working Group (FSAWG) targeted recovery assistance to various population groups affected by several emergencies across various parts of Pakistan, in particular, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Gilgit Baltistan, and Pakistanadministered Kashmir. For instance, FSAWG disbursed around US$16.4 million as part of a Drought Response Plan for Balochistan and Sindh for the provision of emergency food security and livelihood assistance to about 2.1 million people. Similarly, another US$2.194 million were mobilized under the Winter Emergency Response 2020 for Kashmir and Balochistan to fulfill the immediate needs of around 0.5 million people. Additionally, the government of Pakistan has put in place a National Preparedness and Response Plan, allocating about US$44 million for 1031359 APHXXX10.1177/10105395211031359Asia Pacific Journal of Public HealthUbaid-ur-Rehman et al letter2021
Abstract The requirement of real-time monitoring of food products has encouraged the development ... more Abstract The requirement of real-time monitoring of food products has encouraged the development of non-destructive measurement systems. This has directed the intentions of the researchers to introduce plenty of novel techniques that could be more reliable and provide rapid and comprehensive results regarding the microbial status of food products. Therefore, the traditional time-consuming and laborious methods should be replaced by some novel techniques to provide a prompt and non-invasive microbial testing of food. This article provides information about some innovative microbial investigation methods that could replace the conventional techniques that have been habitually used in food industries.
The proposed work was carried out to replace the conventional water purification methods by natur... more The proposed work was carried out to replace the conventional water purification methods by natural coagulants. Samples of groundwater were obtained and analyzed for quality parameters. The coagulants of Moringa oleifera, orange peels, and date pits were prepared, and different combinations of these coagulants were used to find out the most effective one. Results regarding various physicochemical tests including pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium, magnesium, total hardness, bicarbonates, chlorides and heavy metals revealed that pH was not affected by treatments, values for EC were dropped down slightly but not reduced to an acceptable limit of World Health Organization (WHO). TDS, total hardness and chlorides reduced to the acceptable limit of WHO. Additionally, a significant reduction was recorded in lead and arsenic contents of treated water samples. Moreover, the results exhibited that the values for TPC and Total Coliform were dropped d...
Asian-Australasian journal of animal sciences, Jan 26, 2018
The present work was undertaken to determine the possibility of using xanthan and guar gums as st... more The present work was undertaken to determine the possibility of using xanthan and guar gums as stabilizers to enhance the yogurt quality. Purposely, yogurt was manufactured from standardized milk (3.5% fat, 8.5% solid-not-fat contents) with the addition of 2-3% starter culture. Enzyme-hydrolyzed xanthan gum (0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%) and guar gum (0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%) were added to the yogurt as stabilizers. Prepared yogurt samples were kept at refrigeration temperature (4±2°C) for 21 days and various quality and sensory parameters were studied at regular intervals (7 days). Results showed that yogurt with 0.5% xanthan gum (T5) was best in terms of preventing syneresis and improving the viscosity, water holding capacity and texture of the product. Additionally, adding gums did not adversely affect the sensorial attributes of the product. So, yogurt containing modified gums was found useful in augmenting the product quality and therefore addition of gums is highly recommended for manufacturing ...
Use of traditional methods for determining meat spoilage is quite laborious and time consuming. T... more Use of traditional methods for determining meat spoilage is quite laborious and time consuming. Therefore, alternative approaches are needed that can predict the spoilage of meat in a rapid, non-invasive and more elaborative way. In this regard, the spectroscopic techniques have shown their potential for predicting the microbial spoilage of meat-based products. Consequently, the present work was aimed to demonstrate the competence of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to detect spoilage in chicken fillets stored under aerobic refrigerated conditions. This study was conducted under controlled randomized design (CRD). Chicken samples were stored for 8 days at 4 + 0.5 °C and FTIR spectra were collected at regular intervals (after every 2 days) directly from the sample surface using attenuated total reflectance during the study period. Additionally, total plate count (TPC), count, pH, CTn (Color transmittance number) color analysis, TVBN (total volatile basic nitrogen) conte...
ABSTRACT 12 Modern bioprocess control requires fast data acquisition and in-time evaluation of bi... more ABSTRACT 12 Modern bioprocess control requires fast data acquisition and in-time evaluation of bioprocess variables. On-line fluorescence spectroscopy for data acquisition and the use of chemometric methods accomplish these requirements. The presented investigations were performed with fluorescence spectrometers with wide ranges of excitation and emission wavelength. By detection of several biogenic fluorophors (amino acids, coenzymes and vitamins) a large amount of information about the state of the bioprocess are obtained. For the evaluation of the process variables partial least squares regression is used. This technique was applied to several bioprocesses: the production of ergotamine by Claviceps purpurea, the production of t-PA (tissue plasminogen activator) by animal cells and brewing processes. The main point of monitoring the brewing processes was to determine the process variables cell count and extract concentration.
The COVID-19 pandemic struck Pakistan when the country was combating various other crises such as... more The COVID-19 pandemic struck Pakistan when the country was combating various other crises such as extensive drought conditions, locust attacks, dire economic situation, widespread poverty, and various food security and safety challenges. Recently, the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization collaborated for a food security and nutrition analysis aimed at stocktaking of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihood, food security, agricultural supply chain, prices of food commodities, market conditions, and management strategies along with suitable measures for mitigating the effects of this pandemic on food insecure groups. The findings of the analysis revealed that close to 36.43 million people were highly vulnerable to food insecurity owing to both natural and manmade hazards, including the ongoing pandemic. Also, around 49 million people (25%) were moderately food insecure, while 21 million (10%) households were severely food insecure in the country. The demographic groups most susceptible to the COVID-19 pandemic were the daily wage earners (22% of all the wage earners), refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), senior citizens, and persons with preexisting medical conditions, as well as low-income urban households, market-dependent rural communities, and households where the primary breadwinners were underage children. Figure 1 presents a glimpse of the impact of the COVID-19 conditions in the context of the food security situation prevalent in Pakistan. In 2019-2020, the Food Security and Agriculture Working Group (FSAWG) targeted recovery assistance to various population groups affected by several emergencies across various parts of Pakistan, in particular, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Gilgit Baltistan, and Pakistanadministered Kashmir. For instance, FSAWG disbursed around US$16.4 million as part of a Drought Response Plan for Balochistan and Sindh for the provision of emergency food security and livelihood assistance to about 2.1 million people. Similarly, another US$2.194 million were mobilized under the Winter Emergency Response 2020 for Kashmir and Balochistan to fulfill the immediate needs of around 0.5 million people. Additionally, the government of Pakistan has put in place a National Preparedness and Response Plan, allocating about US$44 million for 1031359 APHXXX10.1177/10105395211031359Asia Pacific Journal of Public HealthUbaid-ur-Rehman et al letter2021
Abstract The requirement of real-time monitoring of food products has encouraged the development ... more Abstract The requirement of real-time monitoring of food products has encouraged the development of non-destructive measurement systems. This has directed the intentions of the researchers to introduce plenty of novel techniques that could be more reliable and provide rapid and comprehensive results regarding the microbial status of food products. Therefore, the traditional time-consuming and laborious methods should be replaced by some novel techniques to provide a prompt and non-invasive microbial testing of food. This article provides information about some innovative microbial investigation methods that could replace the conventional techniques that have been habitually used in food industries.
The proposed work was carried out to replace the conventional water purification methods by natur... more The proposed work was carried out to replace the conventional water purification methods by natural coagulants. Samples of groundwater were obtained and analyzed for quality parameters. The coagulants of Moringa oleifera, orange peels, and date pits were prepared, and different combinations of these coagulants were used to find out the most effective one. Results regarding various physicochemical tests including pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium, magnesium, total hardness, bicarbonates, chlorides and heavy metals revealed that pH was not affected by treatments, values for EC were dropped down slightly but not reduced to an acceptable limit of World Health Organization (WHO). TDS, total hardness and chlorides reduced to the acceptable limit of WHO. Additionally, a significant reduction was recorded in lead and arsenic contents of treated water samples. Moreover, the results exhibited that the values for TPC and Total Coliform were dropped d...
Asian-Australasian journal of animal sciences, Jan 26, 2018
The present work was undertaken to determine the possibility of using xanthan and guar gums as st... more The present work was undertaken to determine the possibility of using xanthan and guar gums as stabilizers to enhance the yogurt quality. Purposely, yogurt was manufactured from standardized milk (3.5% fat, 8.5% solid-not-fat contents) with the addition of 2-3% starter culture. Enzyme-hydrolyzed xanthan gum (0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%) and guar gum (0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%) were added to the yogurt as stabilizers. Prepared yogurt samples were kept at refrigeration temperature (4±2°C) for 21 days and various quality and sensory parameters were studied at regular intervals (7 days). Results showed that yogurt with 0.5% xanthan gum (T5) was best in terms of preventing syneresis and improving the viscosity, water holding capacity and texture of the product. Additionally, adding gums did not adversely affect the sensorial attributes of the product. So, yogurt containing modified gums was found useful in augmenting the product quality and therefore addition of gums is highly recommended for manufacturing ...
Use of traditional methods for determining meat spoilage is quite laborious and time consuming. T... more Use of traditional methods for determining meat spoilage is quite laborious and time consuming. Therefore, alternative approaches are needed that can predict the spoilage of meat in a rapid, non-invasive and more elaborative way. In this regard, the spectroscopic techniques have shown their potential for predicting the microbial spoilage of meat-based products. Consequently, the present work was aimed to demonstrate the competence of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to detect spoilage in chicken fillets stored under aerobic refrigerated conditions. This study was conducted under controlled randomized design (CRD). Chicken samples were stored for 8 days at 4 + 0.5 °C and FTIR spectra were collected at regular intervals (after every 2 days) directly from the sample surface using attenuated total reflectance during the study period. Additionally, total plate count (TPC), count, pH, CTn (Color transmittance number) color analysis, TVBN (total volatile basic nitrogen) conte...
ABSTRACT 12 Modern bioprocess control requires fast data acquisition and in-time evaluation of bi... more ABSTRACT 12 Modern bioprocess control requires fast data acquisition and in-time evaluation of bioprocess variables. On-line fluorescence spectroscopy for data acquisition and the use of chemometric methods accomplish these requirements. The presented investigations were performed with fluorescence spectrometers with wide ranges of excitation and emission wavelength. By detection of several biogenic fluorophors (amino acids, coenzymes and vitamins) a large amount of information about the state of the bioprocess are obtained. For the evaluation of the process variables partial least squares regression is used. This technique was applied to several bioprocesses: the production of ergotamine by Claviceps purpurea, the production of t-PA (tissue plasminogen activator) by animal cells and brewing processes. The main point of monitoring the brewing processes was to determine the process variables cell count and extract concentration.
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