Hanisah Kamilah

— These foreign students are highly concerned with food safety and food handling knowledge as they are presumably involved in perilous eating behaviours, which exposes them to the risk of foodborne diseases. The present cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the awareness and practices regarding food safety and food handling among the foreign students of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect demographic information and to assess awareness of food safety and food handling among foreign students. Questionnaires were distributed into five sections that concealed key food safety apprehensions. A total of 328 students received the questionnaires, and 203 (61.89%) responded. Cleanliness of eating tables, food temperature, smoke-free environment and food handler appearance are the key food safety considerations for the respondents. The results showed that a high percentage of male respondents (57.98%) experienced food poisoning, and considered food from restaurants is the cause of foodborne diseases. Respondents have utmost awareness about the cleanliness of utensils and kitchen surfaces, hand hygiene, and preclusion of cross-contamination, however, described a poor knowledge concerning the temperature and heat treatment of the food. Good understanding regarding food poisoning symptoms was observed among the respondents, especially in a female group. The outcome revealed that foreign students, irrespective of gender, demonstrated comparable food safety and food handling knowledge. The study laid emphasis on education and training as an optimum way to foster awareness and encourage students' food safety knowledge and practices.

Starch is one of the most abundant polysaccharides mainly obtained from cereals and
tubers. It has been used since ages in food applications as thickening, binding, sweetening and
emulsifying agent. It has been known as part of the main staples for few countries as well. The
abundant production of starch has a bright future in sustainable food supply to the world.
However, starch appeared to have some limitations of structural stability under extreme
conditions of pH and shear. Besides, starch pasting and retrogradation properties are also resist
its deliberate use in food products. Thus, blending with non-starch hydrocolloid gums is one of
the ways to manipulate starch properties. Non-starch hydrocolloid gums are high molecular
weight polymers, usually polysaccharides, which interact with starch and impart desired
functionality to the resultant blend for oriented application. In this review, we summarized a
number of studies regarding the properties and applications of starch mixture with non-starch
hydrocolloids such as arabic gum, guar gum, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, gellan and pectin.
Further, the interaction mechanism of starch with non-starch hydrocolloid and their applications
in cereal based foods are also enlisted. Thus, the aim of this review is to provide data of some
basic applications and recent usage trends of starch/ non-starch hydrocolloid blends in foods.

Based on physico-functional properties, gelatin is a biopolymer of great interest in food industry. Especially, its rheological and thermal properties diversify its applications. Mammalian gelatin is the main contributor to total gelatin production, but fish gelatin is also a potential alternative. The extraction method, fish type and intensity of the treatment determines the fate of produced gelatin. However, fish gelatin presents some less desirable properties due to the lesser amount of proline and hydroxyproline residues compared to the mammalian gelatins. Nonetheless, it has a good film forming ability and has been suggested as an alternative to the petroleum-based polymers. This review focusses on extraction, physicochemical properties and film forming ability of fish gelatin. Additionally, studies related to possible improvement in film barrier and mechanical properties are also enlisted. Furthermore, a minor description of legislation regarding toxicity issues of the frequently used active additives (plant extract and nanoparticles) in gelatin films is also presented. Fish gelatin applications should be expanded with the growing technological advances in industrial processes. 1. Introduction: As the global demand for gelatin is continuously on the rise, many potential sources are being sought for combating this growing need. In 2009, the global production of gelatin reached 326 thousand tons; majorly derived from pig skin, bovine hides, bones and others sources contributing 46%, 29.4%, 23.1% and 1.5%, respectively. Due to the fact that half of the production is harvested from porcine source, concerns about Halal or Kosher market strongly dominate. Moreover, in the case of bovine gelatin, the prevalence of spongiform encephalopathy necessitates a look up for possible alternatives (Karim and Bhat, 2009). Thus, fish (skin and bone) and other marine sources, along with insects (melon and sorghum bugs) are being exploited simultaneously. Nevertheless, fish, being in bulk and abundant, accounts more significantly than the insects. A number of studies have addressed the properties of fish skin gelatins, indicating that their properties differ from those of mammalian gelatins and vary among fish species. Technically, the term gelatin, applies for a series of proteins obtained from collagen after partial hydrolysis, obtained from bones, skin, hides, ligaments and cartilages, etc. (Gómez-Guillén and Montero, 2001). In the conversion process of collagen to gelatin, acid or alkali pretreatment hydrolyze the cross-linking bonds between polypeptides and irreversibly results in gelatin (Yang et al., 2008). The gelatin is water soluble and forms thermo-reversible gels with the melting temperature near to the body temperature (Norziah et al., 2009). The quality of resultant gelatin is determined by its physicochemical behavior that is further based on the species as well as the process of manufacture. Moreover, the specific amino acids and their respective amounts determine physical and functional behavior of gelatin. The higher the level of proline and hydroxyproline, the higher will be the melting point and gel strength (Karim and Bhat, 2009). According to one report (Farris et al., 2009) fish gelatin holds around 20% of proline and hydroxyproline than the bovine or porcine gelatins, which lower the gelling and melting by 5-10°C. Generally, compared to mammalian gelatin, fish gelatins hold lower gelling and melting temperatures, and lower gel strength as well (Norland, 1990). Gelatin is one of the most commonly used food additive and is an ingredient of many recipes. The proteinaceous nature of gelatin makes it an ideal food ingredient with high digestibility in certain types of diets (Johnston-Banks, 1990). As an additive, it improves water holding capacity, texture, elasticity, consistency and stability of foods (Zhou and Regenstein, 2005). Additionally, it has been used as a stabilizer, emulsifier, clarifying agent and as a protective coating material. Desserts, ice cream, jelled meat, confectionary, dairy and bakery foods are few of the main consumption areas for gelatin. Moreover, in pharmaceutics, it is used in manufacturing of capsules, tablet coatings, emulsions, ointments and skincare products. Despite the vast applicability of gelatin, theories about structure-function relationship are still under discussion. A 3D model is widely presented using fringed micelle model where microcrystallites are interconnected to amorphous segments of randomly-coiled regions. Some others suggest the presence of quaternary structures that are self-limiting in size, making triple helix or partial triple helix or turn and sheet motifs (Pena et al., 2010).

Avoidance of dairy products due to lactose intolerance can lead to insufficiency of calcium (Ca) in the body. In an approach to address this problem, tuna bone powder (TBP) was formulated as a calcium supplement to fortify bakery products. In a study, TBP recovered by alkaline treatment contained 38.16 g/100 g of calcium and 23.31 g/100 g of phosphorus. The ratio of Ca:P that was close to 2:1 was hence comparable to that in human bones. The availability of calcium in TBP was 53.93%, which was significantly higher than most calcium salts, tricalcium phosphate (TCP) being the exception. In vitro availability of calcium in TBP-fortified cookies or TCP-fortified cookies were comparable at 38.9% and 39.5%, respectively. These values were higher than the readings from TBP-fortified bread (36.7%) or TCP-fortified bread (37.4%). Sensory evaluation of bakery products containing TBP or TCP elicited comparable scores for the two additives from test panels. Hence, TBP could be used in the production of high calcium bakery products that would enjoy consumer acceptance.

The improper discarding method of toxic waste cooking oil (WCO) and the repetitive usage of it are polluting the
environment and harmful to human, respectively. Thus, survey regarding the consumption of waste cooking oil (WCO) was
conducted in Kampung Nelayan, Penang (rural area) and Gurun, Kedah (suburban area). Each developed questionnaire containing
the total amount of 26 questions, which five open-ended questions and 21 closed questions. Feedbacks of over 180 responses were
received from Gurun, Kedah and 200 responses from Kampung Nelayan, Pulau Pinang. Focus group survey and face-to-face
interview method were done in Gurun, Kedah and Kampung Nelayan, Pulau Pinang, respectively based on the suitability of the area.
Personal information such as race, gender, and occupation of participants was recorded for further information. The percentage of
80% of the respondents was females and there was higher percentage of housewives (59%) in Kampung Nelayan compared to Gurun.
Majority of the respondents were consuming palm oil (95%) and producing waste cooking oil (WCO) up to 6-10 L/mth and 1 L/mth
in Kampung Nelayan and Gurun, respectively. Survey analysis also showed that 2-3% of the respondents utilised the cooking oil
repeatedly until it is fully utilised. Around 7-9% of respondents consumed the cooking oil up to three times before discarding it. As
the conclusion, most of the respondents have limited knowledge regarding the WCO management, which could affect the health of a
consumer and adulterates the environment.

The efficiency of esterification from vegetable oils and glycerol were evaluated for the byproducts that are generally used as emulsifier, antistaling agent, and food flavours. In the present study, esterification of Candida rugosa lipase of vegetable oils was performed. The effect of incubation time
and ratio of vegetable oils/ glycerol was investigated. The esterification was evaluated based on the percentage of free fatty acids (FFA) and acid value (AV). Results showed that palm oil with the addition of 11 wt. % glycerol has higher amount of esterification (1.7% FFA) as compared to that of its waste (1.3% FFA) with the condition of mixed ratio between glycerol and vegetable oil. The AV and FFA increased to the highest of 3.3% and 1.7%, respectively, when the mixture of WCO/ glycerol (ratio 8:1) was incubated for 24 hours respectively. Other than that, the ratio of 1:1 WCO to glycerol gave a better percentage of FFA compared to other ratios. As the conclusion, by esterifying WCO, it provides an economical solution to create value- added products and at the same time preserves the good environmental practice. Other than that, the type of vegetable oils and parameters applied influenced the esterification process.