Policy rationales for electronic information systems : an area of ambiguity

Child welfare and protection (CWP) has engaged in the introduction of Electronic Information Systems (EIS), such as electronic recording, assessment and decision- making tools. It has been argued that EIS have adverse consequences in which gov- ernments are conceived as homogeneous entities that install EIS for self-interested purposes. Consequently, research focuses on how social workers evade/reshape the sometimes pernicious effects of EIS. Insufficient attention has been given to the gov- ernmental perspective and to why governments install EIS. In this article, we contrib- ute to this debate by performing semi-structured interviews with policy actors (directors, policy advisers and staff members) in the field of CWP in Flanders. Asked about their rationales for installing EIS, they spoke of administrative, policy, care and economic reasons. However, while advocating these EIS, they also expressed a critical attitude concerning the usefulness of EIS, hoping that practitioners would move back and forth between governmental demands and day-to-day realities, to establish a more responsive social work. This ambiguous situation in which policy makers seem to be both strong supporters and critics of EIS at the same time is captivating, since it seems no longer necessary to perceive governments as a homogeneous bogeyman and social work as a victim

Applicability of biobased packaging materials for long shelf-life food products

AbstractThe research aim was to evaluate the applicability of biobased plastics for packing long shelf-life food products, both on laboratory and industrial scale. Therefore, the shelf-life (room temperature) of tortilla chips, dry biscuits and potato flakes packed under air or modified atmosphere (MAP) in xylan and cellulose-based packages was evaluated and compared with their shelf-life in reference (conventional) packaging materials. These tests were followed by packaging trials on industrial lines. Furthermore, overall migration studies and printability tests were performed. Most of the biobased packages showed sufficient barrier towards moisture and gasses to serve as a food packaging material and MAP packaging of long shelf-life food products is possible. But for very moisture-sensitive food products (e.g. dry biscuits), no suited packaging material was found. The quality of the tortilla chips and potato flakes could be guaranteed during their shelf-life, even if packaging materials with lower barrier properties were used. Still, brittleness and seal properties are critical for use on industrial scale (important for use on vertical flow packaging machines). Furthermore, the films were printable and migration tests showed compliance with legislation. This study shows promising results towards the industrial application of biobased packaging materials for long shelflife food products.</jats:p

Growth and inactivation of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in broth and validation in ground pork meat during simulated home storage abusive temperature and home pan-frying

Ground pork meat with natural microbiota and inoculated with low initial densities (1-10 or 10-100 CFU/g) of Salmonella enter/ca or Listeria monocytogenes was stored under abusive temperature at 10 degrees C and thermally treated by a simulated home pan-frying procedure. The growth and inactivation characteristics were also evaluated in broth. In ground pork meat, the population of S. enter/ca increased by less than one log after 12 days of storage at 10 degrees C, whereas L. monocytogenes increased by 2.3 to 2.8 log units. No unusual intrinsic heat resistance of the pathogens was noted when tested in broth at 60 degrees C although shoulders were observed on the inactivation curves of L. monocytogenes. After growth of S. enter/ca and L. monocytogenes at 10 degrees C for 5 days to levels of 1.95 log CFU/g and 3.10 log CFU/g, respectively, in ground pork meat, their inactivation in the burger subjected to a simulated home pan-frying was studied. After thermal treatment S. enter/ca was undetectable but L. monocytogenes was recovered in three out of six of the 25 g burger samples. Overall, the present study shows that data on growth and inactivation of broths are indicative but may underestimate as well as overestimate behavior of pathogens and thus need confirmation in food matrix conditions to assess food safety in reasonably foreseen abusive conditions of storage and usual home pan-frying of meat burgers in Belgium

The constrained median : a way to incorporate side information in the assessment of food samples

A classical problem in the field of food science concerns the consensus evaluation of food samples. Typically, several panelists are asked to provide scores describing the perceived quality of the samples, and subsequently, the overall (consensus) scores are determined. Unfortunately, gathering a large number of panelists is a challenging and very expensive way of collecting information. Interestingly, side information about the samples is often available. This paper describes a method that exploits such information with the aim of improving the assessment of the quality of multiple samples. The proposed method is illustrated by discussing an experiment on raw Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), where the evolution of the overall score of each salmon sample is studied. The influence of incorporating knowledge of storage days, results of a clustering analysis, and information from additionally performed sensory evaluation tests is discussed. We provide guidelines for incorporating different types of information and discuss their benefits and potential risks

Self-assembly of Tween 80 micelles as nanocargos for oregano and trans-cinnamaldehyde plant-derived compounds

The self-assembly of Tween 80 (T80) micelles loaded with plant-based oregano essential oil (OR) and trans-cinnamaldehyde (TCA) was studied. The effect of different factors, including the surfactant to oil ratio, the presence of sodium chloride, thermal treatment, and dilution on their formation and physicochemical stability was evaluated. The creation of nano-cargos was confirmed by TEM. The self-associated structures had z-average droplet diameters of 92 to 337 nm without any energy input. Whereas addition of 10% (w/v) NaCl prevented the formation of oregano essential oil nano-assemblies of T80, swollen micelles containing TCA were successfully produced. Moreover, the OR or TCA loaded-micelles had only a slight droplet size variation upon thermal treatment. Ultimately, their antibacterial activity analysis against some food pathogens revealed that the encapsulation of OR and TCA within micelles crucially improved their antibacterial activity. These straightforward and cost-effective designed systems can be applicable in different products, including foods and agrochemicals

Multivariate statistical analysis for the identification of potential seafood spoilage indicators

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) characterize the spoilage of seafood packaged under modified atmospheres (MAs) and could thus be used for quality monitoring. However, the VOC profile typically contains numerous multicollinear compounds and depends on the product and storage conditions. Identification of potential spoilage indicators thus calls for multivariate statistics. The aim of the present study was to define suitable statistical methods for this purpose (exploratory analysis) and to consequently characterize the spoilage of brown shrimp (Crangon crangon) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) stored under different conditions (selective analysis). Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares regression analysis (PLS) were applied as exploratory techniques (brown shrimp, 4 °C, 50%CO2/50%N2) and PLS was further selected for spoilage marker identification. Evolution of acetic acid, 2,3-butanediol, isobutyl alcohol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, dimethyl sulfide, ethyl acetate and trimethylamine was frequently in correspondence with changes in the microbiological quality or sensory rejection. Analysis of these VOCs could thus enhance the detection of seafood spoilage and the development of intelligent packaging technologies.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe