Attività

“What Are the Benefits of Food Additives?
For centuries, food manufacturers have included organic or chemical compounds known as additives to their products. There are several benefits of food additives, including extended shelf life and improved taste, appearance and texture. Foods also can be fortified or enriched with certain substances to help consumers achieve better nutrition. While these additives generally enhance the final product, some of the compounds have been found to be harmful to humans, and many governments now regulate the amount and types of substances that are added to processed foods. In response to these concerns, many food manufacturers now offer brands with fewer preservatives and other additives for consumers who are concerned about long-term health risks.

One of the major benefits of food additives is longer shelf life. For centuries, humans have used salt and other naturally occurring substances to help preserve meat and other foods. Newer, chemically derived preservatives can keep food fresh and ready to eat for extra months or years. This longer shelf life helps stores by allowing them to keep stock on the shelf longer and limiting the amount of waste from spoiled, unsold food. Preservatives also help the consumer by keeping food costs lower and slowing the growth of harmful bacteria.

In addition to keeping consumers safer from food-borne illnesses, food additives also can improve the flavor of the product. Manufacturers may add acids, flavor enhancers and sweeteners to their foods to make the taste more appealing to the consumer. Many processes that extend shelf life, such as canning, dehydrating or freezing, also can rob food of its natural flavor. Without these enhancements, many processed foods would be bland and unappetizing.

As with flavor, texture and appearance also can be affected by the manufacturing processes. Another of the benefits of food additives is improved look and feel of the final product. Stabilizers and thickeners are substances added to processed foods to help them retain their proper consistency. Coloring, glazing agents and color retention agents assist manufacturers in delivering products that appear appetizing and nutritious to the consumer. With these additives, heavily processed foods can end up looking and feeling like the fresh version of the product.

In addition to substances that preserve and enhance a food product, there are some compounds that are added to food for health reasons. Fortified and enriched foods may have added fiber, vitamins or minerals to help consumers maintain a healthy diet. This is one of the most important benefits of food additives for populations that may have deficiencies in their diet. Fortified foods also can help picky eaters, such as children, get more nutrition.

LIVESTOCK FARMERS CAN IMPROVE QUALITY WITH FEED ADDITIVES
There is a direct link between animal and human health. The food ingested by livestock has a massive impact on the quality of meat and byproducts produced. All livestock requires a certain balance of water, minerals, vitamins, and proteins to maintain basic health requirements and fuel growth. Feed additives are a safe, healthy way to invest in the wellbeing of livestock while enhancing their nutritional intake.

Safe and Beneficial

Livestock farmers can avoid common and sometimes serious livestock health risks by using certain additives. Conditions such as weight loss, natural abortions, infections, sickness, and disease can all be controlled and prevented by using the right feed additives.

Benefits of Feed Additives

1.Medicated. Some additives may contain antibiotics or other drugs that help livestock farmers to reduce the chances of their livestock becoming diseased, sick, and infected. It can also aid in growth and weight gain.

2.Minerals. Minerals play a pivotal role in the health of livestock and can improve weaning and conception rates, immune system response, and overall health. All of these benefits add up to a more valuable livestock investment.

3.Protein. Protein additives are especially popular in the cattle and beef industry. Blocks, tubs, and liquid forms of protein are all available to livestock farmers. It’s not always necessary to add protein to a livestock diet, so it’s a good idea to test and measure levels of protein intake before making a decision.

4.Pest Control. Pests are an ever-present nuisance for livestock farmers. They’re hardy, they breed quickly, and they spread throughout feed within days. Some additives can help to stop the lifecycle of certain pests by eliminating favorable breeding conditions.

5.Improving Nutritional Intake

Healthy livestock should be consuming nutrients on a daily basis that promote growth, reproduction, and quality. Livestock farmers can find the optimal nutrient balance based on the type of livestock, the age, size, physical condition, and daily activity.Providing access to proper nutrition is especially important for pregnant, young, and sickly livestock. Amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins, and proteins are just a few of the nutrients, the most livestock require on a daily basis. Feed additives offer a simple way for livestock farmers to provide the right balance of daily nutrition that helps to promote wellness and quality.

Types of Additives

There are eight categories of feed additives that livestock farmers typically use.

-Antibiotics

-Acidifiers

-Antioxidants

-Vitamins

-Minerals

-Amino Acids

-Binders

-Enzymes

In addition to these eight categories, additives such as sweeteners, flavors, mycotoxin binders, and protected amino acids are also commonly used. In some cases, additives can be used in combination to combat weakened immunity, slow growth rates, and weight loss.

Additional Benefits

While feed additives are most commonly referred to within their designated categories, all feed additives are divided into four main types.

1.Nutritional Additives. These additives supply nutrients that are missing in the natural diet of livestock.

2.Sensory Additives. Sensory additives often come in the form of flavored supplements and help to increase appetite.

3.Antibiotic Additives. These are used to fight infections, diseases, and sickness. Some livestock farmers use antibiotic additives to also promote growth.

4.Zootechnical Additives. Zootechnical additives help to boost the overall nutritional value of livestock diets.

Feed additives can help to improve the value of livestock by overcoming deficiencies, nutrient problems, and performance issues. Trouble in digesting feed, lack of appetite, troubled pregnancies, and weak bone structure can all be resolved. Additives are meant to improve the quality of feed so that livestock farmers can see improved animal performance and health.

WHY ARE FINE CHEMICALS IMPORTANT?
1.What are they?

Fine chemicals are chemical substances prepared to a very high degree of purity. They can be used in research and industry. The extraction of raw materials from plants is done in numerous steps. Firstly the plant is crushed in order to break open the plant material. It is then boiled and dissolved in a suitable solvent. Finally, chromatography takes place in order to separate the different chemicals in the plant. Aside from plant extraction, fine chemicals can also be extracted synthetically.

2.Uses of fine chemicals

-Pharmaceutical drugs

Pharmaceutical drugs are used to diagnose, cure and treat illnesses. They are also used to prevent diseases. One of the reasons why fine chemicals are important is the role that they play in the production of pharmaceutical drugs. For example, Hydrogen is a raw material which is commonly used in pharmaceuticals.

-Food

Fine chemicals such as acid chlorides are also important in the food industry because they can be used as preservatives in human and animal foods. An example of an acid chloride which is used in preservatives is Propanoic acid, which is a clear liquid notable for its unpleasant smell. Food products such as vinegar also contain acid chlorides in the ingredients. Ethanoic acid is a liquid form of acid chlorides and is the main component that makes up vinegar. Butaonic acids are found in some dairy products such as butter and milk.

-Agricultural

Agrochemicals are used specifically to enhance agricultural benefits by protecting crops from pests and increasing crop yields. For example, fine chemicals are used in pesticides which make them very important for the agricultural industry.

3.The future of fine chemicals

The demand for pharmaceutical drugs, food products and agrochemicals will continue therefore so will the production of fine chemicals. Fine chemicals are also important because they are used in every-day products such as photographic film, wood glue and household cleaning products.

Importance of quality: Raw materials of healthcare products
When manufacturing a healthcare product, controlling the quality of the pharmaceutical raw materials used (for example, the excipients or the components that make up your product) is as important as controlling the quality of your active pharmaceutical ingredients and your finished product. Managing your raw materials as part of your quality system will help to ensure that your finished healthcare product meets its quality attributes.It is wise to initiate such a system at the outset of product development and build it into the product design. This will help steer appropriate selection of the raw materials used.

1.Selecting the right raw materials for healthcare products

Key considerations when selecting the raw materials include:

Is there enough information to support the safety of the material selected (as well as its by-product)? For example, is the raw material commonly used in the regulated industry (that is, is it “generally recognized as safe” material)? Is it known to have toxicological concerns (for example, carcinogenetic potential)?

Would the raw material lead to any pharmaceutical response or is it considered an inert substance? For pharmaceutical products, does it raise questions about interaction with your drug substance? For medical devices, does it change your product from a medical device to a combination product (which would lead to different regulatory requirements and pathways)? If yes, is there a different agent that could help you avoid a more difficult pathway?

Is the supply of this material limited? If so, can it be replaced with another raw material? If not, it is critical to ensure the supply of this material (have a contract with the supplier or identify an alternate supplier) so that no shortages affect the manufacture of your healthcare product during clinical or commercialization phases.

Is the material compatible with your finished product? For instance, in pharmaceutical products, the excipients can comprise more than 90% of a product’s weight. Therefore, evaluate the compatibility of the ingredients that may contribute to the quality (for example, hardness, dissolution rate) of the dosage form.

Is the ingredient available as a pharmacopeial grade or medical grade? If it is, does it meet the requirements in the targeted jurisdiction? If not, can it be substituted by another ingredient?

In summary, the quality, safety and efficacy of the healthcare product should be scientifically evaluated to ensure the right materials are selected.

2.Ensuring the right quality of raw material

Once the product design is finalized, implement a robust supplier management program to assure and control the quality of the raw ingredients. In general, base this program on general Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Some aspects may include:

-Reviewing the supplier history, including any relevant information on their manufacturing reliability

-Determining the reliability of results reported on Certificates of Analysis (a document issued by a supplier to certify the quality and purity of each product lot)

-Assessing the quality of raw materials through routine testing

-Performing a supplier audit, if required

-Considering information obtained via ongoing communication with suppliers

In summary, know the supply chain of the raw material for your product. Identify and mitigate risks throughout the supply chain and document the measures you take to secure it.

3.Consider cooking as an analogy

One of the fundamental principles of good cuisine is the use of high-quality ingredients. Even if you have a great recipe with the steps, ingredients, and cooking methods and conditions clearly stated, the dish will not turn out quite right, or even safely, if the ingredients used are not what they purport to be and if they are not fresh (that is, not expired) and clean (that is, not contaminated with chemicals or microbes). The span of ingredients can include the main ingredient (say, chicken) as well as all the spices. Sometimes just changing the brand (that is, changing the supplier) of an ingredient may be enough to affect the “quality,” or taste, of the food. Similarly, the quality of the raw materials selected to manufacture your healthcare product could significantly affect the quality, safety and efficacy of your product; hence the need for tight controls.

4.Disclaimer

The information presented in these articles is intended to outline the general processes, principles and concepts of the healthcare product development lifecycle. Since regulatory requirements are ever-changing, it is current only as of the date of publication and not intended to provide detailed instructions for product development. Every healthcare product is unique and therefore so is its associated product development lifecycle. Specific advice should be sought from a qualified healthcare or other appropriate professional.

The Importance of Plant Extracts
It’s important to be aware that not all natural medicines are created equal. There can be significant variation in natural medicines depending on how they are produced.With so many products to choose from, it can be difficult to understand just how these products differ particularly since many products use ingredients sourced from the same plant or herb.

However, there are a few things you should take into consideration to help you choose the most suitable natural medicine. That’s where understanding plant extracts plays a crucial role.

1.What is a standardised extract?

Extraction is the process of drawing out the particular compounds in a plant or herb that are believed to be responsible for the medicinal properties. And that extraction process can be complicated. While this complexity is what can be behind the benefits of natural medicines, it can make consistency more difficult.

A standardised extract can help reduce this product variability. Standardisation means that specified compounds (or ‘markers’) of an herbal ingredient are measured to a specified concentration or amount and the same rigorous manufacturing process and specification is adhered to for every single batch.

The manufacturing process is tightly controlled because it can affect the specification or profile of the ingredient. When dealing with specific extracts, this control would also encompass everything from where the plant is grown and harvested to the storage and manufacture of the product.

And it’s these specific standardised extracts that can be used in clinical trials to help ensure that the product’s effect on a particular therapeutic benefit can be consistently expected to be delivered each time.

2.Why is it important?

The extraction process can greatly impact the reliability of a natural medicine. So products containing ingredients from the same herb or plant won’t necessarily have the same consistent profile of compounds and therefore may not have the same effect.

It’s also important to choose products that contain the same specific standardised extracts used in clinical trials, so you can be more confident that the product you buy can deliver the same reliable health outcomes.Although this concept may surprise you, it’s something you probably encounter quite frequently, even on a daily basis, particularly when it comes to choosing a drink.Are all cups of coffee the same? Does it matter where the coffee beans were grown, when it was grinded, and how it was brewed? How about wine? Does it matter what kind of grape you use, where it’s grown, how it’s cultivated, processed, and stored? Or course it does. It’s those specific methods that separate the fine wines from the cask wines.

3.How do I know if an extract is specific and high quality?

When you’re choosing a natural medicine product, you should consider whether it has a specific extract or whether that specific extract has been tested in studies, but that isn’t always easy.

Different standardisation processes can also be used to extract the beneficial medicinal compounds from plants and herbs.Furthermore, it’s not always obvious whether the ingredient in a particular natural product is the specific extract used in clinical trials or if it is a generic version. Some products are clearly indicated on the label but others are less specific.

So what do you do? You can choose products belonging to brands that have a long history in the natural medicine industry and are renowned for producing quality, scientifically-validated products. Also consider speaking to a health care professional who can help you to understand the differences between products.

http://www.tnnchemical.com”